Charles de Lint is one of the finest contemporary fantasists writing today. His deeply emotional and intimate tales almost always revolve around our collective human nature, our fascination with and desire for an afterlife, and they contain an immense respect for the undiscovered magic and mystery that inevitably surround us. Filled with life lessons but never moralistic, his core concern seems to be that each of his characters must find their own worth, what they are worth to themselves and to others.

PROMISES TO KEEP is a Jilly Coppercorn and Newford novel, and tells the story of how Jilly was able to turn herself from a heroin-addicted prostitute into an aspiring fine artist, and how she was helped along the way by innumerable people who are now her friends.

Along the way, she meets one of her old friends from the halfway house who, it turns out, is dead. This friend is able to transport between the living reality of Newford and a beautiful and peaceful afterlife of a quasi-Newford, where no one wants for anything and anyone can live out their lives (or occupy their afterlives) to achieve maximum fulfillment.

Jilly is torn between these two worlds, for the city of the dead is truly wonderful, a fulfillment of all her dreams. But everything is given to her, nothing earned. It is in the real city of Newford, where she has promises to keep, that she must toil, and learn, and strive to become the person she wants to be.

All of this seems a little too familiar from de Lint’s other work, and while there are no lapses in his normally smooth and polished style, it becomes a mite predictable halfway through. It makes me think I’ve read this story before but with slightly different wrappers and characters. It’s still de Lint, so if you’re collecting him (which you should be doing) it’s a must have as the beginning of the Jilly Coppercorn storyline but for casual fans, it might be better to start with something else. —Mark Rose

Buy it at Amazon.