Posted on by Doyce

Hot time in the City

I finished up The Onion Girl, by Charles de Lint today, one of several books he’s set in the fictional locale of Newford. Interesting stuff, and the first thing I’ve ever read by de Lint (I think — certainly the first novel-length thing). Lots of good characters. Onion Girl is one of the later books in the Newford series, so there is a sense of having walked into an ongoing conversation between people who have all known each other for about twenty years, but it was still enjoyable.
De Lint is obviously comfortable writing his characters and has known them all for a good long time — so much so that a book like Onion Girl, which is much less about the story and much more about exploring his characters in painstaking depth, doesn’t bother him or his readers much. In some ways it reminded me of an excerpt from a (or any) long-running Amber campaign that you read one character diary from — obviously fascinating to the involved participants, but less so to those who don’t know what exactly’s going on.
Still, brimming with lots of neat ideas, good prose, and lots of small feisty women with unkempt hair and commitment issues. I’ll be happy to find and read more of his stuff.

15 Replies to “Hot time in the City”

  1. *gasp* Your first DeLint?? Oh, I envy the sheer pleasure that lies ahead for you. Memory and Dream is my all time favorite. Once you read it, I bet you can guess why.
    *light bulb* That’s why I enjoy your stuff so much…your style reminds me VERY much of DeLint’s. And dude, that’s a HUGE compliment. Huge.
    And yes, the car shopping is ALL YOUR FAULT.

  3. Heard of him, never read him.
    But if you say he’s a Doyceish (Doycesque?) sort of writer, I definitely need to.
    After I reread about 2000 pages worth of Brust.

  4. Hah, just finished Issola last night. Hey, Brust has a weblog…
    *choke* Never…read…DeLint…. Oh, how I (who wait on eleventerhooks for new publications) envy you people!!!

  5. Someplace to be Flying was our book club choice for the first two months of 2003… I finished it last week and now have 3 more of the Newford books on order. How had I missed this author for so long?

  6. I’m rereading Brust’s Phoenix Guard tales before tackling the newest volume.
    And then, I guess, it will be time to catch up with DeLint.
    Any suggestions on a good tome to start with?

  7. There are so many…and so many that intertwine. The Newford stories are loosely chronologicalized (no, I don’t care if that’s not a word…been working the damned helpdesk all morning) here.
    The twosome of Moonheart and Spiritwalk are amazing. Forests of the Heart, Jack of Kinrowan, Memory & Dream…oh, ENVY, I tells you!

  8. Start with Jack of Kinrowan, I think. Not a part of the tapestry, but will give a great idea of how the author works his magic.
    Someplace to be Flying was just the most amazing read. I loved the crow girls.

  9. I started with Spiritwalk, then sought out Moonheart, which was out of publication and damned difficult to find.
    Although Memory and Dream is a good start point. A good strong stand-alone story.
    Boy. DeLint is high on my favorites list, along with Holdstock – whose otherwhere sort of realms – the primal forest – are a bit darker than DeLint’s… if you are interested in Holdstock, start with Mythago Wood.
    I, on the other hand, am still wanting to read Emma Bull…

  10. _Jack of Kinrowan_ was good.
    Everything else I’ve read I’ve had very mixed feelings about… there’s too much of “what is lost” in his stories, where Doyce’s works focus on “what there is to gain,” and therefore make much better reads.

  13. Why do you think people say things like, “I can write better than that?” or, “Ohmighod, how did THIS get published?” Publication does NOT equal “good.”

  14. Well, I appreciate both MT’s and Seki’s sentiments — espcially the loving and nurturing tone that I’ve come to expect from all the women in my life.

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