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Eyes Like Leaves
Taking a delightful departure from his more common urban-fantasy settings, this epic tale from acclaimed author Charles de Lint weaves elements of Celtic and Nordic mythology while bringing sword and sorcery to the forefront.
Summer magic is waning in the Green Isles, and the evil Icelord is encasing the lands in a permanent frost while coastal towns are pillaged by snake...more
Summer magic is waning in the Green Isles, and the evil Icelord is encasing the lands in a permanent frost while coastal towns are pillaged by snake...more
Paperback, 2nd Edition, 322 pages
Published
January 16th 2012
by Tachyon Publications
(first published January 1st 2009)
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This was an interesting read. de Lint actually wrote this book early in his career, but it wasn't published until now. He did an edit of it, but tried to remain true to the young man he was when he wrote it, which was interesting.
This novel is in a fantasy world and reminded me a bit of Le Guin's Earthsea.
There are many different peoples in the book, but the main struggle is for a balance in the world. The Summerlord has lost his staff and Everwinter is creeping over the world, looking to end su...more
This novel is in a fantasy world and reminded me a bit of Le Guin's Earthsea.
There are many different peoples in the book, but the main struggle is for a balance in the world. The Summerlord has lost his staff and Everwinter is creeping over the world, looking to end su...more
Despite being published in 2009, this was a book that de Lint wrote way back at the beginning of his career. Told by his publisher that its publication would get him cemented in to the niche of high fantasy, it was put aside as de Lint pursued his urban fantasy.
Eyes Like Leaves is set in a thinly disguised British Isles, with a war starting as Lothan, the king of Everwinter, strives to take over the world, disrupting the balance between himself and his brother Hafarl, the Summerlord. Lothan’s v...more
Eyes Like Leaves is set in a thinly disguised British Isles, with a war starting as Lothan, the king of Everwinter, strives to take over the world, disrupting the balance between himself and his brother Hafarl, the Summerlord. Lothan’s v...more
The beautiful summer magic is seeping away from the Green Isles. Everwinter is threatening to come to the islands because the Summerlord’s staff – the source of his power – has been broken. The Winter Lord is using this to his advantage by trying to destroy the Summerlord’s kith and kin on his path to ultimate power. Now it is up to the dhruids to gather together those with the last vestiges of the Summerlord’s power to fight off not only the invading Vikings, but the Winter Lord himself.
Eyes Li...more
Eyes Li...more
Apr 16, 2012
Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviewed
The beautiful summer magic is seeping away from the Green Isles. Everwinter is threatening to come to the islands because the Summerlord’s staff – the source of his power – has been broken. The Winter Lord is using this to his advantage by trying to destroy the Summerlord’s kith and kin on his path to ultimate power. Now it is up to the dhruids to gather together those with the last vestiges of the Summerlord’s power to fight off not only the invading Vikings, but the Winter Lord himself.
Eyes Li...more
Eyes Li...more
May 05, 2010
Michael
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
read-in-2010
In his introduction, Charles De Lint states that "Eyes Like Leaves" was written and originally submitted for publication at a time when his fantasy career was at a crossroads. If he published "Leaves" he could be lumped into the category of writing standard fantasy instead of the urban fantasy for which he's become known. De Lint decided to delay publishing the book and worked on his next urban fantasy project.
So reading "Eyes Like Leaves" is an experiment in what could have been--not only for d...more
So reading "Eyes Like Leaves" is an experiment in what could have been--not only for d...more
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I honestly can't believe that I'm rating anything of Charles de Lint's a mere three stars. In my humble opinion, he is one of the finest writers of our time. However, this story was one that was written when he was first starting out, before he decided on his urban fantasy path. The tale itself is a good one -- the standard 'good versus evil' with a couple of twists. It never really had me on the edge of my seat though. Also, while de Lint's work is usually very well written, the obvious errors...more
3.5 stars
Eyes Like Leaves started out well, but the book bogged down for me by the end. It didn't have the rich characters I expect from Charles de Lint, but it did have his usual beautiful writing.
For the first half of the book, I was delighting in being in a genre that I used to love, but have visited very infrequently in the last twenty or so years. Wizards, living in a world that once was full of magic, but now is almost bare of it. Good fighting off evil for the sake of the world as a whol...more
Eyes Like Leaves started out well, but the book bogged down for me by the end. It didn't have the rich characters I expect from Charles de Lint, but it did have his usual beautiful writing.
For the first half of the book, I was delighting in being in a genre that I used to love, but have visited very infrequently in the last twenty or so years. Wizards, living in a world that once was full of magic, but now is almost bare of it. Good fighting off evil for the sake of the world as a whol...more
The story was good, although CdL's prose has improved over the years, and this is an earlier novel.
However, while the production values of the run are very nice- pretty cover art, nice paper, a well-designed interior- Subterranean Press apparently used a pre-finished copy of the text to print this. There were not only a lot of typos, but numerous places in which two "synonyms" for a word in the text were both printed, one after the other or combined (such as "buarrow": a combination of "burrow"...more
However, while the production values of the run are very nice- pretty cover art, nice paper, a well-designed interior- Subterranean Press apparently used a pre-finished copy of the text to print this. There were not only a lot of typos, but numerous places in which two "synonyms" for a word in the text were both printed, one after the other or combined (such as "buarrow": a combination of "burrow"...more
Charles de Lint is one of my all-time favourite authors, but I haven't been wildly impressed by his last few books. So I was incredibly excited to read this one, which is actually the second book that he ever wrote. I suppose my high hopes might have had something to do with my disappointment, but I felt pretty let down by this book. The plot was predictable, and the female main character was a sniveling damsel in distress who did nothing but cry and need to be rescued by the men around her.
As...more
As...more
This was the book that got me interested in his Newford series, but I haven't actually gotten to read that series yet. Mainly because I'm willing to just buy every single Charles de Lint book there is, regardless of even reading the blurb on the book. I just love his work that much. And I'm never disappointed, even with the other book, Woods and Waters Wild, that I didn't get to finish because of the stupid library due date, and the subsequent misplacing of the book within the library (not my no...more
You would think that either when this book was originally written (30 years ago) or when it was just recently published, SOMEONE one would have edited this poor thing. This has some of the worst typos and just editing mistakes that I've ever seen. Like, at the end of one sentence apparently the author was trying to decide if "himself" or "ourself" was the best word choice. What it says is "himselfourself." REALLY??
This book just really wasn't worth it. I stuck it out because it's de Lint, but ho...more
This book just really wasn't worth it. I stuck it out because it's de Lint, but ho...more
I read the first seven chapters of this and it just didn’t work for me. Normally, Charles de Lint is one of my favorite novelists and short story writers, but this isn’t written in the sub- genre I think he writes best: what he calls contemporary fantasy in the introduction, but is more often called urban fantasy. He originally wrote this in 1980, when he was also writing epic fantasy. His editor and friend Terri Windling pointed out that if wanted to be known for urban fantasy, that’s what he s...more
I first encountered Charles de Lint at a time in my life when I read almost exclusively a traditional type of fantasy. Steeped as I was in Valdemar, Narnia, and Pern, the grimy, magical streets of de Lint’s contemporary Newford was a revelation. Now the wheel has turned and I’m reveling in contemporary stories galore but de Lint is back with a type of high fantasy I haven’t encountered in a long, long time.
EYES LIKE LEAVES is definitely a breed of book with Tolkien in it’s pedigree; a sweeping,...more
EYES LIKE LEAVES is definitely a breed of book with Tolkien in it’s pedigree; a sweeping,...more
This is one of de Lint's older novels, re-released. I am not surprised, because this felt so different from many of his novels that I had a hard time remembering that he was the author.
This felt very much like a usual high-fantasy novel, with druids and magic and shape-changing and gods and minstrels. But I didn't find it cliched. I loved the world he created, and his characters were interesting. I found it a quick read - I jumped right in and had to keep reading to see what happened.
This felt very much like a usual high-fantasy novel, with druids and magic and shape-changing and gods and minstrels. But I didn't find it cliched. I loved the world he created, and his characters were interesting. I found it a quick read - I jumped right in and had to keep reading to see what happened.
I didn't finish this book. It comes down to a matter of taste, and I find that I don't care for de Lint's high fantasy (I prefer his urban fantasy). It felt too much like generic fantasy, and I didn't care to finish it. I also found it disconcerting that he often uses modern words and concepts like "teenager" in what otherwise feels like an old Celtic world with magic. Not my cuppa tea, but I can understand how someone would enjoy it.
Way too high fantasy for my current tastes. While it was very interesting to read de Lint's intro, this style of story isn't to my taste (lots of mythological exposition, changes focus between multiple parties). Being de Lint, however, his gorgeous writing made me care about each of those parties by book's end... it just felt like work getting through the first half.
The dust jacket touted this book as one for "De Lint completists." Now, CdL is one of my all time favorite writers, and it's his urban-fantasy tales I love the best. This book, however, is classic secondary world high fantasy (a la Middle Earth, etc), and I'm just not into it, not even for my favorite writer.
3.5 Stars
My full review: http://coffeecookiesandchilipeppers.b...
When I started the book I discovered that the work had originally been finished in 1980. However, his editor, the same Terri Windling, suggested that if he were to publish this work in preference to a different one that he also had ready for publication then he would be pigeonholed as a straight fantasy writer. He decided to go with more contemporary fantasy and published the other manuscript instead.
I am glad that I read this as a...more
My full review: http://coffeecookiesandchilipeppers.b...
When I started the book I discovered that the work had originally been finished in 1980. However, his editor, the same Terri Windling, suggested that if he were to publish this work in preference to a different one that he also had ready for publication then he would be pigeonholed as a straight fantasy writer. He decided to go with more contemporary fantasy and published the other manuscript instead.
I am glad that I read this as a...more
The introductions explains that this was an early novel that was only published now. I do prefer de Lint's urban fantasy to fantasy. Also, the publisher did a poor editing job which was very surprising, many typos throughout the text.
Still worth reading if you are a fan.
Still worth reading if you are a fan.
As much as I enjoyed this novel, I'm very glad that its initial publication was delayed in favour of an urban fantasy novel. If De Lint had chosen to publish this instead he would have gained a reputation as a classic fantasist, rather than as one of the forefathers of the urban fantasy genre/movement, and we most likely would have seen less of the wonderful modern-set novels that he is known for. Of course, his classic epic fantasy is still wonderful, and this novel is a prime example. He draws...more
Hafarl's staff is broken and the power of summer is waning as his brother, Lothan, the Winter Lord, is determined to bring about the Everwinter. To bring balance back, the Summerlord's staff must be restored but how can an old man, a young apprentice, and an untried and untutored girl possibly manage that.
First time reading Charles deLint and I can understand now why he comes so highly recommended in fantasy. This was a lovely tale, deftly woven so that all the pieces were laid out to come toget...more
First time reading Charles deLint and I can understand now why he comes so highly recommended in fantasy. This was a lovely tale, deftly woven so that all the pieces were laid out to come toget...more
Perfectly decent high fantasy from Charles de Lint. You can tell it was one of his earlier books, and I do tend to like his urban fantasy better, but I did like it. Vaguely Earthsea-ish.
He stated that he wrote this very early in his career, but didn't publish it till 2009. I did like this, but Jack the Giant Killer has more presence that Carrie.
Jun 18, 2010
Mary
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
only-read-a-little-bit-b-c-i-didn-t
While I liked the story in general, like other reviewers I just couldn't get past the sentence fragments and garbled paragraphs of this book- it really did read like a marked-up draft. I finally gave up after reading 1/3 of the book.
I enjoyed this short novel with the magic and message of not giving up hope. I felt the ending could have used a little more.
Good book. I could tell it was written earlier in his career. Not the same amount of nuance or reality of dialogue I'm used to in his later urban fantasy short stories. Still worth the read from a great author!
A good story with flat characters and badly written internal monologues. The emotional and psychological aspects of the story just weren't REAL.
Charles De Lint is one of my favorite writers. This is an earlier work that's been reprinted with some updates by the author. It's not part of his "Newford" collections but a nice stand alone story.
As usual de Lint creates a magical world full of hope and triumph, despair and struggle. Set on the Green Isle, four unlikely heroes set out to save the world from the Winter King, returning the Green Isle to a balance of Summer and Winter. Full of magic and Celtic mythology, the Green Isle is nontheless a new place with creatures and the like that take a bit of a spin on what we already know.
While this is not the best of de Lint, it is, however, a must read and own by all his true fans. I have...more
While this is not the best of de Lint, it is, however, a must read and own by all his true fans. I have...more
All in all, a very good read. I only took points off for the ending. Arbitrary points, probably, but still. It's me, not the author. :)
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Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a World Fantasy Award winning author. In 1974 he met MaryAnn Harris, and married her in 1980.
Along with writers like Terri Windling and John Crowley, de Lint popularized in the 1980s the genre of urban fantasy, most notably through the Bordeland series of books. His fantasy fiction is described under the fantasy sub-genres Urban Fantasy, contemporary M...more
More about Charles de Lint...
Along with writers like Terri Windling and John Crowley, de Lint popularized in the 1980s the genre of urban fantasy, most notably through the Bordeland series of books. His fantasy fiction is described under the fantasy sub-genres Urban Fantasy, contemporary M...more
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