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16th out of 55 books
—
17 voters
Svaha
Out beyond the Enclaves, in the desolation between the cities, an Indian flyer has been downed. A chip encoded with vital secrets is missing. Only Gahzee can venture forth to find it--walking the line between the Dreamtime and the Realtime, bringing his people's ancient magic to bear on the poisoned world of tomorrow.
Bringing hope, perhaps, for a new dawn. . .
Paperback, 300 pages
Published
November 18th 2000
by Tom Doherty Associates
(first published 1989)
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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 any...more
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 any...more
When I first started Svaha I thought it was confusing, because so many characters and languages and names and other things were thrown at me from the beginning and it was difficult making sense of it all. But after awhile I got used to it, and I just became quite absorbed into the story.
The story is set in a future where everything is a wasteland (we've pretty much destroyed the world with pollution and war), save for the Enclaves where the Native Americans have retreated into. Everything starte...more
The story is set in a future where everything is a wasteland (we've pretty much destroyed the world with pollution and war), save for the Enclaves where the Native Americans have retreated into. Everything starte...more
Jan 05, 2008
Heather Ray
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of de Lint and/or dystopian Native American magic.
Actually, I first read this book about fifteen years ago, loved it, lost my copy, and forgot about it until I found it again on this site. So.
It's hard to pinpoint this book. There's a lot of science fiction, computer-y stuff. But there's also a lot of the Native American magic-y stuff that makes me love de Lint so much. Also, there's a dystopian society feel to it. And some Japanese warrior code of honor thingies. Whew.
Basically: near future, world gone awry, possible nuclear or biochemical war...more
It's hard to pinpoint this book. There's a lot of science fiction, computer-y stuff. But there's also a lot of the Native American magic-y stuff that makes me love de Lint so much. Also, there's a dystopian society feel to it. And some Japanese warrior code of honor thingies. Whew.
Basically: near future, world gone awry, possible nuclear or biochemical war...more
So this book either influenced or was influenced by Shadow Run RPG. On top of that it has the mufti-cultural musings that has been a trademark of most modern Canadian literature like Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood, and Alice Munroe. And while this aspect makes Canadian literature so distinct it can be a hindrance in narrative flow, because in the middle of a lovely sequence Professor butt-in-ski comes in and tried to unload many anthropological facts. And sometimes characters have knowledge t...more
An excellent novel with good character development and depth. Some stumbling points - such as the quick adoption of Native American concepts by the female lead character. But otherwise, I found the book to be a true delight to read. The storyline was exceptionally strong and well-developed. The ending seemed to be a little rushed and not quite up to the rest of the novel in terms of complexity and depth. But that doesn't detract too much from the overall storyline.
Not as strong as the Newford novels, for sure. The foray into sci-fi, where Japanese and Chinese gangs rule the world and Native Americans have retreated into high-tech Enclaves, just...didn't sit all that well with me. Too much of the "noble savage" for me, even if it was cloaked in high-tech sagacity. Plus, the Japanese/Chinese racism towards each other...sigh. I know it's not supposed to be the most positive of futures, but it's still disheartening to have that play a not-insignificant role.
It probably doesn't deserve five stars for a few reasons, but I devoured it. It was a wonderful feeling to fall into an early 90s CdL novel like I haven't done it in a decade. It reminded me why I fell in love with his stories to start with. I was worried it would be sci-fi, but it's actually dystopia. And as always, the characters are exquisitely relatable and the plot cinematic. Heart. It's the first book in a while that I wished had been twice or three times as long.
This gets two stars instead of one because de Lint really is an excellent stylist. But pretty much everything about the setting and story of this is hugely problematic, and the more I think about it the grosser it gets. There's a very uncomfortable amount of romanticism and othering of Native people, a lot of questionable orientalism, and an ultimately pretty much "reverse racist" plot, with the poor white and black people of the squats dominated by the wealthy Asians of the Megaplex.
It's very m...more
It's very m...more
Much as I hate to say this about a de Lint book, this was pretty awful. It felt racist, primitive, and had a wild-eyed adoration for Native Americans. It escapes a one-star rating because it has some terrific ideas, and a plausible future as seen from the Cold War (which is when it was written) that still holds up in places. But it was still pretty awful. I'm not a big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction to begin with -- I understand the use of it as a device, but it seems like an unnecessarily depr...more
Read this awhile ago. Loved the multicultural aspect of this book.
One of the first De Lint books I've read. It's stayed with me since.
One if my favorite de Lint books. Lost my copy years ago.
This is a weird one by de Lint...Shadow Run meets Dances With Wolves or something.
Basically it's set in a techno future where a cloistered Native American ventures from his protected wildwood sanctuary into the city of evil technology, where everyone has forgotten the past and tradition and are living in techno sin. Oooo! And he meets a techno chick and they find themselves wrapped up in each others business and a forbidden romance ensues. It's a regular Romeo & Juliet from the future.
That's...more
Basically it's set in a techno future where a cloistered Native American ventures from his protected wildwood sanctuary into the city of evil technology, where everyone has forgotten the past and tradition and are living in techno sin. Oooo! And he meets a techno chick and they find themselves wrapped up in each others business and a forbidden romance ensues. It's a regular Romeo & Juliet from the future.
That's...more
there is a lot i love about charles de lint. faeries in cities bringing meaning, beauty and transformation to people's lives is a winning formula, and de lint has milked it for everything its worth. plus, i like his attempt at venturing into science fiction. svaha, unfortunately, just takes his typical faults a bit too far -- heavily appropriation of marginalized and colonized cultures, a general white liberal's deep confusion on the nature of white supremacy, and a sappy sentimentality.
Still love this book after all these years.
This was my first De Lint foray outside of his Newford world, but a friend of mine recommended it as her favorite. I adore sci-fi and was not disappointed by this at all. It was a beautiful blend of a world gone to ruin and the magic of a people connected to the earth that I have come to love about his animal people world.
Only read the first few pages, wasn't drawn in, so checked reviews here. This one, by Heather Ray, tells me very clearly it's not my kind of book. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... Her meal analogy makes sense to me, because I don't like any of the choices she suggests, but would rather mix 'em up (maybe green tea and ham sandwich). I am now following her reviews. But I'm not reading this fantasy.
De Lint is my favorite urban fantasy author. Svaha is a gritty, interesting dystopian view of the future, with an fascinating blend of world cultures interacting in a world ruined by pollution, except for the domed areas saved by Native Americans. For once, they get to be the clever heroes! Yay! Great characters, twisty plot. Definitely worth reading!
The science fiction elements of this novel are reminiscent of "Neuromancer," but de Lint weaves in an element of Native American culture to round things out. Short, fast-paced, creative, and a little rough around the edges.
Though the story and the characters were great, there where times where I felt like skimming. It made reading it take a bit longer than I usually take with his novels. Overall I really enjoyed it though.
This was the first book by Charles de Lint that I ever picked up. I fell in love with his writing style. He brings his worlds to life with his own gift of literary magic.
Futuristic fantasy is what I'd like to label this book as. I really liked it, and Svaha is a departure from the Newford stories that are primarily mythological fantasy.
I had to set this aside for a while, but am nearly finished now. About 2 chapters to go for this evening.....
This is another deLint story that I cherish, and always recommend. Love the concept and the tale.
Good, but far from my favorite Charles de Lint book.
I would give this book ten stars if I could!!!
one of my all time favorites
Not his best, but still interesting
May 20, 2013
Angela
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Amy
added it
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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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updated Mar 14, 2012 05:30pm