This was the first Charles de Lint novel that I had ever read, and it's an interesting place to start. I had honestly never even heard of the author before. Strange, considering that he's been writing this Newford series for nearly two decades...and it's a travesty that none of my fantasy-reading friends apparently knew about him either, because he's an excellent writer.Basically, de Lint started creating a world with a series of short stories published in random magazines and whatnot. It's largely the real world, simply one that has actual magic in it, yet the majority of people don't notice and/or willfully ignore it. Most of these stories are set in a fictional town named Newford, and this book is no different.Like I said, this was my first Newford foray, and that definitely colored my perception of the book. Someplace to be Flying is largely the underpinning of the entirety of de Lint's fictional world. This is his "creation story", with the biggest possible rewards and consequences of any of the de Lint novels that I've read. Starting out with this book, then, makes the jump that you have to take to follow the author that much more difficult, but also so much more rewarding.Being set in Newford, the book has lots of nods to settings and characters from his other works, obviously intended as little rewards to long time readers of the series. This was all new to me, though, and it's only in looking back that I see the "fan service" here and there. This also means that, if you've been reading de Lint for a long time, it's much easier to grasp the significance of situations and pick up on various foreshadowed events.It may seem like I'm indicating that this is a downside. I don't consider it so at all. With absolutely no knowledge of what to expect, everything in this novel comes off as wondrous. When you don't know the extent to which the author is going to put magic around every corner, then it continually is a surprise.As for the plot, it's basically fish-out-of-water. Two characters, one from the low-end of society, one from the high, randomly witness an event that shouldn't be possible, nearly dying in the process and magically being saved. Afterwards, though, it's impossible for either of them to let it go, and their investigation into what really happened continues to drag them deeper and deeper into the world just beyond regular people's perceptions. Eventually, they realize they're literally playing with gods (or the closest thing in de Lint's world to it), and it's too late for them to back out.Highly recommended. This book is definitely in my top ten for most enjoyable. It's not going to change your world, but it's an awfully fun ride.
I always feel so sad finishing one of these books. But at the same time I feel uplifted, and like magic really exists in my own world. It's an interesting mix. Once more, this story is competely different from the other Newford books. In this one we get an interesting set of characters, characterized by their animal sides. These 'animal people' say that they were there long before us (the 'normal' people) and came from the beginning of time. It's not a new idea, but the way that de Lint integrates it into this "time to save the world again, folks" type story just works.I love how he didn't make the animal people totems, or tie them exclusively to a Native American culture as so many authors are wont to do. They're just there; that's just them. The most prevalent of the species would be the corbae... or I suppose you'd call them birds. Not just any birds, but the most common are crows, followed by rooks, magpies, jackdaw's, blue jay's... you get the picture? We have a lovely wiley coyote character, named Cody, who's heart is in the right place, but keeps messing up trying to fix his past mistakes. And of course we have the more evil set of animals: the cuckoo's. I really love how de Lint took their nesting habits and brought those over into a people world. It makes so much sense that the cuckoo's are probably the characters I felt were most believable. But among all the fanciful characters are also humans, like usual in these Newford books. They are realistic and possible and different and have flaws and have perfections and are just lovely to hang out with. In all, the animal characters were more memorable, but it was the human characters that kept the story together: without the human element what would be left in this world? Just the animal people, based on this book.The plot was a tad mundane... the whole, let's save the world now. But for all that it was still interesting to see how events unfolded. These stories live for their characters, not necessarily the plot, although I really do love the recurring themes strewn throughout all the Newford books. One of the themes used strongly in this novel was the idea of storytelling and how vital it is. It makes me want to start collecting stories and setting them down, or just sharing them. I do have my own personal store, but why not expand a bit? Although, the sheer amount of stories that I've encountered in all the books I've read is a pretty impressive amount. What's left to be said? De Lint is a genius and he can't publish enough books by my standard! I love being drawn into his world and probably wouldn't mind staying in Newford for an extended period of time either!
What do You think about Someplace To Be Flying (2005)?
I could not put this book down. There are many characters to remember and keep up with, but it becomes an easy flow once you get them straight. This mythology captures almost immediately with the "animal people" hiding amongst the humans. It is set in modern times with a flare of old European and Native American. As the worlds collide, many come together to stop the villains and their evil intent to bring the world to an end. I love the the stories and relationships that develop among the main characters. I was thrown into a world that left me looking around at things a little differently. I will definitely read the other books in this series.
—jill crotty
It took me a little while to get into this book, but then I loved it. I think the getting into it might have had something to do with my concentration and less with the book. In any case, in the beginning a lot of characters are introduced and recognizing all of them and understanding a little how they were connected took a while. But once I had a feel for the universe of Someplace to be flying, it was really enjoyable. I love the atmosphere in the Newford books and I love the characters. In Someplace to be flying, Charles de Lint tells the story from the perspective of magical beings for the first time (according to his afterword). All I can say is, it works. The animal people are fascinatingly drawn. Of course, an absolute all-time favorite are the crow girls. They are lovely; whimsical and fun-loving, yet with an edge if someone they love is threatened. I also really loved Margaret, and the tour of Tucson she gave Lily, showing her all of its secret places. That created a lovely image. The other animal people are intriguing too, Cody in particular. I like how he is in opposition to the Corbae (the crows) a lot of the time, but not really an enemy. The ones that really felt evil are the cuckoos. On the other hand, perhaps they just follow a nature that is completely alien to us. Another lovely Newford book that reminded me I should read more of them... Plus, this copy I got from Smashwords, and I think it's really sympathetic if an established author sells their books on an independent website like that.
—zjakkelien
After devouring "Trader," "The Mystery of Grace" and "Little Grrl Lost," earlier this year, I was hoping for a similar experience when I picked up "Someplace to Be Flying."And while this novel certainly had its moments of being just as absorbing as all of those, I still feel like it fell a bit short of my expectations. It's not that it's a bad story. But the story takes so long for various elements to come together that I found myself taken out of the novel too much. One thing I found missing was De Lint's usual pattern of having alternating sections told in third-person and then first-person narration. This is a good starting point for De Lint but not my favorite of his works that I've read. However, it doesn't discourage me from wanting to read more.
—Michael
