Subject: Review: Someplace to be Flying by Charles DeLint

From: [email-masked] (Samuel Lubell)
Date: 27 Mar 1998 13:43:55 -0500

Someplace to Be Flying by Charles DeLint's
		Review copyright 1998 Samuel Lubell

If you like your magic with a strong mix of urban realism and folklore,
you should be familiar with the work of Charles DeLint.  His latest book,
_Someplace to be Flying_, adds a Native American folklore seasoning to his
usual mix.  I keep waiting for everyone to notice how excellent his books
are; this could be his breakout book.  Although it is set in Newford, the
site of many of his books and superb short stories, it stands totally
alone; although a frequent reader may wonder how so many different magical
creatures could coexist in the same city without running into each other.
The story mixes native American myths about animal spirits and the
creation of the world by Raven and the Crow Girls with urban fantasy and
gangsters (really!).  The animal spirits are able to interbreed with
humans, creating people who think they are human but really have some
animal spirit blood in them.  They are protected by their cousins, the
full-bloodied animal spirits, who also have custody of Raven's pot, which
can unmake the world.  The animal spirits are grouped into tribes,
including a special hatred by the Cuckoos, who have become gangsters, for
the Ravens and Crows, who are artists and street folk.

The story happens when Lily, a photographer, is attacked on the street and
a gypsy-taxi driver tries to save her, only to be saved himself by the
Crow Girls.  This leads them into the world of the animal spirits, in whom
they only half-believe.  Mixed into this is a total innocent, who grew up
in a mental institution because she believes she has a twin sister whom no
one else can see.  Unknown to her, the twin sister is already in the city
and the animal spirits can see her.  Then the bad guys capture Raven's pot
and things really get stirred up, literally.

De Lint's gift is in making this magic perfectly believable in an urban
context.  This isn't magical realism, where the magic is taken for
granted, but a slow unveiling of a secret world and a magic hierarchy that
fits together perfectly as the reader gradually makes sense of what is
really going on.  Characterization is very strong, especially of the Crow
Girls who seem childlike most of the time.  They live in a tree and
everything in the world seems new and strange.  They drink sugar and call
it tea, cannot grasp the idea of privacy or personal property, and appear
to be 14 year old children, although a character is shocked when he
realizes that he's known them for years and never wondered why they never
grow older.  At the same time, they can heal injuries and fight cuckoos to
the death, perfectly seriously.  The different characters all seem to be
their own people.  Once again De Lint has populated a novel with
intriguing artists and street-eccentrics, although this time he does have
a few with jobs, with the Crow Girls being especially vivid.

Usually with De Lint's works the plot is less important than the mood and
atmosphere.  Here, though the plot and atmosphere join together
seamlessly.  Even the "tall tales" told throughout the volume have a
purpose and links to several of the book's characters.

If you have not already discovered De Lint, Someplace to be Flying is a
perfect place to start.  Follow it up with Memory and Dream and his
excellent short story collection Dreams Underfoot.  Then, you too will
find yourself peeking down inner-city alleys, looking twice at various
street-people, and wondering why more readers don't know about his
wonderful individualistic brand of urban fantasy. Someplace to be Flying
has my highest recommendation.

%T      Someplace to be Flying
%A      DeLint, Charles
%C      New York
%D      February 1998
%I      TOR 
%O      Hardcover, US $24.95
%G      ISBN 0-312-85849-3
%P      380pp

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