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adent92's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
puck1008's review against another edition
4.0
Recommended for fans of de Lint, and fans of Lord Dunsany's The Blessing of Pan.
emjbrawl88's review against another edition
3.0
Not far from the city lies an ancient wood, forgotten by the end of the world, where mystery walks in the moonlight. He wears the shape of a stag... a goat... a horned man wearing a cloak of leaves.
Greenmantle.
He is summoned by the music of the pipes, or a fire of bones on Midsummer's Evening. He is chased by the hunt, and shadowed by wild girl. When he touches your dreams, your life will never be the same again...
I read this book as part of the 2017 Popsugar Reading Challenge (a book about a mythical creature). I enjoyed the idea behind a mystical creature being called by the pipes to join his loyal followers. I enjoyed the side story of Valenti and his past. However I found that the book ended too quickly and could have explained itself a little bit better. I felt that the book didn't really have all of the answers at the end. And the character of Mally confused the heck out of me.
Greenmantle.
He is summoned by the music of the pipes, or a fire of bones on Midsummer's Evening. He is chased by the hunt, and shadowed by wild girl. When he touches your dreams, your life will never be the same again...
I read this book as part of the 2017 Popsugar Reading Challenge (a book about a mythical creature). I enjoyed the idea behind a mystical creature being called by the pipes to join his loyal followers. I enjoyed the side story of Valenti and his past. However I found that the book ended too quickly and could have explained itself a little bit better. I felt that the book didn't really have all of the answers at the end. And the character of Mally confused the heck out of me.
saraupsidedown's review against another edition
2.0
Just because you can write a mob-fantasy crossover, doesn’t mean you should.
djparvy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, and Murder
Minor: Suicide and Racism
hmae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
witchfynder_finder's review against another edition
Greenmantle was recommended to me by a close friend whose taste I trust and whom I trust to know MY taste solely on the fact that it was a Charles de Lint book. I've never read de Lint before and didn't know what to expect, but given the reaction he had when we found the book in a used book shop I figured I had to check it out.
Ultimately, though, it just didn't do anything for me. The promise of a very good and interesting story is there, but after reading more than half of it and not having the good and interesting story actually manifest, I decided it was time to call it quits. The characters could have driven me to push through, but that would have required me to care about any of them, which I just couldn't. I tried, I really did, but especially coming off of The Goblin Emperor, everything about this one fell flat.
Ultimately, though, it just didn't do anything for me. The promise of a very good and interesting story is there, but after reading more than half of it and not having the good and interesting story actually manifest, I decided it was time to call it quits. The characters could have driven me to push through, but that would have required me to care about any of them, which I just couldn't. I tried, I really did, but especially coming off of The Goblin Emperor, everything about this one fell flat.
mewsie's review against another edition
4.0
Alice (Ali) Treasure has moved around more times than she cared to remember ever since her mother, Frankie, left her abusive husband. Now, Frankie won the Wintario Lottery which gave her enough money to purchase the old home she grew up in and renovate it. This way, she hoped that Ali would finally have some stability in her life. Unfortunately, Frankie's ex, an abusive drug dealer named Earl, has discovered her windfall and plans on taking it from her to help finance a big drug deal. What Earl doesn't know is that Ali and Frankie have befriended their neighbor Tony, who turns out to be a former mafia hitman who is on the run after being falsely accused of murdering his padrone. After Earl's first attempt to get the money from Frankie, he recognizes Tony and reports his location to the family. Now, Frankie and Ali, as well as Tony are in deep trouble.
What none of them know, is that deep in the forest behind Frankie and Tony's houses, is a small village, hidden from view where the Old Religion is still being practiced and Mystery lives. The only clues that Ali and Tony have is beautiful piping music coming from the forest and a mysterious wild girl named Mally who pops up.
From what I've read, this is one of de Lint's earlier books and it was still pretty good. De Lint does a great job at creating lively and vivid charactes and beautiful scenery that I can easily picture in my head as I read. The book does focus a lot on the Mystery, a Pan-like sort of being that the little village worships. It was a nice pagan story intertwined with the main story. I really liked this book and would recommend it, but I still think his more recent books are better.
What none of them know, is that deep in the forest behind Frankie and Tony's houses, is a small village, hidden from view where the Old Religion is still being practiced and Mystery lives. The only clues that Ali and Tony have is beautiful piping music coming from the forest and a mysterious wild girl named Mally who pops up.
From what I've read, this is one of de Lint's earlier books and it was still pretty good. De Lint does a great job at creating lively and vivid charactes and beautiful scenery that I can easily picture in my head as I read. The book does focus a lot on the Mystery, a Pan-like sort of being that the little village worships. It was a nice pagan story intertwined with the main story. I really liked this book and would recommend it, but I still think his more recent books are better.
duffypratt's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book pits the old ways of doing things against the new, it two different contexts which come together. First, there is the old way of viewing the world at large, which celebrates the reality of Fey and magic. It's clear here that magic isn't necessarily good -- it has several frightening manifestations here. It gets contrasted, however, with the new way of living, which denies the magical and is empty of wonder as a result, and at least as likely not to be good.
This aspect of the story involves the Stag (the mystery), the fairy (the secret) and the magic flute (the music/art). It's familiar territory for de Lint and while it's always pretty cool, in the end the "mystery" ends up being so neutral that it might actually be irrelevant, except as a kind of deus ex machina.
The other old vs. new way has to do with the mafia. The old gangsters believed in loyalty and the family as a way to bring order to an otherwise chaotic and hostile world. In the old way, reliability and one's word matter. Again, the old way is not good. There's lots of murder and avarice. The new way, however, discards any idea of loyalty or family, and is simply reduced to violence, greed, and lust for power.
Tony, who has been betrayed by the people who actually killed his don, represents the old ways (along with his mentor). Earl and the current mob boys mostly adhere to the new ways.
The book brings all of these elements together and lets them combust. It makes for a fairly fast paced book compared to the little else I've read by de Lint. An interesting point here is that the age of the "ways" has almost nothing to do with the age of the character. Much is made of the fact that the teenage girl, Ali, is basically 14 going on 35 (and it might as well be 350). In every way, she is an old soul, and thus the character most open to magic, and to accepting the old ways of the mafia.
I'm probably making too much of this. But without that contrast, this is simply a fun book, which is quite a lot of fun on its own terms. With it, however, it becomes just a little more and I thought it was well worth my time.
This aspect of the story involves the Stag (the mystery), the fairy (the secret) and the magic flute (the music/art). It's familiar territory for de Lint and while it's always pretty cool, in the end the "mystery" ends up being so neutral that it might actually be irrelevant, except as a kind of deus ex machina.
The other old vs. new way has to do with the mafia. The old gangsters believed in loyalty and the family as a way to bring order to an otherwise chaotic and hostile world. In the old way, reliability and one's word matter. Again, the old way is not good. There's lots of murder and avarice. The new way, however, discards any idea of loyalty or family, and is simply reduced to violence, greed, and lust for power.
Tony, who has been betrayed by the people who actually killed his don, represents the old ways (along with his mentor). Earl and the current mob boys mostly adhere to the new ways.
The book brings all of these elements together and lets them combust. It makes for a fairly fast paced book compared to the little else I've read by de Lint. An interesting point here is that the age of the "ways" has almost nothing to do with the age of the character. Much is made of the fact that the teenage girl, Ali, is basically 14 going on 35 (and it might as well be 350). In every way, she is an old soul, and thus the character most open to magic, and to accepting the old ways of the mafia.
I'm probably making too much of this. But without that contrast, this is simply a fun book, which is quite a lot of fun on its own terms. With it, however, it becomes just a little more and I thought it was well worth my time.