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A review by alphabetseeds
Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Oh, my gosh, I finally finished this. Short story collections can be a struggle for me.
This whole collection evokes a different time, with characters that can comfortably amble about and witness magic and go, "oh, wow! Anyway" and that's a lot of the stories. I found some of the stories more compelling than others. Charles de Lint is special in that these are all in his fictional town of Newford, and so the characters and settings reappear and time passes, like an ongoing narrative that you pick up here and there, like catching up with an acquaintance over coffee. There's a sort of comfort in that.
But not all of these are bangers. Some of the narrative focus can feel outdated now. Often the most fantastical thing is an artist living in a nice studio working a part-time job as a server, and the underground goblins feel totally normal and expected.
However, this is the kind of urban fantasy I enjoy - magic in our world, in modern times, sneaking in through various means. No overdramatic romances with werewolves. Just finding an old kind of magic in the everyday.
This whole collection evokes a different time, with characters that can comfortably amble about and witness magic and go, "oh, wow! Anyway" and that's a lot of the stories. I found some of the stories more compelling than others. Charles de Lint is special in that these are all in his fictional town of Newford, and so the characters and settings reappear and time passes, like an ongoing narrative that you pick up here and there, like catching up with an acquaintance over coffee. There's a sort of comfort in that.
But not all of these are bangers. Some of the narrative focus can feel outdated now. Often the most fantastical thing is an artist living in a nice studio working a part-time job as a server, and the underground goblins feel totally normal and expected.
However, this is the kind of urban fantasy I enjoy - magic in our world, in modern times, sneaking in through various means. No overdramatic romances with werewolves. Just finding an old kind of magic in the everyday.