The Harp of the Grey Rose [Hardcover]

Charles de Lint (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

He is the Songweaver, but before he was a master of song he was merely Cerin of Wran Cheaping—a seventeen-year-old orphan raised by a wildland witch. Then he encountered the Maid of the Grey Rose—the lone survivor of the war that devastated the Trembling Lands and the promised bride of Yarac Stone-Slayer, the feared and terrible Waster. The mysterious beauty captured Cerin’s heart, drawing him into a world both dark and deadly, until, armed with only a tinkerblade and the magic of song, he would take on a man’s challenge . . . and choose a treacherous path toward a magnificent destiny. The Harp of the Grey Rose is award-winning fantasist Charles de Lint’s first novel, long out of print—and it hints of the wonderful stories to come.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Charles de Lint is one of the most gifted storytellers writing fantasy today. (Locus) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean Press (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931081875
• ISBN-13: 978-1931081870
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,540,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles de Lint and his wife, the artist MaryAnn Harris, live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. His evocative novels, including Moonheart, Forests of the Heart, and The Onion Girl, have earned him a devoted following and critical acclaim as a master of contemporary magical fiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Early De Lint shows only a hint of his potential, August 5, 2003

By 

T. Connor (Idaho, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harp of the Grey Rose (Paperback)

I had seen this title on lists of CDL's work, but it took me several years to find a copy. Having read it, I understand why he let it go out of print, and may be keeping it that way even though a new edition would surely sell. It's not a bad book, but it's very much an immature work compared to his later stuff. It's connected to the Newford stories (it's about the childhood of the harper Kelledy), but the tone is very different. The most striking thing about it is the heavy Lloyd Alexander influence, something De Lint seems to have shed as he developed his own voice. In fact, it's downright derivative, though competent and even promising. It straddles, a bit awkwardly, adult fantasy and children's literature, and does not have the distinctive complexity of imagination that makes De Lint's mature work so fascinating and unique. For a fan of the mature work, it's not much more than a curiosity; as an introduction to De Lint it barely hints at the brilliance that came later.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great companion to Riddle of the Wren, July 27, 2002

By 

Erin Utz-Darr (Mukilteo) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Harp of the Grey Rose (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book! Its not exactly a sequel to Riddle of the Wren, but set in the same universe, with the same hoary feel to it. Not one of his more well-known books, but I loved it as a kid and still do. Both are a definite must-read if you love old high fantasy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, but I liked it, October 9, 2006

By 

M. Phaneuf - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Harp of the Grey Rose (Paperback)

This was a quick, enjoyable read, but it is readily apparent that this was his first novel. It pulls too heavily from other sources and doesn't have deLint's distinctive voice that make his later stories so spell-binding.