3½ stars. This entry in Charles de Lint's Newford series didn't sweep me away quite as much as the others I have read. I liked the main character, Bettina, who is a curandera raised in southern Arizona. But somehow the battle between the Irish Gentry versus the local manitou was not a battle between those two at all & I didn't care for the direction the book took. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it at this time... ( )

sculptor and bruja fend off Green Man brought to life by discontented Irishman

The title's a bit lame, but I enjoyed the story. It was a typical de Lint with a cast of characters from different walks of life. This one focused on a clash of supernatural beings - and journeys into a spirit world where the homeless Irish hard men and looking to hone in on the Manitous' territory. Much of it takes place during that crazy ice storm back in '98 in the usual city of Newford. ( )

Another novel set in Newford, this time involving Irish wolf critters who want to displace the native Indian spirits and seize magical control of the land. The major human players this time are Bettina San Miguel, an Indian healer from the American s outhwest; Ellie Jones, an artist who works nights on aid to the homeless for "the Grasso Street Angel"; Tommy Raven, a Kickaha Indian; Hunter Cole, owner of Gypsy Records; his employee Miki Greer, and her brother Donal; and assorted Creek sisters, the aunts of Tommy Raven. Most of the heavy action takes place during the ice storm that shut down much of eastern Canada a few years ago.

This is a de Lint Newford fantasy; each of the characters has to confront his or her own personal demons in uncomfortably real form, and either learn from the experience, or not. It's well done, and the language is very nice, and there's nothing here that de Lint hasn't done before. A satisfying but not significant book. ( )

Set in de Lint's imaginary modern American city of Newford (which seems a lot like Minneapolis to me, from the perspective of someone who's never been to Minneapolis...(it's cold, and it's not coastal)) tongue.gif
I have a feeling some of the characters have appeared in de Lint's other books as well, but I don't remember clearly enough to vouch for it.

Here we meet Bettina, a Mexican/Native American who's been brought up in the mystic healing traditions by her grandmother, and who has long had an ambivalent relationship with dog spirits.

Now, in Newford, a group of toughs who spend their time at the Irish pub, listening to Celtic music, drinking Guinness and beating people up, may be more than they seem... the 'hard men' are also known as 'los lobos' - the wolves, and they may be following an agenda of their own... a plan which may cast the spirit world into turmoil.
Bettina knows she must deal with the situation in some way...

Into this mess are (mostly unwillingly) dragged: Ellie, a sculptor and volunteer who works with the homeless; her volunteer partner, Tommy, an ex-alcoholic Native American; Ellie's ex-, Donal, a grumpy and depressed Irishman, Donal's sister, Miki, a cheery hippie-punk musician, her boss at a record store, Hunter; Miki's co-worker, the goth chick Fiona... and an assortment of other characters.

The plot centers around the 'hard men' and an art commission offered to Ellie that gets her into a prestigious artist's colony - but although the plot is fine, the book is more about spending time in de Lint's world, with his characters. He's consistently excellent as a writer at creating a social circle of people that by the end of a book, you feel you could be hanging out with later...

That said, I also tend to feel that he tries just a tiny bit too hard to have his characters be 'hip,' to include representatives of disenfranchised or marginalized groups, and to include plugs for musical groups that he likes. That last is particularly problematic - a writer can talk about the emotional impact of a song on his characters, but if he insists on *telling* you that the song is by Ani DiFranco, and you happen to personally think that Ani DiFranco is whiny and irritating, it just rather spoils the effect.

I have to also note, however, that de Lint does a much better job than nearly anyone else I can think of at writing fiction involving different ethnic spiritual traditions, and not having it come off as either cheesy or exploitative.

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