The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume III (Mass Market Paperback)

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Key Phrases: evil fate, old gaffer, performative speech, Uncle Alfred, Count Robert, Uncle Charles (more...)

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Product Description

In the multiple parallel universes of the Twelve Related Worlds, only an enchanter with nine lives is powerful enough to control the rampant misuse of magic—and to hold the title Chrestomanci. . . .

Cat and Christopher Chant make the most unusual friends. Christopher befriends a boy with terrible karma in a mansion where everything keeps changing. Cat meets a girl whose family of rogue witches is hiding shocking secrets. Will the Chrestomanci be able to sort out the tangle of mysteries and magic?

About the Author

Diana Wynne Jones has been writing outstanding fantasy novels for more than thirty years and is one of the most distinguished writers in this field. With unlimited imagination, she combines dazzling plots, an effervescent sense of humor, and emotional truths in stories that delight readers of all ages. Her books, published to international acclaim, have earned a wide array of honors, including two Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honors and the British Fantasy Society's Karl Edward Wagner Award for having made a significant impact on fantasy. Acclaimed director and animator Hayao Miyazaki adapted Howl's Moving Castle into a major motion picture, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Diana Wynne Jones lives in Bristol, England, with her husband, a professor emeritus of English literature at Bristol University. They have three sons.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061148326
• ISBN-13: 978-0061148323
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,626 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tales of the Chrestomanci, April 22, 2008

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Long before Harry Potter was even dreamed of, Diana Wynne Jones was penning stories about her magical alternate worlds, and the nine-lived enchanter Chrestomanci.

Fortuntely, the last few years have seen a return for Chrestomanci. "The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume III" compiles the latest two books, one set in the past and one in the present. And both of them have everything you'd expect of a Chrestomanci novel -- eccentric humor, oddball characters, strange magic, mysterious happenings, and plenty of cats.

According to Conrad Tesdinic's uncle, "Conrad's Fate" involves deadly bad karma, which he can only rid himself of by killing someone at Stallery Mansion. With only an enchanted cork, Conrad is sent to Stallery as one of the new footmen, and soon befriends a strangely aristocratic older boy, Christopher "Smith," who turns out to be at Stallery for his own reasons -- and turns out to be an enchanter as well.

But Christopher isn't the only oddity at Stallery -- Conrad is left to question just who is "pulling the possibilities," aka changing details of the world via magic. Also there's a witch, an acting troupe, a dog, and his own sister, all making things more complicated. Now Conrad is forced to decide his OWN fate...

Then, having revisited Christopher Chant's teenage years, we lurch back into Chrestomanci's adult life.

Gammer Pinhoe has gone unexpectedly mad -- but her successor Marianne doesn't entirely believe that she has. While the Pinhoes and Farleighs have always conspired to keep their "dwimmer" magic a secret from Chrestomanci, suddenly they are sending unpleasant curses at one another, and Marianne suspects that it's Gammer's doing. Unfortunately, none of the adults around her will believe that Gammer -- even a crazed Gammer -- would ever do such a thing.

To make matters even more complicated, she and her brother have befriended the future Chrestomanci, Cat Chant -- and while they're exploring Gammer's old house, she gives him an old egg in the attic. But suddenly Cat is receiving nighttime visits from a great shadowy monster -- and the egg hatches. As Chrestomanci begins to investigate the strange matter of the Pinhoes, it turns out that Marianne has unwittingly revealed a conspiracy from centuries back...

Returning to the worlds of Chrestomanci is a little like slipping on a pair of well-worn fuzzy socks. Diana Wynne-Jones has thankfully lost none of her quirky talent, or her ability to spin up a world that is very much like early twentieth-century England, but then add something unique to it -- like deep-rooted "dwimmer" or the idea of making small changes to the universe to bring about big ones.

Her twinkly British humor and detailed style bring plenty of atmosphere, whether it's the polished creepiness of Stallery or the stifled chaos of Chrestomanci Castle and its surrounding villages. Jones spins up some dark and creepy moments (such as the ruined Stallery), but the plots are mostly saturated with lighthearted dialogue ("You pear-shaped FREAK!") and some very funny moments, like the crazy-looking flying machine.

And she intertwines lots of little subplots -- including quite a few mysteries -- that sort of float around loosely until she snaps them taut at the end. Just read carefully to avoid losing track of the details.

We also get to see Chrestomanci in two time periods here -- as a charming, confident teenager, and as a more responsible but still quirky adult. Other favorites such as Millie and Gabriel return, and Cat Chant gets plenty of expansion -- we get to see him truly acting as the future Chrestomanci, as well as dealing with his adorable new pet Klartch.

And most of the new characters are also pretty solid, particularly the kids who are having trouble with their families. Marianne is a likable girl who dreams of being a writer, and struggles with family legacies and prejudices that nobody bothered to explain. And despite his gullibility, Conrad is a pleasant sidekick for Christopher and a fairly clever kid.

And don't worry, the trademark cats are still very much in the series. Of particular note: Nutcase, a suitably named feline who seems to have the ability to walk through walls.

"The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume III" brings together two more of Diana Wynne-Jones' clever, complex fantasy stories, and it's a welcome return to the multiverse of the nine-lifed enchanter. Definitely a good read.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good deal, May 21, 2008

By	Judith B. McCarron "Judy in NE Ohio" (Brimfield, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This volume contains two books: "Conrad's Fate" and "The Pinhoe Egg". It costs just a little more than each of them, so it's a very good deal. I wish I'd known this before.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I'd known more, June 27, 2008

By	F. M. Seal "dragonslady" (New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I find an author I like, I tend to buy all his/her books. This book is two novellas together. If I'd known that when I bought it, I wouldn't have bought the separate novellas. It left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth even though I enjoyed the books. I just wish the description of the books would tell you when it's two previously published books in one. I buy enough books twice without that twist added.