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63rd out of 473 books
—
4,363 voters
The Diamond of Darkhold (Book of Ember #4)
It’s been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people, joined the town of Sparks. Now, struggling through the harsh winter aboveground, they find an unusual book. Torn up and missing most of its pages, it alludes to a mysterious device from before the Disaster, which they believe is still in Ember. Together, L...more
Hardcover, 293 pages
Published
August 26th 2008
by Random House
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DuPrau, Jeanne. 2008. The Diamond of Darkhold.
The Diamond of Darkhold is the fourth in the Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau. It begins shortly after the close of the second book in the series, The People of Sparks. The Emberites--now on their way to becoming full citizens of Sparks--are struggling side-by-side with the people of Sparks (their former enemies) to survive the harsh winter months. In the midst of this struggle, a roamer comes to town. Maggs, a woman roamer, a shepherdess, comes to bart...more
The Diamond of Darkhold is the fourth in the Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau. It begins shortly after the close of the second book in the series, The People of Sparks. The Emberites--now on their way to becoming full citizens of Sparks--are struggling side-by-side with the people of Sparks (their former enemies) to survive the harsh winter months. In the midst of this struggle, a roamer comes to town. Maggs, a woman roamer, a shepherdess, comes to bart...more
This is an exciting addition to a popular series. Although I kept on reading, fast, because of the actions and the mystery, I was not blown away by either the crafting of the language, or the development of the characters and plot. Lina and Doon are Lina and Doon -- they have not changed from a year ago, even if so much has happened in their life. They came to the series fully developed and little room is left for them to grown into more mature or slightly different people. This is not really pr...more
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I read this book because I liked "The City of Ember" and the "People of Sparks". I expected to be a little disappointed because I was with "The Prophet of Yonwood", however I wasn't. From the very first chapter it kept me reading. Doon and Lina decide to go back to Ember to see if they can salvage anything from their old city to help their new city through the winter, plus they believe the builders have left them something to help their future. I liked the fast pace of the story as I think it wi...more
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Just in time for the movie release of City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau returns with The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember. Life in Sparks is becoming increasingly difficult for everyone; supplies are running low and people are starting to go hungry. With winter coming there is no relief in sight to the hardship.
Visits from roamers, who trade goods and information from town to town, have also slowed; people are running out of useful things to trade. A glimmer of hope comes when Doon spots...more
Visits from roamers, who trade goods and information from town to town, have also slowed; people are running out of useful things to trade. A glimmer of hope comes when Doon spots...more
So I am truely a copulsive series reader. Even though I did not like the subsequent Ember books as much as the first I continued reading them and had to read this one, the last in the series.
In Diamond of Darkhold, we meet back up with Lina and Doon in the village of Sparks and follow their story for another year's time. This story does not have the same feeling as City of Ember, but it is engaging and easy to read. Times are tough in Sparks and Lina and Doon set out on a journey back to Ember t...more
In Diamond of Darkhold, we meet back up with Lina and Doon in the village of Sparks and follow their story for another year's time. This story does not have the same feeling as City of Ember, but it is engaging and easy to read. Times are tough in Sparks and Lina and Doon set out on a journey back to Ember t...more
The people of Ember are now the people of Sparks, and Sparks isn't looking so hot these days--with 400 new mouths to feed, supplies are running low, and winter's only just beginning. A plot device trader comes along and gives Doon the tattered remains of a book; Doon and Lina head back to Ember to save the world.
Eh. It's better than Prophet of Yonwood, but that doesn't say much. Maybe it's the distance from when I read the first book, but this has neither the charm nor complexity of City of Embe...more
Eh. It's better than Prophet of Yonwood, but that doesn't say much. Maybe it's the distance from when I read the first book, but this has neither the charm nor complexity of City of Embe...more
Jan 29, 2009
Val
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those reading the Ember Series
Shelves:
2009
I loved this book. I loved the City of Ember, and was less impressed with the other books in the series (though they were good and necessary).
This book captured the part of Ember that made it such a fantastic book for me. It had all of the adventurous elements and worked very well with the story line.
This book captured the part of Ember that made it such a fantastic book for me. It had all of the adventurous elements and worked very well with the story line.
6 likes · like · see review
This book is the fourth installment in the Books of Ember series, and my favorite of all the books. I did like The City of Ember and The People of Sparks, but I thought that ‘Diamond’ wrapped things up in a nice way.
During book two of the series, I always wondered why the people of Ember didn’t go back for resources to help them get settled in their new lifestyle living on the Earth’s surface. So, I thought if finally made some sense that Lina and Doon would go back to Ember to see what they...more
During book two of the series, I always wondered why the people of Ember didn’t go back for resources to help them get settled in their new lifestyle living on the Earth’s surface. So, I thought if finally made some sense that Lina and Doon would go back to Ember to see what they...more
After the disappointing second and third installments, The City of Ember series mostly redeems itelf in its conclusion. Lina and Doon resume their community-saving adventures and, as usual, their discoveries yield widespread effects. The new characters, although less of a caricature than in The Prophet of Yonwood, still lack depth, and they feel exactly like the plot devices that they are. Without the Darkhold invaders, Lina and Doon might have A) found their goal too quickly for the novel to be...more
When I saw this one in the library, I knew I wanted to know more about the former residents of the City of Ember. I really enjoyed City of Ember and City of Sparks - Prophet of Yonwood was okay - but I liked this fourth installment, the Diamond of Darkhold better.
We are once again with Lina and Doon in the city of Sparks, as winter is closing in and life is getting very difficult. There is no medicine, food is limited, and the darkness makes life not only more challenging, but more depressing, t...more
We are once again with Lina and Doon in the city of Sparks, as winter is closing in and life is getting very difficult. There is no medicine, food is limited, and the darkness makes life not only more challenging, but more depressing, t...more
From School Library Journal
...more
Grade 4–9—A solid and satisfying conclusion to the "Ember Saga," set in a post-disaster future. Hostilities have died down between the citizens of Sparks and the refugees from the underground city of Ember, and all are working together to survive the brutal winter. A roamer brings forth the barest remains of a book that intrigues Doon and Lina because it alludes to a mysterious device that may still be in Ember. They decide to go back to see if they can find any answ
I was really not looking forward to this book, except for the fact that it was the last in this series. I hated Lina and Doon going into it, and although I didn't hate them as much by the end, I still wasn't a huge fan of them. If I had been from Ember or from Sparks, they would just piss me off every time they left to go on some ridiculous adventure. Like good grief, if you think Ember still has supplies, tell the adults and let them get it together to go. Then maybe Doon wouldn't bust his ankl...more
It's been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people, joined the town of Sparks. Lina knows they are lucky to be there, but life aboveground is hard. Instead of opening a can for dinner, they must plant and harvest their food. And while there was no...more "A darkness different from Ember's, but just as frightening."
It's been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people...more
It's been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people...more
This book was much better than I thought it was going to be. I was very pleased with how this book turned out and with the ending. In case you don't know this is the 4th book of The City of Ember, it says it in the title, but just in case. This book starts right off from where the second book (The People of Sparks) leaves off. Lina and Doon set off to go back to the city of Ember, to gather new supplies that they left behind when they left for the city of Sparks. Then the whole adventure unfolds...more
May 04, 2012
Mikale
added it
i love this booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...more
At first I had hopes that this book would prove to be a dark and rather creepy installment. Doon and Lina return to Ember! What has happened to it since then? Who has moved in to claim the ruins after the evacuation? What terrible secrets now lurk in the dark? When Lina and Doon first return to Ember, my hopes seemed to be confirmed - it was eerie, dark, and mysterious. But when Doon meets the new occupants of Ember, my hope soon crumbled into disappointment. There's nothing scary about the Trog...more
The Diamond of Darkhold is the fourth and last installment of the spectacular "Books of Ember" series. It was an absolute thrill to read and I enjoyed watching it come to a formidable end.
When Doon and Lina led the people of Ember out of their dying underground city and into the world above, everything was different and strange. A few months have passed since then, and the people of Ember are living in the small village of Sparks. Life in this new world is difficult, especially when facing the h...more
When Doon and Lina led the people of Ember out of their dying underground city and into the world above, everything was different and strange. A few months have passed since then, and the people of Ember are living in the small village of Sparks. Life in this new world is difficult, especially when facing the h...more
"Trogg seemed to think that he knew everything, but strangely enough, it was exactly this that made him seem stupid to Doon. A person who thought he knew everything simply didn't understand how much there was to know."" (Doon,79)
Diamond of Darkhold, the final installment of the Book of Ember series marks the closing chapters of Lina and Doon's adventures. On the brink of a terrible winter, food is scarce and sickness has crept into the town of Sparks. If things were to continue as they were, ma...more
Diamond of Darkhold, the final installment of the Book of Ember series marks the closing chapters of Lina and Doon's adventures. On the brink of a terrible winter, food is scarce and sickness has crept into the town of Sparks. If things were to continue as they were, ma...more
The people of Ember have been in the town of Sparks for most of a year, and the entire group is struggling to get through the end of the winter. Food is in short supply, and it is difficult to complete work in the dark, shortened days. Lina and Doon discover a mostly-shredded book in the hands of a traveling peddler, and they buy it to study -- the cover has the name "Ember" on it. Though they don't understand it, it gives them the idea to try to return to Ember to see if there is anything salva...more
This is the final story in the People of Ember series, and I think it was supposed to show how the human race could rebuild itself after a disaster, but they didn't really get very far in this book. The builders of Ember seemed to have a lot of insight into what the people of Ember would need (though not into what the people NOT of ember might do with it). They decided that the people might need electricity after they left Ember, so instead of teaching them how to use electricity when they were...more
The Diamond of Darkhold is about Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow going to go back to see they're underground city, The City of Ember. The setting is around the 23rd century and is around a big open valley of where The Village of Sparks and The City of Ember is. Lina's internal conflict is she is so scared to go back because they all left Ember becuase the generator was old, about more than 200 years and after a while it would shut down and restart but it took longer periods of time after the first...more
I started this book series several years ago when it only had two books. I never knew she continued the story. There are 4 books total and the first book was made into a movie not too long ago.
Book One (The City of Ember)- "The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon m...more
Book One (The City of Ember)- "The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon m...more
I have loved the Ember series since the first chapter of book one. This book is certainly not a disapointment.
Doon and Lina are back and six months has passed since the action in "People of Sparks", the townfolk are hungry and winter is on its way. One day a wanderer passes through the town and Doon spies a book that she has. Lina offers to trade the wanderer a single match for the remaining pages of the book. The book is entitled "For the People of Ember" and excites Doon to no end. Doon pours...more
Doon and Lina are back and six months has passed since the action in "People of Sparks", the townfolk are hungry and winter is on its way. One day a wanderer passes through the town and Doon spies a book that she has. Lina offers to trade the wanderer a single match for the remaining pages of the book. The book is entitled "For the People of Ember" and excites Doon to no end. Doon pours...more
The townspeople of Sparks and the refugees from Ember have settled in together. The winter is brutal, resources are limited and times are difficult: everyone is hungry. When the next roamer comes to town, there is very little to offer in trade. Books always capture Doon’s interest though and the roamer has one—even though it is missing many pages, Lina offers one of their precious matches in trade.
The book seems to indicate that there is a mysterious Builders’ device that may still be in Ember....more
The book seems to indicate that there is a mysterious Builders’ device that may still be in Ember....more
Lina and Doon are struggling through winter when they obtain a book meant for the people of Ember. Only most of the pages have been torn out, and only eight pages remain, mostly graphs. And Sparks is running out of supplies, so Doon and Lina return to Ember to learn and gather what they can. But there's a new danger in their underground city...
I love The City of Ember and The People of Sparks. I skipped the prequel, The Prophet of Yonwood, but the only reference to that is in the epilogue here....more
I love The City of Ember and The People of Sparks. I skipped the prequel, The Prophet of Yonwood, but the only reference to that is in the epilogue here....more
This is the fourth in a series that I'd thought was a trilogy. The second book of the series, Prophet of Yonwood, left almost no trace of memory on me at all, probably because DuPrau diverges from the set of characters that prevail in the other books. The third book, People of Sparks, was quite sophisticated in its treatment of two peoples/cultures trying to live in one town under grim conditions. An impressive book, but a bit heavy.
By contrast, I think the Diamond of Darkhold is as fun, satisfy...more
By contrast, I think the Diamond of Darkhold is as fun, satisfy...more
Would you ever re-enter a dying city that took you several years to escape? Well, that's what Lina and Doon do in the fourth adventure novel,(of the City of Ember series), the Diamond of Darkhold. A roamer comes into the City of Sparks selling Doon a mysterious ragedy book, originally for the people of Ember. Given a limited amount of clues, Doon and Lina set out on an expedition to re-enter their city and find a mysterious jewel. But when they enter the city, Doon finds some not-so-friendly gu...more
I think this book must have come to be as a result of the criticisms of books 2 & 3 (no return to Ember, lack of Lina and Doon, etc.). While the return to Ember was much anticipated and a welcome plot element, parts of this book were, as a result, overwhelmingly repetitive of the first book. This worked in some instances, but in others, it felt like a desperate return to the successful elements seen in the first book, in order to gain back disappointed fans. I did enjoy seeing Lina and Doon...more
After I finished The City of Ember, and before I realized there was an Ember series, I spent a few days wondering what, exactly the builders were thinking. Their whole setup seemed great for 200 years, but there seemed to be no plan for how the people of Ember would survive above ground without the collective knowledge of human history. I myself have a smattering of knowledge of how to grow food and consider myself handy, but I'm not sure if I could make it through a winter on my own, and I was...more
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Am I the only one who's noticed this? | 6 | 56 | Oct 10, 2012 11:35pm | |
| The City of Ember: Diamond of Darkhold | 1 | 2 | Sep 08, 2012 11:44pm | |
| Quick question for those who finished The Diamond of Darkhold | 2 | 21 | May 11, 2012 06:34am | |
| Quick question for those who finished The Diamond of Darkhold | 5 | 20 | Apr 27, 2012 01:43pm | |
| Quick question for those who finished The Diamond of Darkhold | 3 | 23 | Mar 03, 2012 07:04pm | |
| Last Book | 9 | 60 | Jan 20, 2012 08:34am |
Jeanne DuPrau spends several hours of every day at her computer, thinking up sentences. She has this quote taped to her wall: "A writer is someone for whom writing is harder than it is for other people" (Thomas Mann).
This gives her courage, because she finds writing very hard. So many words to choose from! So many different things that could happen in a story at any moment! Writing is one tough de...more
More about Jeanne DuPrau...
This gives her courage, because she finds writing very hard. So many words to choose from! So many different things that could happen in a story at any moment! Writing is one tough de...more
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“A person who thought he knew everything simply didn’t understand how much there was to know.”
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20 people liked it
“A darkness different from Ember's, but just as frightening...”
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15 people liked it
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Feb 06, 2009 10:22am
Apr 12, 2013 05:24am