Charles de Lint
December 22, 1951
Incredibly, this writer became one of my favorites after I had read only one of his books! I have several of his novels, but have yet to read them, because of my immense TBR pile...
The book I read is titled Dreams Underfoot, which is shown below. This is a collection of short stories, all taking place in the fictional city of Newford, somewhere in North America.
This Canadian writer was one of the pioneers (in the 1980's) of one of today's most popular genres -- urban fantasy. The short stories mentioned above all have elements of magic and the supernatural in them. I would say that they also fit in the genre of magic realism. They were all spellbinding, and not only because of the events depicted in each one. De Lint's writing is also poetically beautiful. I sometimes caught myself re-reading a particular passage, just to savor the writing! The cover of Dreams Underfoot is also an unusual one, and so is the title. Since I dislike books that are too close to mundane reality, this one grabbed my attention at once!
Dreams Underfoot
(Newford Series)
Charles de Lint
De Lint is not only a prolific writer, having produced several series of novels, as well as novellas, short stories, poetry, and lyrics. He's also a book reviewer for the revered publication, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, which I have read and greatly enjoyed in the past. I really must do so again!
According to the Wikipedia article, he has been influenced by several fantasy writers and artists, including another of my favorites -- the immortal J.R.R. Tolkien. The others are: Lord Dunsany, William Morris, Mervyn Peake, James Branch Cabell, and E.R. Eddison. He has also been influenced by mythology and European folklore.
De Lint has also served as judge for the Nebula Award, which is given each year to writers of the best works of fantasy or science fiction published that year, the World Fantasy Award, an international prize given to "authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy" (from the Wikipedia article), and the Theodore Sturgeon Award, given to the author of the best science fiction story in English that year.
These are the series penned by this tremendously prolific writer: Moonheart, Cerin Songweaver, Jack of Kinrowan, Newford, and Wildlings. His stories have also been featured in many anthologies.
He was nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, for Moonheart (1985), Trader (1998), and Forests of the Heart (2001). He has been nominated for many other awards, as well.
Here are some books from
the Newford series that
I own and want to read!!
Memory & Dream
Charles de Lint
The Onion Girl
Charles de Lint
Tapping the Dream Tree
Charles de Lint
Widdershins
Charles de Lint
Sources of Information
Online Links
Sounds like someone that I should read. Though I read a lot of this stuff in the 1980s somehow I missed Charles de Lint. He sounds like he was very innovative and influential.
ReplyDeleteHey, Brian!
DeleteOh, I think you would DEFINITELY enjoy de Lint!! He's not only very inventive, but also has a very polished, poetic style. I really think his work should also be classified as "literary fiction", because the writing is absolutely...well, alluring, I would have to say!
Funny, I never heard about him in the 80's, either. But one day not that long ago, I was browsing at Border's (SOB...), and saw this book. The cover really intrigued me, so I bought the book -- on impulse. And I could NOT put it down. This despite the fact that de Lint did throw a few "F-bombs" along the way! Not that many, really, but I do DETEST that word! And yet, I just HAD to keep on reading!!
So I certainly recommend that you pick up one of his books and get into it! Hope you do!
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting!! :)