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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
The magicians of Caprona : 3 stars
[May contain mild spoilers]
In relation to pacing, the magicians of Caprona is exactly the opposite of [b:Charmed Life|244572|Charmed Life (Chrestomanci, #1)|Diana Wynne Jones|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396706429s/244572.jpg|6594671] In Charmed life the beginning wasn't at all interesting, yet the ending was filled with action and great twists.
In the magicians of Caprona however, the beginning was great. First of all it's set in an alternate Italy, it also has that great family dynamics that immediately draws the reader in.
Unfortunately from then forward, it also follows the complete cliche formula of two families and their age old rivalry. The moment you read that what kind of plot do you imagine?
Two people from different families falling in love? Some outside enemy pitting the families against each other in order to distract them from the real evil? The only way for them to defeat the evil is to work together? And of course the start of this animosity has been nothing but some misunderstanding?
Check, Check, Check and Check.
The books follows exactly along this used and predictable lines. All that I predicted the first time I heard of Montanas and Petrocchis came to pass, just in the way I predicted, and I first heard of them in the very first page, so you can see why from the middle forward the book was a tad predictable and boring. (And in case you didn't get that, here a tad means a lot)
Witch Week : 4.5 stars
Without a doubt the best Chrestomanci book so far.
Witch week was great right from the start to the end. Basically we're dealing with a modern world in every way except that witches are hunted and burned at stake. A world that shouldn't exist. So how did it came to be?
However the world building is but one of the great things in this book. The characterization is also masterful. Within just the first few pages you get a pretty good grip on who the characters are, yet as the book goes on you get to see new layers to them.
The plot is also really really great. At first we are dealing with a few different characters's stories in different POVs and all of them are great, but of course near the end they all come together and it gets even better, and the ending doesn't disappoint.
I reduced half a star for some details in the plot that didn't make too much sense and a few unanswered questions, but overall it had five star quality.
[May contain mild spoilers]
In relation to pacing, the magicians of Caprona is exactly the opposite of [b:Charmed Life|244572|Charmed Life (Chrestomanci, #1)|Diana Wynne Jones|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396706429s/244572.jpg|6594671] In Charmed life the beginning wasn't at all interesting, yet the ending was filled with action and great twists.
In the magicians of Caprona however, the beginning was great. First of all it's set in an alternate Italy, it also has that great family dynamics that immediately draws the reader in.
Unfortunately from then forward, it also follows the complete cliche formula of two families and their age old rivalry. The moment you read that what kind of plot do you imagine?
Two people from different families falling in love? Some outside enemy pitting the families against each other in order to distract them from the real evil? The only way for them to defeat the evil is to work together? And of course the start of this animosity has been nothing but some misunderstanding?
Check, Check, Check and Check.
The books follows exactly along this used and predictable lines. All that I predicted the first time I heard of Montanas and Petrocchis came to pass, just in the way I predicted, and I first heard of them in the very first page, so you can see why from the middle forward the book was a tad predictable and boring. (And in case you didn't get that, here a tad means a lot)
Witch Week : 4.5 stars
Without a doubt the best Chrestomanci book so far.
Witch week was great right from the start to the end. Basically we're dealing with a modern world in every way except that witches are hunted and burned at stake. A world that shouldn't exist. So how did it came to be?
However the world building is but one of the great things in this book. The characterization is also masterful. Within just the first few pages you get a pretty good grip on who the characters are, yet as the book goes on you get to see new layers to them.
The plot is also really really great. At first we are dealing with a few different characters's stories in different POVs and all of them are great, but of course near the end they all come together and it gets even better, and the ending doesn't disappoint.
I reduced half a star for some details in the plot that didn't make too much sense and a few unanswered questions, but overall it had five star quality.
This volume holds two stories from the Chrestomanci series: The Magicians of Caprona and Witch Week. Each story focuses on a different alternate dimension, with the Chrestomanci serving as the ultimate go-to for all magic-related weirdness going on, so he serves as a unifying force throughout the stories.
The Magicians of Caprona
This is a loose retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story, but more focus on magic and war rather than romance. Two houses of famous magicians are feuding, because–well, reasons,–and they each think the other one is horrible. Because of that, Caprona is weakening and there is a war on the way that they probably can’t win. It looks especially dire when two young magicians (one from each family) go missing and each house thinks the other kidnapped the missing child.
I loved this so much. Jones just has such a way about her writing to make the stories particularly magical. Many of the twists were predictable, but the simple telling of the story was wonderful. The characters are brilliant and so vivid, they’re practically jumping off the page at you, walking around with you as you read. There were some characters that revealed unexpected depths in this story, and I enjoyed how everything was woven together. Magic, romance, action, adventure, mystery — this story has EVERYTHING you could possibly want. I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s my favorite Chrestomanci story so far.
Witch Week
In a dimension where magic is outlawed, there seems to be a whole lot of magic happening at a boarding school. A teacher gets an anonymous note from a student that hints that the person using magic might just be in their own class. Drama and suspense ensues.
I didn’t like this as much as Magicians of Caprona, but I still liked it quite a bit; it just took a lot more for me to get into this one. Much of the beginning just seemed to focus on some whiny teenagers, which I didn’t find particularly interesting. What hooked me in, though, was the idea of magic being outlawed in a dimension where there is clearly a lot of magic going around. The best parts in this book for me were when magic was used and how BRILLIANTLY it exploded out of people who so desperately tried to keep it in. The action picks up a great deal halfway through when Chrestomanci shows up, and I enjoyed the resolution a lot. These twists were less predictable than Magicians of Caprona, and I liked how it tied in nicely with a previous book in the series.
Overall, though, I greatly recommend the entire series. Diana Wynne Jones is a gem and writes such brilliant middle grade fantasy; it’s stuff that will keep you thinking about long after you’ve read it. She’s definitely an inspiration and one of my absolute favorite writers of the fantasy genre. Her Chrestomanci series is no exception.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
The Magicians of Caprona
This is a loose retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story, but more focus on magic and war rather than romance. Two houses of famous magicians are feuding, because–well, reasons,–and they each think the other one is horrible. Because of that, Caprona is weakening and there is a war on the way that they probably can’t win. It looks especially dire when two young magicians (one from each family) go missing and each house thinks the other kidnapped the missing child.
I loved this so much. Jones just has such a way about her writing to make the stories particularly magical. Many of the twists were predictable, but the simple telling of the story was wonderful. The characters are brilliant and so vivid, they’re practically jumping off the page at you, walking around with you as you read. There were some characters that revealed unexpected depths in this story, and I enjoyed how everything was woven together. Magic, romance, action, adventure, mystery — this story has EVERYTHING you could possibly want. I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s my favorite Chrestomanci story so far.
Witch Week
In a dimension where magic is outlawed, there seems to be a whole lot of magic happening at a boarding school. A teacher gets an anonymous note from a student that hints that the person using magic might just be in their own class. Drama and suspense ensues.
I didn’t like this as much as Magicians of Caprona, but I still liked it quite a bit; it just took a lot more for me to get into this one. Much of the beginning just seemed to focus on some whiny teenagers, which I didn’t find particularly interesting. What hooked me in, though, was the idea of magic being outlawed in a dimension where there is clearly a lot of magic going around. The best parts in this book for me were when magic was used and how BRILLIANTLY it exploded out of people who so desperately tried to keep it in. The action picks up a great deal halfway through when Chrestomanci shows up, and I enjoyed the resolution a lot. These twists were less predictable than Magicians of Caprona, and I liked how it tied in nicely with a previous book in the series.
Overall, though, I greatly recommend the entire series. Diana Wynne Jones is a gem and writes such brilliant middle grade fantasy; it’s stuff that will keep you thinking about long after you’ve read it. She’s definitely an inspiration and one of my absolute favorite writers of the fantasy genre. Her Chrestomanci series is no exception.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
Definitely not as good as Volume 1. Still worth reading, though.
I re-read it, and changed my mind. It's quite good!
I re-read it, and changed my mind. It's quite good!
I loved both of these two, even more than the first two in the series. I also love how each book is a unique set of characters with this one incredible character tying it all together. I wish this series never ends.
it took a little bit to get into these worlds, especially the second story, but once I did I couldn't put them down!