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duffypratt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Typically, DeLint's work involves mundane people who discover that there is a supernatural layer to the world that most mundane people ignore or deny. In the process, he has mostly kept to the perspectives of ordinary/mundane people and thus left mysterious the workings and motivations of the supernatural actors.
This book takes us much deeper into the lives of the supernatural beings. Thus, to the extent that there is a more or less uniform supernatural that underlies Newford, this book gives a lot of insight into how that works. The trouble is, I am not yet convinced that there is any such uniform layer. I'm not entirely sure how the supernatural here connects with what I saw in his earlier books. For example, Cody here is Coyote, the native American trickster god. And Coyote has had a rather large role in other stories, like Trader. But I'm not entirely persuaded that Cody here is the same as Bones in that story. I just don't know.
On its own, however, I liked this book quite a bit. I especially liked the portrayals of the crow girls and of Jack. The story starts out a bit convoluted. It seems to revolve around Lily, a photojournalist and Hank, a gypsy cab driver who does odd runs for the Mafia. But then it seems to revolve around Kerry, a woman who wrongfully spent most of her youth committed to a mental institution, and who has just recently arrived in the city. How these things will relate is not clear at the outset, and it takes a while for everything to fall into place.
What it actually revolves around, it turns out, is a magical pot -- the pot that Raven used to create the world. Stirring the pot tends to cause catastrophic/apocolyptic change, and there are some baddies who are after it, even though no-one knows where it is or what it looks like.
DeLint does an excellent job at describing the different approaches that beings might take to living thousands of years. The supernatural actors in this book tend to be fascinating. The quasi-supernatural actors, those who carry some of the old peoples' blood, are a little less interesting. And the thoroughly mundane are just that.
All in all, I liked this book, but not quite as much as Trader or Memory & Dream. It took his world in a new direction. I'm hoping I will better be able to piece together some of how his world works in the next books. I think he may be better as a novelist than as a short story writer (but I tend to like novels better anyway).
This book takes us much deeper into the lives of the supernatural beings. Thus, to the extent that there is a more or less uniform supernatural that underlies Newford, this book gives a lot of insight into how that works. The trouble is, I am not yet convinced that there is any such uniform layer. I'm not entirely sure how the supernatural here connects with what I saw in his earlier books. For example, Cody here is Coyote, the native American trickster god. And Coyote has had a rather large role in other stories, like Trader. But I'm not entirely persuaded that Cody here is the same as Bones in that story. I just don't know.
On its own, however, I liked this book quite a bit. I especially liked the portrayals of the crow girls and of Jack. The story starts out a bit convoluted. It seems to revolve around Lily, a photojournalist and Hank, a gypsy cab driver who does odd runs for the Mafia. But then it seems to revolve around Kerry, a woman who wrongfully spent most of her youth committed to a mental institution, and who has just recently arrived in the city. How these things will relate is not clear at the outset, and it takes a while for everything to fall into place.
What it actually revolves around, it turns out, is a magical pot -- the pot that Raven used to create the world. Stirring the pot tends to cause catastrophic/apocolyptic change, and there are some baddies who are after it, even though no-one knows where it is or what it looks like.
DeLint does an excellent job at describing the different approaches that beings might take to living thousands of years. The supernatural actors in this book tend to be fascinating. The quasi-supernatural actors, those who carry some of the old peoples' blood, are a little less interesting. And the thoroughly mundane are just that.
All in all, I liked this book, but not quite as much as Trader or Memory & Dream. It took his world in a new direction. I'm hoping I will better be able to piece together some of how his world works in the next books. I think he may be better as a novelist than as a short story writer (but I tend to like novels better anyway).
just_jess02's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a rich and charming story. The characters are complex and the lore is fascinating but there wasn’t enough tension in the plot to keep me engaged. Everything is spelled out, making it hard to pay attention consistently. I zoned out so much during this but every time I came back to it I was interested and captured by the storytelling. This feels very cozy and familiar. It’s like sitting by the fire and listening to older family tell stories.
5 ⭐️ for the character development and the world that was created
1-2 ⭐️ for plot and structure
5 ⭐️ for the character development and the world that was created
1-2 ⭐️ for plot and structure
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Gore, Animal cruelty, Blood, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Confinement, Miscarriage, Animal death, Genocide, Sexual content, and Abandonment
xeni's review against another edition
5.0
I always feel so sad finishing one of these books. But at the same time I feel uplifted, and like magic really exists in my own world. It's an interesting mix.
Once more, this story is competely different from the other Newford books. In this one we get an interesting set of characters, characterized by their animal sides. These 'animal people' say that they were there long before us (the 'normal' people) and came from the beginning of time. It's not a new idea, but the way that de Lint integrates it into this "time to save the world again, folks" type story just works.
I love how he didn't make the animal people totems, or tie them exclusively to a Native American culture as so many authors are wont to do. They're just there; that's just them. The most prevalent of the species would be the corbae... or I suppose you'd call them birds. Not just any birds, but the most common are crows, followed by rooks, magpies, jackdaw's, blue jay's... you get the picture? We have a lovely wiley coyote character, named Cody, who's heart is in the right place, but keeps messing up trying to fix his past mistakes. And of course we have the more evil set of animals: the cuckoo's. I really love how de Lint took their nesting habits and brought those over into a people world. It makes so much sense that the cuckoo's are probably the characters I felt were most believable.
But among all the fanciful characters are also humans, like usual in these Newford books. They are realistic and possible and different and have flaws and have perfections and are just lovely to hang out with. In all, the animal characters were more memorable, but it was the human characters that kept the story together: without the human element what would be left in this world? Just the animal people, based on this book.
The plot was a tad mundane... the whole, let's save the world now. But for all that it was still interesting to see how events unfolded. These stories live for their characters, not necessarily the plot, although I really do love the recurring themes strewn throughout all the Newford books.
One of the themes used strongly in this novel was the idea of storytelling and how vital it is. It makes me want to start collecting stories and setting them down, or just sharing them. I do have my own personal store, but why not expand a bit? Although, the sheer amount of stories that I've encountered in all the books I've read is a pretty impressive amount.
What's left to be said? De Lint is a genius and he can't publish enough books by my standard! I love being drawn into his world and probably wouldn't mind staying in Newford for an extended period of time either!
Once more, this story is competely different from the other Newford books. In this one we get an interesting set of characters, characterized by their animal sides. These 'animal people' say that they were there long before us (the 'normal' people) and came from the beginning of time. It's not a new idea, but the way that de Lint integrates it into this "time to save the world again, folks" type story just works.
I love how he didn't make the animal people totems, or tie them exclusively to a Native American culture as so many authors are wont to do. They're just there; that's just them. The most prevalent of the species would be the corbae... or I suppose you'd call them birds. Not just any birds, but the most common are crows, followed by rooks, magpies, jackdaw's, blue jay's... you get the picture? We have a lovely wiley coyote character, named Cody, who's heart is in the right place, but keeps messing up trying to fix his past mistakes. And of course we have the more evil set of animals: the cuckoo's. I really love how de Lint took their nesting habits and brought those over into a people world. It makes so much sense that the cuckoo's are probably the characters I felt were most believable.
But among all the fanciful characters are also humans, like usual in these Newford books. They are realistic and possible and different and have flaws and have perfections and are just lovely to hang out with. In all, the animal characters were more memorable, but it was the human characters that kept the story together: without the human element what would be left in this world? Just the animal people, based on this book.
The plot was a tad mundane... the whole, let's save the world now. But for all that it was still interesting to see how events unfolded. These stories live for their characters, not necessarily the plot, although I really do love the recurring themes strewn throughout all the Newford books.
One of the themes used strongly in this novel was the idea of storytelling and how vital it is. It makes me want to start collecting stories and setting them down, or just sharing them. I do have my own personal store, but why not expand a bit? Although, the sheer amount of stories that I've encountered in all the books I've read is a pretty impressive amount.
What's left to be said? De Lint is a genius and he can't publish enough books by my standard! I love being drawn into his world and probably wouldn't mind staying in Newford for an extended period of time either!
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
A re-read. I'm pretty sure this is the second time. My original rating was 5-stars, but that was before I was writing reviews. This one in general didn't blow me away this time. It was beautiful. And it had great moments. Perhaps it was Cody, who is hard to tolerate. Perhaps it was Hank. Maybe it was the epilogue in which some people just can't hold on to the magic. Or it could be that this is more mythological than I usually prefer. Still, a good read - and I'd be happy to read it again in another decade.
milointhewoods's review against another edition
5.0
i think this might be my favourite charles de lint novel that i’ve read so far. i don’t really know how to articulate it, but all this depth about characters i’ve read short stories about and all this backstory is so meaningful to me. i feel like i need to set up a newford murder board.
i adore these characters and this setting and the undeniable quirkiness that permeates the situations and traits that reoccur in de lint’s novels. the plotting, foreshadowing and nods to other short stories and novels is impeccable and frankly, everything that charles de lint writes has a magical essence to it that draws me in and attaches me to the characters and stories he tells.
i adore these characters and this setting and the undeniable quirkiness that permeates the situations and traits that reoccur in de lint’s novels. the plotting, foreshadowing and nods to other short stories and novels is impeccable and frankly, everything that charles de lint writes has a magical essence to it that draws me in and attaches me to the characters and stories he tells.
habeasopus's review against another edition
4.0
The more of deLint I read, the more I enjoy. This book is the deepest to date in his Newford series, getting at the the cosmology of the world through the origins of several characters. As always, deLint is pretty transparent about his source material, but it's fun to experience the ride as he translates it to the modern world.
dreamofbookspines's review against another edition
What's the plot? Idk but when I find it, maybe I'll enjoy it more. Either that or this is just Newford universe for the sake of Newford, which isn't what I'm looking for at the moment.
camrynrose2709's review against another edition
5.0
Charles De Lint writes so beautifully in a blend of mythology, fantasy and fiction which is not only entertaining but enlightening. The themes and values his characters discuss and portray often leave you thinking and questioning your own beliefs and views. Woven through this narrative are questions of loyalty, love, what makes a family, principles and over all the damage that can be done trying to change the past instead of choosing a new direction for your future.
Makes me look at the crows and ravens where I live in a whole new light.
Makes me look at the crows and ravens where I live in a whole new light.