Mini-Review: Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint

I’ve said it often and I’ll say it again – I really like the writing of Charles de Lint and I think it’s a shame that he’s not discussed more in the online circles I follow. I find his prose to be an ideal expression of mythical feeling in the modern world as it verges on poetry at times. De Lint’s form of Urban Fantasy is to me the standard that all should be reaching for, and I love how it doesn’t fall into the trap of some ‘badass’ supernatural person violently realizing their dominance over some other supernatural entity (good or evil).

 

Someplace to be Flying (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) is set in de Lint’s made up city of Newford and features the interaction of Native American types of mythos interacting with the modern world. De Lint’s approach is great – the writing at the beginning of the book feels rather mundane and uninspired. Everything changes when the two main protagonists come into contact with something strange and otherworldly that literally transforms everything about their lives. De Lint’s writing shifts at this point to a more magical, mythical and poetic prose that follows the characters’ journey into a deeper part of world around them that they had no idea about.

 

 
Someplace to be Flying really is a journey on many fronts, possibly even an epic journey, though it will always fall squarely in the urban/mythic fantasy classification (for good or ill). The two main protags, one a young man from the streets with an atypical nice side and the other a reporter who finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, journey into the unknown mythic world around them as they predictably fall in love. There are several parallel journeys – two sisters seeking freedom and reunion, a storyteller looking to his past and future, a trickster god seeking a power to remake the world, and others. Through this all is the powerful theme of family and belonging, though not in a traditional sense.

 

Someplace to be Flying is set in the early 1990s and it will likely feel dated in some places, though it does have the underpinnings of modern urban life – email and even mention of cell phones. However, most of the book takes place with a timeless, if distinctly modern feel of the old interacting with the new.

 

Every time I read a de Lint book I think that I need to read more of them. And that is the case again here.

 

Review: Eyes Like Leaves by Charles de Lint

Often after years have passed and an author has gained their degree of fame, notoriety, and respect, their earlier work is pushed aside to gather dust by their later, more iconic work. And sometimes some of that early work never gets published in the first place. Eyes Like Leaves by Charles de Lint (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) was completed in 1980 and de Lint’s fourth book – it was never published when his editor bluntly pointed out that if Eyes Like Leaves was published de Lint would forever be branded as a second-world fantasy writer. de Lint had already developed a love for his trademark brand of contemporary fantasy, so he decided that his next book needed to reflect that love and Eyes Like Leaves was shelved indefinitely – incidentally, Yarrow (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound) was the book that ended up being published in its place.

Eyes Like Leaves tells the story of dueling Gods – the summer god versus the winter god – through human pawns. The world is directly analogous to the British Islands, with a distinctive Celtic feel complete with Viking raiders and the displaced and nearly extinct Pict-ish peoples and elves. Tarn is the young wizard, Puretongue the wizened mentor, and Carrie the one with the potential to save the world. Creatures of the Winterlord stalk the land, magic is fading from the world, and the Summerlord the underdog.

Eyes Like Leaves feels both old and new – in many ways it is yet another Tolkien-spawn that so populated the fantasy of its day. Yet it also feels more real – the gods flawed and even the good guys are cruel. The people are truly human – they are not fantasies, but actual people caught up in what we would consider fantasy. And while the Celtic and Norse influences dominate, in typical de Lint fashion, it’s combined with Native American-style shape-shifting.

The almost poetic and reverent writing that I so love about de Lint is only hinted at in this early work – things feel raw and unpolished compared to his later writing. de Lint intentionally resisted the temptation to revise and update this manuscript – he felt it was important to honor and remain true to his nearly 30-year younger self, a man in an entirely different place in his life with a different message to send. The younger generation in Eyes Like Leaves gets pounded on by the gods – definitely the tale of a younger man who feels the world is out to get him.

In all honestly, the whole of the book simply feels unremarkable. The story is good, if a bit familiar. The characters are worth following, though a bit cliché. The world and its magic are both clever and tired. This is far from de Lint’s best work. But none of that matters all that much.

The greatest value of Eyes Like Leaves is probably in its story – not the story within the pages, but the story of the pages themselves and how they came to be. It’s a glimpse backwards in time, the view of a great writer before he was great. This story will be packaged a high-quality limited edition that Subterranean Press has become known for – by book lovers for book lovers. de Lint’s books are hugely popular at Subterranean, so this one will likely sell-out early and become something of a collector’s item. If you are so inclined, it’s unlikely the words of this review have influenced you one bit, but if you are the fence, hopefully I provided a nudge one way or another. 6.5/10

Review: Medicine Road by Charles de Lint

On a recent morning I found myself in the desert outside of Phoenix, Arizona – a place where development meets the desert with a view most would consider desolate. I enjoyed the temporary solitude, the cactus wren, scurrying lizards, and the covey of Gambel’s Quail with the adorable babies in tow before I turned back to the construction site I was inspecting. Over the weekend my son and I enjoyed a quite hike into a canyon outside of Flagstaff that defies the stereotype of an arid Arizona where I respectfully patted the biggest of the ancient trees I passed (so did my 2-year old son). The outdoors has always called to me, and the desert-mountain lands of Arizona could rightly be described as my church.

As someone who has always found magic in wilderness, particularly places that haven’t experienced such a heavy hand from modern man, I find that remarkably few books I read capture this feeling. Not only does Medicine Road by Charles de Lint capture this magic (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound), but its Arizona setting includes places I’m familiar with, bringing it even closer to heart.

The faeries of the world all seem to live in English moors, Scottish highlands, or Irish bogs – at least they do if you read a lot of ‘traditional’ fantasy. In Medicine Road de Lint reveals a distinctly American faerie land, a spirit world just beyond reach, and shape shifters living among us. This feels both fresh and genuine while broadening the often limited scope of fantastic literature, and intimately connecting with me.

At its heart, Medicine Road is a love story – a mythic love story featuring a shape shifter with a deadline seeking love to avoid the fate of returning permanently to his animal form. Along for the ride are is a long-time friend who will share his fate, even more ancient shape shifters with their own agendas and a pair of twin sisters, traveling folk musicians, with their own past experiences with the spirit world.

de Lint executes the story with his trademark mystical feel of a world where the magical lies around every corner, just out of reach of the majority of people, but easily sensed by those who take the time. In this Medicine Road feels like a modern telling of ancient folk tale – a folk tale that is largely unknown due to its origins in Native American lore. At this level it connects deeply – who hasn’t struggled with love? Who hasn’t seen vindictive and pointless feuding affect that love? Who hasn’t struggled with accepting the person they love as the person that they are (though admittedly, most guys aren’t literally dogs which shows just how sly de Lint’s humor can be).

This new edition of Medicine Road gives fans and readers alike a chance at reading a great novel that was previously only available as a pricey limited edition. Included are some wonderful illustrations by Charles Vess. At 186 pages, it’s also a wonderfully short novel – quick, enjoyable, and touching in a way that few books attain. Not all good novels need to be downers, and I don’t feel I’m revealing too much to say that the warm and fuzzy ending of Medicine Road just feels right.

In short, I cannot recommend Medicine Road highly enough – though please take note that due to the place I am in the world, it reached me at an exceptionally personal level. I’ve been awed by the writing of de Lint in the past and haven’t read him in some time, and now I feel that it would be a terrible shame to go as long before I read him again. 9.5/10

The Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint

The Riddle of the Wren is the third de Lint novel I have read – the first two being Forests of the Heart and The Little Country. De Lint seems to have two ‘styles’ of writing that are better defined by when he wrote rather than what he wrote. His earlier books, such as The Little Country and The Riddle of the Wren (which I believe is his first book), are stand alone and not quite as well written as his later work. Much of his later work are part of a loose ‘series’ centered in the fictional city of Newberry. While these novels are stand-alone, they are set in the same place and have some overlapping characters and places (possibly events as well, but I don’t know since I’ve only read one of the Newberry books). Anyway, on to the review…

The Riddle of the Wren is a difficult book to summarize. The setting is best described as earth-like, or perhaps more specifically, pre-industrial England/Scotland-like. Much of the inspiration is from Celtic myths centered in the British Isles, and a majority of the book is set in other, parallel worlds after typical Faerie myths.

The protagonist of the book is 17-year old Mindy, living with her father who runs the local inn. Her mother died when she was very young, the father is abusive, and society is unkind (an understatement) to women in general. Mindy is plagued by dark dreams, that are more real than they seem. To not give anything away, I’ll just say that she leaves on an adventure that crosses the boundaries of the world and brings her into contact with a few companions, we see her grow, we meet good and evil and see some overlap of the two.

While the story is unique and I haven’t read anything quite like it, the parallels to Tolkien are rather glaring. De Lint and Tolkien are both inspired by Celtic myth, so it is difficult to know how intentional it was versus being similar due to the same source material. But, there is a ‘Gandalf’ character and an ‘elvish language’ along side of some other similar creatures.

Parallels aside, The Riddle of the Wren is a very enjoyable novel with a story that is not quite like anything else I have read. The quality of writing is good, but nowhere near as good as de Lint’s later novels. In short, I recommend the book and encourage everyone (especially people interested in celtic music) to read a novel by de Lint. On my rating 10-scale where 10 is an unsurpassed novel (I’m not sure I’ve ever read a 10), and 5 is a take-it-or-leave-it novel that I probably wouldn’t reread, and anything less than 5 is not something I’d likely recommend, The Riddle of the Wren rates a 6-6.5. In comparison, it is approximately the same as I rated The Little Country, while Forests of the Heart is more like 7.5 or even 8.

Related reviews: The Little Country

The Little Country by Charles de Lint

Sometime in early 2005 I had the luck of picking up a Charles de Lint novel at used bookstore when an unexpected layover happened. The book was Forests of the Heart, and it was really excellent, so de Lint went on the list of authors to keep a watch out for. At a more recent trip to a used bookstore, I scored a few old deLint novels and threw them on the Stack (yes, capitalizing the Stack is necessary due to its size and strange dominance over much of my life). Last year as I waited for an anticipated book to arrive in the mail I needed a book to read, and grabbed The Little Country.

The Little Country is set in Cornwall, England in modern times (it was written in the early nineties, so a couple references in the book may seem dated, but this has no impact on the story). Within the novel is another story (classic play within a play sort of thing) that is set around 1900, but the exact timing isn't clear or really important.

The central character is Janey Little - a moderately popular musician, in her circles, who specializes in older Celtic style music. She is a realistic character with plenty of flaws, and very likeable. An old book, with much mystery about it is discovered in the attic, and the story is off. This book has been long desired by a secret society with ambitions to take over the world (yes that is it, but it's not nearly as cheesy as it sounds). The book is special, even magical and the center of many problems about to be faced by Janey, her grandfather, best friend, and fresh off the boat, former lover. Yep, there is a traditional love story buried in here, but those who don't go for romances will still enjoy the story.

The story within the story follows another female central character, and is altogether more fantastical in nature, but still grounded in a world where magic has moved on. There are witches, smalls, and faeries. In the end you know the stories are going to come together, and they do - though both could really stand on their own with deLint's skill at telling a captivating story.

In the end, I enjoyed The Little Country quite a bit. I suppose it would be 6-7 on my 10-point scale where 5 is a neutral, take-it or leave-it novel and 10 is unsurpassed. It wasn't quite as good as Forests of the Heart, but I will probably read it again one day. I continue to be amazed and entertained by de Lint's ability to take old tales, myths, and legends and relate them to the modern world and human nature. Another plus is his ability to create real, believable characters and his skill at writing realistic and likeable women. All the de Lint novels I have read feature female characters at the center. And finally, music lovers should love deLint as music plays a key role in his writings and form the backbone of his stories. Any music lover will appreciate it, but anyone with a like or love of traditional style Celtic music absolutely must read de Lint.

Related reviews: The Riddle of the Wren