Customer Reviews

Moonheart

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was very impressed with De Lint's novel, Moonheart.Now take a great portion of celtic and native american myths, stir in unrelenting suspense and just hint of Xfiles style conspiracy and you have the making of modern fantasy thriller.De Lint's has a great talent in bringing ancient magic into the modern world in such a way that you can help from turning pages in eager anticipation. I also love his characters like the reformed biker, Blue, Sara Kendall, and RCMP cop, John Tucker.De Lint knows how to turn the screws as he puts his heroes through the ringer as they battle a endless onslaught of monsters and dark magic.I look forward to reading his next novel!

i am a huge De Lint fan, but i cannot drag myself through Moonheart. this is an early attempt by him to solidify his ideas about celtic and native american mythology and their presence in a modern setting, and for that perhaps it was groundbreaking at the time, but after his later books, this is painful to read. the characters are largely flat, though the setting of tamson house is a good and intriguing one. the super secret paranormal branch of the canadian mounties (!) is never made believable or interesting and i kept losing track of the cops' names, which didn't matter as they kept dying anyway. anytime he creates a character of a specific ethnicity, the cartoonish stereotyping and deeply labored ethnic dialogue are painful to behold (i.e., the "rasta" man who begins every sentence with "I and I"); the character of keiran with his constant declarations of "NOM DE TOUT!" and "LORD JUMPIN' JESUS!" is annoying beyond endurance -- and furthermore, what is he supposed to be, french canadian or southern gothic with those odd declarations?

the scenes with the native american "manitou" read like bad B westerns written by Carlos Castaneda.

do read De Lint, but don't start here. his later books based in fictional Newford are his best, especially the books that are collected short stories -- they're wonderful. if you want to read one of his early Ottawa-based books, read Jack of Kinrowan which combines two shorter novels into one and which is far, far better done. i'd hate to have someone pick up Moonheart and think that's all there is to De Lint.

In Moonheart, Charles de Lint proves himself to be one of the best urban fantasy authors. This book blends Celtic & Native American folklore with "real" life situations. The narrative grabs ahold of you from the onset and never lets go. The only regret I had was when I reached the last page of the book, and I realized I had reached the end. In all, it is one of my favorite all-time stories, and one that can, and should, be read time and time again without losing its magic or flavor.

This is a charming story with interesting characters - including, incredibly, the great bard Talesien - and a story line that doesn't race, but never drags for a moment. Tamson House and its mysteries are some of de Lint's best, the characters interesting and nuanced (well, mostly - de Lint doesn't seem able to craft a convincing policeman), and the great swooping confrontations between forces of good and evil - and sometimes between good and good - are carried off well. It has everything you can reasonably ask for in a good fantasy novel. Fans of de Lint's later work can safely buy this one without disappointment, and if you've never touched one of his books, this is a nice one-off or a good introduction to an excellent body of work. Seekers of hidden knowledge will find some things of interest here, as well. If you become enamoured of the weirdin discs introduced in this book, be sure to visit his web site and let him know.

After reading Moonheart, I was desperately sorry that I hadn't read any of his books before! There is so much True Magic in his writing; pure enchantment. This book sends shivers of delight and terror down your spine. Definitely my new favourite author of modern fantasy fiction. The characters seem to take on a life of their own, until you could almost believe that they are living and breathing in the room with you. The plot is so compelling that I read it cover to cover in one sitting. I can't think of any other writer to compare Charles De Lint to; he is definitely in a class all his own. I can't wait to read more. After all, who doesn't wish to cross over into Otherworlds? Reading a Charles De Lint book might be the next best thing

Moonheart has been lauded as a modern Urban Fantasy classic. It certainly deserves all the praise it has garnered and more. I was discussing Moonheart with a friend and he asked me who de Lint is like. My response was "he is kind of like an Urban Fantasy version of Robert J. Sawyer." Both Sawyer and de Lint take great strides to create believable characters with deep personality in a fairly contemporary setting. Both also have a tendency to place their stories in Canada and drop in a lot of references to that effect, which can get a bit bothersome at times yet I'm sure other countries get tired of reading about the US as well. And both put out high-quality work regularly.

Moonheart is a much more methodical tale than most Urban Fantasy. You won't see sword-wielding heroines battling vampires astride a motorcycle here. This is more akin to a modern mythology as it weaves Celtic and Native American folklore gorgeously into a contemporary locale. Celtic Bard Taliesin's history is used to amazing effect as de Lint weaves his story around that of Taliesin, the Kendell family, and a great evil that has risen. The opening had me hooked, although it is a bit slow going as de Lint has to include a lot of back story and setup to get where he needed to go. Yet everything works beautifully together from his demon-like creatures to the Ogham type Weirdin divination system one of the characters uses which is amazing in and of itself.

The story centers on Sarah Kendall, a free spirit and Keiran, an apprentice Wizard of sorts, as they gain power and try to uncover the identity of the mysterious evil that is after Sarah and Kerian's teacher Thomas Hengyr who has a deep history with Taliesin. The narrative switches between many characters in the past and present including minors one, which can get tiresome. I could have done with fewer chapters coming from the many police characters that seemed very pointless. de Lint suffers a bit from wanting to give even minor characters more life than they need or should warrant. However, this same affliction will give you a deeper understanding of the main characters and what they must go through. One of my favorite aspects was de Lint's odd Tamson house, which becomes a character of its own as it spans two worlds and houses an array of equally odd characters.

Moonheart is also a rich love story with plenty of action to keep you moving forward. I wish I had found de Lint sooner as I would have probably appreciated him more if he had been my introduction to Urban Fantasy. I give Moonheart 8 out of 10 Hats. I'll definitely be checking out a lot more of de Lint's work in the future. I'd recommend this to anyone in is a fan of mythology melding with the present day.

I had just finished reading Svaha when I picked this up. While I thought the storyline and concepts were great - I was disappointed with the delivery. For the length of the novel I found that the character building was lacking. During the course of reading any given book the reader takes on a concern and interest in what is going to happen to the characters - this book failed to deliver that for me. I felt that this book could have been accomplished in a much shorter version as the depth of character building was not there and thus I found myself quickly skim reading through the text towards the end just to be finished with it. I am not in the slightest put off of Charles de Lint. I still considered this a good read - just not one I would repeat again and the tempo and style of this one just wasn't for me. If you are looking for a book that is fast paced and still offers lots of connection with the main characters - this is not one I would recommend.

This story is bitter sweet. It is set in a modern day city but the otherworld pulls the characters into its magic and danger. The characters revolve around Tamson house, a mystical place where power can take you from our world into the primal forest and back in time. It has plenty of action but also contains love stories and basic truths. I would suggest it for avid teenage readers as well as adults. Moonheart is the type of novel you keep in your library and read again and again. Charles de Lint really has a hold on the inner heart of individuals.

This book interweaves different mythologies with surprising results...and its just---nice---to stop borrowing everything from the Europeans all the time. Its time we became more aware of legends that are here, inherent, as part of the North American landscape. It is a well constructed story as well and keeps you going until the end. The Canadian setting is especially effective. This is the kind of book that may make you look into the subject, like Native American or Celtic mythology, further.

A friend gave me this book with no warning. I started it at 9pm on a Friday night and was still up early Saturday morning. This book scared me witless at points and I still kept reading. I had to finish it. I still go back and reread this one with much pleasure. Not my favorite of his, but high on the list!