Subject: BRIAN FROUD'S FAERIELANDS: THE WILD WOOD by Charles de Lint

From: [email-masked] ()
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 1994 23:03:12 GMT

BRIAN FROUD'S FAERIELANDS: THE WILD WOOD by Charles de Lint
         Bantam Spectra, ISBN 0-553-09630-3, 1994, 221pp, US$19.95.
                     A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
		      Copyright 1994 Evelyn C. Leeper

     Every year Readercon gives out its Small Press Awards, and one is for
the best craftsmanship in publishing.  Bantam is not a small press, of
course, but I thought of that award when I got this book, because it has the
feel of a fine book.  I just wish the story had been up to it.

     But first, the physical package. While electronic publishing is making
inroads, there is still something special about the feel of a book.  This
one is a smaller than usual size (5.5 by 8.0 inches), which sets it apart
from the run-of-the-mill--a clever psychological ploy there and I admit part
of why I decided to read this.  (The other reasons were that I like most of
what Bantam publishes, and I enjoyed de Lint's JACK THE GIANT-KILLER.)  The
pages are a soothing cream-colored rather than a harsh white or off-white.
The text uses an unusual typeface and the whole is topped off with color
illustrations by Brian Froud.

     However, this is presumably being sold as a novel, and as a novel it is
disappointing.  It's true I am not a big fantasy fan, but THE WILD WOOD
seems like a padded-out novella with a somewhat obvious and cliched message.
Long descriptions of Canadian and New Mexican scenery are well-written but
fail to add to the mood as seems to have been intended.  de Lint writes well
but this is not his best work.  There are three more books planned inthe
"Faerielands" series (by Patricia McKillip, Midori Snyder, and Terri
Windling); whether they are sequels or independent stories remains tobe
seen.  But THE WILD WOOD is not a very promising start and I can't recommend
it.

%T      The Wild Wood
%A      Charles de Lint
%C      New York
%D      March 1994
%I      Bantam Spectra
%O      hardback, US$19.95
%G      ISBN 0-553-09630-3
%P      221pp
%E      Brian Froud
%S      Faerielands
%V      1

-- 
Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | [email-masked]
"The Internet is already an information superhighway, except that ...  it is
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