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314th out of 1,690 books
—
7,002 voters
Waifs and Strays
by
Charles de Lint,
Terri Windling (Goodreads Author)
Charles de Lint's remarkable novels and shorter fiction are, in a very real sense, coming of age stories. Here, for the first time, is a collection of his stories about teenagers&150a collection for teen and adult readers alike. From the streets of his famed Newford to the alleys of Bordertown to the realms of Faerie, this is storytelling that will transfix and delight...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
June 17th 2004
by Firebird
(first published September 30th 2002)
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Mythic fiction is at its best in this anthology of stories of memorable heroines, rooted not in a secondary world but in an urban environment. The author introduces each selection, providing insight and interesting biographical information.
I was very excited to get a hold of this one, since I've always seen de Lint's name among the fantasy anthologies I've read, such as "The Green Man" but I'm not ready to invest in his novels yet. This collection was a perfect opportunity for anyone to be intr...more
I was very excited to get a hold of this one, since I've always seen de Lint's name among the fantasy anthologies I've read, such as "The Green Man" but I'm not ready to invest in his novels yet. This collection was a perfect opportunity for anyone to be intr...more
This is my first time reading Charles de Lint. He is splendid.
The stories all have to deal with girl protagonists around the age of 16, and therein lies the collection's biggest problem. With all of the main characters being so similar in age and sometimes even situation, once I was nearing the end of the collection I found myself having a hard time differentiating between the characters of the various stories. It started almost to feel like a novel and that each story was just a separate event...more
The stories all have to deal with girl protagonists around the age of 16, and therein lies the collection's biggest problem. With all of the main characters being so similar in age and sometimes even situation, once I was nearing the end of the collection I found myself having a hard time differentiating between the characters of the various stories. It started almost to feel like a novel and that each story was just a separate event...more
This was my first real brush with Charles de Lint's work and I have to say, I'm hooked. He has this way of telling a story that really immerses you in whatever he has to tell and making you really want to care about what happens next.
There are several great stories in here, although I'll admit that I liked some more than others. I absolutely loved the one about a wish with its own identity and personality. It was really well written and helps show exactly why some of the things would unfold the...more
There are several great stories in here, although I'll admit that I liked some more than others. I absolutely loved the one about a wish with its own identity and personality. It was really well written and helps show exactly why some of the things would unfold the...more
I wasn't sure what to expect with Waifs And Strays, but I liked it more than I was expecting.
I really liked the elements of fantasy and myth and how well he blended them with the real world. I also liked how the main characters were all teens. Towards the end, they all started to blend together because they all seemed pretty similar to each other. And this was after reading a couple stories at a time. Since this book is short stories, it's easy to have a couple other books going on at the same t...more
I really liked the elements of fantasy and myth and how well he blended them with the real world. I also liked how the main characters were all teens. Towards the end, they all started to blend together because they all seemed pretty similar to each other. And this was after reading a couple stories at a time. Since this book is short stories, it's easy to have a couple other books going on at the same t...more
Welcome to the wonderful world of Charles De Lint!
Have you ever wondered what happened to all the magic in the world? where did all the mythical creatures go? and why? Well if you open up this book serious open up this book you will find out!
To start with i will say i just love De Lint he is an exceptional writer and his stories hold an imagery that is rare in writers. good ones anyway
Waifs and strays is a wonderful collection of 'De Lint’s' short stories that are based around where he lives in...more
Have you ever wondered what happened to all the magic in the world? where did all the mythical creatures go? and why? Well if you open up this book serious open up this book you will find out!
To start with i will say i just love De Lint he is an exceptional writer and his stories hold an imagery that is rare in writers. good ones anyway
Waifs and strays is a wonderful collection of 'De Lint’s' short stories that are based around where he lives in...more
The thing I like about short story collections is that I don't have to read them all in one go. I can pick up the book , read a tale or two, go read another book, come back... This has been very useful while I am in the midst of tackling a couple of much more dry books for work.
Waifs and Strays is a wonderfully rambling retrospective of DeLint's work, spanning work from Tamson House, to Ottawa, to Newford in terms of settings. All of the stories involve younger characters, and while I like Jilly...more
Waifs and Strays is a wonderfully rambling retrospective of DeLint's work, spanning work from Tamson House, to Ottawa, to Newford in terms of settings. All of the stories involve younger characters, and while I like Jilly...more
As a compilation of short stories this was good. Charles de Lint never disappoints me and I say that as some one who has been disappointed a good deal lately when picking up new books. With many of the stories I was left wanting more but that is the problem with short stories. Though it has been years since I read any of his other works I was able to slip easily into his worlds and recognize many old friends. Charles de Lint always gives his all to his writing and I appreciate that.
Maybe it was because of all the praise on the book calling Charles de Lint the best modern fantasy writer, but I was kind of severely disappointed. Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy the stories. There were some great parts, and even though I occasionally felt like the stories were dragging on (probably a side effect of reading The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God right before this...I got used to reading two-page short stories) they were for the most part memorable and engaging. Sometimes t...more
Very readable! Easy to pick up and put down. Great for those times when you have a half hour to fill. The short introductions to the stories are personal and relevant and help put the stories into context. Somehow as I was reading I was thinking about how I would've written this, or how I might spin off it, or how I could get into some aspect of it. I'm half interested now in creating my own little world and writing about who I discover there...
De Lint's books are hit or miss with me, this book is a hit. I just adore his short stories and they always leave me wanting to read more about every single character he writes about.
You know how some authors can't really get away with writing the opposite gender? Not the case with de Lint. It doesn't make a difference with him if he's writing from a female character's point of view or a male's.
I also enjoy being able to read the author's asides at the beginning of the book and at the beginning...more
You know how some authors can't really get away with writing the opposite gender? Not the case with de Lint. It doesn't make a difference with him if he's writing from a female character's point of view or a male's.
I also enjoy being able to read the author's asides at the beginning of the book and at the beginning...more
This was my first time reading any of de Lint's work, and while I enjoyed it, I felt that the difference in writing style varied a bit too much for me. The stories came from all points in the author's timeline, and that messed with the flow a little. Still, the stories were entertaining, and a few of them really hit home with the characters. What I loved most about the writing was de Lint's beautiful way with imagery.
Not much to add except to say that as good as De Lint is at world building.... He is even better at sculpting a universe the reader will buy into quickly enough to inhabit his short stories.... If you like his writing at all, I highly recommend you give this a shot!!!
All the best,
Jay
All the best,
Jay
My first journey into the magical worlds of de Lint's urban fantasy. This masterful collection is divided into sections depending on location, but it crosses all boundries of fantasy and fiction to become something extraordinary.
A very charming collection of short stories. De Lint really knows how to write a captivating tale, and he does it over and over again in this book.
I have several Charles De Lint books and this is the third or fourth book of short stories of his that I have read. He is always an enjoyable light read and who doesn't like a little magic every once in a while.
Always a delight to read de Lint. His fairies, native people and humans are beautifully captured in words.
As usual, I love Charle's de Lint's style of writing. A wonderful collection of short stories
I only read some of the stories, not the entire book. Though I did enjoy the ones I read.
I reviewed Waifs and Strays as well as Trader - both by Charles de Lint - on YouTube today. I loved both!
Back to the good de Lint books. :) This one is a collection of stories about kids (mostly teens) that he wrote for various collections. Some of them have been reprinted in other collections, but most of them were new to me, and I enjoyed them all. Some were better than others, but most of them stuck with me, and showed what a great storyteller de Lint is. Included are some random stories, some Newford stories, the seven sisters stories, and (entertainingly) a couple of vampire stories he wrote f...more
Charles de Lint is a treasure for fantasy readers. The patriarch of urban fantasy, his prose in this collection of short stories enraptures the reader and draws them into the often tragic stories of his protagonists. de Lint writes about the outcasts, and tells modern folk stories without pathos or pity, while reminding the reader that these lost children are everywhere, and most of them aren't lucky enough to find the Trickster, or the key to happiness, or even an escape. I found myself profoun...more
I had wanted to read Charles De Lint. I tried The Onion Girl but never could get into it. Picked up this book of short stories and found what I was looking for. Great stories. Very well written. A great nightcap before bedtime.
Interesting collection from talented and classic author, some of the stories were a little simple
Mar 16, 2013
Susan Gallacher
added it
Wonderful.
I think perhaps I really only like DeLint's Newford stories
Another satisfying collection of Charles de Lint short stories. Thumbs up!
Beautifully written and a nice change from the typical fantasy.
As if de Lint could do any wrong by me with his short story collection, which delicately weave their way throughout the pages, intertwining within each other in unexpected places and bringing the lives of the characters together, whether they are aware of their connections or not. With this we the readers can look at Newford as omnipotent gods, knowingly smiling at the interconnectedness of that fantasy world, and pondering the similarities to our own.
As usual his stories are excellent. I'd say he's a more consistent short story writer than novelist.
A collection of various short stories from the different worlds that the author writes in- Bordertown, Newford, and a few others. Sometimes the magic is obvious- sometimes it’s in the subtle connection between friends… but the magic is always there. I love the way that the stories transport me from our solid reality into a more fluid dream- just the way a fantasy should.
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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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