Charles de Lint is good. In fact, he is better than good, he is very good. Although he is probably most known for his various short stories and novels set in the mythical town of Newford, I did not find, as other reviewers have done, that de Lint succeeds in creating what feels like a real community. Nor, I feel, does this detract in the least from what is a rather striking literary achievement in the collection of stories which make up Tapping the Dream Tree.

More than any other writer, de Lint reminds me of Bradbury at his most human. Although many of the eighteen stories are somewhat flawed from either a plot or a characterization standpoint, I could not escape the feeling throughout that de Lint had somehow tapped into the same magical ambience that graces Dandelion Wine, a longtime favorite of mine. His writing flows easily, and is pervaded by a warm spirit of humanity. Even his darkest stories, which involve some truly horrific acts of human depravity, do not leave one despairing or without hope that there is yet some good in the world. De Lint blurs the borders of the material and the magical, showing how the two may exist in close proximity while remaining, on some level, utterly distinct. If de Lint has a major weakness, it is with the banality of his paganism, which tends to lend his work a superficiality that stands in unfortunate contrast with his technical skill and sensitivity.

Style: De Lint's style is relaxed and easygoing without ever feeling folksy. Despite the overtly fantastic elements, magic creeps into his stories in a natural manner. His dialogue is excellent, and he does an great job of conveying that sense of wonder which can overcome one at the strangest times, you know, the sort of thing that strikes you unexpectedly when you're wandering through a forest or simply staring at a tree in your own backyard which you've never really noticed before. But unlike other writers of like sensitivity, there is a brutal edge to de Lint which seasons the prose and causes it to leave a more lasting impression. In this, too, he reminds me of Bradbury. A high level of stylistic quality is present in most, if not quite all, of the eighteen stories.

Story: While the writing is of uniformly high quality, the stories are a little more up and down. My favorite was "Pixel Pixies", which combined all of what I've come to think of de Lint's best qualities and combines the warmth of the familiar with both the delights and the dangers of the otherworld. "Making a Noise in the World" hits the reader hard, and is a powerful portrayal of the rage of a reservation Indian faced with injustice as well as the temptation of violence. Although a lesser author almost surely would have, de Lint does not fall into the trap of the easy cliche here; he simply does not need to. "Trading Hearts at the Half Kaffe Cafe" is contrived, but rather delightful nonetheless, and the novella, "Seven Wild Sisters" is one of the more interesting portrayals of the fairy world that I've ever encountered. "The Witching Hour" is also worth mentioning. Though it is one of the darker tales, it is haunting in its portrayal of how even a hopeless man can seize the opportunity to do something heroic.

On the other hand, "Freak" is one of those stories that hangs on someone doing something inexplicably stupid, "Masking Indian" is a bore and "Ten for the Devil" would have been more interesting had it ended less well for the fiddler girl. It's not a major complaint, but does the devil ever win a fiddling contest? Not in any fiction I've ever read - I'm surprised he hasn't given it up for the french horn or something. But even these stories are pretty good, and probably suffer most from their comparison with the excellence of the other stories.

Characters: De Lint writes women very well, but to me, they all seemed to be essentially the same woman. I can't help feeling that I know the girl about whom de Lint keeps writing, she's a bit of an outsider and a nature-lover, has a tenuous connection to the modern world and is more than a little bit afraid of both men and traditional religion. She considers herself spiritual, perhaps even deep, and yet her philosophy is little more than an intellectualized version of the "Mean People Suck" t-shirt. De Lint provides a little more variety with his men, but even there, the characters seem to blur together. I honestly had a very difficult time keeping track of who was who. Lifelike, but undifferentiated would perhaps be the best way to describe it.

Creativity: De Lint is rather inventive in a playful way. He makes great use of traditional fairy tales with various ethnic and American Indian lore and combines them in a manner which, if not wholly original, is at least different. While one can often figure out where he's going with a story partway through, he's usually got an unusual take on the subject which prevents one from losing interest and allows one to fully enjoy one's time taking in the ambience of his prose. For example, "Sign Here" is another deal with the devil story, which, let's face it, has been around for at least 2,000 years, and yet the conclusion is utterly unpredictable, at least from the start.

Text Sample: Don't have the book here. I'll see if I can dig something up.