When she recovered, the night had changed on her again. A quick sensation of vertigo almost made her lose her balance. Still fingering the cap, she stretched it between her hands, wondering if it would fit. Upon revisiting it, I am struck by how workmanlike the prose is - I remember de Lint as being very lush and imaginative, very lyrical in description, and this is instead the most clumsy, bare-bones prose imaginable. We read a lot of de Lint in the mid-90s, including this book and its sequel, and I remember that even at that time I did not like them much. He and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which can be heard on de Lin His storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. It was a finalist for both the Sunburst and Evergreen awards.ĭe Lint is presently writing a new adult novel. His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (2009), is a fascinating ghost story about love, passion and faith. A novel for middle-grade readers, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, published by Little Brown in 2013, won the Sunburst Award, earned starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Quill & Quire, and was chosen by the New York Times Editors as one of the top six children's books for 2013. More recently, his young adult Wildlings trilogy-Under My Skin, Over My Head, and Out of This World-came out from Penguin Canada and Triskell Press in 2012, 20. Though not a consecutive series, the twenty-five standalone books set in (or connected to) Newford give readers a feeling of visiting a favourite city and seeing old friends. His Newford books, which make up most of de Lint's body of work between 19, confirmed his reputation for bringing a vivid setting and repertory cast of characters to life on the page. To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend-all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. He is, simply put, the best.Ĭharles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. His skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from peers, reviewers and readers.Ĭharles de Lint writes like a magician. They share their love and home with a cheery little dog named Johnny Cash.Ĭharles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. In 1980, de Lint married the love of his life, MaryAnn Harris, who works closely with him as his first editor, business manager and creative partner. The family moved often during de Lint's childhood because of his father's job with an international surveying company, but by the time Charles was twelve-having lived in Western Canada, Turkey and Lebanon-they had settled in Lucerne, Quebec, not far from where he now resides in Ottawa, Ontario. He's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.īorn in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant.
De Lint served as Writer-in-residence for two public libraries in Ottawa and has taught creative writing workshops for adults and children in Canada and the United States. He has written critical essays, music reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and he's been the main book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. Modern Library's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century poll, conducted by Random House and voted on by readers, put eight of de Lint's books among the top 100.ĭe Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. Renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre, he is the recipient of the World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others. Charles de Lint is the much beloved author of more than seventy adult, young adult, and children's books.