Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint
Dec. 14th, 2008 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gategrrlThumbs up on this one. Lots of well-written female characters, a nice range of male characters who play the secondary roles, or accompanying roles. It's not a romance, even though yes, the main female protagonist ends up, in a way, with a male character. Another female protagonist might end up with a male character, also, but it's not a sure thing, and the way de Lint played their relationships in the beginning, the cards might have played differently.
The main part of the book, however, had very little to do with romance at all (thank god), and much more to do with accepting who you are, what your role is with the relationships in your life, and not paying attention to who is important. There is also a dash of redemption thrown in (but it doesn't end like you might think) and disappointments with loved ones.
de Lint throws in tons of smaller themes amongst his larger ones with a large cast of characters that wander through the book. They're all vaguely connected at first-some of them know each other only by name or reputation or mention-and they all come satisfyingly together at the climax of the book. His plot weaves many threads that, looking at the page count, it's a wonder he fit it all in the modestly sized paperback. There's enough plot there for a much latger story, but he doesn't let the plot overwhelm the characters or the story. His language is elegant, transparent, and never does he infodump. When he lets the reader know, it's when the characters find out, but it's so well-done, you hardly notice. It's all part of the organic structure of the story he's telling.
Oh yea! I should mention that the book is about the power struggle between imported land-spirits from Europe (Ireland, in this case) wanting to take over the land, and drive off the native manitou spirits of the area. The manitou barely show up; it's up to the unlikely bunch of characters in the story to defeat a rampaging, dangerous Green Man and save the local residents of the spirit world.
I'm very happy. I really like this sort of comtemporary fantasy--what used to be called urban fantasy until the paranormal romance took over the label. No covers here with bareback half-naked tatooed girls on it.
The main part of the book, however, had very little to do with romance at all (thank god), and much more to do with accepting who you are, what your role is with the relationships in your life, and not paying attention to who is important. There is also a dash of redemption thrown in (but it doesn't end like you might think) and disappointments with loved ones.
de Lint throws in tons of smaller themes amongst his larger ones with a large cast of characters that wander through the book. They're all vaguely connected at first-some of them know each other only by name or reputation or mention-and they all come satisfyingly together at the climax of the book. His plot weaves many threads that, looking at the page count, it's a wonder he fit it all in the modestly sized paperback. There's enough plot there for a much latger story, but he doesn't let the plot overwhelm the characters or the story. His language is elegant, transparent, and never does he infodump. When he lets the reader know, it's when the characters find out, but it's so well-done, you hardly notice. It's all part of the organic structure of the story he's telling.
Oh yea! I should mention that the book is about the power struggle between imported land-spirits from Europe (Ireland, in this case) wanting to take over the land, and drive off the native manitou spirits of the area. The manitou barely show up; it's up to the unlikely bunch of characters in the story to defeat a rampaging, dangerous Green Man and save the local residents of the spirit world.
I'm very happy. I really like this sort of comtemporary fantasy--what used to be called urban fantasy until the paranormal romance took over the label. No covers here with bareback half-naked tatooed girls on it.
