Spiritwalk

Format:

Book

Title:

Spiritwalk

Author:

De Lint, Charles, 1951-

ISBN:

9780312852047

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

365 pages ; 22 cm

Contents:

1. Tamson House, Ottawa, Ontario -- 2. Merlin dreams in the Mondream Wood -- 3. Ascian in rose -- 4. Westlin wind -- 5. Ghostwood : i. Lead into gold ; ii. The hooded man -- iii. Soul of the machine -- iv. The oldest war -- v. The wheel of the wood.

Summary:

Tamson House, the sprawling Ottawa edifice that is a reservoir of psychic power and a gateway to many spirit worlds, particularly those of Native American and Celtic mythology. The house is occupied by a shifting collection of artists and other social misfits seeking peace and protection from a society they find threatening. Emma Fenn, who can communicate with trees, is saved from a band of renegade faeries by Blue Farley, former biker and caretaker of Tamson, and by Esmeralda Foylan, a childhood friend and seeker of ancient truths. Emma and Esmeralda join Tamson's population as the house enters a time of great peril. When Albert Watkins strives for immortality by wresting control of Tamson House from its current guardian, the spirit of former owner Jamie Tamson, the building and all within it are moved into another, inimical world, which Blue, Emma, Esmeralda and Sara Kendell--Jamie's niece and the house's current owner--must use all their powers to oppose. De Lint infuses his powerful story of sacrifice, revenge and the responsibility of power with an ancient sense of human unity with the natural world.

Subject(s):

Magic -- Fiction.

Canadian fiction -- 20th century.

Ottawa (Ont.) -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Ottawa (Ont.) -- Fiction.

Ontario -- Ottawa.

Genre:

Fantasy fiction.

Fiction.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Independence Public Library	SCIENCE FICTION - DELINT	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Author Notes

Charles de Lint, an extraordinarily prolific writer of fantasy works, was born in the Netherlands in 1951. Due to his father's work as a surveyor, the family lived in many different places, including Canada, Turkey, and Lebanon. De Lint was influenced by many writers in the areas of mythology, folklore, and science fiction.

De Lint originally wanted to play Celtic music. He only began to write seriously to provide an artist friend with stories to illustrate. The combination of the success of his work, The Fane of the Grey Rose (which he later developed into the novel The Harp of the Grey Rose), the loss of his job in a record store, and the support of his wife, Mary Ann, helped encourage de Lint to pursue writing fulltime. After selling three novels in one year, his career soared and he has become a most successful fantasy writer.

De Lint's works include novels, novellas, short stories, chapbooks, and verse. He also publishes under the pseudonyms Wendelessen, Henri Cuiscard, and Jan Penalurick. He has received many awards, including the 2000 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection for Moonlight and Vines, the Ontario Library Association's White Pine Award, as well as the Great Lakes Great Books Award for his young adult novel The Blue Girl. His novel Widdershins won first place, Amazon.com Editors' Picks: Top 10 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2006. In 1988 he won Canadian SF/Fantasy Award, the Casper, now known as the Aurora for his novel Jack, the Giant Killer. Also, de Lint has been a judge for the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award and the Bram Stoker Award.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this sequel to Moonheart , de Lint revisits Tamson House, the sprawling Ottawa edifice that is a reservoir of psychic power and a gateway to many spirit worlds, particularly those of Native American and Celtic mythology. The house is occupied by a shifting collection of artists and other social misfits seeking peace and protection from a society they find threatening. Emma Fenn, who can communicate with trees, is saved from a band of renegade faeries by Blue Farley, former biker and caretaker of Tamson, and by Esmeralda Foylan, a childhood friend and seeker of ancient truths. Emma and Esmeralda join Tamson's population as the house enters a time of great peril. When Albert Watkins strives for immortality by wresting control of Tamson House from its current guardian, the spirit of former owner Jamie Tamson, the building and all within it are moved into another, inimical world, which Blue, Emma, Esmeralda and Sara Kendell--Jamie's niece and the house's current owner--must use all their powers to oppose. De Lint infuses his powerful story of sacrifice, revenge and the responsibility of power with an ancient sense of human unity with the natural world. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus Review

A ``fix-up'' to de Lint's Moonheart (1984), consisting of one short and three long stories previously published separately and a brief prologue. Various adventures take place in and around Tamson House, a sprawling structure occupying a full city block in modern-day Ottawa. The House hosts a variety of semi-transient artsy misfits, from neo-pagans to aspiring poets, drawn by its magic; the garden is a gateway to an Otherworld of blended Celtic and Native American mythology. The first story is a sort of set-piece, while each of the other three involves mystical threats to Tamson House and/or its occupants. The good vs. evil plots are very familiar, and de Lint draws little narrative tension out of them. Though the threats seem potent, none of the principal characters ever suffers any real harm. And the characters themselves are not interesting enough to make up for the lack of tension--the mythic figures are simply categorized like game pieces (``the bard,'' ``the woodwitch''), and the ``real'' people (such as Blue, the sensitive ex-biker) are tirelessly reasonable, forgiving, wise, compassionate, fair, selfless--and boring. De Lint's evocative mingling of disparate mythic elements might have provided the missing spark, but his use of the legends never gets beyond New Age shallowness. A disappointment from the author of Jack the Giant Killer and Drink the Moon.

Booklist Review

Tamson House, first introduced in Moonheart [BKL D 15 84] and covering an entire block in contemporary Ottawa, Ontario, is built on a gateway to the Otherworld. It's a refuge for misfits--writers, scholars, mystics, and dreamers--who need a safe place to create. Not that all is peaceful within its walls. In this series of intertwining stories, residents are rocked by bad fairies and greedy interlopers trying to tap into the power of the house and wrench control from guardian spirit Jamie, who resides in the library's computer. De Lint deftly blends native American and Celtic folklore, classic good-versus-evil conflicts, and contemporary elements with tender human moments. Characters battle private demons as well as mystical foes in these involving tales sure to have wide appeal. ~--Candace Smith

Library Journal Review

The world of faerie intrudes on 20th-century Ottawa, Canada as a conniving, self-styled queen of the faeries threatens a young woman's soul. Tamson House--a remarkable building that spans the worlds--and its residents (familiar to readers of Moonheart , Ace, 1984) figures prominently in this set of five linked stories that combine Celtic and Amerindian mythologies into a rich and believable blend. The author of The Little Country ( LJ 2/15/91) again displays his talent for fluid cross-world fantasy. For most fantasy collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.