This is one of my favorite de Lint books, I read it back in high school and I just really identified with the lead character and so wanted her powers.

Charles de Lint is one of the best at writing urban fantasy, he was in fact my introduction to it, and I love the mix of mysticism, darkness, depth and sheer beauty he brings to his stories and characters.

When I read it I felt that Caitlin and the characters she created were as real as anyone I knew in the real world, and was totally sucked into the story and the dangers she was in. I was totally engaged in the world he created here and felt that the threat to Caitlin was real and there was no real guarantee that she would escape unscathed as de Lint doesn't always write happy endings for all his characters. ( )

Yarrow is about Cat, who lives in her dreams and floats through her real life without ever really living it. The place she goes to in her dreams is real and the people (such as they are) she meets are real. What appealed to me about this what that as a child I often wished that some of the places I fantasized about could be real and that I could interact with the characters in my favorite movies or books. I think I watched the Never Ending Story about 500 times (almost as much as the Breakfast Club or Annie but not quite)! Cat begins having problems when someone comes along and steals her dreams and she has to figure out how to interact with people more than superficially in her daytime world for the first time. Even after reading this I still wish sometimes I could go visit Willy Wonka or talk to the Last Unicorn. ( )

A psychic vampire is on the loose. An introvert fantasy author, with her dreams, is his victim of choice. She must reconcile her dreams with reality, finally reach out to those close to her, and, with their help, face her predator.

Not particularly exciting or intense, but competent. ( )

Writer's block needs a dream fix.

Here, de Lint's protagonist is an author. The chance one of his major characters is an egineer or a football player, or a lawyer would seem to be pretty remote. :)

She is having problems writing, as it seems that in the past all her ideas came in the form of dreams. This, of course, is somewhat magical, and she has been cut off from this source by your bad man type.

So, a bit of dream world adventuring to be done to stop the bad guy, help some magic types, and actually get some words down.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/12... ( )

Favorite de Lint, even if it's a slighter work. Loved the idea of the Otherworld of ideas for Cat. I really wanted to be her. ( )