Tapping the Dream Tree - Hardcover

De Lint, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312874014 ISBN 13: 9780312874018

Publisher: Tor Books, 2002

Synopsis

World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Onion Girl

A brand-new installment in the Newford saga, the World Fantasy Award-winning series of urban fantasy fiction by a master of the form.

Charles de Lint's urban fantasies, including Moonheart, Forests of the Heart, and The Onion Girl, have earned him a devoted following and critical acclaim as a master of contemporary magical fiction. At the heart of his work is the ongoing Newford series, of which this is the latest volume.

The city of Newford could be any contemporary North American city . . . except that magic lurks in its music, in its art, in the shadows of its grittiest streets, where mythic beings walk disguised. And its people are like you and me, each looking for a bit of magic to shape their lives and transform their fate.

Now, in this latest volume, we meet a bluesman hiding from the devil; a Buffalo Man at the edge of death; a murderous ghost looking for revenge; a wolf man on his first blind date; and many more. We're reunited with Jilly, Geordie, Sophie, the Crow Girls, and other characters whose lives have become part of the great Newford myth. And De Lint takes us beyond Newford's streets to the pastoral hills north of the city, where magic and music have a flavor different but powerful still.

About this title

Review

Tapping the Dream Tree collects 18 stories by bestselling contemporary fantasy master Charles de Lint. One story, "The Witching Hour," is original to this volume, with a few others taken from limited-edition chapbooks; the remaining tales have been drawn from an impressive diversity of magazines and anthologies. The stories are set in and around de Lint's mythic, haunted American city of Newford, and fans will recognize several characters from de Lint's popular series.

The powerful story "Ten for The Devil" is a superb choice for an opener: it showcases de Lint's literary strengths and treats of his recurring themes of magic, music, creativity, and human worth. Musician Staley Cross's grandmother has always warned her to be careful when she plays her blue fiddle. But Staley never quite believed that her music could rouse dangerous magic... until one night, playing in a faraway field, she discovers the Devil doesn't only go down to Georgia. First published before the filming of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, "Ten for the Devil" draws upon the same crossroads myth as does the movie, but takes a very different road as it follows Staley's search for her only hope of soul survival: a mysterious bluesman known as Robert. --Cynthia Ward

From the Back Cover

Praise for Charles De Lint

"Triumphant!" -Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Onion Girl

"De Lint is a romantic; he believes in the great things, faith, hope, and charity (especially if love is included in that last), but he also believes in the power of magic-or at least the magic of fiction-to open our eyes to a larger world." -Edmonton Journal

"De Lint is a master of the modern urban folktale." -The Denver Post

"A master storyteller, De Lint blends Celtic, Native American, and other cultures into a seamless mythology that resonates with magic and truth."-Library Journal

"What makes De Lint's particular brand of fantasy so catchy is his attention to the ordinary. Like great writers of magic realism, he writes about people in the world we know, encountering magic as part of that world." -Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0312874014
• ISBN 13: 9780312874018
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 544