The House of Many Ways & Deep Secretby Diana Wynne Jones
After I was introduced to the anime of Howl's Moving Castle I needed to read the book. Having read the book and loved it, I then needed to read more Diana Wynne Jones.
I started this exploration with 'The House of Many Ways' set in the same world as Howl and featuring him briefly.
A somewhat sheltered bookworm is sent to take care of her great great uncle's house while he is being treated for a medical problem. The situation is a little unusual because the Uncle is a wizard and the treatment is being carried out by elves. While he is away Charmain finds herself a little over whelmed by the tasks that face her and then to top it off a young apprentice Wizard turns up expecting her uncle to be around to train him. Charmain manages to get taken on to help the king catalogue his library and finds that all is not well in the kingdom. The two youngsters find themselves being drawn into a situation neither of them is ready for but the kingdom, not to mention Sophie and Howl are going to need their help to put things right.
Howl is exceptional and The House of Many Ways doesn't quite live up to that standard, but it's still an excellent story of magic and mystery. The characters are a delight to read and there is plenty of chaos and magical mayhem to entertain the reader.
by Diane Wynne Jones
This is a little different from the Howl books. Set here on earth primarily but visiting several of the infinite alternate universes, the book focusses around a slightly officious Magid, his search for a new magid and the authorised collapse of a world. It has computer geekery, betrayal, mystery, nursery rhymes, blasters, centaurs and a car bound ghost. Huge fun and plenty of twists and turns to entertain.
Rupert is a little too pleased with himself and not really as good a magid as he'd like to think, Maree is brash and irritating, hostile to the world and Nick is utterly selfish. The three of them are tied up in the fate of a world that none of the really knows.
Once again Diana Wynne Jones doesn't start out with especially likeable leads, setting up instead realistic and entertaining flawed characters in a way that makes slightly outrageous coincidences and claims entirely acceptable. I was once again charmed, enchanted and entertained.
The author somehow manages to make you feel as though you are listening to friends talking and telling stories rather than reading and this as much as anything sets her as writer to be enjoyed at any age. Regardless of which are your favourite worlds and characters Diana Wynne Jones' books are a joy to curl up with. I tore through them just for the pleasure of it.
2 comments:
DWJ is a brilliant author! Her books are wonderful.
You should try Hexwood as it's very involving -also it's dedicated to Neil Gaiman, which made him so happy he wrote a poem about it.
The Chrestomanci books are also good and several of them can be read as standalones even though overall it is a series.
DWJ and De Lint are both on my back list catch up list in a big way now!
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