predictable but interesting future society, AmerIndians in own science based enclaves

"We even have a name for that moment between seeing the lightning and hearing its thunder."
"What's that?"
"Svaha. A waiting for promises to be fulfilled."

I really enjoyed this action-packed story. For a relatively short book of 300 pages, there is a lot going on; A post-modern world decimated by pollution and warfare; Amer-Indians who hold a hi-tech advantage have retreated into sealed enclaves; The rich live in Megaplexes -- great, walled city-state compounds that are ruled by corporations and Asian gangs, (Yakuza & Tongs); the poor and dis-enfranchised scavenge for survival amongst the deteriorating remains of the cities.

De Lint presents us with several protagonists and, despite frequent jumping between them, the story flows smoothly as characters and events converge to a fairly predictable conclusion. But the ending is not the point here -- it is the journey getting there that is the entertaining part. Magical realism is usually a deal-breaker for me. There are exceptions though and this book is one of them. The magical realism aspect is a bit of a sidebar, (albeit an important one), and that may be why it didn't bother me too much. Really, this story is driven by the characters, the world-building, and the strong dialog - all big pluses for me when it comes to speculative fiction.

This was my first de Lint novel and it was a great introduction to the author. I will be looking for more titles from him in the future. ( )

Thus far, I've only read 2 Charles de Lint books. This one I loved, the other MoonHeart, not so much.

It is a post apocalyptic world where most people live in cities that are controlled by people of Asian heritage - think yakuza. Native Americans prepared for the collapse of government and the corruption done to the environment by building large enclosed areas/preserves where they were able to escape and live protected from pollution. The inhabitants of these big domed enclosures do not allow anyone from the outside into their sanctuaries.

There was a great mix of Asian and Native American cultures - an odd mix for sure, but so right in the way it felt.

The story starts where one of the domed cities sends out a scout to discover why they have lost contact with another of their cities. Being sent out on this mission is essentially a sentence of Exile. Once you leave the city they consider you tainted and unable to be allowed entrance back in.

We not only follow this scouts journey but another's as well - who lives inside of one of the remaining metro type cities - and how their paths cross. The interactions in this novel are great. I felt they were so intense, I don't quite know how else to describe it but even though this was futuristic, the characters felt very real to me.

I loved the main character and his coyote. The story was thought provoking and I didn't have those thoughts that I knew what was going to happen. Ultimately when it ends you wish you could know where all the characters go from there.

It looks like you'd have to pick this book up from a used book store or from one of the Amazon sellers. However, it it worth the hunt. I originally read a borrowed copy of my sister's and as she lives out of state I had to track down a copy of my own to keep as I know I'd want to read it again. ( )

Beautiful. I've read this book many times, maybe it's the reason I enjoyed The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk so much. ( )

Quite an enjyoable book, although admittedly, I did not love it as much as I have loved some of de Lint's other books. I liked Gahzee and Lisa and the Ragman a lot (he kinda reminded me of the Marquis de Carabas, from Neverwhere). What happened to Yip made me sad, though the details seemed a little rushed. When I got to page 255 (of 300) I began to worry that De Lint wouldn't be able to tie up all the loose ends in fifty pages and the ending would seem rushed (I used to have a real problem with rushing my endings, so I am quite critical when published authors do it). But he actually managed to pull it all together and the ending didn't seem rushed at all. All conflicts were resolved! And I didn't feel disappointed or slighted out of my conclusion. ( )