"Just as Charles de Lint's pen drips magic and enchantment, he is also never afraid to write about the darker and painful side of life, and he writes it in a way that moves you. Give this wonderful book a chance; I promise you it won't disappoint you. Even more, I can assure you, you won't be the same person when you are done with it: de Lint will have changed you with his magic."

All of the finest stories of this popular pioneer of urban fantasy and creator of the mythical city of Newford have been chosen by the author—and his fans—and gathered in this extraordinary collection. Asked to suggest their own favorite stories for inclusion, de Lint's fans have been instrumental in creating a treasury that will spark the imaginations of readers of all ages. These are retold fairy tales and new modern myths that thoroughly redefine the boundaries of magic.

Between these pages are all manner of enchanted characters in unusual places: playful Crow Girls who sneak into the homes of their sleeping neighbors, a graffiti artist who risks his life to expose a deadly conspiracy, and an unrepentant trickster who throws one last party to reveal a lost folkloric tradition.

At turns unexpected, whimsical, dark, and mystical, this is an essential compendium of timeless tales to be revisited as often as the heart desires.
Source: Tachyon Publications and others

Contents of The Very Best of Charles de Lint:

Introduction

In Which We Meet Jilly Coppercorn

Coyote Stories

Laughter in the Leaves

The Badger in the Bag

And the Rafters Were Ringing

Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood

The Stone Drum

Timeskip

Freewheeling

A Wish Named Arnold

Into the Green

The Graceless Child

Winter Was Hard

The Conjure Man

We Are Dead Together

Mr. Truepenny's Book Emporium and Gallery

In the House of My Enemy

The Moon Is Drowning While I Sleep

Crow Girls

Birds

Held Safe by Moonlight and Vines

In the Pines

Pixel Pixies

Many Worlds Are Born Tonight

Sisters

Pal o' Mine

That Was Radio Clash

Old Man Crow

The Fields Beyond the Fields

Reviews

Publishers Weekly: "An outstanding and widely varied collection of 29 tales... Longtime fans and newcomers alike will fall in love with de Lint's graceful, poetic language and characters." FantasyLiterature.com: "The Very Best of Charles de Lint truly is Charles de Lint at his very best." The Ottawa Citizen: "More than 400 pages of the finest urban fantasy fiction of the past three decades."

Editions Tachyon Publications; trade paper, 2010