Moonheart

This novel is of course magical, because other wise it wouldn't be an Urban Fantasy, but it's also very musical.

From the Author's Note.
" this book was written under the influence of Alan Stivell, Andreas Vollenweider, Neville Marriner, An Triskell, Edgar Froese, Klaus Schultz, Radio Silence, Robin Williamson, Silly Wizard, the Fureys, and Kate Bush-to name the most prominent"

I too had my mp3 player dancing with Celtic tunes as I read the book, the music references peppered throughout the novel are almost a subliminal influence forcing you to listen to some Celtic tunes as you read.
Aside from that I loved the way that the author has integrated European legends and mythology with North American mythology, throwing in a healthy does show more of Taoism to boot makes for a very satisfying setting and story. The main characters are both believable and likeable; the human villains are a little one dimensional but that’s a small quibble for such a terrific novel. show less

Where do I begin with this review of one of the most influential books in my life? It is splendid. I have read and re-read it for (literally) decades, and I always find something new in it. Whether it's the explanation of the magick that resides in music, to the idea of an Otherworld that exists next to our own, the chance finding of magical items, there are elements that continue to draw me in.

The basic premise is a house in Ottawa built by the grandfather of the current owner that is massive and takes up one entire city block. It houses Jamie Tams and his orphaned niece, Sara. They have an inheritance and run a little flea market where Sara finds some interesting artifacts in a box in the back. Concurrently, the local RCMP are running show more an operation looking into the paranormal, but behind those scenes is a rich, evil business man who craves absolute power.

Woven into this tale of music and mystery is the feud between the Welsh bard Taliesin, the druid he cast into stone before being set off across the Atlantic in a coracle, and the mythical beings who inhabit the New World, a seemingly ageless sorcerer's apprentice, and the Ottawa folk music scene, and the tale-telling abilities of a master story teller, and you have a classic urban fantasy. show less

Epic Tolkien-esque fantasy meets urban fantasy in this engaging novel of good versus evil set in 1980s Ottawa and a mystical world populated by an unusual confluence of Celtic and First Peoples mythology. It started out light-hearted, so I was rather surprised by how dark and violent it got, but I suppose the same is true if you take Middle Earth’s beginning in The Hobbit and compare it with the last two books of the LoTR trilogy. I don’t have much use for this sort of epic fantasy these days, but I was happy to have read this classic of the urban fantasy genre.

It's not perfect, it's a bit rambly, sometimes a little confusing. It's dated in places, and not always too well. The characterisation is a little uneven, and there are almost too many characters to keep track of at times. Even de Lint himself in the afterword admits it's not the book he set out to write, and not the one he'd write now, but he resists the temptation to "fix" it.

And I'm giving it 5 stars anyway, because any book that sticks with you for 25 years, and still gives as much joy to read now as it did then, has to be worth that. Even just looking at it sitting on my shelf, next to a hardcover of Greenmantle I picked up a couple of years ago, makes me happy. Now I just have to find myself another copy of Faerie Tale.

Full review show more @Booklikes show less

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Sara and her uncle Jamie live in Tamson House, the old family mansion that takes up a street block in Ottawa. While Sara runs their cluttered curiosity shop, Jamie spends his days studying the arcane and playing host to the eccentrics and homeless people who come and go through Tamson House. Sara and Jamie’s interests collide when Sara discovers an old gold ring that seems to draw her into an ancient past — a past where Welsh and Native American mythology comes alive. But not only does the ring pull Sara in, it draws Tamson House, and all its occupants, with it.

Moonheart was a truly satisfying read for me. I fell in love with Tamson House — just the idea of a big sprawling mansion that show more exists in two worlds is enough to fascinate me. Tamson House was my favorite “character” in Moonheart but, as rarely happens, I liked almost all of the characters in this novel. They feel real and alive, with distinct backgrounds, personalities, and motivations. I enjoyed watching them react to their strange situations and interact with each other.

Another aspect of Moonheart that works especially well is the mix of the modern and ancient. It doesn’t feel at all unreasonable when Blue is racing his motorcycle through ancient Wales. In many ways, Moonheart reminded me of Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood and Lavondyss, two of my favorite fantasy novels. In each of these stories, an old house exists in both the modern world and on the edge of an old dark forest full of myth and legend. I suppose I just can’t resist this type of story and de Lint does it so well.

There is plenty of mystery, suspense, and action in Moonheart, and even some terror, too. I was completely enthralled the whole way through as I listened to Paul Michael Garcia superbly narrate Blackstone audio’s version. Moonheart is an enchanting story. show less

Who among you remembers the first book you read? Or, shall we say the first which made a real impression on you? For me, I grew up on a household that didn't read, and didn't really provide books for a budding bibliophile. So, I did what I could, mostly snitching school books to read from my older cousins. The first I really remember? Being six years old and sneaking my cousin's high school mythology books from her room. The ideas there absolutely fascinated me. Gods and monsters. Far distant lands with strange languages and customs. I was truly hooked on mythology, fantasy and reading itself. It was an epiphany of massive personal proportions.

Back in the middle/late 80's, I was gifted with “Moonheart.” Another epiphany of massive show more personal proportions. I fell into the story, into it's world of myth and legend, and became an Urban Fantasy fan for life. Moonheart's story was, for it's time, groundbreaking. While most mythology of the time retained the ancient characteristics of other myths and legends, Moonheart brought the stories into the modern day, creating the modern Urban Fantasy genre. Of course, Emma Bull's “War For The Oaks” winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel , Terri Windling's “The Wood Wife” and Ellen Datlow's various compilations of UF helped cement my love at the time. I spent years collecting all the works I could get my hands on, including a rare, signed copy of de Lint's “The Buffalo Man,” illustrated by Charles Vess, that I cherish.

Moonheart is perfect for anyone who wants to study the beginnings of UF, but it is a tremendous story for what it is – a beautifully written tale combining music (another of my passions), fairie, mystical forests, mythical artifacts and beings and layers upon layers of worlds. De Lint is a musician himself, and his writing is a paean to the musical heart of myth and mystery.

A living house which straddles two worlds, a cast of characters who I love dearly. Moonheart is a beautiful story I return to over and over again. show less

This classic fantasy novel is highly enjoyable and very tense, though not flawless. It's a book with an incredible magical house (the best part of the whole book), Ottawa Mounties who investigate the paranormal, and melded Celtic and First Nations mythology. It feels like a huge, deep fantasy, and is original in so many ways.

Yet uneven in others. The shifting point of view really jolted me at the start and I never fully adjusted to the technique. There is a huge cast of characters, and I struggled to keep everyone straight. It didn't help that a large number of characters were bland stereotypes. Pretty much all of the native characters came across that way-not negative stereotypes, necessarily, but tired ones. Same with a major Celtic show more bard, too--he was paint-by-numbers in every way. There were two instances of insta-love that were so insta-love I was left bewildered.

That said, it's still a gripping book. There's the HOUSE! The magnificent Tamson House that straddles worlds and defends its people. And there's... well. The house is the best part. Read it for the house, as it does end up taking over the plot in a big way through the end. show less