Having spent the past few years working my way through the standard fantasy offering in fiction, you know the type; elves, dwarves and societies not dissimilar to Earths middle ages, I felt it was time for a change. Now don’t be alarmed, I didn’t mindlessly wander into the Chick Lit or Richard and Judy’s Recommended section of Waterstones; hell my obsession with other worldly make believe wouldn’t let me. I still faithfully stuck with my favourite genre but thought I would widen my tastes a little. Traditionally I would reach for the novel that took me as far away from my mundane life as possible, discovering the wonders and mysteries of imaginary worlds without a single mention or link to reality. However after a while the standard formula began to get a little repetitive, leading me to discover Charles De Lint’s ‘Moonheart’; his twist on Native American and Celtic folklore, the Faerie Otherworld and Ottawa, Canada.
Sara Kendall and her uncle James Tamson live in Tamson House, a labyrinthine residence that covers 4 acres of downtown Ottawa, built by James’ grandfather at the turn of the century. The house is like a drop in centre for travellers, with many of the sprawling rooms housing a whole array of passing characters over the years from artists and poets to tattooed bikers. Currently living in the house with Sara and Jamie are Fred, the gardener, Sam, an author and Blue, the Biker and Blue’s girlfriend Sally. Their adventures begin when Sara uncovers a strange painting of a Celtic bard and an Indian Chief, and a bag of bone discs in the backroom of their antique shop.
Keiran Foy is the apprentice of the elusive Thomas Hengwr in the mysterious Way, a teaching that strives for internal silence and harmony with the surrounding world, a side effect being paranormal powers. When Thomas Hengwr goes missing, Keiran follows his trail to Ottawa where he soon discovers the local RCMP are hot on their trail, wanting to question the pair as part of their paranormal research operation.
When Jamie takes one of Sara’s strange bone discs to the museum to have its use identified, their troubles really begin as the bone disc turns out to be one of Thomas Hengwr’s weirden stones and the police are informed. They soon discover that being wanted in connection with a renegade wizard by the RCMP are the least of their worries as they find themselves transported into Thomas Hengwr’s Otherworld, through the portal that is Tamson House.
The Otherworld is inhabited by ancient magic, ageless bards and many other beings of native American and Celtic folklore. The residents of Tamson house, along with Keiran Foy and Inspector Tucker must collaborate with the Otherworld’s inhabitants, not only to find a way home but to also stop the evil Mal’ek’a that threatens to suffocate their world and our own. Unfortunately though the only person who can help them, Thomas Hengwr, lies in a coma in the bedroom.
Moonheart is original, fast paced and straddles many different fictional facets seamlessly. In essence this is a fantasy novel but the juxtaposition of Ottawa, the Otherworld and the RCMP investigation make ‘Moonheart’ a creative mix of fantasy, fiction, crime, folklore and romance all rolled into one. The characters of our world are refreshingly multi-dimensional, much like the plot and veer away from the cliché, especially Blue the Biker, a tattooed hell’s angel with a penchant for watercolour painting. That said, the breadth of characters is vast and some like Keiran’s friend Jean-Paul are somewhat redundant. This isn’t helped by the unpronounceable names of the native American mythical beings, and whilst authentic, endless characters with names broken by random apostrophes such as Tep’fyl’in and Ha’kan’ta can lead to confusion.
The overall story weaves itself in unexpected threads, leaving the reader baffled as to what is going to happen next, though this may be more due to the unfamiliar folklore and cultures rather than any intricate plot. However no one can fault De Lint’s research and knowledge in this archaic sphere. Those more accustom to native American mythology and Celtic folklore may not find such an air of mystery or originality in the tale as those that don’t, though the twists in character development and unexpected dispositions should keep even the most informed reader eager to turn the page.
The book is not without it’s faults (please can someone explain to me how Madison and his troops were able to enter Tamson House, see debris of the fight with the Tragg’a and then leave again back into Ottawa when none of the others can?), but it is nonetheless an exciting and innovative read.
