My introduction to something definitely not Disney-fied fairy was Charles De Lint's Hard Men, the Gentry. In Forests of the Heart, they come out of the dark and go back into it, wreaking havoc, of course. But they are cool. Think Aragorn and definitely a lot less pretty, and nowhere near as noble. Not thugs though. That's the cool part. They are just dark. I can imagine a bunch of Jason Stathams (maybe taller, though).
In the Old Country, they called them the Gentry: ancient spirits of the land, magical, amoral, and dangerous. When the Irish emigrated to North America, some of the Gentry followed...only to find that the New World already had spirits of its own, the manitou.
Now generations have passed, and the Irish have made homes in the new land, but the Gentry still wander homeless on the city streets. Gathering in the shadows, they bide their time and dream of power. As their dreams grow harder, darker, fiercer, so do the Gentry themselves—appearing, to those with the sight to see them, as hard and dangerous men, invariably dressed in black.My next introduction to fairy came a few years later. But you'll have to wait until I get more wordcount done. It is Nanowrimo month after all :-). Meanwhile. if you are not writing, how many de Lint's have you read? He seems to have written a lot of them.
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2 comments:
Hmmm... this is one de Lint novel I don't think I've had a chance to read yet. I'll have to go find it, and I love his short story collections. The man is a master at using lore (fairy or otherwise) in subtle and unique ways. Love!
I've loved DeLint's work for years. I think the first one I read was Moonheart, and that's still a favorite. I love the way he blends Celtic and Faerie lore, and Native American material. Usually I don't pay much attention when I see a book endorsement by another author, but one of his will make me pick up a book I might not otherwise have tried.
He's a quite accomplished musician too - he has a CD out, which I bought last year and enjoyed a lot .
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