Customer Reviews

Muse and Reverie

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Charles de Lint's newest - thirteen lovely little short stories from the master of urban fantasy. de Lint's writing is so compelling that you just might believe. A comic-strip artist working on a strip about a fairy named Diesel, finds said fairy standing on her drawing table and pointing out her mistakes. An artist, lost in the woods for fifteen years, suddenly appears and then disappears again by painting a portal on the wall of a magic cave. Two crow girls get jobs as elves at the mall at Christmastime. Many of the characters in the stories will be familiar to de Lint readers as this collection is set in Newford, his semi-fictional city somewhere in North America. If you like your urban fantasy gentle and whimsical, as opposed to dark and gritty, you owe it to yourself to read something by Charles de Lint. He is one of the authors on my perpetual list; I haven't finished reading his extensive list of published works, and I always keep my eyes open for new books as well.

The thirteen Newford tales all appeared in other collections between 2001 and 2005, but never together. In fact none appeared in the same anthology with several different publishers offering Newford stories as part of various author compilations and one tale (A Crow Girls' Charismas) was an online entry. All are super, size matters as the best shorts are the longer ones; like "The Butter Spirit's Tithe", "Riding Shotgun" and "Da Slockit Light" as the key characters of each come across human and inhuman, which in turn enhances the de Lint twist that feels as if the author places O'Henry and Bret Harte in the Twilight Zone. The best read is "The Hour Before Dawn"; this well written compilation is Charles de Lint at his best as he leaves his fans to Muse and Reverie the impact of placing "The World in a Box".

Harriet Klausner

Although I'd already read many of these stories in the original publications, I was happy to find them collected in this volume. Visiting Newford through De Lint's writing is always a treat.

And this one is absolutely no exception. I've got about 20-30 de Lint books and I just love the ones that are about Newford! Jilly, Sophie, and the gang are all represented delightfully (there are people not directly mentioned or just have cameos but you know they're there just the same). And, the Crow Girls are the best - I can never get enough stories of them. De Lint has been my favorite author for a long time and all of his books are great - I keep everyone I buy because I know I'm going to reread them.

I am a huge fan of Charles de Lint's work, and this book does not disappoint. This collection of Newford stories has it all - sadness, laughter, music, life, love, death, cats... and some of our favorite characters - the irrepressible Crow girls, Jilly - and some less familiar characters that are so enjoyable to get to know.

My favorite story is "Riding Shotgun". It focuses on the idea that you CAN have second chances, but maybe those second chances aren't what you think they'll be...

A definite must for the de Lint fan, and a good introduction to those new to his work.

Once again, Mr. de Lint causes us to lose sleep while we lovingly read each story. This book has it all; Jilly, a ghost, Hellboy and Meran. "A Crow Girls Christmas" is worth the price of the book alone. The visual of the Crow Girls dressed up as Santa's elves and allowing themselves just one small candy cane every five minutes was enough to make me laugh till my belly jiggled like a bowl full of jelly. Best Christmas prezzy I ever gave myself.

This is a collection of short stories that de Lint wrote from 2001 to 2005. All have been published before, but most people won't have read them all unless you follow his work obsessively. I'd only read two out of the thirteen stories.

As usual, all are delightful. This collection is all Newford stories, which are always my favorites. There are some light, fluffy tales, like "A Crow Girls Christmas". But there are also some darker tales, like "Riding Shotgun" and "Dark Eyes, Faith and Devotion", both of which show that sometimes you have to do the right thing, even if it's not the best for you personally. Even "Somewhere in My Mind There Is a Painting Box", which is full of the sparkle of faerie, has a sad, painful edge to it.

Of course, I highly recommend this book. It's Charles de Lint!

De Lint's book Muse and Reverie makes for an entirely engrossing read- each story will leave you breathless for more! De Lint's descriptions are so realistic and his characters seem so believable. De Lint's narrations and dialogues give the characters unforgettable personalities and leave readers with a sense that these ink-and-paper people really exist somewhere. De Lint takes a reader on an unforgettable journey through the hearts and minds of all his characters, never quite revealing all the secrets but still giving readers tantalizing glimpses into a world beyond their own. Muse and Reverie, like many of De Lint's books, will leave a reader half-believing in the hidden world of the faerie hidden just beneath the surface of the world of humans. I recommend it to everyone who enjoys De Lint's many wonderful works!

I have to tell you I was very disappointed with this last book. Most of the stories were reworked themes I had read too many times before. When a good one just got rolling, it ended so abruptly it was as though he ran out of time and didn't feel like finishing. After 20 years of joyously reading his novels and short stories, I was shocked by the lack of quality work. Previously I would buy his books as soon as they were released. Now, I may be a little more hesitant. Pity. There are so few truly good authors working I can rely on to provide a consistently good product. Better luck next time.

I really liked this book. Some of the stories are different from the other Newford collections (like the Hellboy story), but it is still a great collection. Highly recommended!