Eyes Like Leaves [Hardcover]

Charles de Lint (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2010

Magic is already fading in the Green Isles, but it's still a time when myths walk the world and the children of the ancient gods are engaged in one final confrontation. But when legendary creatures wage war, it s the ordinary people who suffer the consequences--unless they, themselves, can find a way to bring an end to the hostilities. The trouble is, not all of them are able to pick a side.

Eyes Like Leaves was written in the days of Moonheart and Charles de Lint's other high fantasy novels. The tale slept like a long-forgotten lover until he recently chose to revisit (and polish) this never-before-published gem.

***

Eyes Like Leaves is a long (100,000 words) never-before-published novel. Our other recent de Lint collections (Woods & Waters Wild, Quicksilver & Shadow) sold out immediately and had unfilled orders for thousands of copies. We expect demand for Eyes to be even stronger, given that it is a novel, and do not plan additional printings to meet increased demand.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

World Fantasy Award–winner de Lint dusts off an enchanting epic fantasy written in 1980 but never published. Magic is fading throughout the Green Isles and the evil Icelord sees an opportunity to impose his will on all who dwell there. A small group of islanders want to waken the Summerlord, but others are conflicted, and just one traitor could spell the end of summer forever. The story progresses glacially at first, but picks up excitement and action in a slow build of tension. In his introduction, de Lint explains that he made only small changes, wanting to honor his original wide-eyed vision. The result is a delightful old-fashioned group quest, and though it occasionally lacks the older de Lint's graceful skill with language, even his nascent poetic style evokes beautiful imagery. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 350 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean; Signed Hardcover edition (February 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596062827
• ISBN-13: 978-1596062825
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One of de Lint's early works finally published, November 13, 2009

By 

Ruth (Idaho Falls, ID USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eyes Like Leaves (Hardcover)

The magic is leaving the Green Isles. The Summerlord Hafarl's staff has been broken, and the Everwinter is coming to blanket the islands in snow forever. To make matters worse, the Vikings are raiding up and down the shore, laying waste to everything in their way. It's up to Puretongue, leader of the dhruides, to weld together the last scraps of the Summerlord's power that can be found in the people to create a defense against Lothan, and bring summer and magic back to the isles.

Eyes Like Leaves is well-paced, and the action scenes flash with energy. Charles de Lint shows signs of the bardic gift in his ability to make scenes come alive, especially the chase scene with the direwolves pursuing the tinker caravan.

While the characters are interesting and detailed, and individual scenes are beautifully written, the plot is oddly flat and lacks originality. This feels like a too-literal retelling of classical Irish mythology, without enough innovation to be fresh or exciting. It seems a little too scripted, with each character arriving just when needed, and advancing the plot in exactly the right direction. While terrible things do happen, there is not a great sense of tension -- just a sense of inevitability.

This book proves to me that talent is not the sole ingredient of success. Eyes Like Leaves is well-written, but I never actually cared about the story. I never felt emotionally connected to the characters. While there is nothing overtly bad about the story, there is little here to merit recommending it above all the other quest fantasy novels that have been published.

Eyes Like Leaves is actually one of the first books Charles de Lint wrote, but it has never before been published. His editor told him that having published two secondary world fantasy novels, and one urban novel, that the next novel he published would pigeonhole him. He put this manuscript on the shelf and published Yarrow instead, putting his feet firmly on the urban fantasy path, a decision that I, and legions of his other fans, are grateful for. He recently reworked Eyes Like Leaves and released it for publication. This is obviously not de Lint at his peak, but there are the glimmers of greatness here that he has realized in his later works. I would recommend this book for fans of Irish mythology and de Lint completionists.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another by An Always Excellent Author, April 11, 2010

By 

Mary A. Axford "Mary of Many Colors" (Atlanta, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eyes Like Leaves (Hardcover)

Title Eyes Like Leaves
Author
Charles de Lint
Rating ****1/2
Tags fiction, fantasy, magick, wizards, evil

Charles de Lint is one of my favorite writers, and one of the creators of the contemporary urban fantasy. Eyes Like Leaves, though, is a novel he wrote before he started the urban fantasy stories, and fits into the high fantasy genre.

Magick is fading from the Green Isles. There has been a balance between Hafarl, the Lord of Summer, and the Winter Lord. Now the Winter Lord is determined to destroy Hafarl and hold the Isles under his reign forever. Tarn, a wizard trained by Puretongue, seeks to find all those touched with Hafarl's magick and bring them to the Summer Lord's aid. The Winter Lord is destroying all of Hafarl's kin he can find. Meanwhile the Viking-like Samarand are destroying villages along the coast. Young Carrie has lost her family to the raiders and has been taken in by a family of tinkers. When Tarn meets her he knows the magick is strong in her. Can Tarn, Carrie, and the few of Haferl's kin who are left save the Summer Lord and keep the Isles from being lost?

de Lint, a consistently excellent writer, shows his mastery again in this work that he put aside for various reasons and has now been published many years after it was written. Eyes Like Leaves is a deeply magickal and spiritual work that is also an excellent adventure.

Publication Subterranean (2010), Edition: Signed Hardcover, Hardcover, 350 pages
Publication date 2010
ISBN 1596062827 / 9781596062825

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story; bad print job, August 3, 2010

By 

Silverglass (Buffalo NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eyes Like Leaves (Hardcover)

Charles Delint is an accomplished and gifted writer. The story itself was well done and intriguing, the characters real and compelling. I am concerned about the publisher's quality control, however. In the copy I borrowed from my public library, there were errors on literally every page, missing or misplaced punctuation, extra spaces where they weren't needed; in a number of places, a word obviously meant to replace another word appeared with the original word "stuck" to it. It was incredibly distracting to read and does a huge disservice to an excellent author.