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Product Description
Review
Praise for CONRAD’S FATE
"CONRAD'S FATE is quintessential Chrestomanci – funny, smart, twisty, exciting, tricky, delightful and always perfectly magical." Neil Gaiman
“Diana Wynne Jones ought to be crowned with coloured garlands because she is the best writer of magical fantasy for children in this country … you’ll gleefully swallow Conrad’s Fate as another unpredictable dose of animal spirits.” Evening Standard
“Diana Wynne Jones could teach Stephen King and JK Rowling a thing or two … [she] has a skill for inserting just the right amount of detail in her written words, leaving you satiated but not stuffed.” SFX
“This witty, satisfying story can be read on its own, but is much richer when read as part of the series. It's a must for all Jones fans.” School Library Journal
“A wild romp with a fast-paced and satisfying conclusion, Conrad's humorous adventures will appeal to Christopher's existing fans and Jones neophytes alike.” Kirkus
“…Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones’s most outrageous plots to her readers’ hopes and fears…”
Publishers Weekly
“Truly magical – guaranteed to leave you gasping – even hotter than Potter”
The Bookseller
For The Merlin Conspiracy:
“The characterisation is first rate, the ideas are fabulous … This is fantasy at its most inventive – canny, funny and far-reaching.” The Telegraph
“A curiosity shop of a book … a pleasure to lose yourself in.” The Sunday Times
“The Merlin Conspiracy is Wynne Jones on top form … [her] powerful narrative and her ability to create extraordinary charachers with real emotions make her more than a worthy rival to J K Rowling.” Financial Times
“A must for all Wynne Jones fans, past, present and future.” Limited Edition
Product Description
Magical mayhem is afoot in a new adventure set in the worlds of the nine-lived enchanter Chrestomanci.
As many people know already, it’s Chrestomanci’s job to control the magic in the related worlds. Using magic is always dangerous, and it always has consequences, so even the best-intentioned witch or warlock needs help and guidance from time to time. Not only that, but there are plenty of ordinary people in the worlds without even a whiff of magical ability, and they need someone to make sure that the magic-users don't get their own way all of the time. Even so, in the village around Chrestomanci Castle, all sorts of magical misuse is going on which very few people seem to be aware of!
When Cat Chant finds the egg in Gammer Pinhoe's attic, he knows he has to have it. Marianne Pinhoe isn't sure what Gammer will think about that, but she lets him take it anyway. Rumour has it it's an elephant egg, but Cat's convinced it's a dragon's egg. Within the safety of Chrestomanci Castle, the egg eventually hatches – and at the same time, chaos breaks out in the surrounding village. Can Cat and Marianne get to the root of the problem, and can Cat's new charge help?
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
'The Pinhoe Egg' is the latest must-read book in the Chrestomanci series that blends the well-known and loved characters from 'Charmed Life' with a new colourful gallery of witches, enchanters and magical creatures.
Diana Wynne Jones gives all her usual best to make the book a good read - there is of course magic, humour, lots of cats, some cheerful, and some wicked characters topped up with the inimitable big man - Chrestomanci himself. As usual, too, the story focuses rather on the children, with maturing Cat Chant and a new character Marianne Pinhoe among others, growing up to their gifts and building self-confidence to use their skills.
But there is also some new quality to it that was either not present or no so clear in the previous books. Here the magic is more connected at the grass roots, and more in the balance with the rest of the world, taking in the good with the bad, learning to tolerate and respect the other, invisible universe. This shift in the worldview reminds me strongly of Ursula Le Guin's 'The Other Wind', and as such may appeal also to an older audience.
Without spoiling the story, Wynne Jones is also quite critical of blind, unquestioning faith and might spark a controversy or a lively debate among some readers, making the series even more interesting.
Highly recommended.
Diana Wynne Jones gives all her usual best to make the book a good read - there is of course magic, humour, lots of cats, some cheerful, and some wicked characters topped up with the inimitable big man - Chrestomanci himself. As usual, too, the story focuses rather on the children, with maturing Cat Chant and a new character Marianne Pinhoe among others, growing up to their gifts and building self-confidence to use their skills.
But there is also some new quality to it that was either not present or no so clear in the previous books. Here the magic is more connected at the grass roots, and more in the balance with the rest of the world, taking in the good with the bad, learning to tolerate and respect the other, invisible universe. This shift in the worldview reminds me strongly of Ursula Le Guin's 'The Other Wind', and as such may appeal also to an older audience.
Without spoiling the story, Wynne Jones is also quite critical of blind, unquestioning faith and might spark a controversy or a lively debate among some readers, making the series even more interesting.
Highly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
30 reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Hatching magic
5 Dec 2006
Format:Hardcover
Diana Wynne-Jones has been writing for decades, but her most enduring creation is still Chrestomanci, the nine-lifed enchanter who regulates magic all over the worlds.
And she's still in fine form in "The Pinhoe Egg," the sixth entry in the series, which has her strange magic, wacky humor, and an England radically different from the one we know. And Cat -- the timid hero of her first Chrestomanci book -- finally gets to take center stage.
Marianne Pinhoe is there when her grandmother, the manipulative Gammer, goes completely insane. When Gammer's house is put on the market, young Cat Chant accompanies a friend to look at it -- and he and Marianne find a strange egglike thing in the attic. She lets Cat takes it home, and a shadowy creature visits him, asking him to take care of her child.
But strange things are happening around Chrestomanci Castle -- the "Big Man" is kidnapped briefly, and there are plagues of frogs, illness, and general bad luck among the Pinhoes. A silent feud is going on between two secret witch clans -- and Cat finds himself in the middle of a magical conspiracy that goes back centuries.
Diana Wynne Jones has always been great at creating magic conspiracies that never quite go the way you expect. "The Pinhoe Egg" dangles mysteries and hints in front of the reader, about why the witches stay secretive, and what their "sacred trust" is, and you won't guess until the final pages.
Jones spins up this elaborate fantasy with her usual attention to detail, solid dialogue, and insights into what make kids tick -- from adolescent crushes to frustration that nobody will listen. Shealso brings a new kind of magic -- dwimmer -- into the storyline, along with flying machinery and a baby griffin called Klartch, who provides a lot of the humor ("Weep! Weep! Weep!").
Technically Cat was the hero of Jones' first Chrestomanci book, but he really didn't do much. In "The Pinhoe Egg," he gets in on the magical action -- gunfights, spells, horseback riding, rescues and feeding milk to Klartch. Marianne is a solid counterpart, and Chrestomanci is dapper, funny, and far more intelligent than the Pinhoes give him credit for.
"The Pinhoe Egg" is as enchanting as the main characters. Another highly enjoyable novel in a series that came long, long before Harry Potter... and still hasn't got a weak link.
And she's still in fine form in "The Pinhoe Egg," the sixth entry in the series, which has her strange magic, wacky humor, and an England radically different from the one we know. And Cat -- the timid hero of her first Chrestomanci book -- finally gets to take center stage.
Marianne Pinhoe is there when her grandmother, the manipulative Gammer, goes completely insane. When Gammer's house is put on the market, young Cat Chant accompanies a friend to look at it -- and he and Marianne find a strange egglike thing in the attic. She lets Cat takes it home, and a shadowy creature visits him, asking him to take care of her child.
But strange things are happening around Chrestomanci Castle -- the "Big Man" is kidnapped briefly, and there are plagues of frogs, illness, and general bad luck among the Pinhoes. A silent feud is going on between two secret witch clans -- and Cat finds himself in the middle of a magical conspiracy that goes back centuries.
Diana Wynne Jones has always been great at creating magic conspiracies that never quite go the way you expect. "The Pinhoe Egg" dangles mysteries and hints in front of the reader, about why the witches stay secretive, and what their "sacred trust" is, and you won't guess until the final pages.
Jones spins up this elaborate fantasy with her usual attention to detail, solid dialogue, and insights into what make kids tick -- from adolescent crushes to frustration that nobody will listen. Shealso brings a new kind of magic -- dwimmer -- into the storyline, along with flying machinery and a baby griffin called Klartch, who provides a lot of the humor ("Weep! Weep! Weep!").
Technically Cat was the hero of Jones' first Chrestomanci book, but he really didn't do much. In "The Pinhoe Egg," he gets in on the magical action -- gunfights, spells, horseback riding, rescues and feeding milk to Klartch. Marianne is a solid counterpart, and Chrestomanci is dapper, funny, and far more intelligent than the Pinhoes give him credit for.
"The Pinhoe Egg" is as enchanting as the main characters. Another highly enjoyable novel in a series that came long, long before Harry Potter... and still hasn't got a weak link.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A Review for Adults Who Still Like Kids' Lit... I couldn't put it down!
15 Nov 2006
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
However, a deal of that is probably due to my liking for the characters of Chrestomanci (Christopher) and Cat. The story is entertaining, if a bit gruesome at the end, and the new characters are pretty well fleshed-out (except I kept getting all those Aunts and Great-Aunts jumbled in my mind!). The one thing that puzzled me is that in earlier Chrestomanci stories (The Lives of Christopher Chant and Charmed Life), people are always coming and going from towns near Chrestomanci Castle, with no problems, but in this book [where the background of the story has been going on for many hundreds of years] people have trouble getting to some of the towns without an escort from the Pinhoe family. I'm not familiar with the geopolitical setup of English towns; perhaps there really are this many different small towns within eyeshot of the Castle. Otherwise, a great read, worth staying up late to finish.
21 of 25 people found the following review helpful
SPOILER ALERT
14 Oct 2006
Format:Hardcover
I'm only writing this to warn you that the review right below mine (if it hasn't been removed) has MAJOR SPOILERS. It reads like a book report and gives away the entire book. I guess that's great if you want to know what your kid is reading, but terrible if you wanted to read the book yourself.
There's another review a bit further down that has one fairly solid spoiler in it as well.
So, be careful, tread lightly, read at your own risk, etc., etc.
There's another review a bit further down that has one fairly solid spoiler in it as well.
So, be careful, tread lightly, read at your own risk, etc., etc.
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