Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Spirits in the Wires by Charles de Lint ISBN: 0-312-87398-0 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.14 (7 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Not bad, but not de Lint's best
Comment: This book wasn't that bad. However, I found it lacked some of the excitement of de Lint's other books. The ending sort of fell flat for me. Although I liked the premise (a spirit that takes over a website and begins to literally suck people in), I thought that it could have been done a little better. De Lint has left the ending open for a sequel (I don't know if that's what he has planned), but I think the loose ends could have been tied up a little better, and with more excitement (I'm used to more explosive crescendos from de Lint).
I'd recommend de Lint's "Trader", "Yarrow", or "Jack of Kinrowan" over this book. None of the three feature the Internet as a main player, but they are better examples of the urban fantasy for which de Lint is famous.
Rating: 2
Summary: This One Just Didn't Grab Me
Comment: In his latest novel featuring an ensemble cast of Newford-ites, Charles DeLint attempts to explore the idea that Cyberspace is the modern equivalent of the Hollow Hills -- an otherworld that can be physically accessed -- and that some of the older denizens of the spirit world may have already become interested in this psychic real estate. Or, at least, that's what he says he's doing in his introduction.
When a virus disrupts the Wordwood site and a whole lot of people disappear into virtual reality, a disparate group of magic users and mundanes must use whatever means they can come up with to go to the rescue. Christy Riddell is one of the central characters, as his partner Saskia is one of the ones who has disappeared. We also get to see Holly Rue, Robert Lonnie, Geordie and a supporting cast of Newford's literary citizens (as opposed to Newford's painting citizens) as well as the usual faeries, sprites and elemental spirits.
And that's what kind of bothered me about this book. We had the usual suspects doing the usual things in pretty much the usual way; only the setting was somewhat altered, and that not by much. I think the question of spirits in cyberspace, so much a part of a lot of cyberpunk fiction, is a really interesting one. But I didn't find it addressed here in any interesting way. Rather, the idea seemed taken for granted and from there the novel read like a Michael Crichton action piece, with lots of fireworks and explosions, told from so many points of view that it was hard to care about any of them.
I'm also disappointed that DeLint's books seem to have lost the edginess that grabbed me in many of his earlier works. There aren't any great villains here, so the conflict is a little pale. There isn't any real sense of danger. Although the characters constantly must remember that "The otherworld is dangerous place," we don't see any real danger. Nothing really bad happens to anyone. It's all a walk in the park and the ending no surprise. We're told anything can happen, but it rings false. In reality "anything" CAN'T happen, because the heroes always come through safe and sound with very few scars. Call me bloodthirsty, but I think at this point DeLint's work could benefit from killing someone dead -- someone major.
This is another book that will probably be lost on anyone who hasn't read several of DeLint's short story collections. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone new to this writer or this genre. Although it's always interesting to see what's going on in Newford with these characters, I considered this one of their less thrilling adventures. Get it out of the library or wait for paper.
Rating: 5
Summary: Charming urban fantasy
Comment: When a book reviewer blackmails a hacker into sending a computer virus into the wordwood website, things get ugly. Because wordwood left the simple world of computing long before and migrated into the spirit workd. A virus there is a lot more serious, and hundreds of people getting sucked into their computers is just the start of the problems.
When his girlfriend is one of those sucked in, Christy Riddell resolves to go after her--even if it means entering into the spirit world. Of course he's never actually been in the spirit world and isn't even sure he believes in it, but he's willing to do whatever it takes to save her. Gathering a group of friends and questionable allies, he sets off. But things have gone downhill in wordwood and its problems are starting to spread even more widely. If he and his band don't succeed, the problems may become a lot more serious than just a few missing persons.
Author Charles de Lint brings new life to the concept of merging the computer and fantasy world. The fairy people aren't all involved with computers, but many shadows are given strength by people's belief in them and lots of people believe what computers tell them. de Lint's writing is lyrical, engaging the reader and giving the story a tang of its own. The power of this novel comes not from the conclusions, although there are some charming twists there as well, but from the progression through adventure, from de Lint's descriptions and concepts, and from the way he paints his story rather than simply telling it.
SPIRITS IN THE WIRES takes a fairly standard concept and really breaths light into it. de Lint fans will be happy to see many familiar characters return, as well as enjoy meeting some of the new characters and concepts that de Lint brings to the light. It's a charming story. Well done.
 |
Title: A Circle of Cats by Charles De Lint, Charles Vess ISBN: 0670036471 Publisher: Viking Childrens Books Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
 |
Title: Waifs and Strays by Charles De Lint, Terri Windling, Charles Vess ISBN: 067003584X Publisher: Viking Childrens Books Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.99 |
 |
Title: The Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint ISBN: 0142302236 Publisher: Firebird Books Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: A Handful of Coppers: Collected Early Stories, Heroic Fantasy by Charles De Lint ISBN: 1931081735 Publisher: Subterranean Pub. Date: December, 2003 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
 |
Title: From a Whisper to a Scream by Charles de Lint ISBN: 0765304341 Publisher: Orb Books Pub. Date: 18 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
