He is a favourite of many here. Rather surprisingly, there hasn't been an active thread about him for more then two years.
Anyway, do you people think his Newford novels are better in quality then the rest? Which is your favourite Newford book? Your favourite Newford character?
What are your thoughts about his newest novel, Widdershins?
I've only read one book by him, Memory and Dream, it sayed it was a standalone so I don't know if I should've read anything before it, I found it mediocure. I hear he has written some good ones, but I havn't picked up anything of his since.
Memory and Dream was about a woman who paints pictures and they come to life, and about her abusive art teacher who taught her how to paint them.
de Lint is well-liked, but authors who do primarily contemporary fantasy seem to have a harder time holding the forum's attention, at least until recently.
None of the Newford books, of which "Memory and Dreams" is one, are ever technically exactly standalones. They use recurring characters, themes, and the milieu, with frequently a fair number of cross-references and cameo appearances. That said, a healthy amount of them you can read without having read others. (However, I wish de Lint would clean up his website and map out the plots and characters in relation to one another on it -- it would make things a lot easier, especially as he's been doing them for like thirty years.)
de Lint's style is sort of dreamy, lots of imagery, but contemporary. We've been throwing around the term "lyrical violence" and for some of his work, that term would fit. But while he may explore similar subject matter and reuse characters, building on his own mythology, his books tend to be different types from one another. One might be a mystery or straight out action thriller, another mostly a romance (which is what I'd probably call "Memory and Dreams,") or a psychological drama or a comic adventure. Occasionally he drifts toward horror and dark fantasy. So if you don't like the plot or focus of one book, you might like another. de Lint is very much interested in the intersection of legend with art and music, so if that's not a topic of interest, don't go with the books about the artists and musicians maybe.
One of my favorites is "Moonheart," the first one of his I read. It's sort of a, well epic saga, is maybe what you'd call it. "Memory and Dreams" I mostly liked but thought the ending didn't quite work (and cross references may have had something to do with that.) I have not read "Widdershins" but check out the plot description -- and perhaps put it up here -- and that may give you a clue as to whether it's more to your taste.
I've read two deLint novels and enjoyed both: Memory and Dream and The Little Country.
I absolutely LOVED The Little Country, a beautiful story-within-a-story about Faery and the real world. At times reminiscent of Neil Gaiman, others of Lord Dunsany.
Hey Beleg, I just finished reading Widdershins and wrote about it in the Reading in August thread. It was good, but I was disappointed at how long it took De Lint to wrap things up. I also picked up a book of three short stories by him, about different era's in Newford, that was good but very short.
Moonheart was my first book by him, but my favourite is probably Some place to be flying. And then Trader, then the Onion Girl. Jilly Coppercorn was always my favourite character, what's not to love about her? I have all his novels I think, but not all his short stories, and have been reading them for years. Gotta disagree with Rob B on his being reminiscent of Gaiman, as I would say Gaiman was reminiscent of De Lint
I've been considering exploring other writers with similar themes with very little success. Widdershins' blurb suggests Alice Hoffman, Jonathan Crowley and one other that momentarily escapes me. The feed back here on SFFworld about Little Big put me off it, I've read Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic and it was good but not quite what I was looking for. So any recommendations for De Lint type writers would be welcome from me.
What I love about his books is that it feels as though Newford is a real community, and the problems people have are pretty ordinary, every day ones. But he lifts them up and puts them in such an extraordinary adventure they have to rise to the occasion, or not depending upon their character. And the majority of his protagonists are female, I think it is a real skill writing from one genders perspective if you belong to another.
I can see some people not responding too well to how much of a hippy he obviously is, and just about everyone in Newport is a bohemian sort; and the fact that there is usually some kind of happily ever after, sort of.
Has anyone read any of his horror books? I've only read one or two and they contrast with the Newford/Fantasy stuff quite spectacularly!
Hey Leiali, thanks for the Widdershins review.
Regarding De Lint-lite authors, I'll recommend checking out this great link.
You can read some of the short stories by a few authors mentioned in the list on the same site to get an idea of whether you'll like them or not. Personally, I really like Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Terri Windling and Midori Snyder. Grath Nix's Sabriel also reminded me a bit of De Lint's writing. The Borderland shared universe (created by Windling) has a lot in common with Newford - the bohemian lifestyle, blending of mythical/fantastic elements with mundane everyday events in a very urban setting.
Can't say I have read his horror books but I did read one of his 'sword and sorcery' novella - it was terrible compared to his urban fantasies.
Last edited by Beleg; August 17th, 2006 at 07:37 AM.
I've only read one book by De Lint, Ivory and the Horn. It's a collection of 15 short stories set in the town of Newford. All the stories are quite different in mood--some are more like horror, some are more "normal," and some probe dreamscapes which are downright trippy. But they are all a bit mystical and strange in some way.
I remember in particular one of the more "normal" stories, where a chubby woman becomes anorexic after one of her coworkers teases her about her weight. She starts eating only lettuce and plain popcorn and eventually has to move to an isolated motel to continue her extreme diet, because everyone she knows is telling her to stop. Then she finds an overgrown wishing well in back of the motel...the wishing well is very important to the story but I can't remember how.
Anyway, I didn't like the collection of stories all that much, probably because I hadn't read any of his novels and was unfamiliar with this town and the people in it. It didn't make me want to read any of his other books though. I have to be honest, I found his writing style painfully dull and slow moving.
If you like de Lint, L, then you probably would like Crowley's "Little, Big." Also possibly Mark Helprin's "A Winter's Tale." Those two are a little more formal in style than de Lint, perhaps, but have the same mystic quality and "Little, Big" is very hippie.You might also like Tim Power's "Expiration Date."
James Blaylock writes very differently in style from de Lint, but there is the ordinary people facing weird situations set-up in many of his works, and so you might like some of them. Alice Hoffman doesn't always write fantasy, and can be sort of dour, I suppose; I haven't read a lot of her prodigious output yet. I think Terri Windling, as mentioned, might do as well. She is, I think, a pal of de Lint's and an expert on folklore.
Hm...Will do some investigating then, thanks KatG and Beleg: I might give Little, Big a go first.
I've read a few of his books...The Little Country, The Onion Girl, Tapping the Dream Tree. I know there's a couple more too, but I can't think of their titles. I've enjoyed reading all of them and I especially like the way he adds spiritual elements to his stories.
I also have Moonheart on my TBR pile.
Well I wouldn't mind hearing more about "The Onion Girl" from those who've read it. It's suppose to be a good one.
I've read The Little Country, The Riddle of the Wren, and Forests of the Heart by de Lint, and I enjoyed them all, though I consider Forests of the Heart to be the best of those - it's also the only Newford tale of the lot. I've got several of his books waiting to be read on The Stack, and really should get to another soon. For any curious, I wrote full reviews of The Little Country and The Riddle of the Wren at my blog.
I recently read Moonheart. I thought it was ok. The Onion Girl and The Little Country are still my favorites. I now have Spirits in the Wires and Yarrow on my TBR pile.
Leiali:
You could try Robert Holdstock or Patricia McKillip, they certainly come first to mind.I've been considering exploring other writers with similar themes with very little success. Widdershins' blurb suggests Alice Hoffman, Jonathan Crowley and one other that momentarily escapes me. The feed back here on SFFworld about Little Big put me off it, I've read Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic and it was good but not quite what I was looking for. So any recommendations for De Lint type writers would be welcome from me.
Speaking of De Lint I am currently going back and forth between:
Widdershins
Forests of the Heart
Yarrow
Greenmantle
The Little Country
I think Widdershins stands a cery good chance of making it. What I want is a story featuring characters from Celtic Myth, and a de Lint story which at least mixes the gender of the main characters somewhat, instead of some of his storiies which just feature all-female casts.
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