Charles de Lint

Page Updated: 28/10/02

Charles de Lint

The Onion Girl

15 Aug 02

pbk 15 Aug 02

Forests of the Heart

pbk 08 Aug 02

Someplace To Be Flying

Trader

Mulengro

by Charles de Lint

About the Author (Photo (c) Beth Gwinn)

Bibliography

Paperback - Gollancz (2002)

The Onion Girl
Newford: where magic lights dark streets, where myths walk in modern shapes, where humans and older beings must work to keep the whole world turning.
At the centre of the entwined lives of all the Newford tales stands a young artist named Jilly Coppercorn, whose paintings capture tile hidden beings that dwell in Newford’s shadows. With her tangled hair, her paint-splattered jeans, a smile perpetually on her lips, she’s darted in and out of the Newford tales. Now, at last, we have Jilly’s own story. Behind the painter’s fey charm there’s a dark secret, and a past she’s laboured to forget. That past is coming to claim her now, threatening all she loves.
`I’m the onion girl,’ Jilly Coppercorn says. `Pull back the layers of my life, and you won’t find anything at the core. Just a broken child. A hollow girl.’ She’s run from the past and the truth for so long. She’s very, very good at running. But life has just forced Jilly to stop.
‘Charles de Lint is one of Canada’s best-kept literary secrets. To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways’ Quill and Quire
'De Lint's evocative images, both ordinary and fantastic, jolt the imagination' Publishers Weekly
‘One of the most gifted storytellers writing today’ Locus
‘De Lint is as engaging a stylist as Stephen King, but considerably more inventive and ambitious’ The Globe and Mail

First British Edition Gollancz (2001)

Paperback - Gollancz (2002)

Forests of the Heart
In the Old country they called them the Gentry: ancient spirits of the land, magical, amoral and dangerous. When the Irish emigrated to North America, some of the Gentry followed. Now generations have passed and the Irish have made homes in their new land, but the Gentry still wander the city streets. Gathering in the shadows, they bide their time and dream of power.
Bettina can see the Gentry, and knows them for what they are. Outside her night-time window she spies the dark men, squatting in the snow, stroking, brooding, waiting. She calls them los lobos, the wolves, and stays clear of them - until the night one follows her to the woods and takes her hand.
Once again, Charles de Lint weaves the mythic traditions of many cultures into a seamless cloth, bringing folklore, music and unforgettable characters to life on modern city streets.
‘Forests of the Heart is a masterwork of dramatic fiction, a contemporary fantasy laced with horror, suspense and magic - and characters so strikingly drawn they’ll seem as real as the people you see every day on the street’ Rambles Magazine
‘This book is riveting, and perhaps the best that Canadian urban fantasist Charles de Lint has written to date’ Folk Tales Magazine
‘Forests of the Heart is even more of a rambly masterpiece than Someplace to be Flying - this is how a continuing story should be told - people change, times change, and the struggles are different, but there’s still a core appeal that lasts’ Challenging Destiny
‘There is plenty to sustain de Lint’s reputation as premier urban fantasist’ Booklist
‘For fans of de Lint, Forests of the Heart is a welcome addition to the library of his work. For people who haven’t read de Lint yet, what are you waiting for?’ The SF Site
‘A leisurely, intriguing expedition into the spirit world . . . an impressive depth of imagination, de Lint’s latest teems with music, danger and a touch of romance’ Publishers Weekly
‘Forests of the Heart, with its vibrant characters and rich tapestry of mythology and spirituality, succeeds on many levels. His mastery of mythic fiction and/or urban fantasy grows with each new work’ Science Fiction Weekly ‘(Score: 10/10) Forests of the Heart is extremely well-written, with multi-dimensional characters that fascinate, whether they are protagonists or antagonists. Forests of the Heart doesn’t just take us away to another world, it makes us look at the world around and see how truly magical it is’ Entertainment Tomorrow
‘Been waiting for that dream book to come along and sweep you off your fantasy path-searching feet? Take a gander at the most recent de mint of Charles de Lint -Forests of the Heart - and you just might find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’ Fantastica Daily

Paperback - Pan (1999)

First British Edition Macmillan (1998)

Someplace To Be Flying
'They're supposed to live on the edges of society - sort of a society unto themselves'
At the beginning of the world there were only the animal people: Raven, guardian of the pot that contains all of life and its mystical forces; the unpredictable crow girls; Coyote, the trickster who cannot resist an urge to stir the pot ... and a vast assortment of secondary animal people. Prominent among them are the corbae, akin to crows and the rest of the corvid family.
One wet August night, while driving his cab through Newford's notorious Combat Zone, Hank Walker witnesses Lily Carson being brutally attacked and goes to her rescue. The attacker shoots Hank, but in turn is dispatched by two punky teenage girls who seem to appear out of nowhere, and just as suddenly vanish in a flutter of black wings.
Questioned as to why an uptown professional woman should be wandering the most dangerous streets in the city, Lily confesses that she was 'looking for animal people'. Hank has heard tales of animal people from his friend Jack Daw, an aging storyteller whose mysterious, lyrical accounts revolve around wild crow girls, foxes, raven and coyote - as well as cuckoos, the deadly enemies of the crow family. Now something has summoned the cuckoos, and the whole city is about to turn into a war zone.
The wild and whimsical crow girls, Maida and Zia, live in a tree outside a large Victorian house on Stanton Street. This house, called The Bookery, is inhabited by Rory Crowther (a silversmith friend of Lily Carson's), Annie Blue (an alternative singer-songwriter), the immense and elusive Lucius Portsmouth and his companion Chloe Grain. Into this strange household moves Kerry Madan, a vulnerable young woman recently discharged from psychiatric hospital. Finally, Kerry seems to have found her chance of happiness - for, since her birth in the remote wooded hills near the little town of Hazard, she has carried a mixed legacy of love, beauty, pain and appalling loss.
Instead, Kerry is destined to become a catalyst in the unfolding drama. It's a drama where the ultimate prize is Raven's pot which, if the wrong hand gets to stir it, could pour out catastrophe and oblivion on animal people and humankind alike.
'There is no better writer now than Charles de Lint at bringing out the magic in contemporary life' ORSON SCOTT CARD
Poet, artist and musician as well as novelist, Charles de Lint is one of the most influential fantasy writers of his generation - a true master of imaginative writing.
He lives in Canada with his wife, the artist Mary-Ann Harris.
'Buy it, read it and treat yourself to a few hours of indulgence in pure fantasy at its best. I can say no more' Jan Edwards, British Fantasy League
'An enthralling blend of European and Native American mythology, seamlessly worked into a modern setting and situation. De Lint's best work so far' Kirkus Reviews
'Refreshing… an author who can successfully combine fantasy with the appeal of the 20th century urban life… fascinating.' SFX
'De Lint 's elegant prose and effective storytelling continue to transform the mundane into the magical at every turn. Highly recommended' Library Journal
'A reliable cocktail of likeable characters, myth, folklore, and music... Charles de Lint's greatest strength is his obvious love for his characters' Locus'
'De Lint shows us that, far from being escapism, contemporary fantasy can be the deep mythic literature of our time' Fantasy and Science Fiction

Hardback
Macmillan (1997)

Paperback - Pan (1998)

Trader
'If dreams can be portents of what is to come, then I had my fair share of forewarning before my life was stolen away.'
So begins this compelling story of a change of souls...
Max Trader is a master craftsman: a maker of guitars. He is solitary, quiet and responsible. Johnny Devlin is unemployed, and a lady-killer, a drunk, a charming loser. One morning they inexplicably wake up in each other's bodies - a total switch. Devlin moves gleefully into Trader's comfortable and stable existence, leaving Trader to pick up the scattered pieces of a life he can't keep from spiralling out of control.
Penniless, friendless and homeless Trader begins a journey that will take him beyond the streets of Newford to an otherworld of dreams and spirits - where he must confront both the unscrupulous Devlin but also his own deepest fears.
This is an enthralling novel of identity, in which a man discovers his own hidden strengths with the aid of a strange and wonderful community of unexpected friends... and a beautiful musician who is willing to follow him beyond the boundaries of this world.
'There is no better writer now than Charles de Lint at bringing out the magic in contemporary life' Orson Scott Card
'De Lint shows us that, far from being escapism, contemporary fantasy can be the deep mythic literature of our time' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
'A master of urban fantasy returns with one of his finest works' Publishers Weekly
'De Lint is a gifted fantasist' Time Out

Paperback - Pan (1997)

Mulengro
A Romany Tale
It stalks the streets of a modern city, leaving ancient death in its wake...
The Gypsies live in the shadowy places of the city, blending in with urban society but never adapting to it, clinging instead to their traditional Romany ways.
Now a series of bizarre murders is baffling the police - each death somehow connected with the city's elusive Gypsy community. The police are searching for a human murderer. But the Romany know better...
They have a name for the darkness that hunts them down, one by one. That name is Mulengro - meaning He Who Walks With Ghosts......
A masterpiece of imaginative suspense from one of fantasy's most brilliant craftsmen
'It is hard to imagine urban fantasy done better than it is by de Lint' Booklist

About The Author
Poet, artist and musician as well as novelist, Charles de Lint is one of the most influential fantasy writers of his generation - a true master of imaginative writing. He lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife, the artist Mary-Ann Harris. His evocative novels, including Moonheart, Memory and Dream and Forests of the Heart, have earned him a devoted following and critical acclaim. In 2000, his story collection Moonlight and Vines won the World Fantasy Award.

Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

The Onion Girl (Gollancz, 2002) Aug 02 Gollancz Pbk Aug 02

Forests of the Heart (Gollancz, 2001) Gollancz Pbk Aug 02

Someplace To Be Flying (Macmillan, 1998) Pan Pbk Mar 99

Trader (Macmillan, 1997) Macmillan Nov 97 Pan Pbk 1998

Mulengro (Ace Fantasy Books, 1985) Pan Pbk 1997

Spiritwalk

Memory and Dream

Greenmantle

Yarrow

Moonheart

The Little Country