26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Infectious and Absorbing Alternate Worlds Fantasy, August 7, 2000
This review is from: Deep Secret (Mass Market Paperback)
Seldom recently have I simply enjoyed reading a book as much as I enjoyed Diana Wynne Jones' Deep Secret. Jones employs a mixture of engaging characters, interesting fantasy concepts, and a light touch with serious undertones, to create a novel that is infectious and absorbing.
Right from the beginning we know something is up, as narrator Rupert Venables is called away to the Koryfonic Empire, to give his stamp of approval as a Magid to a legal preceding there. Koryfonic Empire? Magid? We are told that the Multiverse consists of worlds arranged in a sort of infinity figure, with one half (including Earth), negative magically (this is the Naywards half). These worlds tend not to believe in magic, and magic is harder to do there. The other (Ayewards) half are positive magically, and creatures such as centaurs can exist there. The Koryfonic Empire is somehow very important, and it occupies the exact middle of the infinity sign. And Magids are some variety of wizard, with the duty to subtly influence events on whatever worlds they are responsible for in the appropriate direction. Rupert is Earth's junior Magid, and he is fresh from helping out in Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland, when he gets sent to the Empire.
This is a bit of a complicated setup, but it's not really necessary to worry about it too much. Rupert is soon engaged in two succession problems. His mentor has died, and he must select a new Magid from among several human candidates. In addition, the Koryfonic Emperor is assassinated, and he has to try to track down the proper heir: a process complicated by the previous Emperor's paranoia, which caused him to hide away his heirs so they wouldn't try to take over before their time. An alternate narrative path starts to follow Maree Mallory, one of the Magid candidates (which ought to be a clue to any reader).
The action converges at a Science Fiction convention. Much of the action is superficially light in tone, including some funny bits involving the difficulty of navigating the hotel's corridors, which reminded me of stories of real world conventions. But at the same time the concerns are deadly serious, and Jones doesn't cheat us there: real mistakes are made, people are really hurt and killed. So it's not just a light-hearted romp, and though it's often funny, Deep Secret is not a comedy.
What it is, is a thoroughly involving book. Jones is one of those natural storytellers: her books compel reading. The characters are real, and very likable. The plot is exciting, and resolved logically. The magical system is lightly sketched, but what we see is interesting and well drawn. The resolution is largely what we expect, but it also involves satisfying surprises. This book kept me up late at night reading, and made we eager for each chance to read another chapter. It's not perfect: the overall setup, though interesting, is a bit strained, and a bit too lightly sketched, which for me reduced the immediacy of some of the events. And structurally there is a slight burp: the book ends, more or less, and then there is an odd sort of coda, which really fills us in on an event from the earlier of the book that we had missed. But Jones finds a way to round up that coda nicely, without causing a muffled end to things. And I came away from this book a satisfied customer. Highly recommended.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No deep secret that the Multiuniverse spin is an exciting SF, April 18, 1999
By A Customer
The Magids keep the positive and negative magic in balance throughout the Multiverse. Junior Magid Rubert Venables, an Earthling, works the barbaric Koyrfonic Empires where trouble is a way of life. In the large scheme of the Multiverse, a backward series of planets usually means little. However, this group happens to be located at a critical point where the center of the Multiverse twists onto itself. When someone assassinates the Emperor, Rupert has to find the rightful heir even though the previous ruler seems to have killed all of them before a possible chaotic civil war even starts..
However, Rupert has a second problem to deal with at the same time. He has been assigned the task of finding the replacement to his own mentor, who just died. Rupert must go to Earth and select the most competent of the junior Magids (including himself) to become the new Magid of the planet. He meets with the five contenders at a SF convention, but other forces not quite as friendly as the hostile candidates are also there.
DEEP SECRET is a great SF tale that fans will take much pleasure in reading. The story line is exciting, complex, and unique as only Diana Wynne Jones can do. The eccentric cast of characters seem real as they add humor and make magic appear to be part of the scientific realm. Anyone who wants something a bit different, should try this novel and hopefully any future Multiverse books.
Harriet Klausner
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of our best author's best books!, March 24, 2000
This review is from: Deep Secret (Mass Market Paperback)
I would say this is the first time DWJ has written an adult book which is fully as good as her best juvenile books - which I mean as a very high compliment indeed. The many complications are wonderfully woven together and beautifully resolved, while still keeping to the frantic pace of her best plotting. There is a theme of deep secrets coming to light (life), which gives the plot more-than-causal coherency.
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