From archive (archive) Subject: Archer's Goon From: throopw@dg_rtp.UUCP (Wayne Throop) Date: 23 May 87 16:34:11 GMT This is a book by an author I'm not familiar with, Diana Wynne Jones. What initially attracted me to it was the cover art, a large Goon in a kitchen chair eating a slice of cake with a switchblade, and sipping a cup of tea with his pinkie extended. He is the titular character. For once, the cover is pretty appropriate, and even the short cover blurb captures the spirit of the story: He was Large, Ugly, and not leaving their kitchen. He was a wizard's enforcer. He was... Archer's Goon. The story is (for the most part) told from the viewpont of a thirteen year old boy, and its tone is really that of a juvenile. In fact, I think it'd be a good story for the young adolescent. But it has plenty of humor and an engaging mystery plot, and is thus interesting to the adult as well. I liked it quite a lot, and I'm glad, for once, to have given in to the attractive packaging. Can anyone comment on her other book, "Fire and Hemlock"? Worthwhile? -- "[...] Your Dad pays, Archer doesn't make trouble." He grinned, almost sweetly, and sucked the last bit of bread off the point of his knife. "Got trouble now. Got me." "Phone the police," said Awful. The Goon's smile broadened. He took his knife by its point as wagged it at Awful. "Better not," he said. "Really bett'n't had." They exchanged looks again. It seemed to all of them, even Awful, that the Goon's advice was good. The Goon nodded when he saw them look and held his mug out for more tea. --- from "Archer's Goon" -- Wayne Throop !mcnc!rti!dg_rtp!throopw From rec.arts.sf.written Wed Dec 2 11:36:52 1992 Xref: lysator.liu.se rec.arts.sf.written:2034 rec.arts.books:3372 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.books Path: lysator.liu.se!fizban.solace.hsh.se!kitten.umdc.umu.se!sunic!mcsun!uunet!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!dani From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig) Subject: Diana Wynne Jones: A Sudden Wild Magic Message-ID: <1992Dec1.004227.4192@netcom.com> Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1992 00:42:27 GMT Lines: 40 Even Diana Wynne Jones's weaker books are better than 90% of the fantasy that's being published, and her recent one, "A Sudden Wild Magic", qualifies on both counts: It's better than 90% of the competition, but it's not one of her better efforts. The premise: Magic is much better organized (especially in Britain) than most people suspect. Organized Magic was responsible for the destruction of the Spanish Armada, for the Allied victory in WWII and, more recently, for the containment of what would have been a much more serious Chernobyl disaster. Next on the list is global warming. But the top witches have just discovered that the mages of another universe have been spying on them, stealing Earth's technological and magical innovations. Worse, these mages have been *causing* most of the world's worst woes, so as to get the solutions. Earth's witches decide to fight back by sending a squad of volunteers to infiltrate the other world. Most of the squad dies, through largely unforeseen mishap, but half a dozen survivors (all women) find themselves in the all-male (celibate) stronghold of the observers. What follows is...cute...and more than competently written, but it doesn't display the respect for the reader that Jones's juveniles usually do. There isn't a single fleshed-out character in the book, just stereotypes There is little or no plot logic, either, just scenes linked by fortuitous (or divinely inspired, for all the difference it makes to the writing) coincidences. The book is worth reading, as most of Diana Wynne Jones's books are worth reading, but it's certainly not worth $22. Wait till it comes out in paperback; there's no rush. ----- Dani Zweig dani@netcom.com 'T is with our judgements as our watches, none Go alike, yet each believes his own --Alexander Pope From rec.arts.sf.written Sun Nov 7 15:35:20 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!olivea!decwrl!pa.dec.com!hildy.zso.dec.com!rcrowley From: rcrowley@hildy.zso.dec.com ("Rebecca Leann Smit Crowley") Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Diana Wynne Jones, _Charmed Life_ Date: 5 Nov 1993 22:40:03 GMT Organization: Canaries For Freedom Lines: 27 Message-ID: <2beko3$h82@usenet.pa.dec.com> Reply-To: rcrowley@zso.dec.com NNTP-Posting-Host: hildy.zso.dec.com X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL0] Well, two good friends of mine, and several people here on r.a.sf.w. have recommended -- repeatedly and enthusiastically -- Diana Wynne Jones. I finally got a copy of _Charmed Life_ on Wednesday, and finished it last night. _Charmed Life_ is about a pair of orphans, Gwendolyn and her younger brother Cat. Gwendolyn demonstrates an amazing talent for magic and the pair are, after a bit, taken to live with some relatives, one of whom is a very powerful enchanter. Gwendolyn has a swelled head, and doesn't take well to being ignored, providing the central conflict for the tale. I was struck by the believability of the main characters -- all too often, precocious children are written as knowledgeable, to indicate their intelligence. Jones gets it right: her precocious characters are able to reason, and extend an idea, but their lack of background knowledge and experience results in acceptably screwy -- but intelligent! -- behavior. In retrospect, I'm surprised I didn't run across these books until now. The copyright dates suggest I *ought* to have encountered them in school. Perhaps a combination of a tight library budget, and strong parental discouragement from reading fantasy resulted in my woeful ignorance. -- Rebecca Crowley standard disclaimers apply rcrowley@zso.dec.com Evil Blond(e)s Save the World Club, Founding Member Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!newsfeed.cwix.com!18.181.0.26!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!usenet From: "&rea" Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Dark Lord of Derkholm - Diana Wynne Jones Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 13 Jan 1999 14:34:24 -0500 Organization: OzEmail Ltd. Lines: 47 Sender: wex@tinbergen.media.mit.edu Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2241 Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones Review Copyright 1999 teale Jones' must-have "Tough Guide to Fantasyland" posed as a book of rules and definitions for tours through a fantasy world. Wickedly funny, it left every reader in stitches and every would-be writer wincing at just how predictable their own work was. "Dark Lord" is set in the "Tough Guide" world, with hundreds of mundane world tourists hacking and slashing their way through carefully choreographed cliches. A profitable business for all, you think? But: "Querida, High Chancellor of Wizards' University, has received more than one million letters from wizards, farmers, soldiers, elves, dragons, and kings, all begging her to put a stop to Mr. Chesney's Pilgrim Parties." If not for the contract with the demon-toting Mr. Chesney, the tours would be a thing of the past. The wars between the forces of Good and Evil ruin the crops, destroy perfectly good cities, and it's a pain posing as the Beautiful Enchantress, the Wizard Guides (beards compulsory) or, especially, the Dark Lord. This year, Querida decides to try and get out of Chesney's contract and consultation with the oracles informs her that to do this she must appoint the less-than conventional wizard Derk as Dark Lord and his young son Blade as a Wizard Guide (beard still compulsory). Despite the setting, "Dark Lord" is not a parody. It's the story of a very unusual family in a world of magic coping with a particularly trying situation, and it's brilliant. Jones is a master of her craft and utterly convincing. Few other writers could successfully create a family which included, along with the humans, a clutch of very personable griffins with dreams, aspirations and problems all their own. Not to mention the flying horses and pigs, Big Hen, and the carniverous sheep, which Derk admits were a mistake. It's possible to read "Dark Lord" without having read "Tough Guide," but both are so seriously recommended as absolutely essential reading that rushing out and buying both (and a spare set or two for friends) straight away is the only acceptable solution. You'll never think about leathery-winged avians in quite the same way again. %A Diana Wynne Jones %T Dark Lord of Derkholm %I Greenwillow Books, US %O Hardcover %D 1998 %G ISBN 0-688-16004-2 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!logbridge.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!gatech!18.181.0.27.MISMATCH!sipb-server-1.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!usenet From: Harriet Klausner Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,alt.history.what-if,soc.history.what-if Subject: Review: Deep Secret, Diana Wynne Jones Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 07 May 1999 14:18:09 -0400 Organization: Netcom Lines: 36 Sender: wex@tinbergen.media.mit.edu Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2290 alt.history.what-if:62509 soc.history.what-if:130801 DEEP SECRET by Diana Wynne Jones Review Copyright 1999 Harriet Klausner 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 planet 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. If he does not, a chaotic civil war could start. 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 an 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 %T DEEP SECRET %A Diana Wynne Jones %I Tor %D Mar 1999 %O $24.95 %P 384 pp. %G ISBN 0-312-86859-6