Dreams Underfoot

Dreams Underfoot (1993) Charles de Lint

I believe that Dreams Underfoot is the first Charles de Lint book I bought. I may have read one of his stories somewhere (Now that I look, I may have first read “The Moon Is Drowning as I Sleep” in Snow White, Blood Red, and from there been sucked in.), perhaps in a “Year’s Best in Fantasy and Horror.” Or I may have just seen the cover and snatched up the book.

I have to say that I love the original cover, with the art by Terri Windling. The white haired woman with horns and a wooden flute sprouting leaves. The cityscape in the background. For me, it is just completely evocative of Charles de Lint’s writing. Not that there’s anything wrong with the new cover, but it’s just so much more sparse and barren.

Here. Look.

Isn’t that lovely?

But this isn’t suppose to be about the covers, this is supposed to be about the writing, about the book that got me started reading Charles de Lint, now one of my top five favorite authors.

Dreams Underfoot is a short story collection, and almost all the stories are set in Newford, the mythical northern town, where the seams of the world between the mundane and the magical are thinner than they are elsewhere.

Dreams Underfoot is the introduction to many of the characters who populate Charles de Lint’s later stories and books: Jilly Coppercorn, Sophie Etoile, Geordie and Christie Riddell, Meran and Cerin Kelledy, the Angel of Grasso street, Maisie and Tommy. These are characters you’ll meet again, some of whom get their own books, some of whom drop from sight, appearing later only in passing.

The stories are urban fantasy, where the magical exists in our own time and place, alongside the reality we know, although the characters may deny their experiences.

Interestingly, these stories are always darker than I remember, although this collection may have a higher percentage of horror than other collections, as several stories, such as “The Sacred Fire” and “Pity the Monsters” are straight horror, while other stories have very darker elements and themes. But don’t let that scare you away, because this is a wonderful collection, and an introduction to many characters that appear throughout Charles de Lint’s work. And although I am not a fan of horror (I’m one of those strange people who doesn’t like being scared), I do not find the horror particularly hard to read. It’s not my favorite, but it’s good.

And the darker stories may be horrifying in a different way, yet they are still excellent, not only in the way the develop the characters, but simply in their storytelling. Despite the upsetting nature of “In the House of My Enemy,” it is still an excellent story, and one that I couldn’t keep myself from rereading, despite knowing the darkness of the content.

There is simply something about Charles de Lint’s storytelling that I find irresistible. it never fails to amaze me, how he can weave an entire tale in so few words. He is the reason why I find so many short story collections disappointing, for he has set the bar to which all others must rise.

There are also stories here that have appeared in other collections, such as “Uncle Dobbin’s Parrot Fair,” which I believe may be slightly different here than it appeared elsewhere.

I am extremely curious, however, as to how much of Christie Riddell there is in Charles de Lint, and whether Christie’s ideas about writing and short stories are Charles de Lint’s, or if they are just part of that character.

If you love short stories, then any Charles de Lint collection is a must have, and Dreams Underfoot, with so many characters who recur in other stories, is a perfect introduction. However, as he is a master of writing short stories, you can start anywhere and be perfectly happy.
Rating: 8/10

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