false 2173611 10 <p> Charmain Baker is in over her head. Looking after Great-Uncle William's tiny cottage while he's ill should have been easy. But Great-Uncle William is better known as the Royal Wizard Norland, and his house bends space and time. Its single door leads to any number of places&#8212;the bedrooms, the kitchen, the caves under the mountains, the past, and the Royal Mansion, to name just a few. </p> <p> By opening that door, Charmain has become responsible for not only the house, but for an extremely magical stray dog, a muddled young apprentice wizard, and a box of the king's most treasured documents. She has encountered a terrifying beast called a lubbock, irritated a clan of small blue creatures, and wound up smack in the middle of an urgent search. The king and his daughter are desperate to find the lost, fabled Elfgift&#8212;so desperate that they've even called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, can the Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer be far behind? </p> <p> Of course, with that magical family involved, there's bound to be chaos&#8212;and unexpected revelations. </p> <p> No one will be more surprised than Charmain by what Howl and Sophie discover. </p> 2179265 1 6 2008 House of Many Ways total:1084|5:264|4:496|3:258|2:61|1:5| 1084 4205 1698 264 4 10 false true Sat Jun 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 15:57:34 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 04 19:28:39 -0700 2009 1
That said, I loved this book less than a number of her others. (That, ladies and gentlemen, is the closest I come to criticizing DWJ....more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 22:21:43 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 22:39:42 -0700 2008 almost a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, although calling it the sequel is perhaps unfair to Castle in the Sky.

Vague spoilers follow:

It did rather fail as a traditional novel for two reasons. ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 07 19:57:57 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 07 20:16:09 -0700 2008 Howl's Moving Castle, which was mutlilated in the process of being turned into a Miyazaki film. The hyperkinetic, overstuffed and underexplained...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun May 18 12:16:21 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 10 22:32:36 -0700 2008
When this book showed up in my mailbox, I excitedly...more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Feb 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 15:05:21 -0800 2008 Thu May 01 20:05:10 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Dec 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri May 23 07:35:25 -0700 2008 Tue Dec 09 14:50:09 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jul 13 00:34:36 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 00:38:48 -0700 2008
It is DWJ so of course I enjoyed, but agreed with whoever it was -- on LJ flist, or on GR? -- who said that it was unfortunate that Howl, Sophie et al were in it, because the old characters were obviously more interesting ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 21 09:07:15 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 09:15:04 -0700 2009 The story concerns an adolescent girl, overly protected by her mother, who is pressed into service taking care of her great uncle's house while he is away...more...]]> 4 0 false true Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 21 19:59:16 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 20:06:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Oct 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 13:54:23 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 13:59:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false true Thu Sep 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 21:32:29 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 21:57:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 09:25:29 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 09:58:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 19:21:26 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 19:33:59 -0700 2009 Howl's Moving Castle is that Diana Wynne Jones makes Howl so likable despite his obvious flaws. In House of Many Ways, the main character again has obvious flaws, and I liked her by the end, but not as much as I liked Howl. (I always liked Sophie. And Calcifer.)
...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jul 03 08:15:01 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 08:15:01 -0700 2009
Well anyway, I know that DWJ's style is kinda like this... l...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 20 05:49:44 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 05:58:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jun 14 21:37:51 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 21:37:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Mar 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 10 06:13:34 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 10 10:54:38 -0700 2008 Howl's Moving Castle it can really stand alone. The main character is a young girl who gradually discovers her magical capabilities. There are many charming characters including a very lovable dog and a young boy with a great lipth and a devilish nature. The plo...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Oct 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 13:35:04 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 19:44:32 -0700 2009 This is billed as the sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle . To my mind, however, it’s more like Castles in the Air , less a sequel and more just set in the same universe. That said, where Castles was a boring slog that I barely finished, House is actually a lot of fun. It was a bit slow to st...more...]]> 3 0 false true Fri Oct 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 01:55:12 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 00:15:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 11:38:02 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 06:52:22 -0700 2009 more...]]>