The Wind in His Heart

by Charles de Lint

De Lint's first adult fantasy novel in 8 years weaves a rich tapestry of story with classic CdL elegance. Young Thomas Corn Eyes sees into the otherworld, but all he wants to do is get off the rez. Steve Cole escaped from his rock star life to disappear into the desert and mountains. Fifteen-year-old barrio kid Sadie Higgins has been discarded once too often. Blogger Leah Hardin needs to leave Newford, come to terms with the loss of her best friend, and actually engage with her life. When these lives collide in the Hierro Maderas Mountains, they must struggle to escape their messy pasts and find a way to carve a future for themselves.
They don’t just have to learn how to survive. They have to learn how to fly.

Beautiful, elegant, and remarkably kind, this is the work of a storyteller at the peak of his abilities. With de Lint, there's no need to say, “I can’t wait to see what he does next.” What he does now is always enough to take my breath away.
—Seanan McGuire, author of the October Daye series and other novels

Charles' new book filled me with joy! From the first line to the last, I was completely involved. A book about those "outside" who think they want to get "in," there are good lessons to be learned—painlessly—from beginning to end.
—Janis Ian, songwriter & musician

With this gently rolling, lyrical composition of a book, the godfather of urban fantasy flows back to where he’s most needed. If there's one thing today's world can gain from literature, surely it's de Lint's signature sense of unsullied wonder and devotion to the best within us.
—Melissa F. Olson, author of the Scarlett Bernard series and other novels

As a struggling unpublished novelist, I read Charles de Lint and found the template for the kind of stories I wanted to tell, ones that brought magic and folklore into the modern world. After fifteen novels of my own, I'm still both humbled and enthralled by the ease with which he draws the reader into his stories, because now I know just how hard it is. The Wind in His Heart is tough, tender, grim, light on its feet, magical, and brilliant: in other words, a typical de Lint masterpiece, once again setting a high bar for those of us who follow.
—Alex Bledsoe, author of the Tufa series and other novels

Oh what a sweet, wonderful ride that was! I was enthralled. I didn't leave my house all weekend; it was glorious. It was throwback CdL, a vast, shifting landscape of story woven upon story, just what I love. What a love letter to the desert.
—Lizz Huerta, author, winner of the Lumina fiction award

Splendid and so very healing!
—Charles Vess, artist, winner of the World Fantasy Award

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism, Mythology, Audiobook, Ebooks

544 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2017

About the author

Charles de Lint is the much beloved author of more than seventy adult, young adult, and children's books. 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. 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.
De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. 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. 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's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.

Born in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant. 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.

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. They share their love and home with a cheery little dog named Johnny Cash.

Charles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. His skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from peers, reviewers and readers.

Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.
—Holly Black (bestselling author)
Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.
—Alice Hoffman (bestselling author)

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.
—Quill & Quire

His Newford books, which make up most of de Lint's body of work between 1993 and 2009, confirmed his reputation for bringing a vivid setting and repertory cast of characters to life on the page. 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.
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, 2013 and 2014. Under My Skin won 2013 Aurora Award. 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. His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (2009), is a fascinating ghost story about love, passion and faith. It was a finalist for both the Sunburst and Evergreen awards.

De Lint is presently writing a new adult novel. His storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. He and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which can be heard on de Lin

Reviews

[Kevin Bergin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wind in his heart

Oh No, what now? I tend to find a book I love by an author I have never read before and then bring read. I haven’t read all of Charles de Lint’s work but most of it.

So on two levels what to read next and how to follow this book. I loved the stories and the characters and the way that it all winds along on different paths and then merges.

I will miss Steve, Morago, Aggie, Thomas, Calico, Reuben, Ruby, Leah and all of the other characters.

This story hits on a personal note for me as I see many of the changes I am going through echoed here, particularly by Steve.

I finished reading 3 minutes ago and my first thought was, “how can I ever write something as brilliant as that”, followed closely by, “everything I write has merit and value”.

I’m looking for that place in the desert to be.

Thanks Charles

Kevin

[Kelly]

So many of the books I enjoy most find their way into my hands by means other than me deciding to buy a copy. In fact, this has happened often enough that when I got a note from writer friend Douglas Smith asking if I’d like to read his friend Charles de Lint’s newest book, I barely hesitated before saying, ‘Yes. Yes, I would.’

Now, I wouldn’t take every recommendation quite that easily, but I like Douglas’ books and I’ve wanted to read de Lint for a while. He has something like seventy books out, though! I hadn’t known where to start. My reading schedule is also rather unpredictable. I never really know what I’m going to read next until I decide that’s what I’m in the mood for right now. My journey into the world of Charles de Lint left me with the feeling he’s going to be one of those authors I can pick up anytime, however.

The Wind In His Heart is de Lint’s first adult fantasy novel in eight years and it’s an absolutely gorgeous book. Once I started, I found it difficult to put it aside. The story is richly told with deeply invested characters, humor, sadness, history, philosophy and even a little romance.

First, we meet Thomas Corn Eyes, who is sure the cacti across the road from the trading post are moving. Not swaying in the breeze, but shifting position. Moving in the way cacti really oughtn’t to move. For me, the first page of a book is where I’m either intrigued or patient. This small glimpse of ‘another world’ definitely piqued my interest. Already, I had questions.

Next up is Steve Cole, self-proclaimed desert rat. He’s minding his own business, camping out on a ridge overlooking the road, when a car pulls to a halt and a girl is tossed out and left behind. Continuing to mind his own business would be the best course here, but Steve has more heart than sense. He heads down to the road and that’s how we meet Sadie. She’s a troubled kid, and Steve might just be the first person to offer help without expecting anything in return. Not a concept she’s used to or prepared to deal with right away.

Finally, we meet Leah Hardin, a blogger from Newford. As I understand it, Newford appears in quite a number of de Lint’s other novels. I like the idea of this link from the established world of his stories to this new land explored in The Wind In His Heart. Leah is after a story. Steve’s story. The one she finds, of course, isn’t the one she came for.

Set on a reservation in the fictional ‘Painted Lands,’ the stories of these four people connect, collide, weave together and come apart in unpredictable patterns. Magic is an important component of this world, but it’s not important that you believe in it. The magic will work around or through you, shifted only by the willing. This isn’t to say there is no danger. This is no children’s fairy tale, though the writing is so soft and gentle that sometimes I became lulled only to realise that, yes, I was reading a story with true consequences.

I love the idea of magic not needing to be conjured but rather engaged with, for those who want to see. This concept fits very well with the Native American setting and with the journey of each of our principle and secondary characters. The world is open before them and they must decide which way to go. Only by opening their eyes and truly considering every path, however, will they be able to choose the right one.

I realise I haven’t said much about the actual story, other than introducing you to the characters and how they arrive on the scene. That’s because this is one of those books where it’s better to go in without too much expectation. The lives of four people are going to be changed forever by the events of this handful of days. For Thomas, it all starts with a moving cactus. For everyone else, it’s a senseless act of cruelty. Masks will be shed, layers peeled back. Talents discovered and true paths revealed, for all involved, even paths that seemed permanently closed at the beginning.

The story is also full of unexpected surprises, such as a dog that can turn into a helicopter. I love books that have me laughing on one page and reaching for the tissue box with another. I came to care deeply for all of these characters, even Sadie, whom I wanted to dislike, but de Lint wouldn’t let me. He has so much sympathy for the injustices of this world. Rather than make excuses for them, however, he has written a novel where unlikely allies can help a young woman find herself and a young man learns that it’s okay to walk his own path. Steve learns how to let go and Leah learns how to grab on.

Honestly, I could sit here creating metaphors for these separate stories for longer than it might take you to read this thoughtful book. You should just go read it for yourself. It’s really quite beautiful.

Reviewed for SFCrowsnest.

[Elizabeth Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opened this book up last night and from the first page could not put it down! I shirked my duties to the barest minimum so that I could finish reading it.

This is De Lint at his very best. A perfect blending of mythic storytelling, the struggles we all face in life, redemption, healing, and my favorite part of Charles' writing; the magic that exists all around us if we open our eyes and hearts to it.

I am not going to post any synopsis or spoilers. I am just going to ask you to read it. Then tell your friends to read it. Because we could all use a little more magic in our lives, and this book delivers it.

[Jalilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles de Lint is one of my favourite authors, yet after reading his books I always have a hard time organizing my thoughts together to write a review!
This is because his novels are very complex and thought provoking. At the same time, they are fun to read. They always have many elements to them, not only suspenseful storytelling, myths and fantasy, but they also address real life issues.
His latest novel The Wind in his Heart is no different. In it he's created a link between Newford and Santo del Vado Viejo, the fictitious Southwest location of many of his newer books. He has further developed his Native American inspired "Animal People" mythology which he started in Someplace to be Flying and in his Wildling series.
De Lint weaves a rich tapestry with a variety of different characters. Thomas is a young Native American man from a family of shamans and healers. He has the Sight, but he wants nothing more than to escape the reservation and discover the world. Steve Cole is a reclusive former rock who has retired to the desert and mountains. Sadie Higgins is a 15 year old from an abusive home and has been dumped in the desert. Leah Hardin is a blogger from Newford, who travels to the Southwest to write a book about her favourite rock band. Abby Whitehouse is a Native American artist who paints mysterious half animal half human people.
These are just a few of the characters who meet in the desert at the foothills of the mountains where our world and the "Otherworld" meet. As always De Lint creates multifaceted characters that you love. This is the first adult novel he has written in 8 years and it does not disappoint! It's a beautiful, magical book that I would highly recommend!
Edited to add: After a second reading I dropped a star from a 5 star rating to 4. I still throughly enjoyed this book, but I find it’s not quite as good as my all time favourites of De Lint: Memory and Dream, Someplace to Be Flying, Forests of the Heart and The Mystery of Grace

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s interesting how authors who start their careers writing atmospheric, mystical books about the intersection between magic and reality seem to become increasingly paint-by-numbers as their careers progress. Juliet Marillier followed this pattern, going from my favorite author with her original Sevenwaters trilogy, to churning out trite and recycled stories fifteen years later. Of De Lint’s work, I’ve read only his first book, Dreams Underfoot – a short story collection I enjoyed – and this, his most recent. This one is kind of fun as an escapist, plot-driven novel, but the characters and setup are unconvincing, and the emotions it elicited in me ranged from mildly entertained to moderately bored.

This story is set in Arizona, on and around the reservation of a fictional Native American tribe which lives alongside an ancient tribe of shapeshifters. Steve, a retired rock star living in the desert nearby, finds a teenager, Sadie, abandoned in the desert, and brings her to the reservation to seek help, but Sadie is a traumatized and troubled kid who sows chaos in her wake. Meanwhile, when a customer at a local hunting lodge inadvertently kills a shapeshifter, the traditional and entrepreneurial factions on the reservation are thrown into conflict. Besides Steve and Sadie, the other major point-of-view characters are Thomas, a local boy who wants to see the world but is under pressure to become a shaman, and Leah, a music blogger who comes looking for Steve after Sadie tips her off to his location.

It is a fast-paced book, in the sense that there are many relatively short chapters with lots of dialogue and that the action moves quickly, with chapters often ending on cliffhangers. Unfortunately, the characters are simplistic and unconvincing from the get-go, all too ready to share their deeply-held secrets or revise their outlooks on life at the drop of a hat, and bizarrely uninformed about their own close-knit community. Somehow Thomas doesn’t know that his boss spent several years living elsewhere (though there’s no indication this is a secret) or that his sister also sees into the otherworld (which for a supposedly deeply held secret on both of their parts, comes out awfully easily in casual conversation as soon as the book begins). Steve is even worse, being somehow unaware that anything unusual is happening even though he’s lived there for 40 years – in a trailer that is invisible to outside eyes, and with a girlfriend who, in an attempt to hint that she might not be entirely human that somehow went right over Steve’s head, has antlers and sometimes (but not always) a tail.

Steve’s bizarre ignorance is representative of the world of the book generally. The accidental killing of the shapeshifter happens because the entrepreneurial Sammy, a tribal member who grew up on the reservation and owns the hunting lodge, also somehow doesn’t believe in the shapeshifters. It’s unclear how this can be when they are more than willing to reveal themselves to him and beat him up, and for that matter when others on the reservation are perfectly willing to tell strangers who showed up on their doorstep five minutes ago all about their not-quite-human neighbors. In TV Tropes terms, the world is presented as if shapeshifters conceal themselves through a Masquerade, but in what we see throughout the book there is zero actual attempt at concealment and plenty of volunteering information.

Meanwhile, none of the POVs are really the central characters in this story or the ones driving it forward, unless you count Sadie’s acting out. The story is actually about the tribe and the shapeshifters, but three of the four POVs are white people from elsewhere, and they feel a little shoehorned in. Even Thomas, who is a tribe member, is an almost entirely reactive character, never driving the action. Steve is appointed “the arbitrator” of the shapeshifter community, which does not feel particularly earned and edges close to white savior territory in a book that otherwise manages to avoid the worst racial tropes. Leah has little reason to be in the book at all, other than to provide a connection to Newford, the fictional city where much of De Lint’s work is set. She arrives obsessed with Steve’s band because she wants to know why their music didn’t save her best friend, also a fan, from suicide, at which I can only wonder why she would have expected some band’s music to save someone from crippling anxiety and a negative self-image. Then she easily replaces this preoccupation with blogging about the plight of migrants crossing the border, which is even weirder since she never meets a migrant, just some old guy who tells her this is a worthy cause.

At any rate, this made for good cotton candy reading, exemplifying my favorite quote about how readers sometimes get sucked in, even when we know better: “That’s the problem with fiction — or the charm, if you want. Even mediocre plots have a way of sinking their hooks into you, until you find yourself concerned for the fates of characters who aren’t even fully convincing.” Put another way, there’s plenty of craft here – cliffhangers and tense situations to keep the reader going – but precious little magic. It could make a fun beach read, but don’t expect more.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the wait. Most books are like candy, this is a decadent dessert, rich, full and truly memorable.

[Rebecca Dey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my very first Goodreads review, and I will try to keep it spoiler-free, but I am sad to say it will not be a review glowing with praise. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE Charles de Lint. His characters and stories have made me cry, gasp, dread, laugh, and feel things on a visceral level that had me thinking, this guy gets it. This guy gets ME. He has written such strong and charismatic and deep women in the past: Jilly, Sophie, Isabelle (who is mentioned in this book), Saskia, and many more. It's clear he respects women, talks to women, and most importantly, listens to them when they speak.

But this book does not have that power. In three words, it's a mess.

I know I am in the minority here. It was overwhelming to see the plethora of five-star reviews, and I am glad that many people got what de Lint was trying to do here. But the magic wasn't in it for me with this one. I can certainly say this book doesn't let up in the action, and the plot is intricate to the point of impressive, but even at the end, when he did manage to tie everything up and where a little of that feeling of a de Lint novel began to creep into it for me...it was too late. I think it was just too much, too tangled, to the point that it was hard to get into the story or attached to anyone. Steve and Leah I liked. S'itala as well, and Aggie was cool, though perhaps a little hard to read (I liked her backstory, though). But it was such a dizzying plot that I had a hard time rooting myself ANYWHERE. There were also several points of view that flitted in and out for convenience, and it added to the vertigo for me. They didn't seem needed. Several of the side-plots didn't seem needed. It was just too many characters, too much story, and not enough focus. That was my problem with this novel.

And honestly, the character of Sadie was so unlikeable for me (and I am damn forgiving with unpleasant characters, normally) that her actions at the beginning of the book and her absolute lack of remorse over them almost had me shut the cover and quit right then. I just could not believe this girl's thoughts; she came off as sociopathic--and heck, maybe she is. But the single appearance of the supposed source of her problem at the beginning wasn't enough for me to buy that she was that uncaring for others. The biggest issue, though, was that I just didn't want to be in her head. I didn't want to listen to her spew her hate or hear her heartless talk. And though she does redeem herself at the end, it was too little too late for me to feel anything for her other than relief--and that was mainly that her presence dropped off.

I get that this is supposed to be a book which goes from a snowball to an avalanche because one person's actions can effect many other people when we're careless, and also that we have to find ourselves, or figure out how to do that. But that was layered under some weird stuff, much of which felt shallow and contrived (which is so weird for me to be saying about a de Lint novel) that it gets lost in the muck. For me, the Wind in his Heart scattered its points a little too far afield for me to find it cohesive or engaging.

[Bob Ritchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

Mr. de Lint has been my favorite author since a friend introduced me to his work over a decade ago. He, in my opinion, ranks with Zelazny, Asimov, and Heinlein as a storyteller who provides food for thought as part of his tales. His use of mythologies, realistic characters, and compelling, layered plots makes his urban legends fascinating and his rural tales intriguing. Thank you.

[KA · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such high hopes, so dashed.

I did not lightly abandon this book. I love Charles de Lint, even though his writing can be problematic at times (too moralizing, especially in some of his books for younger readers; the Magical Indian trope). This started out okay, if a tad too simplistic at times, but when Sadie, the damaged teenage girl character, accused the adult male savior-figure of raping her, I became troubled. When, a few chapters later, the same girl slashed an old woman's belly with a knife and stole a police vehicle--in the space of a single page--I gave up. None of it seemed the least bit convincing. Very little of Sadie's thought even sounded like those of a teenage girl.

Props to de Lint for trying to write point-of-view characters outside his comfort zone, but points lost for not doing it well. Honestly, I'd rather read another book about a struggling male musician/writer than one featuring girls and characters of color that just aren't believable. And in 2017, I sure as hell don't have the emotional energy to read about the poor older guy unjustly accused of rape. When you use your female characters for that kind of narrative, it kinda seems like wish-fulfillment fantasy on the author's part.

[miss kerris a scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical

It was like curling up in my favorite chair feeding wood into an elemental fire watching a storm rage outside. I love these books they remind me of who I really am ... Just hope I don't have to wait quite so long again xx

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Charles de Lint at his best. He creates such a complete and entrancing world that I did not want to put this book down. I slowed my pace of reading halfway through, as I did not want it to end.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to discovering more of his works.

[Crowinator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

[Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was 13 I got my very first de Lint book. It was "the Little Country" and I have been hooked since page one. Here it is 23 years later and the same can be said for The Wind in His Heart. De Lint never ever fails to craft a beautiful and touching story that seamlessly makes you believe in magic. There are books you just want to hug because you love them so much, and this like all of his will be one of those. All I can say is that I will always look forward to the words he writes. And this book is no exception.

[Erika Kilborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles de Lint is back!!

Ok, he never really left us. But it's been 8 long years waiting for a new adult book to come from him. This was worth the wait. Interwoven stories, new characters that get into your head, glimpses of Newford and some of our friends who live there, and a wonderfully inventive plot.

That's all I'll say. Read and enjoy for yourself.

[Horus · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is pretty unusual that de Lint writes a book that I don’t just want to ignore the world and read until it is finished. This book very much fits into the normal pattern. Within pages I was captivated by the place and characters and wanted to know more and go more places with them. The book is in the Newford universe but doesn’t take place there. However, the feelings are very much like what you might get from a Newford based story. After spending several years writing YA, this was de Lint’s first return to an adult novel and he hasn’t lost any of his skill. He is easily one of my very favourite authors. If I have any critique of the story at all, there is a point near the end of the book where one of the characters changes their tune. It felt, to me, a bit rushed or forced in a way that didn’t seem normal for de Lint. That aside, I absorbed this book far more quickly than I would have liked, but was too engrossed to stop.

[Don Dunham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles de Lint is one the best writers of adult urban fiction although this book was in a rural setting. Think American Southwest. The author uses existing folklore of the region with many well drawn characters.

[Sid · Rating 5 out of 5]

So nice to see CDL returning to adult fiction, and yes it was worth the wait.
This is the sort of book that you need to read a few times, so many layers of world building, and so many myths and legends referenced, even a tip of the hat to Odin :)

As you may gather I really enjoyed my first read of the book, and the second read will be even better as I will now be comfortable with the new words encountered, and they will not disturb the flow.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Thomas Corn Eyes sees in the otherworld, but he needs to get off the rez, and live in 'the real world'. Steve Cole was rockstar many years ago and left it all behind to live in the desert (and the otherworld.) 15 -year- old Sadie Higgins is discarded in the desert by her father. Newford blogger Leah Hardin comes to the desert to write one book and winds up writing something else entirely.

Two years later, I put spoiler tags in the above paragraph. Spoilers matter a lot to some people, not to me, but especially not in a Charles de Lint novel, which tend to be more about the journey than the details. It’s always wonderful, to read a Charles de Lint novel, like putting on a forgotten, but well- loved warm sweater on a brisk day. I read this on the last few days of a trip to Scotland and on the plane home. I always look forward to de Lint stories, so at a certain point I decided I’d read this on the way back home. He makes me happy, content, blessed to be a reader. I read this on my Kindle.

[Wrbill Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

New and Good from CdL

The author's best gift, imho, is his ability to create characters the reader can instantly identify with, in his own unique fantasy world. In this new book he creates a large number of characters and a complicated plot to connect them, making a long story that may try the reader's patience. But it is well worth pursuing. A truly "benevolent sense of life."

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not an avid fantasy fan. That’s probably why I am not familiar with this author. What a delightful surprise! If you want to get lost in anew variation of the world I cannot recommend this enough.

From the moment I opened this book I was transported into a strange yet familiar world. For the first time in a long time, I fell in love.

I will definitely be checking out more of this authors work.

[C. Scott Kippen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wind in his Heart is a welcome return of Charles de Lint to adult fiction and an adjacent return to Newford. This time the story takes place in the American Southwest in the Painted Lands. It is the story of Sadie, Steve, Thomas, and Leah (and of of course a large supporting cast).

Like many of de Lint's stories, it is a story of a child, Sadie, who is thrown out of a car in the middle of the desert who is found by Steve, from there, disparate lives come together as the human world and the world of the Cousins intersect all that cause of a lost girl of abuse and neglect.

This was once again another comfortable read from Charles. I always just feel comfy reading his books (best way I can think of putting it) despite stakes being high I am comfy. I stayed a way from this one a bit as I thought it wasn't in the vein of Newford, but it is a return that world with a solid callback to Memory and Dream.

Great read, and would have been five stars, but it is a tad longer than it needed to be. Glad to be back to Newford in the long form (aside from Juniper Wiles).

[Melliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. It's been eight years since de Lint wrote a book for adults, and I was anticipating another Newford adventure, but instead we were transplanted to an Indian reservation in the southwest with a completely different cast of characters (except for a few small cameos). It's a complex story that includes questions about identity for almost all the characters, but it also has so much magic and story involved that you can't wait to turn the pages. It's narrated by multiple individuals, which in this case I appreciated because you get such a different perspective on what's going on, depending on whether it's a white teenager, a "desert rat," a native young man, an elder on the Women's Council, or one of the "animal people." I was dying to get into her workroom and see all of Aggie's paintings! A wonderful experience to read.

[James Giddings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles de Lint always weaves a golden thread of human kindness through his books, and this one is no exception. It deals with truth, myth, magic and otherness, as do most of his books. This one focuses on a fictionalized version of the tensions that are found among Native Americans and the people who surround their home places in the modern era. It also treats domestic abuse, addiction and interpersonal relationships with considerable realism, while nonetheless offering hope for the resolution of the most intractable of situations.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many endings. It's been a long time since I read the last of these, too long. This one is in the southwest with just a touch in Newford. But still vivid and dark and beautiful. This would work as a standalone, but I don't think it would necessarily work as an intro to the series. As always the pov swapped around from character to character and all were believable and real. Perhaps bits of this were a little too slow. And other bits a little too uncomfortable. But definitely makes me want to pick up and read/re-read any of the other books that I don't yet have a posted review for. 4.5 of 5.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably deserves 4.5 stars. It was a real pleasure to have come across de Lint’s first adult fantasy in 8 years (6 years too long, in my opinion). He follows his common themes - communities and families “found” by those in need, loyalty, redemption, being true to yourself and others, etc., all steeped in his original brand of urban and indigenous fantasy. A delight to immerse one’s self in, especially at this dark time in our history. I’m proud he’s Canadian, eh.

[Stacy Koster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. The story was complex, and the writing was good.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been looking for this book for 3 years...never thought about e-books until this COVID closed the library. It is a magical blend of reality and myth set in the Southwest. A fantastic adventure!

[Dixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

haven't read this author for a long time and wonder why. this was another awesome book. Just loved it. Charles de Lint at his finest. a lot of jumping around from person to person but not sure it could have been done differently.
great read.

[Sylvia Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! It has all the very best of de Lint, and none of the worst. Full of imagination, myth, fantasy, complex characters, it is great storytelling. The land itself is the major and most beautiful character. As scary a place as it is, I would love to visit there. There are some new messages, too.

And, I confess, I was relieved that the Jilly character was barely mentioned, just a few sentences. I was so tired of the sufferings of Jilly.