The Newford Stories

With his uncanny grasp of the magic hovering at the edge of everyday life, "Charles de Lint shows that, far from being escapism, contemporary fantasy can be the deep mythic literature of our time." (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction) Perhaps this is why the Modern Library 100 Best Books of the Century on-line list contained more books by him than by any other writer. ~~~ Set in Newford, a quintessential North American city that might exist anywhere or nowhere, de Lint's stories wander amid the tenements and the music clubs, the waterfront and the alleyways, where ancient myths and magic spill into the modern world. Here, ghosts loiter under street lamps, gemmins live in abandoned cars, and goblins traverse the tunnels below. ~~~ You'll meet folks like Jilly Coppercorn, a painter who sees wonder on these mean streets; Christy Riddell, writer and collector of urban folk tales and odd stories; his brother Geordie, a street fiddler who calls up enchantment with his music; and many others, like the boy who saves feral bicycles, the girl who stumbles into "the city of bridges," an origami fortune teller, a serial killer of people's dreams, "bone woman," and a conjure man. ~~~ With The Newford Stories, de Lint weaves before you a mesmerizing tapestry of stark realism, fond hope, and illimitable dreams.