Tapping the Dream Tree [Paperback]

I confess that I'm one of a billion fans silently pressuring de Lint to tell me more about all my favorite characters, and here they are - the Riddels, the Kelledys, the crow girls. Well, mother always said to be careful what you wish for.

These stories are just so disappointing. The characters you love... just coasting, covering no new ground, sad shadows of themselves. Here, for example, is Jilly Coppercorn - mouthing catchphrases and jerking around like an automaton. Christy Riddel meats a ghost - who has a hell of a lot more life than he does. Suddenly the conflicted, intelligent writer is a cardboard cut-out, as deep and nuanced as a french fry. And here's Sophie, on another magical adventure - having the same tired argument with herself about whether the magic is real.

Yes, there are new characters. In one excruciatingly badly written tale, told entirely in dialogue, two young men discover magic power and Learn About Themselves. Bleh. A man and woman save a stranger from getting killed and discover he was being hunted by fallen angels. How to keep the "freaks" (a word he uses WAY too often, here and elsewhere) from coming for revenge?

"Live a good life. Be good people. Keep hateful thoughts out of your heart and mind." This theme is repeated throughout the anthology, over and over and over, just this clumsily. Every tale a morality tale, everywhere a Message.

Really, some of these stories are so bad, one wonders why people published them in their anthologies and magazines and such. I guess because they say "Charles de Lint" on them. Maybe nobody wants to hurt his feelings. And maybe that's a problem. The Onion Girl, and now Tapping the Dream Tree, suggest that maybe de Lint doesn't have anything more to say about our beloved characters, or even magical Newford. Somebody, something, needs to push him to use his powerful, wonderful imagination again. Hey, I know, nobody's perfect. But the time period covered by these stories... that's a long time stumbling.

Fans may want to grit through this collection, despite the flaws and disappointments. "Ten for the Devil," "Pixel Pixies," and "Big City Littles" are worth reading, and harken back to the GOOD collections of Newford tales, in spirit.

Honestly, though, it's a waste of time, money, and hope. And a sorry waste of Charles de Lint.

TAPPING THE DREAM TREE is a wonderful collection of stand-alone stories, connected stories about the dream tree and a dream city, and a short novel of the seven sisters. This isn't a dark cyber-punk return-of-magic story, but a modern version of folk stories where fairie creatures may be powerful and beautiful, but are frequently indifferent to humans. Most of the stories are set in the countryside rather than in the city and reflect a peaceful pacing.

De Lint's writing paints pictures for his stories, compelling the reader without any sense of hurry. I found myself savoring the stories even though a part of me wanted to plunge on and find out what happens next. If you've read de Lint before, you know what to expect and you'll be delighted to find it. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. De Lint is a winner and TAPPING THE DREAM TREE is a powerful collection of stories that needs to be added to your must-read pile.