The Very Best of Charles De Lint and The Ivory and The Horn by Charles De Lint

 

The Very Best of Charles De Lint by Charles De Lint  425 pages and  The Ivory and the Horn by Charles De Lint  318 pages      Total : 743 pages

Both of these books contain short stories (one of them is duplicated) by De Lint that are mostly set in the fictional city of Newford.  "In the city of Newford, when the stars and the vibes are right, you can touch magic. Mermaids sing in the murky harbor, desert spirits crowd the night, and dreams are more real than waking."

I have read many of De Lint's books and sometimes, I really like them and then . . . I get a little tired of them. My favorite stories are the ones set in Newford because I like imagining this city that has dark, scary places, but also some nice-sounding bookstores and bars. De Lint does have some recurring characters in these stories and for some of them, it does help if you have some backstory. An example is Jilly Coppercorn --- if you have read the book The Onion Girl, then the stories in these books are better because you have some of her backstory already. De Lint also ties music into many of his stories, which has the effect of making me dig out my CDs of Celtic folk music. Again, not a bad thing -- but after a bit, I want something else.