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World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Onion GirlA brand-new installment in the Newford saga, the World Fantasy Award-winning series of urban fantasy fiction by a master of the form.Charles de Lint's urban fantasies, 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. At the heart of his work is the ongoing Newford series, of which this is the latest volume.The city of Newford could be any contemporary North American city . . . except that magic lurks in its music, in its art, in the shadows of its grittiest streets, where mythic beings walk disguised. And its people are like you and me, each looking for a bit of magic to shape their lives and transform their fate.Now, in this latest volume, we meet a bluesman hiding from the devil; a Buffalo Man at the edge of death; a murderous ghost looking for revenge; a wolf man on his first blind date; and many more. We're reunited with Jilly, Geordie, Sophie, the Crow Girls, and other characters whose lives have become part of the great Newford myth. And De Lint takes us beyond Newford's streets to the pastoral hills north of the city, where magic and music have a flavor different but powerful still.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.… (more)
User reviews
Newford is a special
Like any anthology, the material varies in quality. Some are brilliant stories with fully realized characters, while some are slight. A few, like ‘Wingless Angels’ and ‘Many Worlds are Born Tonight’ are unusually dark for de Lint- fantasy noir, the grim side that all places have.
I had read over half of the stories in this book before (including the novella ‘Seven Wild Sisters’, which was originally published as a standalone novel), but I enjoyed revisiting the ones I read as much as discovering the ones unfamiliar to me.
Lots of short stories plus a novella called "Seven Wild Sisters".
Unfortunately, this book contains the most annoying story called "The Words that Remain". A young woman who is brilliant at every creative activity she has tried and could have been a professional, singer, artist, musician, or whatever else she turned her hand to, is persuaded by her father to follow him into the hotel business. Instead of finding fulfilment in having creative hobbies, she kills off her creative side so thoroughly that it becomes a ghost haunting the hotel she works in! The protagonists of Charles de Lint's stories are nearly always artists or musicians, either professionals or else working at some dead-end job while following their artistic vocation and trying to make it professionally. He seems to despise anyone in a normal job, and think that they must have no interior life, imagination or spark of creativity. In his mind, if you aren't a professional creative you might as well despair of your life and go and live on the streets, because no-one else counts! It's a pity really, because I do like Charles de Lint's magical and life-affirming stories except for certain niggling irritations, and his books are all staying in my bookcase for a future re-read.
My favourites in the set are "Ten For The Devil", (fancy meeting Robert Johnson here) and "Pixel Pixies". I just love the idea of a hob in a bookshop, I could do with one for my study!
Off to the USA in August and hoping to pick up some more de Lint books while I'm there!
"Freak" and "The Witching Hour" are undeniably grim in tone, while "Big City Littles" is completely charming, and "Seven Wild Sisters," my favorite of the collection, is a satisfying, adventurous modern fairy tale. Other stories in the collection strik e a wide range of moods and tones, and the overall quality is high. This is enjoable reading for a Newford fan, and probably a good introduction for someone not familiar with de Lint's work.