Sunday, November 29, 2009

Muse and Reverie-Charles de Lint

Muse and Reverie
Charles de Lint
Tor, Dec 8 2009, $25.99
ISBN: 9780765323408

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

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