Customer Reviews

Yarrow - A New Tale of Enchantment And Wonder

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was my first De Lint book way back in the 1980's, it is still one of his best to me alongside Moonheart and Memory & Dream.
De lint has a darkness in some of his best books, I'm not horror fan but his works have just enough magic and beauty to not read like a horror book. But they do have a deep and frightening darkness...Caitlin's enemy, the creature that steals her dreams is a brutal monster and there are some very scary scenes in this book.
But in the end the entire tale is soo engrossing I can't put it down. Sadly many of his more recent books lack that depth, or maybe I'm just older and less inclined to be taken in by them..and yet I can still read this book and other older De Lint and be drawn in as before.....
What De Lint does when he is truly inspired can only be called true magic...if you want that kind fo magic read this, Moonheart and Memory and Dream...but be warned they are not for children nor readers who do not like some truly, deeply, dark evil in their books.

The book starts with an interesting question that forms the basis of the plot: Where do writers get their ideas? For the heroine, Cat Midhir, those ideas come from her dreams. So what happens when the dreams stop? That's what "Yarrow" is all about.

I did find the first part a little bit slow. I thought there were too many scene shifts, and introductions to a lot of characters who turned out to be little more than scenery in the end. I felt that these minor characters were developed almost at the expense of some of the other characters who should have been given more space. Case in point: Kothlen. I would have liked to see his character developed more, even in flashbacks, so that when Cat loses him, we don't have to be told how awful she feels; we should be able to feel it for ourselves.

Other than that, de Lint has woven a wonderful story. I liked Tiddy Mun, Cat's little gnome friend, and the villain, Lysistratus, was deliciously formidable. I highly recommend this book to fans of Charles de Lint who may not have read this earlier piece of urban fantasy.

I loved 'Yarrow'. It's far and away one of the most magical books I've ever read. Being the first de Lint book I've ever read, it's served to introduce me to one of the modern masters of fantasy admirably.

'Yarrow' is exciting and fluid from beginning to end. It'll have you on the edge of your seat. The characters are wholly believable and fascinating people.

De Lint doesn't shy away from darkness and evil characters. The book is littered with profanities, semi-graphic love scenes and gruesome slayings.

It's a good book, it's near the top of my all-time favorites list and I'm so glad that Orb brought it back into print. This is a book that every self-proclaimed fantasy fan needs to read.

Yarrow is one of his less complex stories, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The idea of an author being able to tap into an "otherworld" to gain story material is a notion I really wish were true!

Based upon the author's critical acclaim, I thought I should get around to reading one of his works. And "Yarrow" came billed as a quintessential example of De Lint's writing. Having read it, I am unsure how soon I'll read another.

There is no question regarding the author's ability to write: the opening chapter declares clearly that he is in control of his craft, and can write lyrically and elegantly when he has a mind to. And the magical elements were masterfully done, weaving various threads of lore into the setting of this urban tale with a believability and wonder reminiscent of Tolkien, McKillip or the best faerie tales. The main characters, are real and well cast, and it is impossible not to take delight in Tiddy Mun. Lysistratus exudes an ancient evil.

So where is the problem? It exists for me in the way De Lint has chosen to structure his book (an organization, I am told, common to all his stories). The novel is composed around several diverse characters, not all of whom play a central role in the story. This in and of itself would not put me off--after all, it is a common device used successfully by any number of authors, George R.R. Martin and Robin Hobb to name but two. But De Lint shifts back and forth between his many characters with an alacrity I found disconcerting, often only a couple paragraphs sufficing before he switches to another character, another line of thought. And, at the beginning of the book--the first hundred or so pages--many of these characters and plot threads seem incidental, though I will admit he ties most together before the book's conclusion. Nonetheless, often I found myself just beginning to get into one or another of the characters' tales, only to be abruptly jerked out of their storyline and into another. While I don't require or necessarily desire a linearly constructed tale, I found the structure here intrusive, and more often than not interrupting the flow of the narrative, though, by the end of the book, events flow to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion, one of the best that I have recently encountered.

I additionally found the depiction of the main character, Cat Midhir, as a writer, worn and tired. So many authors, from Stephen King to Thomas Mann have drawn upon this device, that to find it again resurrected here as a means of meditating upon sources of inspiration and the writing process seemed stale and somewhat shopworn. Also, I was not enamored with the author's continual name-dropping, both of other speculative fiction writers that he obviously favors, or rock bands it is implied he listens to. This last habit in particular seemed contrived, serving more to announce the author's own "hipness" than any other purpose, and, at one point, unintentionally reveals De Lint's lack of actual knowledge or involvement with the music he associates himself with--the identification of Led Zeppelin with progressive rock is hardly a reference designed to establish the author's musical credibility.

Nonetheless, there is much here to admire, and the inventiveness with which the author approaches establishing his urban fantasy is imaginative and refreshing. I am sure there are many who, tired of the standard swords and sorcery, will find this book both original and enjoyable. And, if the author's abrupt and peripatetic style of composition is not distracting, you will certainly discover worlds of wonder and richness. However, personally I prefer a story with a bit more meat on the bones, and without the ribs showing.

Perfect. Can De Lint write a bad book? As per usual, he starts out with many, seemingly unconnected plotlines and weaves them together seamlessly. Yarrow combines beautifully written fantasy with the horror of Lysistratus, and immortal dream-eater; and of course it adds De Lints distinctly modern feel. Only he could blend Harlan Ellison novels, taxi drivers, and the Sex Pistols (SID LIVES! ) together and still have a truly magical and moving novel. You grow to love all of Cat Midhir's friends, even ones that are never introduced, like Kothlen. Chalk the master of Fantasy up for another literary triumph.

This book carries a wonderful blend of charecters from every perspective of the bookworm. You have the bookseller, the adoring fan, the "famous" writter, and even the "fan" from hell who feeds off of the writter's dreams like a parasite. Having met my favorite author I know the feeling of hero worship that one of the charecters go through. I have also worked as a bookseller , and I have also written some things on my web page (poetry) from which people make odd and unfitting observations of who I should be from this writting. The past few years have kept me away from fiction, because of heavy life issues, and now I find that I have been missing out on the wonderful feeling of cuddeling up to a book. Yarrow is just such a novel. No heavy thinking here, wonderful and meaningful charecter interaction, and perhaps the unintentional hurrah for nurturing a fantasy life and balancing such a life with the day to day. De Lint definatly knows how to blend fantasy, reality, horror, and he makes it seem easy.

Lyrical prose. Interesting characters, about whom I always want to know more. Suspense, with an honest, wide-eyed look at Evil, and no hesitation in describing it. De Lint has never hesitated to tell the truth, labeling evil and nurturing hope. I keep De Lint's books close at hand, for those dark and lonely nights. He reminds me of my dreams, and teaches me, again and again, of the power of friendship.

De Lint came quite recommended by those promoting urban fantasy as an alternative to the Tolkienesque, but in truth, this came as quite a disappointment. This story and its characters lack any serious development. In the first eight pages of text, de Lint introduces Caitlin Midhir, Albert Cousins, Peter Baird, Ben Summerfield, Mick Jennings, Becki Bones, Debbie Mitchell, Andy Barnes, Farley O'Dennehy, Stella Sidney, and Rick Kirby. In eight pages, it simply can't be done with any depth. The reader ends up having to write down a list of names with an attribute tacked onto it just to keep them straight. Level of detail problems continue to plague the book, with mentions of rock groups, streets, and authors reading more like name-dropping or list-making than substance. It ends up feeling empty, like the bare bones of a story. I think those recommending this are more in love with the idea of moving beyond the limitations (and imitations) of Tolkien than they are in telling a good tale. In many ways, this is not quite up to the literary standards of Terry Goodkind, who, with all his trite stereotypes, also fails to be a fantasy master, but he's at least a storyteller with excellent pacing.

I picked up Yarrow in the bookstore because I had only read Charles De Lint's short stories in Dreams Underfoot and The Ivory and the Horn. I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the same status in a novel as he does in the short stories.

I was wrong...he kept up his steady, smooth, interict flow and weave a terrific plot.

Blending fantasy and horror with a bit of romance, Yarrow is a wonderful read.