A review by thunder_bunny
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

3.0

I was hoping for an epic fantasy here, got something a little different. Oh, it's a fantasy alright. A rather complex one, but I would not say exactly epic. The Howl's Castle lets you think it's going to be a grand LOTR type of a deal. The setup is simply sweet. But once you get past that. Once the heroine is inside the castle, once she meets Howl, everything slows down. What looked like a thrilling adventure, becomes this mystery story with weird clues spread on top of a thin, languid and somewhat quirky plot. You know you're being given clues, but you are never quite sure what they could possibly amount to (Agata Chrisitie fans would be ecstatic here). BUt if you bear with the sagging middle and with the cryptic clues, you'll be awarded with a briliant ending. And I'm not exagerating - touching, clever and action packed (yes, I finally got my action in the end).