Book Review |
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By Diana Wynne Jones |
| This is the first
book in a series about the great enchanter Chrestomanci. In this book we are introduced to
two orphaned children - Gwendolyn Chant and Eric Chant (called Cat for short). The world
is an odd one where some people have magic abilities and others do not. The Chant family
definitely DOES have magic in it but Cat is odd, because he seems to have no magic powers
at all while his sister is considered to be one of the best young witches in her area. There is a lot of mystery in this book. A lot of things are not explained to the reader until the end of the book and this keeps you in suspense all the way through and you are constantly trying to guess what might be happening. The children go to live with the famous enchanter - Chrestomanci at his castle. Things do not go smoothly. They do not get on with the enchanter's children and Gwendolyn seems set on causing havoc! Gradually, we learn more about the world and the different classes of magic that exist. We learn more about the true talents of the Chant children and we are given a glimpse of what the title of the series "The Worlds of Chrestomanci" means. I thought this was a very good book. It is not at all like Harry Potter and it should not be compared to it any more than you can compare Harry Potter to the Hobbit because they both have magicians in them! This book was very funny in places like when the whole Chrestomanci family and the Chant children were assembled in church one Sunday. Gwendolyn did not want to be there and she was very cross with the enchanter. As they sat there listening to the sermon, Gwendolyn worked her magic and up in the windows, the stained glass Bishop clouted the stained glass nun over the head and mayhem broke out in the window with all the saints fighting, waving, dancing and pulling faces! The book is quite easy to read but still very interesting and the author did well to include so many twists and turns. It is a good start to a whole new world(s). I got 2 new books in the series for Christmas so I guess they will be reviewed here soon. Jan 2001 |
