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::"I've heard their voices, secret and shy, join with my harping, and sometimes catch them dancing in the corner of my eye" - Charles de Lint 1985::

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Widdershins Review from The Washington Times


You've got to admire how Charles de Lint seems to write a resonating truth about the human experience with every sentence he puts on a page. He is a Dickens of the fantasy genre, except what he writes seems more real than reality.
    So it continues with his latest, Widdershins (Tor, $27.95, 560 pages), in which he responds to readers' demands and continues the stories of Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell, two friends who just belong together. At least everyone who knows them thinks so. But they never seem to be solo at the same time.
    Their romance, with all its attendant pain and confusion, plays out against the conflict of the country's native fey population and the interlopers who accompanied the Europeans to these shores.
    Mr. de Lint is one of the honored figures of fantasy and "Widdershins" so ably illustrates why.
     

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28/Aug/2006, 11:44 am Link to this post Send Email to Gruffydd   Send PM to Gruffydd ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo Blog
 
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Re: Widdershins Review


Here's another Widdershins review. This one by Tomas L. Martin on http://www.computercrowsnest.com/articles/books/2006/nz10574.php

I read Charles de Lint's 'The Onion Girl' a few months ago and really enjoyed it. de Lint's world consists of the fantasy tropes of magic, spirits, fairies and gods but delicately rolled into the real world we live in.

His realistic, down-to-earth treatment of the otherworld - most people only go there in their dreams, whilst others can walk between this world and the magical world instantly - is refreshing in a world where most fantasy is very high-brow, cardboard and unoriginal. de Lint's magic, when it occurs, is vibrant and full of the excitement that good fantasy should have.



His new book, 'Widdershins' picks up where 'The Onion Girl' left off. Jilly, a loveable artist with a childhood full of nasty abuse and time on the streets had a car accident in the first book, leaving her with surface injuries to go with the scars in her memory. The magical 'cousins' - similar to American Indian spirits - could heal her injuries but not when she still has the unresolved issues about growing up. Jilly's too troubled by her history to become whole.

Lizzie, a fiddler who plays with Jilly's best friend and unrequited soulmate Geordie, has a run in with a group of bogans - spiteful fairies with a habit of making trouble for everyone else. They come after her and both Lizzie and Jilly are transported to the otherworld where, running away from the threat, they end up in the worst possible place: the subconscious fears of Jilly, where she must fight the memory of her abusive brother. If she dies in the other world, she dies here, too.

The injection of real problems into the magical realm breathes new life into de Lint's fantasy. All the characters, magical or not, are flawed, rounded and fleshed out real people with issues of a real nature - marital, emotional and all the rest of the baggage that comes with life. The strength and believability of the characters in these books is a far cry from some of the stilted Tolkien clones around in fantasy and that's coming from someone who loves 'Lord Of The Rings', although not the many books which have turned his worlds into a tired formula.

de Lint uses a lot of folk music and creativity to link his real world characters with the fantastical ones and there's a genuine sense of wonder when the magic happens. That said, this second book doesn't quite have the same sense of urgency that 'The Onion Girl' did. The threat the characters are facing isn't quite ramped up enough for the victory over it to be satisfying. That said, the book does wrap up the loose ends of these characters well.

Charles de Lint says in the foreword that he 'doesn't do sequels', a sentiment I appreciate in today's world of umpteen 'Circle Of Time' books and needless additional novels added to series without improving on what's come before. When there's unfinished business, however, another book is welcome and I'm glad that 'Widdershins' exists to wrap up the loose ends of the first book in what is a very satisfying couple of books. Well worth anyone's time.


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1/Oct/2006, 1:39 am Link to this post Send Email to Gruffydd   Send PM to Gruffydd ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo Blog
 
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Re: Widdershins Review from The Washington Times


 emoticon I just ordered them! I look forward to reading them!
Cathy emoticon

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16/Oct/2006, 3:49 pm Link to this post Send Email to Cathy3   Send PM to Cathy3 MSN Blog
 
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Re: Widdershins Review from The Washington Times


Lucky you. I have been waiting for Widdershins to be released in Australia, but no luck so far. I thought that may be cheaper than having to pay freight that is as much as the book when I order from Subterranean or Shocklines.
 emoticon

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Re: Widdershins Review from The Washington Times


I am reading widdershins and it is good.

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10/Feb/2007, 8:27 pm Link to this post Send Email to Cathy3   Send PM to Cathy3 MSN Blog
 
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Re: Widdershins Review from The Washington Times


Yeah, still no sign of Widdershins in Australia yet emoticon I'll have to save up and order it from the States.

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11/Feb/2007, 7:57 am Link to this post Send Email to Gruffydd   Send PM to Gruffydd ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo Blog
 
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Re: Widdershins Review from The Washington Times


Am finishing Widdershins now. I find the human characters a little weak. Jilly has everything but a halo to make her a 24 karat saint. The idea that she could go through what she went through with no trace of anger, rage, bitterness, etc? I don't buy it. The other humans are only slightly less saintly.

I find the nonhuman characters much more well rounded and believable. The whole idea of an ongoing tension between the native "cousins" and the immigrant "fairy" is a truly unique idea and is used wonderfully. The variety of nonhuman characters, their cultures and characteristics worked very well.

The major problem was solved a little two easily, a little too much "deus ex machina" from out of left field.

But the overall quality of the book and the world it paints more than makes up for any flaws. I haven't read DeLint in years and just grabbed this one off a store shelf out of frustration (was having trouble finding anything that really caught my attention). Once I'm finished this I'm headed back to catch up with what he's written over the past few years.
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