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bbrassfield's review against another edition
4.0
This time through was actually a re-read for me, the first since the book was new and so with the passage of the intervening years and the effects they have on my memory, mostly serving as one big eraser, reading Moonheart in 2012 was rather like the first time. I've read many novels and short stories by Charles de Lint since Moonheart was published in the 1980's but this early novel of his always stuck in the back of my mind as something special, so much so that I sent it to someone dear to me who was in need of a good read while on the mend from surgery. She enjoyed it so much that I sent her more de Lint novels and she actually sent Moonheart back to me to re-read because she enjoyed it so much. There you have the life of a well traveled book and life well lived it has been.
As for the novel itself, readers coming to it from de Lint's later work will recognize themes that are obviously close to his writer's imagination and the familiar blending of myth that is out of our present time with some very present realities of what we know as "our world." What makes Moonheart special in the de Lint canon is the mythologies he chooses to blend and weave into then present day Ottawa. I am partial to Arthurian legends and myths having read much of the source material while a graduate student and so I very much enjoy the way he weaves these archetypal myths into the native mythologies of northeastern Canada and then fuses these with a very real world narrative. This sort of complex myth weaving alongside a rather hard boiled narrative is not for the weak of heart but arguably nowhere is de Lint more successful at doing in this in novel form than he is in Moonheart. Forests of the Heart comes to mind as also excelling in this grand mythweaving but the story at the heart of the novel, that is to say the Moonheart, is second to none for the way it touches the reader's imagination and most likely their hearts.
As for the novel itself, readers coming to it from de Lint's later work will recognize themes that are obviously close to his writer's imagination and the familiar blending of myth that is out of our present time with some very present realities of what we know as "our world." What makes Moonheart special in the de Lint canon is the mythologies he chooses to blend and weave into then present day Ottawa. I am partial to Arthurian legends and myths having read much of the source material while a graduate student and so I very much enjoy the way he weaves these archetypal myths into the native mythologies of northeastern Canada and then fuses these with a very real world narrative. This sort of complex myth weaving alongside a rather hard boiled narrative is not for the weak of heart but arguably nowhere is de Lint more successful at doing in this in novel form than he is in Moonheart. Forests of the Heart comes to mind as also excelling in this grand mythweaving but the story at the heart of the novel, that is to say the Moonheart, is second to none for the way it touches the reader's imagination and most likely their hearts.
italapas's review against another edition
Sometimes one should not revisit old books. I loved this when it was first published, but find it has not aged well for me.
kjfilipp's review against another edition
Started off kinda interesting with the antique shop and the creepy house, quickly became cringe with the introduction of a kind of culturally ignorant bastardized version of “Indian” (Native American) mythology/magic with a police investigation subplot that I found boring. I’m sure in the 80s it was fine but didn’t age well
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Combines Native American with elfin lore for an amazing story.
This one turned me on to Charles de Lint. Thank you god.
This one turned me on to Charles de Lint. Thank you god.
myriadreads's review against another edition
5.0
Moonheart is a truly well-written novel, with strong characters, romance, folklore, mysticism, and vivid imagery. I'm looking forward to reading more of DeLint's work!
bluestjuice's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. The first thing I noticed about it was how dated it was - which makes sense, it's a fantasy novel written the same year I was born; things have changed a lot since then. The scenes introducing Sara, the Merry Dances, and Tamsen House were charming and seemed grounded in reality in a way I enjoyed.
Unfortunately, as I moved deeper into the story and the fantasy elements became more and more central, I became simultaneously less interested and more uncomfortable. The Otherworld and the magical energy and much of the 'Sara taps into her magical potential' arc did not particularly seem inspired. Obviously this story is touching on some very tropey stuff, but I didn't feel that the handling was particularly creative or interesting. Unfortunately, what was really interesting - the mingling of Celtic-inspired magical fantasy with a Native American-inspired magical fantasy - felt really cringeworthy and awkward from a 21st-century view. It goes deeper than just the use of outdated language like 'Indians' and 'peace pipe', although that is there too - but it reads like an outsider's view of Native American spirituality that borrows and embroiders on elements without much regard for their real significance. I imagine it was not viciously intended and I am in no way sufficiently educated in Native American magical or spiritual thought to even begin unpacking what was done well or poorly, but reading the descriptions of the Native-based characters and the way their language and magic and culture was handled just felt token-y and disrespectful, and it marred my enjoyment of the premise.
I also didn't much enjoy the police/politics side plots, mostly because there was already a lot going on in this book in terms of locations, characters to track, and plot arcs, and every time those scenes came up they seemed to pull me out of the story into something related-but-not-as-interesting. I was also initially unenthusiastic about Sara's romance, mostly because it seemed to come out of left field. By the end I think it worked well enough, but at its beginning I found it off-putting. Sara was frustrating to me on the whole because it almost seemed as though de Lint thought he would write a book with a female protagonist, but then he wasn't completely comfortable and made it a huge ensemble cast so he wouldn't have to spend as much time focusing on her and her growth. On the one hand I thought the way she was written was accessible and fairly believable, but on the other hand as the plot escalated we spent less and less time inside her head so we didn't really get to see much of how the huge, changing events at the end affected her personally. And of course in the end she basically gets a dude as her prize, which, eh.
In any case, I didn't hate this and I would give Charles de Lint another chance in a different setting, because I mostly didn't mind his style and might like it better with different setting and plot choices. But I wouldn't really recommend this particular novel.
Unfortunately, as I moved deeper into the story and the fantasy elements became more and more central, I became simultaneously less interested and more uncomfortable. The Otherworld and the magical energy and much of the 'Sara taps into her magical potential' arc did not particularly seem inspired. Obviously this story is touching on some very tropey stuff, but I didn't feel that the handling was particularly creative or interesting. Unfortunately, what was really interesting - the mingling of Celtic-inspired magical fantasy with a Native American-inspired magical fantasy - felt really cringeworthy and awkward from a 21st-century view. It goes deeper than just the use of outdated language like 'Indians' and 'peace pipe', although that is there too - but it reads like an outsider's view of Native American spirituality that borrows and embroiders on elements without much regard for their real significance. I imagine it was not viciously intended and I am in no way sufficiently educated in Native American magical or spiritual thought to even begin unpacking what was done well or poorly, but reading the descriptions of the Native-based characters and the way their language and magic and culture was handled just felt token-y and disrespectful, and it marred my enjoyment of the premise.
I also didn't much enjoy the police/politics side plots, mostly because there was already a lot going on in this book in terms of locations, characters to track, and plot arcs, and every time those scenes came up they seemed to pull me out of the story into something related-but-not-as-interesting. I was also initially unenthusiastic about Sara's romance, mostly because it seemed to come out of left field. By the end I think it worked well enough, but at its beginning I found it off-putting. Sara was frustrating to me on the whole because it almost seemed as though de Lint thought he would write a book with a female protagonist, but then he wasn't completely comfortable and made it a huge ensemble cast so he wouldn't have to spend as much time focusing on her and her growth. On the one hand I thought the way she was written was accessible and fairly believable, but on the other hand as the plot escalated we spent less and less time inside her head so we didn't really get to see much of how the huge, changing events at the end affected her personally. And of course in the end she basically gets a dude as her prize, which, eh.
In any case, I didn't hate this and I would give Charles de Lint another chance in a different setting, because I mostly didn't mind his style and might like it better with different setting and plot choices. But I wouldn't really recommend this particular novel.
tani's review against another edition
3.0
One day, when Sara Kendall is cleaning out some of the junk from the bookstore that she owns, she happens across a box with what appears to be a medicine bag. She's a sucker for unique items, so she hangs up the picture, gives the bone to her uncle to get analyzed, and starts wearing the ring. Little does she know, that medicine bag will be the first step into a world full of myth and magic. Meanwhile, Kieran Foy searches for his mentor, who has mysteriously disappeared. He's not the only one looking, though. The RCMP are also looking for Tom Hengwr, and they're determined to find him first.
I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I was really expecting to love it, as I'd heard so many good things about Charles de Lint's urban fantasy. However, while I didn't hate it, I also didn't love it. Let's start with the good.
There's a lot of imagination to this book, and it draws from sources that are a bit different from your average urban fantasy. A lot of the magic in this world is based on Native American myth, which is a welcome change. It also mixes in a lot of Welsh mythology, which I rarely see. So a lot of the world-building and magic felt quite fresh and new, which I liked a lot.
The writing itself is quite well-done on a sentence by sentence level, and the characters are also quite well done. This feels like a more polished book than most early works, and it's clear that the craft of writing is something that Charles de Lint has spent some serious time on. I especially liked Sara as a character, and I was really drawn into her story.
However, on the not-so-good side, there are some definite hiccups in terms of pacing. For the beginning section of the novel, there's very little sense of purpose or urgency, so for a long time, I didn't feel very compelled by the book. Though the plot does eventually pick up, by that point I just needed it to be finished, so I rushed through to the ending, which definitely was not as enjoyable.
There's also a distinct problem with the romantic relationships. There are a number of these, and what I found was that they are far too much instalove for me. Characters fall in love at the drop of a hat, fall into bed just as quickly, and then end up in committed relationships that feel entirely false. I prefer a lot more development to my romantic relationships, so that was a huge letdown for me.
In the end, I thought this was a strong building block, but had some major flaws. I would read more by Charles de Lint, but when I do, I would hope for some serious improvements in the romance, at the very least, in order to continue picking up his work.
I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I was really expecting to love it, as I'd heard so many good things about Charles de Lint's urban fantasy. However, while I didn't hate it, I also didn't love it. Let's start with the good.
There's a lot of imagination to this book, and it draws from sources that are a bit different from your average urban fantasy. A lot of the magic in this world is based on Native American myth, which is a welcome change. It also mixes in a lot of Welsh mythology, which I rarely see. So a lot of the world-building and magic felt quite fresh and new, which I liked a lot.
The writing itself is quite well-done on a sentence by sentence level, and the characters are also quite well done. This feels like a more polished book than most early works, and it's clear that the craft of writing is something that Charles de Lint has spent some serious time on. I especially liked Sara as a character, and I was really drawn into her story.
However, on the not-so-good side, there are some definite hiccups in terms of pacing. For the beginning section of the novel, there's very little sense of purpose or urgency, so for a long time, I didn't feel very compelled by the book. Though the plot does eventually pick up, by that point I just needed it to be finished, so I rushed through to the ending, which definitely was not as enjoyable.
There's also a distinct problem with the romantic relationships. There are a number of these, and what I found was that they are far too much instalove for me. Characters fall in love at the drop of a hat, fall into bed just as quickly, and then end up in committed relationships that feel entirely false. I prefer a lot more development to my romantic relationships, so that was a huge letdown for me.
In the end, I thought this was a strong building block, but had some major flaws. I would read more by Charles de Lint, but when I do, I would hope for some serious improvements in the romance, at the very least, in order to continue picking up his work.