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de Lint, Charles

Entry updated 19 February 2024. Tagged: Author.

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(1951-    ) Canadian musician and author – born in the Netherlands but in Canada from early infancy – who began to publish work of genre interest with "The Fane of the Gray Rose" in Swords Against Darkness IV (anth 1979) edited by Andrew J Offutt, and who has become one of the most significant, and almost certainly the most prolific, Canadian fantasy authors. In early years he published several stories as by Wendelessen (at least once, probably by error, spelt Wendelssen); as Samuel M Key he has published three horror novels, Angel of Darkness (1990), From a Whisper to a Scream (1992) and I'll Be Watching You (1994). Some full-length books and numerous chapbooks, beginning with The Oak King's Daughter (1979 chap), his first book, which launched his long sequence, The Tales of Cerin Songweaver [not listed below].

Two fantasy series, which dominate his later career, are of some interest for their urban settings in (as it were) the unexplored metropoli of Canada: the Ottawa and the Valley sequence, set in the mild-mannered Canadian capital; and the subsequent but similar Newford sequence of tales set in a harsher, Celtic-Magic-ridden vision of a city which somewhat resembles Toronto [for Celtic Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Crosshatch, Otherworld and Urban Fantasy see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below]. Beginning with his first full-length novel, Moonheart: A Romance (1984), the loose Newford frame has provided dramatic venues, in which a threatened but inherently idyllic urban environment is crosshatched into Faerie, a realm accessed most intensely through Tamson House, an Edifice that circumambiates a Garden at whose heart grows a version of the World-Tree [for Edifice, Faerie; Garden, Portal, Secondary World and World-Tree see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below].

de Lint has written little sf, with the exception of Svaha (1989), which is set in a radioactive Ruined Earth version of North America riddled with Dystopian city states; the only safe havens for humanity seem to be an array of high-tech Keeps established by Amerindians, the funds required for building them deriving from the financial triumph of an Amerindian rock singer, whose fusion of Music and chthonic mysticism dominates the Near Future airwaves. Cybernetic terrorists then cause trouble.

In 2018, de Lint received a World Fantasy Award for life achievement. [JC]

Charles Henri Diederick Hoefsmit de Lint

born Bussum, North Holland, Netherlands: 22 December 1951

works (selected)

series

Ottawa and the Valley

  • Moonheart: A Romance (New York: Ace Books, 1984) [Ottawa and the Valley: pb/David Mattingly]
  • Yarrow: An Autumn Tale (New York: Ace Books, 1986) [Ottawa and the Valley: pb/Segrelles]
  • Ascian in Rose (Eugene, Oregon: Pulphouse Publishing/Axolotl Press, 1987) [novella: chap: Ottawa and the Valley: hb/Donna Gordon]
  • Greenmantle (New York: Ace Books, 1988) [Ottawa and the Valley: pb/Segrelles]
  • Westlin Wind (Eugene, Oregon: Pulphouse Publishing/Axolotl Press, 1989) [novella: chap: Ottawa and the Valley: hb/Donna Gordon]
  • Ghostwood (Eugene, Oregon: Pulphouse Publishing/Axolotl Press, 1990) [Ottawa and the Valley: hb/Donna Gordon]
  • Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood (Eugene, Oregon: Pulphouse Publishing, 1992) [novella: chap: first appeared Spring 1990 Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine: in the publisher's Pulphouse Short Story Paperbacks series: Ottawa and the Valley: pb/Donna Gordon]
    • Spiritwalk (New York: Tor, 1992) [omni of the above three plus Ascian in Rose above plus other material: Ottawa and the Valley: pb/David Bergen]
  • The Road to Lisdoonvarn (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2001) [Ottawa and the Valley: hb/David Mack]

Ottawa and the Valley: Jack

  • Jack the Giant-Killer (New York: Ace Books, 1987) [in the publisher's Terri Windling's Fairy Tales series: Ottawa and the Valley: Jack: hb/Thomas Canty]
  • Drink Down the Moon (New York: Ace Books, 1990) [Ottawa and the Valley: Jack: hb/Jim Warren]
    • Jack of Kinrowan (New York: Tor, 1995) [omni of the above two: Ottawa and the Valley: Jack: hb/Thomas Canty]

Newford

  • The Stone Drum (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1989) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Ghosts of Wind and Shadow (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1990) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/Donna Gordon]
  • Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair (Eugene, Oregon: Pulphouse Publishing, 1991) [first appeared November 1987 Asimov's: in the publisher's Short Story Paperbacks series: Newford: pb/Donna Gordon]
  • Our Lady of the Harbour (Eugene, Oregon: Pulphouse Publishing/Axolotl Press, 1991) [novella: chap: Newford: hb/Donna Gordon]
  • The Bone Woman (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1992) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • The Wishing Well (Eugene, Oregon: Pulphouse Publishing/Axolotl Press, 1993) [novella: chap: Newford: hb/AMH]
  • Coyote Stories (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1993) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Memory and Dream (New York: Tor, 1994) [Newford: hb/John Howe]
  • Heartfires (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1994) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/Donna Gordon]
  • Crow Girls (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1995) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • My Life as a Bird (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1996) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • The Fields Beyond the Fields (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1997) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Trader (New York: Tor, 1997) [Newford: hb/John Howe]
  • Someplace to Be Flying (New York: Tor, 1997) [Newford: hb/Martha E Sedgwick]
  • Second Chances (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1998) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Pixel Pixies (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1999) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Moonlight and Vines (New York: Tor, 1999) [coll: Newford: hb/Terri Windling]
    • The Newford Stories (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 1999) [omni of the above four plus Dreams Underfoot and The Ivory and the Horn: A Newford Collection above: Newford: hb/Gary Lippincott]
  • The Buffalo Man (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2000) [novella: chap: Newford: hb/Charles Vess]
  • Big City Littles (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2000) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/Harris]
  • Forests of the Heart (New York: Tor, 2000) [Newford: hb/John Jude Palencar]
  • Refinerytown (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2001) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/Harris]
  • The Onion Girl (New York: Tor, 2001) [Newford: hb/John Jude Palencar]
  • Sweet Forget-Me-Not (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2002) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Da Slocklit Light (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2003) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • The World in a Box (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2004) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Make a Joyful Noise (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2005) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • This Moment (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2005) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/Charles de Lint]
  • Old Man Crow (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2006) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Widdershins (New York: Tor, 2006) [Newford: hb/John Jude Palencar]
  • The Hour Before Dawn and Two Other Stories from Newford (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2005) [coll: Newford: hb/Charles de Lint]
  • Yellow Dog (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2007) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: Newford: pb/]
  • Muse and Reverie: A Newford Collection (New York: Tor, 2009) [coll: Newford: hb/John Jude Palencar]
  • The Wind in his Heart (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 2017) [Newford: hb/MaryAnn Harris]

Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon of Thunder

Triskell Tales

  • Triskell Tales: 22 Years of Chapbooks (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2000) [anth/omni: assembling various fantasy chapbooks published by De Lint's private firm, Triskell Press: Triskell Tales: hb/MaryAnn Harris]
  • Triskell Tales 2: Six More Years of Chapbooks (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2006) [anth/omni: assembling various fantasy chapbooks published by De Lint's private firm, Triskell Press: Triskell Tales: hb/Charles de Lint]

Wildings

  • Under My Skin (Toronto, Ontario: Razorbill, 2012) [Wildings: hb/Stephen Carroll]
  • Over My Head (Toronto, Ontario: Razorbill, 2013) [Wildings: hb/Lisa Jager]
  • Out of this World (Toronto, Ontario: Razorbill, 2014) [Wildings: hb/]

Juniper Wiles

individual titles

  • The Oak King's Daughter (Ottawa, Ontario: Triskell Press, 1979) [story: chap: in the publisher's Triskell Chapbooks series: pb/]
  • Svaha (New York: Ace Books, 1989) [pb/Joe Burleson]

collections

series

  • A Handful of Coppers (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2003) [coll: Collected Early Stories: hb/MaryAnn Harris]
  • Quicksilver & Shadow (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2005) [coll: Collected Early Stories: hb/MaryAnn Harris]
  • Woods & Waters Wild (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2008) [coll: Collected Early Stories: hb/Charles de Lint]

collections: individual titles

links

previous versions of this entry



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