Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint was the fun and
final book on loan from my friend who let me dip into the realms of fantasy
from her personal collection. This book
actually contains two different novellas involving Jacky, Kate and Finn who try
to make their way through Faerie which just happen to be right in the middle of
Ottawa but only seen by special people who can enter into Middle Earth.
I love how this book combines everything I enjoy
about urban fantasy. It takes the creatures from classic fairytales and
folklore and then combines it in an urban environment in a way that makes
sense. It’s surprising that it took me so long to stumble upon this classic
book in the genre. But admittedly if it wasn’t for Miriam, it may be much
longer since the cover of the book doesn’t have an image of that classic strong
urban woman and is so similar all of fantasy books that I fell out of love
with.
I will have to say for me, Jack the Giant Killer was
the stronger of the two novellas in the book. It was so full of life, adventure
and characters that you could relate too and wanted to see through the story. I
was hooked by how Jacky entered the Middle Kingdom of Faerie and was relating
to things by the names in Ottawa while learning the new names of things. She
turns to her best friend and the two of them try to make their way through an
adventure to do the right thing and help save the Laird’s princess that was
kidnapped.
Drink Down the Moon was weaker for me. In this
adventure there was the lost of one of my favorite characters from the first
story Eilian (but there were some mention of him but it was mostly off handed
comments). Plus I just didn’t fully connect to the new characters who were
inserted in this story. Things just felt less natural and a little too
convenient to move along the plot.
While the second novella was weaker, I still highly
enjoyed the two stories. I would recommend this book for those who enjoy the
urban fantasy genre. I love the Celtic and English flair the story takes on.
The tales were easy to read.
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