Moonheart / Spiritwalk
#2834.07 adjusted 4.06 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 1984–1992 Reading commitment Low Charles de Lint Last reviewed 2026-09-28
Overview
Charles de Lint's two Ottawa novels of Tamson House, the rambling mansion that fills a whole city block and stands where the leylines meet, a gateway between the modern city and a spirit world where Celtic and Native American magics mingle. Moonheart (1984), one of the founding books of urban fantasy, follows antique dealer Sara Kendell and her uncle Jamie, the folk musician and wizard Kieran Foy and a secret RCMP paranormal unit as an old evil stirs and Sara crosses into the Otherworld of the bard Taliesin. Spiritwalk (1992), four linked tales, returns to the House's household of artists and strays as a modern magician tries to seize its power. Written before and apart from de Lint's Newford books, and catalogued separately from them.
Urban fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Tamson House Charles de Lint
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Moonheart | 1984 | 1 | core | 4.05 (6,786 ratings) |
 | Spiritwalk | 1992 | 2 | core | 4.13 (2,283 ratings) |
Charles de Lint's Ottawa novels of Tamson House, the block-sized mansion that is a gateway between the modern city and a spirit world of Celtic and Native American magic: Moonheart and its sequel Spiritwalk, a fix-up of four linked tales. The author's own bibliography groups them as his Ottawa books, distinct from Newford.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Moonheart / Spiritwalk? Moonheart / Spiritwalk's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Moonheart / Spiritwalk? Publication order, starting with Moonheart. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Moonheart / Spiritwalk finished? Complete (1984–1992).
- How much reading does Moonheart / Spiritwalk take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~850 pages).
- How is Moonheart / Spiritwalk ranked? #283 in this site's official ranking, based on 9,069 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #283?
Ranked #283 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.07 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (9,069 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.08 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #282, The Hollow Kingdom (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 2 books · Complete · 9k ratings · Ranks #283 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Moonheart (1984)
- Spiritwalk (1992)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No award could be confirmed for either book.
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Suggestions computed from what Moonheart / Spiritwalk and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Elements of Cadence Romantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.15
- Wraeththu Dark fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
- The Dreamblood Duology Epic fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
- Ninth House (Alex Stern) Dark fantasy / Urban fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.03
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.07 across 9,069 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: Moonheart / Spiritwalk (Charles de Lint) accepted 2026-09-28
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
- Charles de Lint (official site) Tier 1
Last reviewed: 2026-09-28
Rule: Core Canon = Moonheart (1984) and Spiritwalk (1992), complete. De Lint's other Ottawa-set novels are separate stories and are not part of this universe.