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ohsarajay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
It's like if a fantasy spy thriller was happening in a garden and this book was set on the porch next to it. Many exciting and tragic things happen but we're slightly removed from them because we mostly live in the perspective of an eleven-year-old who spends a lot of the book learning a skill and learning about himself in the process. That doesn't mean I was less invested - Jones has a knack for writing relationships that are complex and human and yet also slightly absurd. And the tragedy comes through - Moril may be straddling two worlds but he feels things deeply and vividly. When Clennen died I nearly wept with him, to say nothing of Olob . It does feel a little bit like this book is intended to set up later books in the series, so it's a bit more slowly paced than other DWJ books, and it feels like less payoff at the end than I'd hope for. As ever the worldbuilding is great.
thrym's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sklepia's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
barnaclethereal's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The story seemed so slow to start and some of the prose just felt so grindy. I liked some of it, I'll continue on with the story. I felt like some of the heaviness was to easily skimmed over. Characters only called their parents by first names, just felt awkward at times.
drlark's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
A delightful middle grade quest fantasy that centers family bonds and music. I'm pretty sure I read this series back in middle school, and I've been wanting get back to Diana Wynne Jones's writing. When I saw this series bind-up at the library book sale, I grabbed it. The writing is lovely, the humor is charming as heck, and the politics are suitably interesting to an adult audience, too, I think, as we follow Moril and his family of traveling musicians on their way back North from time spent performing in the South. On the way, they encounter danger and tragedy and also discover their own power. Good stuff. Onto book two!
thebooklovingpanda's review against another edition
5.0
it's by diana wynne Jones. she makes it awesome in itself. no seriously it's really cool. i think she excels in making up parallel universes and parallel universe magic stuff.
after reading: this is totally awesome. there's lots of stuff about magic but it all makes sense, like science, but in a magical way...? She's just so skilled in making stuff that shouldn't make sense make PERFECT sense.
clarabirdie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
cimorene1558's review against another edition
5.0
Very fine! I went and ordered the whole quartet based on how good this one is! It's high fantasy at a less epic level--if you like high fantasy, and are a good reader of any age over about 9 years who would rather not read 500 pages every time you want high fantasy, this could be just what you need!