Someplace to be Flying

[Someplace to be Flying] is noted as the 8th in the Newford Series, and it was hard for me to believe I've read that many, usually just dipping in once or so a year - I want to savor these, as De Lint deserves to be though of as the true founder of the Urban Fantasy novel. This one centers on the Corvid (think crows, etc.) people who helped to establish the world we think of as real. Origin narratives play a large role in the book, weaving the mystical into a tapestry with the 'real' seamlessly. When a warring faction steals the chalice through which the 'real' world was created, the Corvids have to save the world - though it ends up being less about their own fate and more about the fate everyone else, including those who can't see. De show more Lint is always preaching, subtly, about making things better, holding things together, through self-realization. There are always sacrifices, but willing and noble ones. It feels that De Lint was really hitting his stride with this entry in the series.

Highly Recommended.
5 bones!!!!! show less

"The best change you can make is to hold up a mirror so that people can look into it and change themselves. That's the only way a person can be changed."

Picture [b:American Gods|30165203|American Gods|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462924585s/30165203.jpg|1970226] if it were bird-themed, set in the nineties, and every character was obsessed with art. Voila, we have Charles de Lint’s Someplace to be Flying.

The folklore is outstanding, the shifts between voices are believable, and although I wouldn't qualify de Lint's style as page-turning, it is immersive. The slow burn of the narrative allows the reader to become engrossed in a world that feels relatable and believable, and so when magic manifests, it's surprising. We show more discover things with the characters, which is really exciting.

I wouldn't recommend this novel to someone who has never read de Lint before, or at least to someone who hadn't read other novels set in the Newford universe. While the Newford books are not meant to be read chronologically (their characters intersect, but not in any linear fashion), Someplace to be Flying has a large and complex cast of characters. I've read three of de Lint's other Newford books, and I was still overwhelmed.

That's my main critique. While I found many of the characters to be incredibly compelling, they felt
kind of like gems in a pile of rocks: reading through so many (and often mundane) perspectives felt like work, and the remarkable characters were muted by comparison. Jack Daw's backstory, for example, is both illuminating and heartbreaking. For that chapter alone, I would award this novel 5 stars. But with so much time spent on less-interesting characters like Rory, Hank, Lily, and Kerry, the poignant moments of the novel were weighed down. I understand that de Lint is creating an entire city, here. A community of complex characters that each have their own back stories in different novels. The problem is, while each of their perspectives can be (and were) highlighted, it doesn't mean that they should have been. Doing so is too ambitious for one novel.

But even with having too many characters to focus on, I can't give this novel less than 4 stars. I think of characters like Cody, Raven, Maida, and Zia, and I know I won't forget them for a long time. Maybe ever. Because they're vivid and complex and I wish the novel could have devoted pages and pages more for each of their perspectives. This is where this review doubles in on itself: I want more of what I'm criticizing most. I want perspectives from the characters I like. I know that other readers will find other perspectives more compelling than I did (I didn't connect with the Kerry/Katy plotline or the Hank/Lily stuff), but I can definitely see how others would. Hell, those were the main characters.

Somehow I'm always falling in love with characters on the sidelines. show less

I really enjoyed this book. It has all of the hallmarks of a great Charles de Lint novel. We have a disparate cast of characters who end up together by the climax to try to solve whatever problem has come up. We have fantastical elements in the form of beings from another place that is adjacent to ours, or came before ours, or exists on a separate plane from ours, who inhabit the world with us. They offer a glimpse into something more, if you can open your mind to the possibility. But these beings aren't trying to moralize, or guide humans. They have all of the same shortcomings that humans do, its just that things tend to get more interesting when you are a magical being. The climax of the book was a bit anticlimactic, but I was really show more more interested in the characters' journeys, and not necessarily some big end of the world event. I find that when you have all of these big epic events that happen all of the time (Doctor Who I'm looking at you), they become less affecting. I just can't summon up the energy to care every single time the world is going to end. But on that note, there was a possibility that the world could have ended in this book, or at least reverted to a time before humans. I was less interested in that part of the story than I was in the characters learning who they were and reckoning with their own histories. In that department, it fell a little short, but I still enjoyed the journey. show less

Once again de Lint's blend of fantasy, Native American mythology, and reality of small city Newford charmed me. Whilst I wasn't quite as entranced by this as I was by Trader, it did keep me glued to its pages (and listening to the crows that live in the woods near my home!). The ending was a bit disappointing, but I am still mulling it over so may change my mind about that.

Charles De Lint writes so beautifully in a blend of mythology, fantasy and fiction which is not only entertaining but enlightening. The themes and values his characters discuss and portray often leave you thinking and questioning your own beliefs and views. Woven through this narrative are questions of loyalty, love, what makes a family, principles and over all the damage that can be done trying to change the past instead of choosing a new direction for your future.
Makes me look at the crows and ravens where I live in a whole new light.

It took me a little while to get into this book, but then I loved it. I think the getting into it might have had something to do with my concentration and less with the book. In any case, in the beginning a lot of characters are introduced and recognizing all of them and understanding a little how they were connected took a while. But once I had a feel for the universe of Someplace to be flying, it was really enjoyable. I love the atmosphere in the Newford books and I love the characters. In Someplace to be flying, Charles de Lint tells the story from the perspective of magical beings for the first time (according to his afterword). All I can say is, it works. The animal people are fascinatingly drawn. Of course, an absolute all-time show more favorite are the crow girls. They are lovely; whimsical and fun-loving, yet with an edge if someone they love is threatened. I also really loved Margaret, and the tour of Tucson she gave Lily, showing her all of its secret places. That created a lovely image. The other animal people are intriguing too, Cody in particular. I like how he is in opposition to the Corbae (the crows) a lot of the time, but not really an enemy. The ones that really felt evil are the cuckoos. On the other hand, perhaps they just follow a nature that is completely alien to us.

Another lovely Newford book that reminded me I should read more of them... Plus, this copy I got from Smashwords, and I think it's really sympathetic if an established author sells their books on an independent website like that. show less

Reading books like this make me wonder why certain readers have such a hissy fit over the fantasy genre, saying it can't be literary or it has nothing to offer in terms of social reflections. Clearly, they haven't read books like this, or if they have, they simply don't care for using magic, mythology, and folklore as a means to explore humanity. If that's the case, it's a shame. Someplace to be Flying is a beautiful book, something to break all those stereotypes of what people seem to think urban fantasy is. And now that I've finally been initiated into de Lint's writing, I can't wait to get my hands on more. There's a lot to learn and a lot to enjoy from this guy.

For a full review, which may or may not include spoilers, please click show more here: http://calico-reaction.livejournal.com/49394.html show less