Eyes Like Leaves

by Charles de Lint

Magic is already fading in the Green Isles, but it's still a time when myths walk the world and the children of the ancient gods are engaged in one final confrontation. But when legendary creatures wage war, it s the ordinary people who suffer the consequences--unless they, themselves, can find a way to bring an end to the hostilities. The trouble is, not all of them are able to pick a side.

Eyes Like Leaves was written in the days of Moonheart and Charles de Lint's other high fantasy novels. The tale slept like a long-forgotten lover until he recently chose to revisit (and polish) this never-before-published gem.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Canada, Science Fiction

348 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Charles de Lint is the much beloved author of more than seventy adult, young adult, and children's books. Renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre, he is the recipient of the World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others. Modern Library's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century poll, conducted by Random House and voted on by readers, put eight of de Lint's books among the top 100.
De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. He has written critical essays, music reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and he's been the main book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. De Lint served as Writer-in-residence for two public libraries in Ottawa and has taught creative writing workshops for adults and children in Canada and the United States. He's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.

Born in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant. The family moved often during de Lint's childhood because of his father's job with an international surveying company, but by the time Charles was twelve—having lived in Western Canada, Turkey and Lebanon—they had settled in Lucerne, Quebec, not far from where he now resides in Ottawa, Ontario.

In 1980, de Lint married the love of his life, MaryAnn Harris, who works closely with him as his first editor, business manager and creative partner. They share their love and home with a cheery little dog named Johnny Cash.

Charles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. His skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from peers, reviewers and readers.

Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.
—Holly Black (bestselling author)
Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.
—Alice Hoffman (bestselling author)

To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways.
—Quill & Quire

His Newford books, which make up most of de Lint's body of work between 1993 and 2009, confirmed his reputation for bringing a vivid setting and repertory cast of characters to life on the page. Though not a consecutive series, the twenty-five standalone books set in (or connected to) Newford give readers a feeling of visiting a favourite city and seeing old friends.
More recently, his young adult Wildlings trilogy—Under My Skin, Over My Head, and Out of This World—came out from Penguin Canada and Triskell Press in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Under My Skin won 2013 Aurora Award. A novel for middle-grade readers, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, published by Little Brown in 2013, won the Sunburst Award, earned starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Quill & Quire, and was chosen by the New York Times Editors as one of the top six children's books for 2013. His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (2009), is a fascinating ghost story about love, passion and faith. It was a finalist for both the Sunburst and Evergreen awards.

De Lint is presently writing a new adult novel. His storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. He and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which can be heard on de Lin

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 de Lint's career in the fantasy genre but also for readers and fans of his works. The story is your fairly standard epic fantasy story with various people battling an imposing threat coming over the magical realm. And while it all works well and there are hints and echoes of what de Lint does so well in his other urban fantasy novels, I can't help but find myself a bit relieved that he chose the urban fantasy route instead of the conventional fantasy route.

The story works, the characters work and the novel is entertaining enough. But somehow it is missing that essential element and voice that set de Lint's novels apart from his other contemporaries. And while I can't say that he wouldn't have developed that same voice over time (thankfully, de Lint resists the urge to edit the story or polish it one more time, truly giving us a taste of what might have been), it still feels as though something is missing here.

[Jewels · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 in punctuation, unedited bits (you'll know them when you see them) and other grammatical mistakes really bothered me, as it really isn't up to his usual high standard. It feels as if the book were taken off the shelf, dusted off, given a cursory glance editing (if that) and then sent to the printer. It distracted me from the actual story enough that I had to mention it here for those who are really anal about that type of thing -- which I am.

Still, if you're a de Lint fan, which I also am, and you want to read everything he's written, go ahead and delve into this book. Maybe you'll find the tale a little more riveting than I did. After all, it IS Charles de Lint.

[Donnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed reading this one. This story was originally written in 1980, I think, and was influenced by Celtic and Nordic mythology. And, for me, there's something about fantasy written in this era that I just love. It has a really different atmosphere than modern fantasy, and I think it's kind of classic and timeless. And I think more writers should draw upon Celtic mythology, especially, because it lends itself to such beautiful imagery and landscapes.

I do think this feels like a young writer's work. The world-building is broad but somewhat shallow. It seems that there are a lot of peoples and named towns and lore, but we don't necessarily go deep into it. The characters are fine but mostly archetypal with minimal arcs. This is more so a good vs. evil plot-driven story than a character study. I feel that some of the conflicts are resolved *too* quickly; like, a problem is introduced and then we rush to solve it on the next page. Finally, I found that there were a lot of editing errors, especially in the first half of the book, including places where clearly they were choosing between two words/phrases and left both on the page, just stuck to each other. (Funnily enough, in some ways that contributed to the mythological atmosphere for me a little bit.)

So, yeah, obviously it's easy to find little bits to critique, but really I found this to be a fun read. I would definitely recommend this to people looking for an autumn read (great vibes), a change of pace from modern fantasy, or if you keep finding yourself mysteriously drawn to rolling green hills, mossy trees, blankets of mists, and that inner silence that feels like magic.

[Horus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written at about the same time as Riddle of the Wren and Moonheart, de Lint explains in his introduction how this book was shelved for over 30 years. This high fantasy novel is still well written with interesting and complex characters and is a good summer read. While it may not hold the sophistication of his more recent books, it harkens back to why I fell in love with his writing after reading Riddle of the Wren and so it was a very comfortable read.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

severely underrated, hated the ending

[Aimée · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover of this edition is gorgeous, and is why I bought the book! As for the actual novel...

This is an on the shorter side 'epic fantasy' style story written by a young (at the time) writer who turned out to be inclined (whether in skill-set or taste) towards urban fantasy. Perhaps some of the feeling of 'lack' in this book has as much to do with the writer coming into his selling points and finding his inclinations (or even more) as it has to do with writing technique still being developed. As well as the fact that it is 'relatively short' and 'epic fantasy' can at times demand a certain depth that with it often brings at least slightly greater length for what it does try to cover: I can well imagine the first half being a first book in a series in most stories epic fantasy stories.

The plot is decent/reasonable (and not told badly), and I quite liked that the main character isn't the 'best' or 'ultimate' or most 'natural' at the given thing that you come across in whatever niche they occupy. I also liked the premise of him having to 'get over his learnedness'/'likes being the smart one'/'trying to be distinctive' and that having implications in the story. But it just lacks a certain (or number of types of) depth.

It's not demanding - I skimmed most of it. Once you start going, if you've a train journey to fill or whatever not you can skim a long tuning in for bits and pieces quite easily and given the right mood you won't necessarily get bored doing so (because the plot is reasonable). But that very fact means there is little in the writing to grab you -- pithy sentences, observations about human nature expressed in a condensed form or new way, etc are few and far between (far too much so for my tastes). It raises no bars writing wise (though it isn't told badly), or really fantasy content wise: it feels derivative in part because I feel the 'names have power' thing has been well done in fantasy, and the book hasn't really added anything new to that.

As such, if you're one of the following then it might suffice: young and/or have not read much fantasy, don't want anything that demands much attention from you, or after something epic-fantasy-ish without the commitment of a number of books, need to pass the time without concentrating or thinking for a while. Otherwise, unless you compulsively want to read everything by this author, maybe try something else?

At time of writing, this has been on the side of my bed for months and I've only got 2 thirds through it: I don't find it particularly 'pick-up-able', and I'm not sure if/when I'll ever pick it up to finish it, as such, perhaps not a good choice if you tend only to read bits and pieces of books at a time.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 vicious, evil, cold minions scour the land to kill all of the Summerlord’s kin. But the Summerlord’s kin are willing to give up their lives to keep balance in the world.

Puretongue, the founder of dhruidery, is a wizard with a secret. A huge secret. Tarn is a wizard who fights a dark side within himself. Carrie is a recent orphan who is told she has great power, but longs only for family and security. Deren has but recently begun to be taught wizardry. Together they must face the king of ice and winter.

You can tell that it’s an early work by a great writer. It doesn’t have the strongly drawn characters that de Lint’s later work does. The story starts very slowly, then races at the end. It’s an interesting high fantasy work, but I would have loved to see what it could have been if the author had gone back and rewritten it, but he preferred to let it stand and allow the reader to see how far he has come. It was written, after all, during the era when sword & sorcery was at its most popular, and fits right in there. The one thing that disrupted my enjoyment was that the proof reader missed huge numbers of typos; an expensive, special edition like this should have been better proofed.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 should publish, so this was shelved.

While I’m a completist, especially as it relates to de Lint, I’m not so driven that I force myself to read books that don’t work for me. As far the plot goes, Tarn is perhaps the last of the Druid- trained wizards in an England- like island, who is attempting to gather the last of the Summerkin, so they can battle the Icelord.

And please read the two stars I gave this as one. I just can't force myself to give any book by de Lint a one star rating.

[Cissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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" or "barrow"- either of which would have worked, but the blending did not). Most of the alternatives, though, were just run together in the text.

This did throw me out of the novel on any number of occasions. Not CdL's fault, but still a problem.

[Wren Handman · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 always the quality of the writing was fantastic, and the beauty of his language is beyond compare. But if I was sending someone to one of de Lint's books, it wouldn't be this one. Read Memory and Dream or the Onion Girl instead.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Deb]

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.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you loved "Into the Green," then this very early (but only fairly recently published) book will be right up your ally. Although that world is not my favorite of de Lint's enchanting places, still this book kept me entertained and often on the edge of my seat.

[R.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was awesome high fantasy, but it felt incomplete. Like so many fantasy books I've read it dragged on in the beginning and shot through the end. It was not typical of Charles De Lint's work.

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 3 out of 5]

De Lint found this manuscript in his file cabinet (or equivalent), one of his earliest (or perhaps THE earliest) attempt at a novel. At the very end he appends the original beginning, a lesson to any wannabe writers about what NOT to do, a lengthy introduction basically explaining the world, not showing. In the intro he says he nixed that whole bit, started with stuff happening, then sprinkled in the information as necessary. His talent for character and story-telling is evident, and the tale almost lifts. There is also some originality in that one of the main characters is reluctant to play her role. For me that choice didn't, in the end, really work, she never finds a backbone and comes across as whiney and annoying, but it's a brave thing to try. Here and there the dialogue is a bit too predictable, but again, this is a first novel! So I say well done! If you are de Lint fan and also have an interest in seeing how a writer develops you don't want to miss this one. ***1/2

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say that I had forgotten about this book, buried deep within our immense pile of literature. Quarantine and library closures "forced" us to go through and find things to read, leading to the discovery of our 1st edition signed copy. Sorry Charles! But I'm glad that I had a new De Lint to read. While I prefer the urban fantasy of the Newfound books, Eyes Like Leaves does not disappoint. The author's voice is still there and you're swept along upon the road of discovery. Well worth the read.

[Judith S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Charles de Lint but I did not love this book. It's an early effort--and it's epic fantasy, not at all like his "Newfield" novels. In those, ordinary people living in an ordinary Canadian town, have extraordinary, magical adventures. Whatever that's called--I think of it as "magical realism"--I like that style and the way de Lint write it.
If you do like epic fantasy--magical land infested with evil magic--you might like this. However, I don't like epic fantasy (except for Tolkien, who rules them all!)

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An earlier work of this author just published. Fabulous read that flows like a song. Complex world story told simply and credibly. It's hard to write fantasy that reads credibly and is poetic without the flowery oldy world fluff that usually get served up. His characters are easy to like and humanly flawed and whose motivations and achievements are hard fought and won.

[Varafel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic fantasy book. Very complete, no cliff hangers and only a few dangling plotlines. There were a ton of gramatical and spelling errors, but the story was so good that I didn't mind translating them as I went along.

[Linda Mayberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can tell this was Charles first attempt at writing a novel. His characters are usually strong but I was disappointed with Carrie in this novel. I would have enjoyed it more if she was more like Jilly Coppercorn.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

The highest of fantasies but not my cup of tea. The writing was unwieldy and disjointed with underdeveloped world building and flat characters; it didn't quite catch my fancy as much as some of de Lint's other (later) novels.

[Linda B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Charles deLint and his books!

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, somewhat marred by poor proofreading/editing... still worth reading.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

To much traveling like the lord of the rings

[Sue Burden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my most favorite of de Lint's books. It didn't flow for me as well as I expected, probably because it was an early book revisited. That said an enjoyable story.

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer his urban fantasy but hmm still a decent read.

[Monique Miller-McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story he wove was great, but he rambled a bit too much in places. Didn't keep me as engaged like his later works.

[Edward ott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent solid fantasy story

[Terry Grignon · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent, I enjoy all of de Lint's works but his earlier works are definitely favourites