Fifteen of the distinguished Canadian fantasist’s early stories reappear here. The six Aynber tales show, de Lint admits, the influence of spaghetti Westerns, while those about Colum mac Donal combine Robert E. Howard’s Conan milieu with Celtic and Norse mythology. The tales of Damon, a vengeance-driven halfling with bloody habits, have by far the darkest tone of any in the volume, but they are no less well written. The two Liavek stories, early entries in a shared-world series, represent de Lint maturing beyond the level of the earlier pieces. None of the stories could truthfully be said to be much more than a gifted amateur’s work, but de Lint’s command of the language is there from the first. De Lint enjoys an insatiable audience, however, and since many of the venues in which these stories first saw light had miniscule circulation and worse distribution, wherever those fans flock should give thought to getting this book.
Roland Green
