Susie's comments (member since Feb 10, 2009)

Susie's comments from the Diana Wynne Jones Fans group.

Jonathan,

Yup, that's very true - especially her newer books. Her technique seems to be to take some issue and amplify it as much as she can manage. I almost never agree with her views 100% but her books are still darned good.

Josie, thanks! I keep forgetting to read the sequels to The Thief. That was an amazing book.

Has anyone here read Neil Gaiman? Opinions?

Worst cover ever: A Sudden Wild Magic. I think it's the color pallet and style they picked ... I've only ever seen it on romance novels, which some publisher who only skimmed the plot might think it was.

I don't really have any favorites - they are all in between pretty good and okay.

Fire and Hemlock was a great book, but the ending has baffled more than a few people - myself included. What do YOU think the ending meant? I'm going to dig up my copy and re-read the end before I post .. it's been a few years since I've read it.

Edit: I guess I should add, there will be spoilers in this topic, proceed with caution!

Yes, Patricia Wrede is awesome! Mairelon the Magician and The Magician's Ward are good too if youlike a little romance.

I like Sheri Tepper's books - her writing reminds me of Diana Jones' - but very much for adults rather than children. She is very good at the surprise endings and mid-story twists. The best books to start with are the True Game books (there are 9 of them). Make sure you read them in the right order though.

Ursula Le Guin hardly needs mentioning. Her newest books (Gifts, Voices and Powers) are particularly good if you haven't tried them yet.

Another good YA author that is under-read is Sid Fleischman - he wrote Whipping Boy, and The 13th Floor - all of his books are good, but those two are my favorites.

What - choosing a favorite book?! yikes ... It's easier to list the two or three that aren't my favorite.

I'll give it a shot though:

Castle in the Air (the first DWJ book I ever read)
Hexwood
The Merlin Conspiracy
Deep Secret
Tough Guide to Fantasyland
Witch Week
Magician's of Caprona
The Dalemark Quartet - all of them but the Crown ... which was still good.
Power of Three
All her short stories!

The ones that are the most "epic" and the least juvenile (IMO) are the Dalemark Quartet, the Darklord of Derkhelm (but not its sequel, Year of the Griffin), Deep Secret/Merlin Conspiracy, and A Sudden Wild Magic (but hide the cover! :-D ). Fire and Hemlock is good, but can be confusing - same with Hexwood, even though it's one of my favorites.

If your girlfriend loved Harry Potter, I think she'll at least like most of Diana Wynne Jones' books.

I love almost all of Diana's books and stories. It feels like she reads my mind and writes exactly how I think. I've read all of her books except for the House of Many Ways (waiting for the library to stock it) and a couple of anthologies that are hard to find.

*read the above comments* Maybe someone should start a group for fans of her YA/Adult fiction as well?