16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good retrospective, but not up to his current quality, December 29, 2008
This review is from: Woods and Waters Wild: Collected Early Stories, Volume 3: High Fantasy Stories (Hardcover)
Woods and Waters Wild is the third and final book in Charles de Lint's collection of very early work. I started de Lint's work with Dreams Underfoot, and have followed him ever since. Throughout most of that time, his style has been fairly constant. Though he's grown in certain directions, when you pick up a de Lint book, you can pretty sure that it's a de Lint book. Not so with this one. Woods and Waters Wild shows an author learning to write. There are commonalities with the more contemporary works, but there are certain stories that diverge pretty strongly.
The book is broken up into sections, and de Lint himself states that "the stories collected under 'Pastiches', [were] a little painful for [to] reread", and yeah, they were. They really were. Luckily, the book improved after that. Once you get through the pain that is "Pastiches", you move on to the "Angharad" section. These stories were interesting to revisit, as they were the seeds that his later book Into the Green grew from. Unlike the earlier section, you could tell that there was really something here... something good. Ultimately, it proved to be enough to make a good novel, but not to become a series. It was interesting to revisit.
The section Dennet and Willie contains two fairly predictable, but not very satisfying, stories about two characters. The characters are pretty basic, but not bad. The stories twist around a bit, but to a reader who is familiar with de Lint's more mature work, they won't stand up. They were diverting, but not very masterful... which is unsurprising because he was not yet a master when they were written.
Then, we get to meet Thomas the Rhymer and, in many ways, get to read the stories that might have been. These stories are inspired by classic folk ballads and read the way that Charles Vess draws. If you know the songs, the twists, alignments and departures are fascinating. If you don't know the songs, the stories serve as excellent introductions. These stories are wonderful. They may not be as well crafted as the current work, but are as good as some of the stories that appear in Dreams Underfoot. Part of me wishes that there had been more of these stories to read, but the other part recognizes that by giving them up, we got Newford... and that's a good trade.
The remaining five stories are more like the de Lint I was expecting. Each story is well written and stands on its own. Though some of them are strangely incomplete and plot-driven (like the random bear in "The Fane of the Grey Rose"), they are enjoyable and make a good read on a cold winter night. Some are unique, like "A Kingly Thing", which pulls the reader along a destined path following a similarly-pulled young protagonist. Some, like "Wood and Waters Wild" are a simple update of a fairly classic and common myth, good but not great. Then, lastly, there are the two that should really have been expanded into novels of their own. "The White Road" would have made an excellent full-length travelogue/coming of age story. It's a good short story, but could have been an incredible novel. Similarly, "The Graceless Child" is about honesty, truth and decisions. The characters are interesting and come alive in the way that characters in later stories do. I wish that they had been given more of a chance to bloom.
So, in a nutshell, you may find an acorn. However, were this book to be in a nutshell, I'd have to say that you'd enjoy it more as a retrospective and a view into a writer learning to write. If you're expecting the depth and skill that de Lint is currently capable of, you'd be disappointed. However, if you already know and like his current work and want to see the path he took getting here, it's well worth picking up.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
True Urban Fantasy, March 11, 2011
This review is from: Woods and Waters Wild: Collected Early Stories, Volume 3: High Fantasy Stories (Hardcover)
More of Charles De Lint's early stories compiled for the reader. This author was/is incredibly prolific and one of the originators of Urban Fantasy. Not the flood of female vampire hunter quasi-porn novels that have assailed the market lately, although I suppose it's appropriate they have nicked the term because most of us never really liked it that much to begin with, preferring to leave genre ghettos behind and return all fiction to the mainstream shelves where it belongs. Anyway, if you are a fan of some of the best work in fantasy, mainstream fantasy, interstitial or mythic fiction, or whatever you wish to call it, you can't do better than De Lint, with his terrific characters trying to cope with events that are often outside their control. Long may he reign.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
