Charles De Lint

[rune]

Has anyone read this authors works? He has done quite a few stand alone books and I wondered if anyone had any tips on them

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

I understand that he writes urban fantasy mostly - a bit like Tim Powers, perhaps? I have only read one of his books - Into The Green. This one is set entirely in a fantasy world, it's about a gypsy named Anhgarad who discovers that she has the Sight, and certain magic powers. Her tribe is devastated by the plague, and she is soon caught up in an epic conflict with dark forces that seek to wipe out those with the Sight.

I remember the book as having a pleasing mix of folksy whimsicality and a heartening realism. The quality of prose was excellent, the plot was quite original (despite my inept summary) and the story gripping. I've been intending to follow up on more of his work for a while, but his books aren't exactly crowding out the fantasy racks here. Definitely an author worth trying, I'd say.

One of the things I liked about the book were the musical scores at the end - De Lint is apparently also a musician, with a particular interest in playing and composing in the Celtic folk style.

 

[rune]

I understand that he writes urban fantasy mostly - a bit like Tim Powers, perhaps? I have only read one of his books - Into The Green. This one is set entirely in a fantasy world, it's about a gypsy named Anhgarad who discovers that she has the Sight, and certain magic powers. Her tribe is devastated by the plague, and she is soon caught up in an epic conflict with dark forces that seek to wipe out those with the Sight.

I remember the book as having a pleasing mix of folksy whimsicality and a heartening realism. The quality of prose was excellent, the plot was quite original (despite my inept summary) and the story gripping. I've been intending to follow up on more of his work for a while, but his books aren't exactly crowding out the fantasy racks here. Definitely an author worth trying, I'd say.

One of the things I liked about the book were the musical scores at the end - De Lint is apparently also a musician, with a particular interest in playing and composing in the Celtic folk style.

Thanks for your feedback, I will try and get this book I tried reading The Onion Girl but it was too based in the real world for me. As you say he is a brilliant writer, but this book is pretty grim in nature (physical abuse, drugs etc.) not the kind of story I tend to want to read.

 

[Arwynn]

charles de lint is perhaps my favorite author..maybe it is the mix of folktale and urban myth that makes his books so amazing.. i have to admit some of his books are better than others, but all in all he is very unique in his writing style. the first book of his that i read was a dogeared short story collection called the ivory and the horn. i loved it and searched far and wide for his books and have read every one i could get my hands on.


arwynn

 

[brightcrow]

I'm also a fan of his, and belong to a yahoo group that discusses his and similar work. One mistake I see much to often is someone new to his work starting by reading Onion Girl first. Many, but not all, of his books are set in a fictional town of Newford, with recurring characters that over the course of several books, begin to feel like friends. Most of these books are not specifically in series, but there is backstory developing over time. The Onion Girl is a dramatic and emotionally difficult book for those who know the characters, and a reunion of sorts. Those who don't know the characters generally do not like that book.

Many of his books are standalone, such as Moonheart, The Little Country, Into the Green. Some of the Newford books are independent enough to be read as standalone, such as Memory and Dream, Trader, Spirits in the Wires.

Also, his short stories are tremendously popular, and many of the anthologies are Newford stories.

I began with Dreams Underfoot and Someplace to be Flying, both Newford books, read a standalone or two (Memory and Dream and The Little Country I particularly liked), then continued with the Newford sequence roughly. Actually the sequence is explained on his website, so maybe I should have just gone to bed early and sent you the url instead . Oh well, hope this helped...he's one of the most compassionate authors I've read, very knowledgeable about mythology.

And I finally get to meet him at the fantasy con in October! If I'm lucky I'll catch him and Mary Ann sharing their music too.
http://www.sfsite.com/charlesdelint/
http://www.sfsite.com/charlesdelint/

 

[Arwynn]

i *loved* someplace to be flying.. the crow girls are so rad! i agree with what you said about onion girl being confusing if you havn't read his other books.. i think that is why i like charles delint books though.. everybook is somehow connected, or most anyways.. so many authors books are so disconnected from eachother. if i fall in live with a character i want to hear more about them..see where their lives go..i can do this with delint books.. thanks for your words brightcrow

 

[rune]

I've managed to get my hands on Memory and Dream, and hoping it's more enjoyable than the Onion Girl

 

[rune]

I've finished Memory and Dream and once again I can agree Lint writes strong, belieavable characters. But not enough magic to his stories for me and I don't care for the abusive theme that runs through the story

 

[rune]

I was looking for info about his new book The Hour Before Dawn. Nothing on his website, found this info at my other resources site http://www.ffbooks.co.uk/c2/c14008.htmAnyone read it yet?

 

[GOLLUM]

Not read that Rune. I've read little of De Lint's work, mainly because I'm not a huge fan of the Urban fantasy although I agree with the other members, his prose is very good, a talented writer IMO.

 

[sanityassassin]

I've read a couple of them although cant remember what they were called had a hunt for others a few years ago and couldn't find anymore and forgot about him his books where not too bad

 

[Brys]

I've just finished the Onion Girl, and it's one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read. The characterisation was spot on, and it's one of the few novels with a happy ending that I actually like. It was an incredibly dark, depressing novel overall - a very realistic one, but with an undercurrent of hope. de Lint's an excellent writer as a well, which certainly helps, and I think the structure worked very well.

The Onion Girl is a dramatic and emotionally difficult book for those who know the characters, and a reunion of sorts. Those who don't know the characters generally do not like that book.

I guess I'm a bit different then - the Onion Girl was the first de Lint I've read, but I still found it an emotionally and dramatically difficult book. De Lint got the characters across very well - I had the feeling that there was more to see - as I did when reading Mieville's the Scar - but reading the other Newford stories didn't feel like it was a prerequisite to enjoying this at all. In fact, the brilliance of the Onion Girl has made me decide to explore de Lint much more fully, more than I think would have been the case if I started with another novel of his.

but this book is pretty grim in nature (physical abuse, drugs etc

That's one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. There are very few novels which have a generally positive tone, and aren't humorous novels, that are very good IMO.

 

[WizardofOwls]

Rune, if you liked Into the Green, then you might also like Wolf Moon, The Harp of the Grey Rose, and The Riddle of the Wren. Both of these are high fantasy rather than urban fantasy. Other than these, you are likely to be disappointed with Charles. Just about everything else that he has done is urban fantasy. I LOVE urban fantasy, so he is one of my favorite writers!

 

[Jay]

I would recommend ( if you can find a copy) The Newford Stories which takes from 3 other de Lint collections, Dreams Underfoot, Moonlight and Vines, and The Ivory and the Horn. It's 800 pages of Charles de Lint!

 

[rune]

Ive not got another Lint book in ages. Have so many others I need to get that my library loans have wittled a bit.

 

[davidnw23]

I've read several of his books, they are very good by and large. davidnw

 

[Dala]

This thread doesn't look too busy, but I can't say enough about Charles de Lint. Haven't read all, or nearly enough of his, but heres a couple I have read and are in my top 10 all timers:

Someplace to be Flying - Can't say enough about this book...
Memory and Dream - most re-read book in my collection
The Little Country - takes a bit of getting used to, but having visited Cornwall, where it is set, you get the majic of it.

 

[Brys]

I've just noticed the Emerald City reviews of Charles de Lint's novels: http://www.emcit.com/reviews.php#D

And what really surprised me was this:

And this is why, Canadian special issues notwithstanding, I have given up reading de Lint. His stories are just too nice

The only Charles de Lint novel I've read so far is The Onion Girl. As such, I cannot possibly agree with this statement. The Onion Girl may have had a relatively happy ending and a couple of nice people in it, but it was also incredibly dark, disturbing, well written and powerful. Almost the opposite of what is suggested by this.

Which novel (other than the Onion Girl) would you say is the best of his? He's written a lot, and it's hard to tell, and I'm looking for a novel rather than short story collection, but it can be utterly bewildering trying to work out which I'll enjoy most (as nowhere seems to do reviews of more than just a few of his novels).

 

[WizardofOwls]

My absolute favorite book by De Lint is Moonheart, which is the first of a duology, the second book being Spiritwalk. These books are outside the Newford setting, but are incredible. Other favorites include Greenmantle, Yarrow, The Wild Wood and Jack of Kinrowan.

I have almost all of De Lint's books. I still need a few (Svaha, Riddle of the Wren, The Fair in Emain Macha) and can't wait to get my hands on them! I just bought Widdershins, but I'm putting off reading it (teasing myself! )

 

[murphy]

There are a few of his books I don't have, mostly the later ones. Just received Widdershins in the mail today. Will be high on my TBR pile. I really like his writing. The first one I read was Moonheart, which while I enjoyed it very much, I think I like his Newford stories best.