Moonheart
Encyclopedia
Moonheart is an urban fantasy
novel by Charles de Lint
. It takes place in 1980s Ottawa
, where Sara Kendell and Jamie Tamson, owners of an antique store, come into possession of a peculiar ring. At the same time Kieran Foy, a wizard of sorts, is searching for his missing mentor, Thomas Hengwr, while simultaneously eluding the newly formed Project Mindreach from the RCMP. When Sara and Kieran run into each other and end up in "the other world," they find that there is much more to Sara and to the Tamson house (Sara and Jamie's house the size of a city block) than previously known. But when an ancient evil resurfaces and threatens to destroy both worlds (and all the people within), the officers, wizards, and Tamson house residents have to learn to work together to destroy the monster. Full of love, mystery, action, and magic, this book has all the makings of modern fantasy that Charles de Lint is so well known for.
Urban fantasy
Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods...
novel by Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint is a Canadian fantasy author and folk musician. He is also the chief book critic for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction....
. It takes place in 1980s Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, where Sara Kendell and Jamie Tamson, owners of an antique store, come into possession of a peculiar ring. At the same time Kieran Foy, a wizard of sorts, is searching for his missing mentor, Thomas Hengwr, while simultaneously eluding the newly formed Project Mindreach from the RCMP. When Sara and Kieran run into each other and end up in "the other world," they find that there is much more to Sara and to the Tamson house (Sara and Jamie's house the size of a city block) than previously known. But when an ancient evil resurfaces and threatens to destroy both worlds (and all the people within), the officers, wizards, and Tamson house residents have to learn to work together to destroy the monster. Full of love, mystery, action, and magic, this book has all the makings of modern fantasy that Charles de Lint is so well known for.
Characters
- Sara Kendell – a young woman who, along with her uncle Jamie, runs a store that sells all manners of old and curious items
- Jamie Tamson (Jamie Tams, for short) – Sara's eccentric uncle, who maintains a keen interest in mythologyMythologyThe term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and the occultOccultThe word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g... - TaliesinTaliesinTaliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
– a WelshWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
bardBardIn medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
who Sara meets and makes an immediate connection with. - Thomas Hengwr
- Blue – a biker
- Tucker – a member of a secret RCMPRoyal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
unit that is investigating paranormal phenomena - Kieran Foy - a folk singer who happens to be Thomas Hengwr's apprentice.
- Pukwudji - a trickster imp who befriends Sara
- Tamson House - While it's a house, it has an essence about it and its own spirit, and therefore merits being called a character.
Awards and nominations
- 1985, IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award winner.
- 1985, Mythopoeic AwardsMythopoeic AwardsThe Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given by the Mythopoeic Society to authors of outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas; the full criteria and description can be read on the Mythopoeic Society's -Mythopoeic Fantasy...
, shortlist. - 1985, Locus AwardLocus AwardThe Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
, Fantasy Novel category, 21st place.