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This collection of conceptually innovative, thematically simple stories proves again that de Lint ( Spiritwalk ) is a leading talent in the urban fantasy subgenre, which seeks to unite the escapist whimsy of fantasy with the hard edge of cyberpunk SF. The stories are all set in Newford, a New York/Chicago-style urban jungle where citizens often encounter strange beings--worldly monsters, as well as unearthly ghosts--who coexist in what one character calls ``a consensual reality where things exist because we want them to exist.'' In what may be his cleverest stylistic twist, de Lint links the stories through overlapping characters, all of whom have some familiarity with the fictional writer Christy Riddell, who (like de Lint) writes ``mythistories,'' the ``odd little stories that lie just under the skin of any large city.'' De Lint is at his best when his sense of wonder at the possibilities of imagination is rooted in an unsentimental view of harsh human realities: ``Freewheeling'' includes a sad view of urban street kids, and ``In the House of My Enemy'' takes a tough look at child abuse. However, De Lint's obviously sincere feeling that ``if we learned to care again about the wild places from which we'd driven the magic away, then maybe it would return'' leads him to spell out his moral messages, to the detriment of his fiction. Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

A ghostly love story with its beginnings in ``Timeskip'' and its poignant conclusion in ``Paperjack'' sets the tone for this collection of 19 stories (most of them published only in magazines) of urban fantasy by the author of Moonheart (Ace: Berkley, 1987) and The Little Country (Morrow, 1991) . De Lint has a flair for tales that blur the lines between the mundane world and magical reality, and nowhere is this more evident than in the fictional city of Newford, where the borders between the worlds are at their most permeable. These tales by a superb storyteller belong in most libraries.Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

YA-A collection of urban fantasies, interconnected in unexpected ways as characters slip between past and present. Most of the selections are akin to fairy tales, but not all have direct antecedents. The result is a delighfully naturalistic fairy tour of the city of Newford, where events are at times shocking, involved, or dreamlike. Jilly Coppercorn, Geordie Riddell, and his brother provide some of the links, and the city creates others. Ghosts, spirits of place, goblins, and conjure men all make appearances and remind readers that it's their ability to see magic that allows it to exist. Jilly and her friends' relationship with the otherworld is attractive, but so is their deep commitment to this one. deLint's unassuming prose is always in the service of his vision, never in its way. A thoroughly engaging book, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, full of ideas and characters that won't let go...but then, YAs won't want them to.-Cathy Chauvette, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

These 19 stories by an undoubted master of urban fantasy add up to more than a collection but less than a novel. They share a common background and the common theme of the irruption of the mythic and fantastic into contemporary cities, just under, behind, and to one side of our normal field of vision. On the other hand, they roam at will over a vast territory of folklore. Some folkloric backgrounding will help readers get more out of the volume, but de Lint has never buried his stories under his scholarship and doesn't start now. This is definitely fantasy rather than horror, definitely superior work that upholds de Lint's high reputation, definitely recommended for fantasy collections. (Reviewed Mar. 15, 1993)0312852053Roland Green From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.