The Very Best of Charles de Lint

The Very Best of Charles de Lint (2010) Charles de Lint

I love Charles de Lint. I believe I have all of his mass published story anthologies, and several of the smaller press novellas, so I’d read most of the stories in this collection.

Doesn’t matter.

I can read his stories time and again, and there is just as much magic as there was the first time.

This collection was created when he asked his readers to help him create this collection–to help him pick out the very best of his short stories.

There are, unsurprisingly, a lot of Newford stories here, since many of his collection are Newford centered stories. So we get to spend time with Jilly and Sophie and Georgie. But there are non-Newford stories here as well, and a handful I had not read previously.

If you have not read any Charles de Lint before (this strikes me as a nonsensical thing, yet I know there are lots of people out there who have not read Charles de Lint) then this is the collection for you.

I will note, however, that like his other collection, many of these stories have a dark theme. There are many abused children, and many of Jilly’s stories talk of her the dark of her past. Yet, even in the darkest stories, there is still light and hope, of life going on.

And underlying everything is magic–the other world, be it the Crow Girls or the dream world or fairies. It’s all wonderful to me.
Rating: 9/10

Published by Tachyon

• Browse the archives:
  
• Black Thorn, White Rose: A Modern Book of Adult Fairytales » »
• « « Simply Sensational Cookies