Customer Reviews

Greenmantle

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...well, this and Yarrow, really. While de Lint's Newford books are BY FAR his best, they are a little confusing to jump into headfirst. Greenmantle and Yarrow provide the reader with a great way to understand the modern master of urban fantasy. The characters are warm, vivid, and funny. The settings are lush, and eerily familiar at times (as though you really LIVE the tale).

The order that I would personally recommend reading de Lint books: Yarrow, Greenmantle, Memory and Dream, Dreams Underfoot, Trader (this one is a little hard to find, but it's totally worth it) , The Ivory and The Horn, Someplace to be Flying (my own favorite), Moonlight and Vines, Forests of the Heart, anf finally The Onion Girl (which is basically the all-star Newford book, so make sure you read the others first, or you won't know ANY of the characters). There are other books of his, that I have never been so enamored of; The Moonheart books, Svaha, The Little Country, etc.

If you are an aspiring writer, and are prepared to drop a few bucks, get Triskell Tales. It's a wonderful way to see the way a witer can develop in terms of style and story. Also, check out his new collaboration with Charles Vess, Seven Wild Sisters.

I am an avid fan of the work of Charles de lint, having read the Moonheart and Newford series, The Little Country and Into the Green. I read Greenmantle after reading de lints previous highly acclaimed works, but I found it hard to finish. It seemed as though de lint had two unfinished stories to start with: Valenti and his mob relations, and the mystery of Greenmantle and Mally, and simply combined the two together in an attempt to let each story carry the other along. It works, but not as well as it should have. Both stories contained enough conflict and subplotting within eachother, that I began to get the feeling if I read every other chapter, I'd be walking away with just as much as if I read it straight through. If Greenmantle put it's focus on _one_ of the two stories, it would have been, in my opinion, more enjoyable to read. Towards the end of the book, I felt no ties with any of the characters that I'd had with Izzy of Mem&Dream, or Sara and Pukwudji in Moonheart.(try as I might have with Mally, one of the most intriguing and enjoyable characters of GM, that deserved more of a story behind her) This is not to say I was completely disenchanted with Greenmantle. There were parts of the book I really liked, particularly the focus it put around the mythological Pan, and the final fight Ally makes for the Green Man. However, I don't regard this book as one of de lint's best. I think if you're a hard core de lint fan, then you'll probably cherish the spot on your bookshelf where it stands (if not hunt me down first for disagreeing), but personally I've read far better from him.

Charles deLint is the master of urban fantasy, and Greenmantle is one of his finest works. I was thrilled to find out about the re-release of this book (as my old copy disappeared)! A mother and daughter trying to rebuild, a man trying to disappear, a horned girl who does, and a village that doesn't exist are all woven together with deLint's deft touch. Magic, mystery, action and heart can all be found in this wonderful book. He also adds exporations of folklore and religion, but is never heavy- handed. Required reading for any collector of deLint, or lover of urban fantasy.

I am overjoyed to see this immanent re-release. DeLint has an ability to merge mundane 'reality' and the realm of Faerie that is absolutely unmatched. This novel is one of his best; an amazing tale of fantasy, suspense, magick, and the power of Nature. The story is of a mother and daughter who have just moved into a very rural area of Canada, the man down the road whose past is threatening to catch up with him, an elusive elfin girl, and an ancient horned Mystery in the woods. Note: For Wiccans and Pagans, this is one of the finest explorations of the Horned God bar-none (and DeLint's not even Pagan).

As usual, Mr. DeLint brings us a tale full of engaging characters and modern-day myth. He artfully conveys what happens to diversity, Magick, and people for whom that Magick is a way of life when attempts are made to stamp out that diversity and Magick. The world is large and there is room for wonder, mystery, and ALL faiths. Mr. DeLint renews my faith in human nature with each book he writes.

Greenmantle is a beautiful story, a hidden story. It is a story of love, murder, revenge, loss, past mysteries, resolution, friendship and the fantastic. This is the first work of Charles De Lint's that I have read, and I must say that he will be put on my list of must read author's after this wonderful book.

Greenmantle is the tale of "a mystery," a being that exist in our world, yet lives in a parallel version of that same world. He is a stag, a greenman, Pan, a goat, etc. Alice Treasure and her mother, Frankie, move to a very small country town out in the woods after winning the lottery. Ali discovers the sound of pipes playing in the woods and is changed by the sound.

Mix this story with a mafia story and what you have is Greenmantle. I never thought that I would be a fan of any story about the mafia. Just never been in to that genre, but De Lint works the mafia into a work of fantasy and it really works! What you get is a wonderful story with a strong human touch and beautiful, well developed characters, set in the real world, yet a fantasy world at the same time.

De Lint's writing style reminds me a lot of Neil Gaiman's. Common themes can be drawn between the two writers. Both are able to create a totally believable fantasy world within the modern world in which we live. Both focus on relationships between people and the power that is in those relationships. Both take ordinary people and make them into their own kind of heroes. Gaiman has a slight edge over De Lint, but that should not take anything away from De Lint. De Lint knows how to write a page turner that doesn't just have a driving plot (numerous plots at that), but he knows how to write well. He always chooses the right words and really makes this book an enjoyable and moving experience.


The cover art is wonderful and is done by David Bergen. Nice stuff.

Favorite line of the book: "I've been all the way there and back again - just like Bilbo."

This book was half mafia crime drama and half fantasy. It would have been a better book if it concentrated more on the fantasy than the crime element. The way the paths of the characters in the book crossed was also kind of hokey. The book was'nt bad, it just was'nt all that great either.

Meet Mally, of the tangled hair and tiny horns, who's not important enough to be a "mystery" -- she's just a "secret." Mally's friend, Ali, a girl who is drawn into the magic of the forest where she meets the Mystery and finds that all things do not need to be explained -- some are just to be experienced. And Ali's mother, Frankie, who becomes a believer in magic -- and in love. Put a Zamfir CD on and settle down for an incredible trip into the magical world of Charles DeLint.

One of the things de Lint does best is dealing with what happens when the everyday (ordinary) meets the magic (extraordinary). In this case, the everyday is Ali, her mom, and Tony. The magic is, of course, Mally, the village, and the mystery - the green man. What happens next is pure de Lint magic.

This was the second de Lint book I read after I discovered him, the first being "Yarrow", and it's still one of my favorites. I come back to it again and again when I feel the need for a little magic in my life... something de Lint does extraordinarily well!

Having read everything I can get my hands on by Mr. DeLint, I can't say that this is my absolute favorite, but the story is still a delight. I was elated to see that it was being re-issued; while I adore his more adult, angst-ridden tales, sometimes it's nice to return to the innocence and mystery of youth. One more jewel in the crown of the high king of urban fantasy....