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ladygeekface's review
4.0
I really enjoyed some of the stories in this collection. I really liked how most of the characters were connected. I can't wait to read more of the Newford books.
barbtrek's review
5.0
This was a collection of connected short stories. I liked some of the stories more than others. They were all beautifully written and included a lot of music and art.
I listened to this as an audiobook. The narrator did a nice job but I wish I had a real copy of this book because the writing was so beautiful I would’ve liked to slow down during some parts. Some of my favorite stories were “The Sacred Fire” and “Our Lady of the Harbour.”
I listened to this as an audiobook. The narrator did a nice job but I wish I had a real copy of this book because the writing was so beautiful I would’ve liked to slow down during some parts. Some of my favorite stories were “The Sacred Fire” and “Our Lady of the Harbour.”
tarugani's review
5.0
I've been ambling my way through this for months now. It took a little bit to grow on me but I came to really love it. First book by this author, I'll read more soon.
pattydsf's review against another edition
4.0
One of Charles de Lint's characters in the last story in this collection says, "My themes are simple. They're about love and loss, honor and the responsibilities of friendship. And wonder... always wonder."
That is why I read de Lint. His themes are the same as those his protagonist writes. I especially like this quote because de Lint's interest in the love of friendship is something not everyone writes about. When people write about it, it is often between women, men aren't involved. It is amazing how much the people in these stories care about each other. Almost every tale in this collection includes themes of compassion and caring.
There are other writers who cover love and loss - so many stories deal with these themes. Also I have read stories about wonder from other authors, many of them are speculative writers like de Lint.
This is the sixth de Lint book I have read since I started writing these reviews. I am not sure what else I can say except read his stories. They are magical, wonderful and true in the best sense of the word. If you can read about Jill, Sophie, Maggie and Christy and not feel blessed by de Lint, you better make sure that Despair is not hunting you down.
That is why I read de Lint. His themes are the same as those his protagonist writes. I especially like this quote because de Lint's interest in the love of friendship is something not everyone writes about. When people write about it, it is often between women, men aren't involved. It is amazing how much the people in these stories care about each other. Almost every tale in this collection includes themes of compassion and caring.
There are other writers who cover love and loss - so many stories deal with these themes. Also I have read stories about wonder from other authors, many of them are speculative writers like de Lint.
This is the sixth de Lint book I have read since I started writing these reviews. I am not sure what else I can say except read his stories. They are magical, wonderful and true in the best sense of the word. If you can read about Jill, Sophie, Maggie and Christy and not feel blessed by de Lint, you better make sure that Despair is not hunting you down.
ofearna's review
5.0
I was having some pictures taken in the Spring of 1993 at my Dad's request. It was taking a LOT longer than I'd anticipated and I finished the book I was reading. Lucky for me the local Waldenbooks was *just* across the promenade from where Glamour Shots were located. So, I wandered over and saw this book, the original with the Terri Windling cover? And I'd just finished reading his story "The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep" so I picked this book up. WOW
Now I'm a hardcore CdL fan and proud of it!
Enjoy yourselves!
finished another re-read Aug 14, 2000
and again 9/26/2015
♦Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair RE-read 7/1/2016
♦The Stone Drum RE-read 7/13/2016
♦Timeskip RE-read 7/13/2016
♦Freewheeling RE-read 7/20/2016
♦That Explains Poland RE-read 7/4/2016
♦Romano Drom RE-read 7/15/2016
♦The Sacred Fire RE-read 7/19/2016
♦Winter Was Hard RE-read 7/28/2016
♦Pity the Monsters RE-read 7/28/2016
♦Ghosts of Wind and Shadow RE-read 7/20/2016
♦The Conjure Man RE-read 7/30/2016
♦Small Deaths RE-read 7/31/2016
♦The Moon Is Drowning While I Sleep RE-read 7/31/2016
♦In the House of My Enemy RE-read 8/6/2016
♦But for the Grace Go I RE-read 7/29/2016
♦Bridges RE-read 7/30/2016
♦Our Lady of the Harbour RE-read 7/27/2016
♦Paperjack RE-read 7/28/2016
♦Tallulah RE-read 7/29/2016
Now I'm a hardcore CdL fan and proud of it!
Enjoy yourselves!
finished another re-read Aug 14, 2000
and again 9/26/2015
♦Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair RE-read 7/1/2016
♦The Stone Drum RE-read 7/13/2016
♦Timeskip RE-read 7/13/2016
♦Freewheeling RE-read 7/20/2016
♦That Explains Poland RE-read 7/4/2016
♦Romano Drom RE-read 7/15/2016
♦The Sacred Fire RE-read 7/19/2016
♦Winter Was Hard RE-read 7/28/2016
♦Pity the Monsters RE-read 7/28/2016
♦Ghosts of Wind and Shadow RE-read 7/20/2016
♦The Conjure Man RE-read 7/30/2016
♦Small Deaths RE-read 7/31/2016
♦The Moon Is Drowning While I Sleep RE-read 7/31/2016
♦In the House of My Enemy RE-read 8/6/2016
♦But for the Grace Go I RE-read 7/29/2016
♦Bridges RE-read 7/30/2016
♦Our Lady of the Harbour RE-read 7/27/2016
♦Paperjack RE-read 7/28/2016
♦Tallulah RE-read 7/29/2016
plusrich's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this on audiobook and am grateful it was available through a local library.
As with all short fiction collections, I appreciated some stories more than others.
The best of them took me into that different mental space, in this case, introspective, observant, compassionate and optimistic.
These stories have a consistent background flavor but each is spiced nicely to avoid too much similarity.
I appreciated that, for the most part, the author avoids getting too self referential and doesn't over explain.
I enjoy the recurring characters and that they have both strengths and weaknesses.
The exploring of the common and finding the uncommon hooks me.
As with all short fiction collections, I appreciated some stories more than others.
The best of them took me into that different mental space, in this case, introspective, observant, compassionate and optimistic.
These stories have a consistent background flavor but each is spiced nicely to avoid too much similarity.
I appreciated that, for the most part, the author avoids getting too self referential and doesn't over explain.
I enjoy the recurring characters and that they have both strengths and weaknesses.
The exploring of the common and finding the uncommon hooks me.
qalminator's review
4.0
As these are becoming available on Audible, I'm revisiting them, and it's like catching up with old friends... More when I've finished.
Ah, that was a breath of fresh air, especially read by Kate Reading. It's been so long that I only remembered bits and pieces here and there, so it was very much like discovering them for the first time, again. The first time I read these, I was not as familiar with horror tropes, and some of the darker stories are definitely borderline horror, if not outright horror. I'd also forgotten that there were a few stories with semi-explicit sex scenes (tasteful, but surprisingly detailed for the nature of the stories, imo).
A lot of the tales have bittersweet endings, so be warned if you're looking for a pick-me-up. I enjoyed all of them, but my least favorite was "Pity the Monsters", as it really felt out of place among the rest. My favorites are the ones that connect to each other more overtly (mostly through shared characters), and that's probably about half of them.
Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair - Odd in a way that's both inspiring and depressing, tbh.
The Stone Drum - On the dangers of claiming artifacts without understanding their provenance.
Timeskip - Interesting ghost story, with, now that I think about it, some resemblance to a certain Dr. Who plot (which came years after this story was out)
Freewheeling - Sad tale, when the bikes only want to be free.
That Explains Poland - Bigfoot hunt goes weird.
Romano Drom - Bigfoot tale becomes something else.
The Sacred Fire - Dark tale of creatures that feed on the light of others.
Winter Was Hard - How sometimes you find what you need, and sometimes it finds you.
Pity the Monsters - Really oddball tale of an old woman and her monster, which doesn't quite seem to fit with the rest of this collection very well, and makes me wonder if it was an entry for a very specific contest/anthology to start (still set in Newford, but that's the only obvious connection I saw).
Ghosts of Wind and Shadow - Runaway gets into trouble, gets rescued by fairies, more or less.
The Conjure Man - Tale of stories and trees.
Small Deaths - Creepy tale but with a surprisingly happy ending.
The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep - The dream quest of the Moon's Daughter.
In the House of My Enemy - Heartbreaking tale that includes Jilly's history (which was reprinted in the Onion Girl).
But for the Grace Go I - Mistaken identity leads to change.
Bridges - Be careful about your mental state when crossing a bridge...
Our Lady of the Harbour - Modernized version of The Little Mermaid
Paperjack - Continuation of Timeskip, with a very satisfying resolution, helped along by an origami master called Paperjack.
Tallulah - Story about Christie, referenced in many of the earlier stories as Geordie's writer brother, and his relationship with Newford and/or Talullah.
Ah, that was a breath of fresh air, especially read by Kate Reading. It's been so long that I only remembered bits and pieces here and there, so it was very much like discovering them for the first time, again. The first time I read these, I was not as familiar with horror tropes, and some of the darker stories are definitely borderline horror, if not outright horror. I'd also forgotten that there were a few stories with semi-explicit sex scenes (tasteful, but surprisingly detailed for the nature of the stories, imo).
A lot of the tales have bittersweet endings, so be warned if you're looking for a pick-me-up. I enjoyed all of them, but my least favorite was "Pity the Monsters", as it really felt out of place among the rest. My favorites are the ones that connect to each other more overtly (mostly through shared characters), and that's probably about half of them.
Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair - Odd in a way that's both inspiring and depressing, tbh.
The Stone Drum - On the dangers of claiming artifacts without understanding their provenance.
Timeskip - Interesting ghost story, with, now that I think about it, some resemblance to a certain Dr. Who plot (which came years after this story was out)
Freewheeling - Sad tale, when the bikes only want to be free.
That Explains Poland - Bigfoot hunt goes weird.
Romano Drom - Bigfoot tale becomes something else.
The Sacred Fire - Dark tale of creatures that feed on the light of others.
Winter Was Hard - How sometimes you find what you need, and sometimes it finds you.
Pity the Monsters - Really oddball tale of an old woman and her monster, which doesn't quite seem to fit with the rest of this collection very well, and makes me wonder if it was an entry for a very specific contest/anthology to start (still set in Newford, but that's the only obvious connection I saw).
Ghosts of Wind and Shadow - Runaway gets into trouble, gets rescued by fairies, more or less.
The Conjure Man - Tale of stories and trees.
Small Deaths - Creepy tale but with a surprisingly happy ending.
The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep - The dream quest of the Moon's Daughter.
In the House of My Enemy - Heartbreaking tale that includes Jilly's history (which was reprinted in the Onion Girl).
But for the Grace Go I - Mistaken identity leads to change.
Bridges - Be careful about your mental state when crossing a bridge...
Our Lady of the Harbour - Modernized version of The Little Mermaid
Paperjack - Continuation of Timeskip, with a very satisfying resolution, helped along by an origami master called Paperjack.
Tallulah - Story about Christie, referenced in many of the earlier stories as Geordie's writer brother, and his relationship with Newford and/or Talullah.
kittymamers's review
4.0
kogumik de Linti lühijutte, mille kohta ta ise on öelnud, et see on hea koht, kust Newfordi lugusid lugema hakata. ma ise alustasin mujalt ("Kusagil lennata" muidugi) ja ütleks, et vahet pole. osa tegelasi neis lugudes on mulle teistest raamatutest tuttavad, osa ei ole, osa tuttavaid ja minu jaoks olulisi tegelasi (varesetüdrukud!) on täiega puudu.
igas loos kohtuvad mingil moel Newfordi... eluheidikud või muud veidrikud ja midagi maagilist või üleloomulikku. suur hulk tegelasi on kunstnikud või muusikud, enamusel on olnud raske lapsepõlv ja heitlik noorus, kõigist räägitakse suure mõistmise ja soojuse ja kaasaelamisega. ja mingi minu jaoks kohutavalt sümpaatne üheksakümnendate vaib on ses kõiges :) iga inimese välimuse kirjelduses tunnen ma ära omaenda teismepõlve trendid ja lahe-olemise-viisid ja ma tahaks kõigi nendega kohtuda ja hängida nüüd. (muuhulgas lootuses saada vastus sellele, mida juba üheksakümnendatel teada tahtsin - kui kõik on kohutavalt vaesed ja praktiliselt elavad tänaval ja riideid hangivad kaltsukatest, siis kuidas neil kõigil saavad olla hästiistuvad teksad, valged t-särgid ja mugavalt sissekulutatud nahktagid?)
igas loos kohtuvad mingil moel Newfordi... eluheidikud või muud veidrikud ja midagi maagilist või üleloomulikku. suur hulk tegelasi on kunstnikud või muusikud, enamusel on olnud raske lapsepõlv ja heitlik noorus, kõigist räägitakse suure mõistmise ja soojuse ja kaasaelamisega. ja mingi minu jaoks kohutavalt sümpaatne üheksakümnendate vaib on ses kõiges :) iga inimese välimuse kirjelduses tunnen ma ära omaenda teismepõlve trendid ja lahe-olemise-viisid ja ma tahaks kõigi nendega kohtuda ja hängida nüüd. (muuhulgas lootuses saada vastus sellele, mida juba üheksakümnendatel teada tahtsin - kui kõik on kohutavalt vaesed ja praktiliselt elavad tänaval ja riideid hangivad kaltsukatest, siis kuidas neil kõigil saavad olla hästiistuvad teksad, valged t-särgid ja mugavalt sissekulutatud nahktagid?)
reallbee's review
I had a hard time getting into this. The stories, while all different, contained similar themes, characters, and storylines, and were very repetitive. I got bored.