(urth) Charles de Lint

[Jerry Friedman]

From: Antonin Scriabin <kierkegaurdian at gmail.com>
>I really enjoyed the two novels I have read by Gene Wolfe that take place in "our" world, where magical elements may > or may not be bleeding in (Peace and The Sorcerer's House).  I am going to get to his others soon, like Castleview and > Pandora by Holly Hollander.  I was wondering if anyone had read Charles de Lint, and if they would recommend his
> books.  Are they along the same lines as the two Wolfe books I mentioned, as to the "type" of story?  Is he a good
> writer, or not worth the time?  I was intrigued by several of his books on a recent bookstore outing, and might pick
> them up if he is worth it.  Thanks! 


Just to make sure, have you read John Crowley?  He's probably the most popular sf writer (after Wolfe) 
among current and former contributors to this list, including me.  If 
you haven't read him, you might want to start with /Little, Big/, which takes place in "our" world, as you put it.


I haven't read de Lint.  Like David Duffy, I liked /The War for the Oaks/, though it's not exactly deep.  I also liked Pamela Dean's /Tam Lin/.  On a much darker and half-parodic note, I just finished China Mieville's /Kraken/, set in contemporary-ish London, which I enjoyed.  The main resemblances to Wolfe are that stuff keeps happening and that one can learn some new words.  Well, and the torture.

There's always Nabokov.


Jerry Friedman