Everyone - wizards, soldiers, farmers, elves, dragons, kings and queens alike - is fed up with Mr Chesney's Pilgrim Parties: groups of tourists fro...
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reviews
May 31, 2011
Julie
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Imagine that your world has real elves, dragons, wizards, and all those items necessary for a good fantasy tale. Then imagine that an enterprising person from an "otherworld" much like ours stumbled through a portal and discovered this real "fantasy" world. Forty years later you might have a problem much like that in this book where Mr. Chesney's Pilgrim Parties come on tour wanting to enjoy a classic fantasy adventure. The only problem is that Mr. Chesney's contract is so ai
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Oct 17, 2011
Myles
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DWJ Book Toast, #12
Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favorite fantasy authors, growing up and now, and I was saddened by the news of her death. I can't say I'm overcome with emotion - as personal as some of her work is to me, its not like I knew her after all - but I wish I could put into words how I feel about her no longer being out there, writing new adventures and laughing at all of us serious fans thinking so hard about her words when we should simply get on with the business of en More...
Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favorite fantasy authors, growing up and now, and I was saddened by the news of her death. I can't say I'm overcome with emotion - as personal as some of her work is to me, its not like I knew her after all - but I wish I could put into words how I feel about her no longer being out there, writing new adventures and laughing at all of us serious fans thinking so hard about her words when we should simply get on with the business of en More...
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Jan 20, 2011
Nic
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What an excellent book! This is the fastest-paced DWJ book I've ever read, and several of the revelations at the end truly surprised me without seeming unreasoned. There were many powerful moments, both action- and emotion-based, and some great characters. There's a cast of zillions, but you get the hang of everyone pretty well. And of course, the book is full of Diana Wynne Jones' perfect word choices ("a tuft of flame"), neat critters and spells (Friendly Cows!), and great descri
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Nov 04, 2008
Tyas
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What I love about Diana Wynne Jones is how she can present a fantasy novel with a different angle than other fantasy novels with a standard plot - a boy or a girl, fated for something big, learning through ordeals, obtaining greatness.
In The Dark Lord of Derkholm, the world of magic had been forced to kneel down in front of a powerful force - namely, a Mr Chesney - and provide 'entertainment' every year for his Pilgrim Parties. These tourists from another world wanted to be involved More...
In The Dark Lord of Derkholm, the world of magic had been forced to kneel down in front of a powerful force - namely, a Mr Chesney - and provide 'entertainment' every year for his Pilgrim Parties. These tourists from another world wanted to be involved More...
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Jun 27, 2007
nina
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Another fun book by talented fantasy writer Diana Wynne Jones. Like Howl's Moving Castle, Jones manages to give fantasy a modern, quirky twist. In this case, the Dark Lord of Derkholm is actually an animal-loving, quirky veterinarian/botanist/family man, Derk, who has been selected to play the role of "Dark Lord" for the annual Pilgrim tours. Derk, his ecclectic family of human and hybrid creatures, and all the other wizards of this magical world must think of ways to fulfill their
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Mar 08, 2009
Myuu *Rocket Girl*
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When I first got this book as a christmas present,I was a little dubious. Then I started reading it, and I LOVED IT.It subtley makes fun of other fantasy titles, yet offers a rich crafted book. The characters were very likeable and well rounded.
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Jun 24, 2008
Suzi
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Just reread this over the weekend. What fun! This was the first Diana Wynne Jones book I read, I believe, and I had no idea — NO idea — that it would be one of the lightest and easiest (not counting the Chrestomanci or Cart/Cwidder books). It seemed so involved at the time. Now, rereading it, I found it quite gloriously complex but tons of fun. I then reread Year of the Griffin and also enjoyed that one for its absolute skewering of poor teaching (though I worried about its possible political
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Nov 22, 2011
Ms. Library
rated it: 
Charming tale, typical of Jones: One of the reasons I love Jones’ work is because there is something special about it. She writes with humor and charm, and really draws the reader into her tales. I also love that she manages to capture the essence of magic so well, while maintaining a somewhat snarky tone underneath (yet, snark with a good heart behind it-there’s no cynicism here). This tale centers on a magical world that keeps having to host pilgrim parties for people from our world, and i
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Aug 25, 2011
robyn
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This book is SUCH fun to read. Jones slowly gets the ball rolling from the start and it gathers momentum til at the end you're in absolute chaos with no idea of what's going to happen. She's always good at surprises, but sometimes they seem to come out of left field. In this book, everything happens and you can see why it happened, and it's really well done.
Dark Lord is a gentle send-up of themed tours and the fantasy genre both, and it's fabulously well done. Jones' mockery is so ge More...
Dark Lord is a gentle send-up of themed tours and the fantasy genre both, and it's fabulously well done. Jones' mockery is so ge More...
Dec 09, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
Themes: family relationship, coming of age, fantasy
This story takes place in a fantasy world, where Derk and his family, like everyone else in the world, dread the few weeks out of the year when Mr. Chesney’s Pilgrim Parties, artificial, fantastical adventure tours for tourists from another sphere, come and wreak havoc on their own world. And yet, because Mr. Chesney insists on the repetition of the tours and he controls much of the economic well-being of the country, Derk’s family and More...
This story takes place in a fantasy world, where Derk and his family, like everyone else in the world, dread the few weeks out of the year when Mr. Chesney’s Pilgrim Parties, artificial, fantastical adventure tours for tourists from another sphere, come and wreak havoc on their own world. And yet, because Mr. Chesney insists on the repetition of the tours and he controls much of the economic well-being of the country, Derk’s family and More...
Dec 08, 2010
Rachel
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 08, 2010
Jenna
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I will be honest; I did not like this book. It is definitely one of my least favorites so far that we have read in this class. I generally do not like fantasy and this one had very little connection to the real world. Even the family structures were unfamiliar to me. It was certainly very creative, I will give the author that; however, I really felt like it was too creative, too original. In my opinion, when a story or novel gets too “out there,” it becomes too difficult to the casual reader
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Oct 17, 2010
Megan
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This was a great fantasy novel that had the audacity to make fun of other fantasy novels. In this mystical world full of wizards, dragons, and demons, everything revolves around the yearly Pilgrim Parties controlled by the controlling Mr. Chesney of a different world (that sounds similar to the real world we live in). In order to please Mr. Chesney, his captured demon, and all of the tourists, this fantasy world puts on great dramatizations that meet the expectations of what one would typicall
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Oct 17, 2010
Courtney
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 14, 2010
Joel
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The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones Fantasy
This young-adult fantasy book tells the story of a fantasy world who is practically ruled by an evil, demon-ruled man named Mr. Chesney who runs Pilgrim Parties to the fantasy world. Although this world is nothing like a battleground, destruction-filled land, the occupants of this world have to play the part every year when the Pilgrim Parties come. The main character, Derk, is chosen this year to be the "Dark Lord o More...
This young-adult fantasy book tells the story of a fantasy world who is practically ruled by an evil, demon-ruled man named Mr. Chesney who runs Pilgrim Parties to the fantasy world. Although this world is nothing like a battleground, destruction-filled land, the occupants of this world have to play the part every year when the Pilgrim Parties come. The main character, Derk, is chosen this year to be the "Dark Lord o More...
Oct 12, 2010
Catherine
rated it: 
Wow. After waiting excitedly to get to the fantasy unit, I was grossly disappointed by this parody of fantasy. The idea was clever, showing how stale and cliche the fantasy genre was at the time, but the book really consisted of about a thousand characters doing nothing but planning. There were some really good scenes and exciting parts, but they were so few and far between that by the time you got to one, you'd lost the last one amid the pages and pages (it's a long book) of tedious planning
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Oct 10, 2010
Mandy
rated it:
Fantasy
Dark Lord of Derkholm is the stereotypical fantasy-there's the Dark Lord, the Enchantress, the demons and dragons-or is it? Diana Jones creates a fantasy world in which everything is fantastical but clearly ordinary. There is nothing unique about their world other than the natural properties that come with fantasy. However, a human controlling a powerful demon, Mr. Chesney, profits from human pilgrims to their world every year and he expects their land to be everything humans ex More...
Dark Lord of Derkholm is the stereotypical fantasy-there's the Dark Lord, the Enchantress, the demons and dragons-or is it? Diana Jones creates a fantasy world in which everything is fantastical but clearly ordinary. There is nothing unique about their world other than the natural properties that come with fantasy. However, a human controlling a powerful demon, Mr. Chesney, profits from human pilgrims to their world every year and he expects their land to be everything humans ex More...
Jul 03, 2010
Kathleen
rated it:
If you're looking for something to read now that Harry Potter has faded and Twilight seems blah, you need to pick up this book by Diana Wynne Jones. I thought I'd gone to heaven in fantasy writing when I picked up Howl's Moving Castle, but I think I like this one even better.
Here's the backstory: Two worlds exist side-by-side, one has magic, the other has the exploitative and authoritarian Mr. Chesney. Mr. Chesney organizes tours from his world every year to the magical one, and More...
Here's the backstory: Two worlds exist side-by-side, one has magic, the other has the exploitative and authoritarian Mr. Chesney. Mr. Chesney organizes tours from his world every year to the magical one, and More...
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Aug 12, 2009
Jake
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After re-reading Diana Wynne Jones’ wonderful Howl’s Moving Castle, I picked up a couple of her other books, including this one. Like World War Z, this is a book born from a fictional guidebook, and in this case I’m glad that I read the inspiring work – The Rough Guide to Fantasyland—before the resulting novel. Fantasyland is a travel guide and glossary that takes the worst of post-Tolkien fantasy clichés in composite and treats fellowships as bands of tourists, bound by rules of the “Management
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Nov 21, 2010
Kiera
rated it:
Genre:fantasy, parody
Summary: Every year, a Dark Lord is nominated to host "pilgrim parties" from another world (mostly likely a very similar earth) These parties raid the countryside and make themselves a general nuisance. Derk is the Dark Lord this year and under his guidance and with significant help from his family, they end the pilgrim parties and save their world.
Response: I wish there was a half-star option. I liked this book, but it wasn't may favorite thing that I've More...
Summary: Every year, a Dark Lord is nominated to host "pilgrim parties" from another world (mostly likely a very similar earth) These parties raid the countryside and make themselves a general nuisance. Derk is the Dark Lord this year and under his guidance and with significant help from his family, they end the pilgrim parties and save their world.
Response: I wish there was a half-star option. I liked this book, but it wasn't may favorite thing that I've More...
Oct 09, 2010
Krista
rated it:
Required.
Mr. Chesney is a businessman from this world that exploits a whole parallel world, complete with dragons, wizards, and so on. He organizes it into an adventure tour full of bards and battles and leathery winged avians and demons and a dark lord. The denizens of the world have to scramble to make it all happen, and at the same time work to overthrow the tyrannical Mr. Chesney.
Though I grew up reading Dianna Wynne Jones, I never picked up this book. 500 pages is t More...
Mr. Chesney is a businessman from this world that exploits a whole parallel world, complete with dragons, wizards, and so on. He organizes it into an adventure tour full of bards and battles and leathery winged avians and demons and a dark lord. The denizens of the world have to scramble to make it all happen, and at the same time work to overthrow the tyrannical Mr. Chesney.
Though I grew up reading Dianna Wynne Jones, I never picked up this book. 500 pages is t More...
Dec 09, 2010
Danielle
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 09, 2010
Debbie
rated it:
Genre: fantasy
Issues: consumerism, prejudice, exploitation, marriage, monarchy
Derk is chosen to serve as Dark Lord during the upcoming Pilgrim Parties, when people from the nonmagical world are given tours of the magical world. The nonmagical folk view these tours as games, while the magical citizens are being exploited and overworked in order to provide this experience for them. A prophecy is made concerning Derk's family, foretelling their role in the end of the Pilgrim Parties More...
Issues: consumerism, prejudice, exploitation, marriage, monarchy
Derk is chosen to serve as Dark Lord during the upcoming Pilgrim Parties, when people from the nonmagical world are given tours of the magical world. The nonmagical folk view these tours as games, while the magical citizens are being exploited and overworked in order to provide this experience for them. A prophecy is made concerning Derk's family, foretelling their role in the end of the Pilgrim Parties More...
Apr 27, 2011
Jay
rated it:
From Jones' acceptance remarks for the Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Literature: "This book, Dark Lord of Derkholm, arose because I encountered large numbers of folk who were NOT thinking for themselves. I was helping friends compile The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, going through alphabetically the various features of fantasy books, such as Dark Lord, Gladiator, Galley Slave, Mountain Pass, Nunnery and so forth. At “Nunnery” we all spoke in chorus: “Nunneries are for sacking.” At which I rema
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Apr 17, 2011
Emma
rated it:
Dark Lord of Derkholm is a comical parody of epic fantasy: Fantasyland is overrun by tourists expecting to go on quests and slay this year's Dark Lord: the wizard Derk, who breeds all sorts of magical animals, from sarcastic geese to carnivorous sheep, and has no interest in pretending to be evil. Hilarity ensues as he and his family (including seven children, two humans and five griffins) try to fulfill the Dark Lord's responsibility to keep the tours going.
This is a great book if More...
This is a great book if More...
Oct 08, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
Dark Lord of Derkhom by Diana Wynne Jones
family relationships/coming of age
After much deliberation I have given this book two stars instead of one, only because I don't want any fantasy lovers to think it is horrible fantasy. In fact, this book is a subtle parody of fantasy and I think that fantasy fans would probably get a kick out of it. Not being a fantasy reader myself, I am sure that most of the humor and wit went right over my head so I suspect that may be why it was so diff More...
family relationships/coming of age
After much deliberation I have given this book two stars instead of one, only because I don't want any fantasy lovers to think it is horrible fantasy. In fact, this book is a subtle parody of fantasy and I think that fantasy fans would probably get a kick out of it. Not being a fantasy reader myself, I am sure that most of the humor and wit went right over my head so I suspect that may be why it was so diff More...
Oct 07, 2010
Julie
rated it:
I had to read this book as a requirement for a class and thought I was going to hate it. I did it simply out of duty but found the 30 pages into it I was laughing out loud and incredibly curious as to what Jones was going to do next. This book looks like high fantasy from the outside but on the inside reads as an excellent parody on the genre, which she can do expertly because she knows all of its trappings. I would describe this book as a humorous “behind the scenes” look at high fantasy adve
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Jul 30, 2010
Laura
rated it:
I like a little meta in my fiction. But the last fantasy-book-taking-the-piss-outta-fantasy books I read, China Mieville’s Un Lun Dun, had a self conscious archness that did not please me. This one, by contrast, was a treat. The fantasy universe exists, and some asshole American (aA) has figured out how to monetize the fact with tours. Our tourists pay a lot for the privilege, and they wanna hit every trope in the hero’s journey, and our aA has somehow gotten the fantasy world so tangled up
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Dec 04, 2010
Raylee
rated it:
This fantastic high fantasy adventure follows the story of Derk and his unorthodox family. Derk and co. live in a magical world that is controlled by a corporate shark from our world. Turning their magical world into a tourist location Mr. Chesney exploits the poor people who are forced work with him to make a living. In preparation for the upcoming tour season Derk is chosen as the Dark Lord and has to scramble to assume his new duties. While his tries to get ready for the destructive tourists
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Oct 10, 2010
Samantha
rated it:
Fantasy/Explotation
I greatly enjoyed the way Dark Lord of Derkholm began. In the first few chapters we dive into story, as if this fantasy world has been existing all along and we, the viewer, have just come upon it in the middle of its progress. In the first few chapters of the book I was completely and utterly lost as to what the “tours” were, what kind of world this was, and for a while I believed they used space ships. Perhaps I thought of space ships because the opening of this More...
I greatly enjoyed the way Dark Lord of Derkholm began. In the first few chapters we dive into story, as if this fantasy world has been existing all along and we, the viewer, have just come upon it in the middle of its progress. In the first few chapters of the book I was completely and utterly lost as to what the “tours” were, what kind of world this was, and for a while I believed they used space ships. Perhaps I thought of space ships because the opening of this More...
