Tapping the Dream Tree

Book excerpt: This collection from the World Fantasy award-winning author of The Onion Girl contains “lucid transfiguration of folklore and myth into fantasy tales.” —Booklist Charles de Lint's urban fantasies, including Moonheart, Forests of the Heart, and The Onion Girl, have earned him a devoted following and critical acclaim as a master of contemporary magical realism. At the heart of his work is the ongoing Newford series, of which this is the latest volume. The city of Newford could be any contemporary North American city . . . except that magic lurks in its music, in its art, in the shadows of its grittiest streets, where mythic beings walk disguised. And its people are like you and me, each looking for a bit of magic to shape their lives and transform their fate. In this volume we meet a bluesman hiding from the devil; a Buffalo Man at the edge of death; a murderous ghost looking for revenge; a wolf man on his first blind date; and many more. We're reunited with Jilly, Geordie, Sophie, the Crow Girls, and other characters whose lives have become part of the great Newford myth. And De Lint takes us beyond Newford's streets to the pastoral hills north of the city, where magic and music have a flavor different but powerful still. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. “Gracefully told and filled with unforgettable and convincing characters.” –Library Journal