Rating: 
Summary: Another good de Lint story
Review: I thought Trader was a very well done story about finding out what is truly important and what is truly *you* when everything is stripped away. De Lint does a wonderful job of telling the story from several different viewpoints (Max, Zeffy, Tanya, Nia...and so on) and maintains a consistent, individual voice for each, sometimes relating the same events from more than one person's perspective so you get an idea of what's happening *around* the other players. I especially liked the fact that de Lint didn't "chicken out" and find some way to give Max back his "original" body. Max's lessons were hard-learned and the ending, I think, was much more true to the self-knowledge he had attained during his tenure in Johnny's body. If he *had* been able to take up his life once more, he would have eventually forgotten the lessons (and so would we) about living large - just *living* - and not merely existing through your life and being complacent. Max may always experience some discomfort with looking in the mirror and not seeing what his mind's eye informs him that he'll see, but the lesson will always be there in front of him, living in him, and forcing him to attempt to live that lesson each day of his life.
Rating: 
Summary: de Lint does it again!
Review: It might sound silly to say, but... I always enjoy learning new things, new viewpoints, when I read Charles de Lint's works. In this one we got to see the world through the eyes of a luthier, something I've never really thought about before. As always, an excellent read. Thank you, Charles!
Rating:
Summary: de Lint does it again!
Review: It might sound silly to say, but... I always enjoy learning new things, new viewpoints, when I read Charles de Lint's works. In this one we got to see the world through the eyes of a luthier, something I've never really thought about before. As always, an excellent read. Thank you, Charles!
Rating:
Summary: What defines me -- many questions, no answers.
Review: Max Trader wakes up to find his life gone. He's in a new body. Johnny Devlin's body. And now he's got all Devlin's problems and baggage. Max wants his life back. But Johnny likes the arrangement -- he's got it all now. The story is about what you'd expect of a body swapping fantasy tale. But, this is Newford. No one is quite what they seem. Where better to play with many of the question that we deal with in our daily lives. What makes me ... well, me? Could I prove I was me if I was in another body? Think of your friends. Okay, how well do they really know you. How many of them do you really share your innermost thoughts and feelings with? Max Trader had a great life. He was famous for the guitars and instruments he made but no one knew him. He didn't touch anyones life except for a young girl who needed someone to talk to and found that Max didn't mind listening. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time. It's given me a lot to think about -- but, then deLint's books usually do give me a lot to think about.
Rating: 
Summary: A classic? In a word, No.
Review: My curiosity about Charles De Lint was piqued by the Modern Library readers' choice list of the 100 best books of the century. His name came up so many times, and I'd never heard of him. Even though the list was obviously hijacked by Scientologists, sci-fi and fantasy freaks, I had to find out: Is the mysterious Mr. De Lint one of the century's great writers? Guess what: He's not even one of the so-so ones. The premise of Trader is OK (hence the two stars), but the writing is pedestrian at best, adolescent and repetitive at worst. Oh well, on to the collected wit and wisdom of L. Ron Hubbard...
Rating:
Summary: Not De Lint at the Top of His Form
Review: Someone was complaining about this book having too much angst. I rather thought it was too bland. Of course there was all of these social and personal issues: Why do I pick the wrong men? What should I do with my life? Whoops, I'm a lesbian, now what? It's tough to be a teenager. What can we do about the homeless? But there is no real passion and only spots of mystery despite the fantasy angle.
De Lint can do much better than this. I don't know if he's burning out or finishing a contract. Although I found this book to be easy reading, it was not what I expected from an author of this caliber.
Rating:
Summary: A book about one's inner spirit and hope
Review: This is great book about a good person trying to find himself. He learns that who he is can not really be defined in the material world but rather in the spiritual world. It is a story which tells us that a person's current circumstances do not define the person. That who we are is contained within ourselves. That if one is spiritually sound then they will rise to meet all the challeges in life.
Rating:
Summary: De Lint does it again! ... and again... and again
Review: What would you do if you woke up in someone else's body? What if that someone did want to give you your body back, because your life was better than his? A whole lot better! What if you were now broke and homeless? How do you convince people you really are who you say you are and not just who you look like? How would you stop the person who was living in your body from ruining your life? And to top it off, what if you fell in love with a woman that despised you, or at least the person she thought you were? If magic got you into this then magic is the only way out. So where do you turn?
Rating:
Summary: De Lint does it again! ... and again... and again
Review: What would you do if you woke up in someone else's body? What if that someone did want to give you your body back, because your life was better than his? A whole lot better! What if you were now broke and homeless? How do you convince people you really are who you say you are and not just who you look like? How would you stop the person who was living in your body from ruining your life? And to top it off, what if you fell in love with a woman that despised you, or at least the person she thought you were? If magic got you into this then magic is the only way out. So where do you turn?
Rating:
Summary: A rewarding visit to Newford and beyond
Review: When first hearing of "Trader" the subject of this book didn't really sound appealing. Luckily I decided to buy it anyway. Returning to Newford and its enchanting people was great. Okay, it did get some getting used to the permanent switching of characters but this style of writing helped unfolding this story, a real page-turner! In my opinion, though, De Lint put too much different storylines in this book and therefore couldn't explore all of them deeply enough. The final showdown between Trader and Devlin wasn't quite what I expected it to be. This guy takes away all the basics of Max'existence, but there is not really a deeper-going dialogue between the leading characters! But all in all "Trader" is a book really worth reading.
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