harles de Lint's latest novel delves further into the history of his modern, imaginary city of Newford, while expanding Newford's physical horizons into its suburbs and the outlying Kickaha reservation. More significantly, Forests of the Heart delves into the mythological and magical traditions of Native Americans and First Peoples, and those of the Mexican/Indios of the American Southwest. These explorations, coupled with the Celtic lore for which de Lint's work is famous, provide the foundation of the novel.
The story centers on the acts of the Gentry, a group of genii loci--ancient Celtic spirits of the land--who have grown amoral and hungry for power beyond Newford. The Gentry now lusts after the land of the Kickaha and its native spirits, the Manitou, and will stop at nothing to acquire this new power base. This power base happens to be the renowned artist's colony of Kellygnow, which Betina, a beautiful young healer, has recently joined. Meanwhile, back in the city of Newford, the lives of a record shop owner named Hunter, one of his young employees--a punk accordion-playing musician, Miki Greer--her bitter, melancholy brother Donal, and a sculptor, Ellie Jones, will be drawn from the mundane world into a mythic one--la e'poca del mito. Additional supporting characters and returning regulars from de Lint's previous tales and novels strengthen the cast, lending the novel an epic feel.
Powerful, mythic fiction
Charles de Lint has used Newford as the setting for his mythic fiction in numerous novels and stories, including Someplace to Be Flying, a finalist for the 1999 World Fantasy Award. He's developed Newford into a recurring character of continuing interest. These Newford tales are, however, not a series. Each story and novel stands on its own while being subtly woven into the fabric of the city's history.
Perhaps this is why Forests of the Heart is slow to start. It spends considerable time in the present and past of the American Southwest, setting up the milieu and plot. The flavor of the Southwest is nicely evoked, both through the dialogue of Betina and her family and in the narrative descriptions. De Lint comments, "Basically, I'm in love with the Sonoran Desert, and like Tucson a lot as well," and it shows.
Yet the novel contains an undercurrent of anger and resentment. It's also intensely violent at points, more so than any other of de Lint's recent works. The Gentry, a.k.a. the hard men, are a cruel and vicious creation. De Lint says, "It strikes me that violence, such as the Irish have had to live with for all these years, leaves abusive scars on its citizens. Poverty will do the same. As will neglect. People who survive an abusive childhood or trauma are forever changed. Even when they 'make good,' the scars and pain remain." This statement illuminates the motivations of several of the main characters, and--without revealing here any of the enjoyable mysteries of the plot--also demonstrates the moral and thematic underpinning of the novel.
Forests of the Heart, with its vibrant characters and rich tapestry of mythology and spirituality, succeeds on many levels.
The most remarkable thing about this novel for me was de Lint's evocation of place and mood. His mastery of mythic fiction and/or urban fantasy grows with each new work. My thanks to Charles de Lint for his time spent answering my queries.
-- Joe
iggy Lindquist's homeworld, Veil, is located close to the Enigma, a mysterious astronomical singularity that allows starships to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye. Used by both humans and an alien race called the Speedies, the Enigma is not without its hazards. An entire Speedy fleet is lost somewhere in its temporal folds--a fleet that was launched in a time when the Speedies were at war with humanity.
Even during Siggy's childhood, long after the Speedy war is over, ships from the missing war fleet occasionally escape from the Enigma and attack Veil. It is during one such raid that Siggy's father is killed. Years later, during another offensive, a time pocket opens on the surface of the world, and she sees a young schoolmate disappear into it. Strangely, the missing boy--David Silverstein--vanishes from the collective memory of the community. His parents do not remember him, even though his bedroom and possessions remain in their home, untouched. Only Siggy and David's brother, who was far from home when David disappeared, are able to recall that he existed at all.
When romantic disappointments drive Siggy offworld as a young adult, it seems that her quest to explain David's disappearance is at an end. Taking a job as a janitor at an institution for the criminally insane, she is plunged into a strange relationship with several dangerous murderers and the power-mad director of the institute. However, one of the murderers has insights into the mystery of the time pockets and the unsolved disappearance of David Silverstein. It appears the answers Siggy has been seeking are locked in the mind of a multiple murderer, one who might as easily kill her as reveal the Enigma's secrets.
Serial killers and space anomalies
In Broken Time, Maggy Thomas creates one of the most believable and appealing heroines to come out of science fiction in years. Siggy Lindquist has genuine toughness of character rather than macha bombast. She is not incapacitated by the horrific things she experiences, but she is not untouched by them, either. Making the best of her hazardous life with humor and strength, she builds communities for herself wherever she goes. Thomas has evoked a woman most readers would be delighted to have as a neighbor or friend, and it is a pleasure to ride along on Siggy's adventures.
Through the course of the novel, readers see Siggy in various phases of her life, from childhood to maturity, forced to cope with circumstances that change radically at the whim of space fleets, serial killers and time pockets. Many books with episodic plots fail to create enough suspense to draw readers through the story. However, the stakes in Siggy's quest are high--the possibility of renewed war with the Speedies, and the escape of two inmates from the institute. Broken Time is in fact deliciously compelling, the sort of book that demands to be read in one marathon sitting.
Some aspects of Broken Time may be difficult for readers to swallow. In a universe where humans have extensive colonies and faster-than-light travel, some aspects of society are unchanged from those in effect now. Entertainment, for example, has not evolved beyond the current paradigms of television, movies and the Internet. Working-class professions, such as janitorial work and mining, are barely automated or otherwise changed from present norms. Siggy's passion for ballroom dancing rather too conveniently makes her the best person available to deal with the Speedies when the situation becomes volatile.
For readers who can look past these anachronisms, Broken Time offers a fine ride--with a fantastic protagonist, well-designed aliens and a few good scares along the way.
This was cool beyond cool, tight in scope and highly personal.
-- Alyx
harles de Lint's latest novel delves further into the history of his modern, imaginary city of Newford, while expanding Newford's physical horizons into its suburbs and the outlying Kickaha reservation. More significantly, Forests of the Heart delves into the mythological and magical traditions of Native Americans and First Peoples, and those of the Mexican/Indios of the American Southwest. These explorations, coupled with the Celtic lore for which de Lint's work is famous, provide the foundation of the novel.
iggy Lindquist's homeworld, Veil, is located close to the Enigma, a mysterious astronomical singularity that allows starships to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye. Used by both humans and an alien race called the Speedies, the Enigma is not without its hazards. An entire Speedy fleet is lost somewhere in its temporal folds--a fleet that was launched in a time when the Speedies were at war with humanity.