What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dalemark Quartet #1-4
The Dalemark Quartet
For centuries, Dalemark has been a land divided by the feuding earldoms of the North and South. Now, with the help of the Undying, the mysterious gods of Dalemark, four extraordinary young people from the past, present and future will help shape the destiny of their land. Includes Cart and Cwidder, Drowned Ammet, The Spellcoats and The Crown of Dalemark.
785 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
12 people are currently reading
708 people want to read
About the author
Diana Wynne Jones
149 books12k followersDiana Wynne Jones was a celebrated British writer best known for her inventive and influential works of fantasy for children and young adults. Her stories often combined magical worlds with science fiction elements, parallel universes, and a sharp sense of humor. Among her most beloved books are Howl's Moving Castle, the Chrestomanci series, The Dalemark Quartet, Dark Lord of Derkholm, and the satirical The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. Her work gained renewed attention and readership with the popularity of the Harry Potter series, to which her books have frequently been compared.
Admired by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and J.K. Rowling, Jones was a major influence on the landscape of modern fantasy. She received numerous accolades throughout her career, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, two Mythopoeic Awards, the Karl Edward Wagner Award, and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. In 2004, Howl's Moving Castle was adapted into an acclaimed animated film by Hayao Miyazaki, further expanding her global audience.
Jones studied at Oxford, where she attended lectures by both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. She began writing professionally in the 1960s and remained active until her death in 2011. Her final novel, The Islands of Chaldea, was completed posthumously by her sister Ursula Jones.
Admired by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and J.K. Rowling, Jones was a major influence on the landscape of modern fantasy. She received numerous accolades throughout her career, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, two Mythopoeic Awards, the Karl Edward Wagner Award, and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. In 2004, Howl's Moving Castle was adapted into an acclaimed animated film by Hayao Miyazaki, further expanding her global audience.
Jones studied at Oxford, where she attended lectures by both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. She began writing professionally in the 1960s and remained active until her death in 2011. Her final novel, The Islands of Chaldea, was completed posthumously by her sister Ursula Jones.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 25, 2025
I'm more impressed with these as an adult than I was as a child. Cart and Cwidder was quite fun. Drowned Ammet was very complex (though it did drag in places). The Spellcoats was a really interesting concept and now I want to create a weaving language. The Crown of Dalemark was the culmination of the lot of them. But it's a bit too standard for me - I prefer the works from DWJ that are really bizarre.
June 5, 2020
This is a book that I have had in my library for years and when I want to see old friends again I reread, which I just did. Each of the first 3 books stands alone in creating an interesting world and adventure that is fun to read. The 4th book brings the first 3 together and answers questions that were left unanswered.
April 7, 2023
March/April 2023 Reread
I love this series a lot. It's odd and not for everyone I suppose, but definitely a favorite of mine, particularly several of the characters, the depth of history/world, and the way each book is so different than the others but all come together masterfully in the fourth one. Flaming Ammet but it's majestic! Three reads and I'm still catching so many new, deeper meanings and connections. It's so complex and layered, woven together with so many threads.
I'm delighted to have this collection with what I consider to be the definitive cover. *hugs book*
Each time I read this series I find myself wandering around a bit dreamy like Moril, during and after reading it, lost still on Dalemark's Green Roads of the Undying (or maybe the Wind's Road... or the River...), following Mitt, Navis, Kialan, Wend, Moril, Tanaqui, Maewen, and the others.
"Who will ride the King's Way, the King's Way?
Who will ride the royal road and follow with the King?"
Original review
THIS SERIES. I... I... I... Wordless. I need to own this collection so I can read it whenever I want. ALL THE THINGS.
I love this series a lot. It's odd and not for everyone I suppose, but definitely a favorite of mine, particularly several of the characters, the depth of history/world, and the way each book is so different than the others but all come together masterfully in the fourth one. Flaming Ammet but it's majestic! Three reads and I'm still catching so many new, deeper meanings and connections. It's so complex and layered, woven together with so many threads.
I'm delighted to have this collection with what I consider to be the definitive cover. *hugs book*
Each time I read this series I find myself wandering around a bit dreamy like Moril, during and after reading it, lost still on Dalemark's Green Roads of the Undying (or maybe the Wind's Road... or the River...), following Mitt, Navis, Kialan, Wend, Moril, Tanaqui, Maewen, and the others.
"Who will ride the King's Way, the King's Way?
Who will ride the royal road and follow with the King?"
Original review
THIS SERIES. I... I... I... Wordless. I need to own this collection so I can read it whenever I want. ALL THE THINGS.
May 9, 2008
At first I was a little confused, the only thing the first three books had in common was the country, Dalemark, and the "Undying", gods with powers and maybe immortal humans. But the fourth gathers all the threads and makes a satisfying whole. Though I think there could have been a few more chapters at the end. Overall quite an enjoyable read for adults and young people.
August 21, 2017
The four books included in this omnibus are listed below. I've read this before, but it has been quite a while, and as I recall it's not a real fast read (maybe because the book is heavy!)
Cart and Cwidder
Clennen the singer, his wife and 4 children are traveling through Dalemark. They pick up Kialan as a passenger, but he acts very strange. Clennen's son Moril inherits his cwidder, a musical instrument that has strange powers which Moril must learn to use to save Kialan.
Drowned Ammet
Mitt is a young boy in the slums of Holand, who dreams of being a revolutionary and putting down the oppressive rule of the earls in the south of Dalemark. When his part of an uprising goes wrong, he must flee - and he ends up on a boat owned by two children of one of the hated earls, Hildy and Ynen, the children of Navis. They go to the Holy Islands with the help of Old Ammet and Libby Beer, avatars of the Undying. The story ends when the three children and Navis are helped by the islanders to get away and sail to the north.
The Spellcoats
I realized too late that this one should be read first - it deals with happenings in prehistoric Dalemark, well before the times of the previous two books. The five children of Closti the Clam live near the River. The story is told by the fourth youngest, Tanaqui, who is weaving their story into rugcoats. Their father and eldest brother Gull have to go away to fight the Heathens, leaving the children behind. The people of the village hate them, except for their uncle Kestrel, because they are blond-haired instead of brown and look like the people the villagers call the Heathens. Their father does not return, but Gull returns a shattered man. When the river rises unexpectedly and floods them out, they load everything into a boat and go off down the river to escape the villagers, taking the statues of their 'Undying' gods, with them - the One, the Lady, and the Young One. When they reach the sea, they meet the evil Kankredin, a sorcerer, and get involved in a war against him. The River and their gods help them, but the book ends just before the final battle, with Tanaqui struggling to finish her final weaving.
The Crown of Dalemark
The first section of the book begins somewhere after Drowned Ammet left off, with Mitt now in the service of Countess of Aberath. He is told that Ynen will be killed unless Mitt agrees to kill a girl called Noreth, who is looking for the crown of Dalemark to unite the north and south. Then the second book switches to modern times 200 years later, and a girl called Maewen, who is traveling by train to Kernsberg to visit her father who is the curator at the Tannoreth Palace. The palace contains a lot of portraits and artifacts from olden days. When Wend, her father's secretary, hands Maewen a golden statue of the One, she is suddenly sent back in time to take Noreth's place. Wend is with her, and Mitt and Navis are there, as is Moril the singer from Cart and Cwidder. She is supposed to find the ring, the cup, and the sword of the true king which will lead to an uprising that eventually will unite the north and south. But the remnants of the evil mage Kankredin are reassembling themselves, and he is doing his best to steer Maewen into the wrong paths. The rest of the story tells what she overcomes to find the three artifacts and eventually get back to her own time. I felt this was the most exciting book of the four, but it ends with Maewen determined to find the witch Cennoreth and find Mitt again. So it was a rather unsatisfying ending - I felt as if there should be a fifth book to wrap everything up.
Cart and Cwidder
Clennen the singer, his wife and 4 children are traveling through Dalemark. They pick up Kialan as a passenger, but he acts very strange. Clennen's son Moril inherits his cwidder, a musical instrument that has strange powers which Moril must learn to use to save Kialan.
Drowned Ammet
Mitt is a young boy in the slums of Holand, who dreams of being a revolutionary and putting down the oppressive rule of the earls in the south of Dalemark. When his part of an uprising goes wrong, he must flee - and he ends up on a boat owned by two children of one of the hated earls, Hildy and Ynen, the children of Navis. They go to the Holy Islands with the help of Old Ammet and Libby Beer, avatars of the Undying. The story ends when the three children and Navis are helped by the islanders to get away and sail to the north.
The Spellcoats
I realized too late that this one should be read first - it deals with happenings in prehistoric Dalemark, well before the times of the previous two books. The five children of Closti the Clam live near the River. The story is told by the fourth youngest, Tanaqui, who is weaving their story into rugcoats. Their father and eldest brother Gull have to go away to fight the Heathens, leaving the children behind. The people of the village hate them, except for their uncle Kestrel, because they are blond-haired instead of brown and look like the people the villagers call the Heathens. Their father does not return, but Gull returns a shattered man. When the river rises unexpectedly and floods them out, they load everything into a boat and go off down the river to escape the villagers, taking the statues of their 'Undying' gods, with them - the One, the Lady, and the Young One. When they reach the sea, they meet the evil Kankredin, a sorcerer, and get involved in a war against him. The River and their gods help them, but the book ends just before the final battle, with Tanaqui struggling to finish her final weaving.
The Crown of Dalemark
The first section of the book begins somewhere after Drowned Ammet left off, with Mitt now in the service of Countess of Aberath. He is told that Ynen will be killed unless Mitt agrees to kill a girl called Noreth, who is looking for the crown of Dalemark to unite the north and south. Then the second book switches to modern times 200 years later, and a girl called Maewen, who is traveling by train to Kernsberg to visit her father who is the curator at the Tannoreth Palace. The palace contains a lot of portraits and artifacts from olden days. When Wend, her father's secretary, hands Maewen a golden statue of the One, she is suddenly sent back in time to take Noreth's place. Wend is with her, and Mitt and Navis are there, as is Moril the singer from Cart and Cwidder. She is supposed to find the ring, the cup, and the sword of the true king which will lead to an uprising that eventually will unite the north and south. But the remnants of the evil mage Kankredin are reassembling themselves, and he is doing his best to steer Maewen into the wrong paths. The rest of the story tells what she overcomes to find the three artifacts and eventually get back to her own time. I felt this was the most exciting book of the four, but it ends with Maewen determined to find the witch Cennoreth and find Mitt again. So it was a rather unsatisfying ending - I felt as if there should be a fifth book to wrap everything up.
February 8, 2019
The four books leap and buck in unexpected ways, twisting when you think they might turn and turning when you think they might twist. Drowned Ammett took me longer to get through than the others; the world-building sometimes makes me feel like I'm slow to catch on, but the story was engaging (although it took a long time to get to Mitt's initial goal; once past that, the pace picks up!). With the pull between good and evil and north and south, common people and those in power, and with the fine line between gods and regular humans, there's much to consider here.
I'd initially picked this up for my third-grade daughter, who liked Earwig and the Witch (although it was easy reading), but I think it might be better to wait a couple of years - there is a little bit of swearing in the final book, I think, and the mature themes, with destruction and murder (although not horribly graphic), make it a better choice for an older audience. The first book, though (SPOILER ALERT), might do, but there is the death of the father and the separation of the father and mother, which could be distressing to younger audiences as well.
I'd initially picked this up for my third-grade daughter, who liked Earwig and the Witch (although it was easy reading), but I think it might be better to wait a couple of years - there is a little bit of swearing in the final book, I think, and the mature themes, with destruction and murder (although not horribly graphic), make it a better choice for an older audience. The first book, though (SPOILER ALERT), might do, but there is the death of the father and the separation of the father and mother, which could be distressing to younger audiences as well.
June 24, 2020
3.5 stars
As a child, I was a huge fan of Diana Wynne Jones, and I remember many of her books fondly. I'd never read these four before, and though I enjoyed them, they're not her very best. Cart and Cwidder is cute, but the protagonist feels particularly young. I enjoyed Drowned Ammet, though the sections on the boat dragged a little bit. The Spellcoats has a different feel; it's set in the "ancient" Dalemark and feels more epic, the characters less similar to children of today. Then the stories come together in a satisfying finish in the final book, The Crown of Dalemark.
Dalemark's geography and mythology are a bit hard to track at first, but the world-building is impressive and complete, a trademark of Jones's. I would recommend these books to middle-grade fantasy fans, though I might choose different novels as a gateway into her work.
As a child, I was a huge fan of Diana Wynne Jones, and I remember many of her books fondly. I'd never read these four before, and though I enjoyed them, they're not her very best. Cart and Cwidder is cute, but the protagonist feels particularly young. I enjoyed Drowned Ammet, though the sections on the boat dragged a little bit. The Spellcoats has a different feel; it's set in the "ancient" Dalemark and feels more epic, the characters less similar to children of today. Then the stories come together in a satisfying finish in the final book, The Crown of Dalemark.
Dalemark's geography and mythology are a bit hard to track at first, but the world-building is impressive and complete, a trademark of Jones's. I would recommend these books to middle-grade fantasy fans, though I might choose different novels as a gateway into her work.
January 25, 2024
A different Diana Wynne Jones series that just didn't do it for me (1 star)
In this series Diana Wynne Jones departed from her usual style, with somewhat of a more historical fantasy series. The four books are set in different times and can virtually be read independently, although the final one draws a few threads together. I didn't find the stories engaging, and the involvement of the Undying (gods) just seems strange. There are too many confusing elements going on, and some of the themes are also quite mature (e.g. a boy character has to take on the task of being an assassin). Simply not my thing, and I couldn't even force myself to read the final couple of books in entirety.
In this series Diana Wynne Jones departed from her usual style, with somewhat of a more historical fantasy series. The four books are set in different times and can virtually be read independently, although the final one draws a few threads together. I didn't find the stories engaging, and the involvement of the Undying (gods) just seems strange. There are too many confusing elements going on, and some of the themes are also quite mature (e.g. a boy character has to take on the task of being an assassin). Simply not my thing, and I couldn't even force myself to read the final couple of books in entirety.
June 9, 2010
Cart & Cwidder
Originally published in 1975. I really wish I had read this short novel as a kid. I still enjoyed reading it now, but I think it would have been one of my favorite books if I had read it at a younger age.
Although a YA novel, with a fun and fast-moving, adventurous tone, this book doesn't shy away from ‘heavier' emotional issues and political situations.
The feudal land of Dalemark is divided, and the South is extremely politically repressive. But people depend on traveling minstrels for not only entertainment but news and mail delivery – so entertainers have a more free rein than most. Moril has spent his whole life traveling and performing with his family from a horse-drawn cart, singing and playing the cwidder across the land.
But when his father is murdered by a group of richly-dressed men, his mother immediately chooses to return to the stable, well-to-do suitor that she left for a musician years before. Moril and his brother and sister, driven both by suspicions that their mother's new beau had something to do with the murder, and a lack of enthusiasm for a bourgeois lifestyle, take the cart and strike out on their own, agreeing to take the young man who had been their family's passenger to his destination in the North.
More trouble awaits than they had bargained on however, as secrets regarding an underground political movement are revealed, and the children realize that their life was not all the happy-go-lucky glamour that it seemed. Soon they're well in over their heads – which makes it convenient that Moril's inherited cwidder, reputed to have belonged to the legendary bard Osfameron, may have more-than-simply-musical powers.
Drowned Ammet
Takes place at the same time as the previous novel, but with different characters.
In South Dalemark, after their landlord conspires to throw his family off their farm, a boy named Mitt must struggle to fit into town life, as his mother works hard (but uses her money spendthrift-ly) and his father gets involved in an illegal revolutionary movement.
When the political group is betrayed, Mitt, with the encouragement of his mother, devotes himself to becoming a double agent – involved with his father's group, but secretly bent on betraying those inside the group that he believes sold out his father. His allegiances are difficult, as one of those men treats him like a son, and in addition, his stepfather seems to offer him a respectable, straight-and-narrow path. But Mitt is obsessed with his plan to blow up the Earl during the festival of Ammet and to blame his radical compatriots for the crime.
But nothing turns out quite the way he planned, and Mitt finds himself on a sea voyage with two rich kids, and with the involvement of two pagan/folk-type supernatural figures, Ammett himself and the fertility goddess(?) Libby Beer, Mitt will have to grow, face some truths, and make some hard decisions about his path.
The Spellcoats
At first, this story seems to have little relationship to the two before it. It's not till the very end that it's revealed that it takes place in Dalemark – but during near-prehistoric times. The society portrayed is very primitive, perhaps analogous to Bronze Age tribes in Britain. When most of the men of a village go off to fight a war against some blond invaders, the pale, fair looks passed down to one family's children by their mysterious, foreign(?) mother make them a target of fear and superstition.
They escape their threatening neighbors, bringing only their household gods with them in a boat down the river – but these gods turn out to be more than the reader might have assumed, as they embark on a journey of danger and magic, which will lead them not only to the center of the conflict between two tribes, but to the greater threat posed to all by an evil, soul-catching sorcerer.
The narrator is a young woman who tells the story through her complicated weaving, setting her tale down in a textile coat. To her people, these ‘spellcoats' have both traditional and magical powers, and the record of her story will become essential to her story...
The Crown of Dalemark
In this last book, many of the elements of ‘The Spellcoats' become more clear, as it is shown that many of the characters and gods mentioned in that story have become part of Dalemark's mythology and legends – it explains why it was decided to print it there, out of chronological order!
Here, Maewen, a young girl from ‘modern' Dalemark is convinced/tricked to go 200 years back in time and impersonate a young woman who has disappeared – but who was convinced that gods spoke to her and that she was destined to be Queen of all Dalemark, reuniting the conflict-riven North and South. Maewen has doubts about this, as she meets characters that she was familiar with from paintings that she saw displayed of famous people from Dalemark's history – but she has never heard anything about this supposedly-important young ‘Queen.'
Still, she feels she has very little choice but to go along with it, and as time goes on, she finds herself becoming emotionally involved in the situation she finds herself in – one that, for the reader, is yet more entertaining, because it involves characters we've met before in the other novels collected here.
All four of these books are good, and although they're not precisely part of a ‘series,' they go well together.
I think the appeal of Wynne Jones' books is that she believes strongly in ‘good' – and this comes through in all of her stories. But, at the same time, she has neither a simplistic view of the world or the naïve expectation that everything will go as it should or that authority can be trusted.
Originally published in 1975. I really wish I had read this short novel as a kid. I still enjoyed reading it now, but I think it would have been one of my favorite books if I had read it at a younger age.
Although a YA novel, with a fun and fast-moving, adventurous tone, this book doesn't shy away from ‘heavier' emotional issues and political situations.
The feudal land of Dalemark is divided, and the South is extremely politically repressive. But people depend on traveling minstrels for not only entertainment but news and mail delivery – so entertainers have a more free rein than most. Moril has spent his whole life traveling and performing with his family from a horse-drawn cart, singing and playing the cwidder across the land.
But when his father is murdered by a group of richly-dressed men, his mother immediately chooses to return to the stable, well-to-do suitor that she left for a musician years before. Moril and his brother and sister, driven both by suspicions that their mother's new beau had something to do with the murder, and a lack of enthusiasm for a bourgeois lifestyle, take the cart and strike out on their own, agreeing to take the young man who had been their family's passenger to his destination in the North.
More trouble awaits than they had bargained on however, as secrets regarding an underground political movement are revealed, and the children realize that their life was not all the happy-go-lucky glamour that it seemed. Soon they're well in over their heads – which makes it convenient that Moril's inherited cwidder, reputed to have belonged to the legendary bard Osfameron, may have more-than-simply-musical powers.
Drowned Ammet
Takes place at the same time as the previous novel, but with different characters.
In South Dalemark, after their landlord conspires to throw his family off their farm, a boy named Mitt must struggle to fit into town life, as his mother works hard (but uses her money spendthrift-ly) and his father gets involved in an illegal revolutionary movement.
When the political group is betrayed, Mitt, with the encouragement of his mother, devotes himself to becoming a double agent – involved with his father's group, but secretly bent on betraying those inside the group that he believes sold out his father. His allegiances are difficult, as one of those men treats him like a son, and in addition, his stepfather seems to offer him a respectable, straight-and-narrow path. But Mitt is obsessed with his plan to blow up the Earl during the festival of Ammet and to blame his radical compatriots for the crime.
But nothing turns out quite the way he planned, and Mitt finds himself on a sea voyage with two rich kids, and with the involvement of two pagan/folk-type supernatural figures, Ammett himself and the fertility goddess(?) Libby Beer, Mitt will have to grow, face some truths, and make some hard decisions about his path.
The Spellcoats
At first, this story seems to have little relationship to the two before it. It's not till the very end that it's revealed that it takes place in Dalemark – but during near-prehistoric times. The society portrayed is very primitive, perhaps analogous to Bronze Age tribes in Britain. When most of the men of a village go off to fight a war against some blond invaders, the pale, fair looks passed down to one family's children by their mysterious, foreign(?) mother make them a target of fear and superstition.
They escape their threatening neighbors, bringing only their household gods with them in a boat down the river – but these gods turn out to be more than the reader might have assumed, as they embark on a journey of danger and magic, which will lead them not only to the center of the conflict between two tribes, but to the greater threat posed to all by an evil, soul-catching sorcerer.
The narrator is a young woman who tells the story through her complicated weaving, setting her tale down in a textile coat. To her people, these ‘spellcoats' have both traditional and magical powers, and the record of her story will become essential to her story...
The Crown of Dalemark
In this last book, many of the elements of ‘The Spellcoats' become more clear, as it is shown that many of the characters and gods mentioned in that story have become part of Dalemark's mythology and legends – it explains why it was decided to print it there, out of chronological order!
Here, Maewen, a young girl from ‘modern' Dalemark is convinced/tricked to go 200 years back in time and impersonate a young woman who has disappeared – but who was convinced that gods spoke to her and that she was destined to be Queen of all Dalemark, reuniting the conflict-riven North and South. Maewen has doubts about this, as she meets characters that she was familiar with from paintings that she saw displayed of famous people from Dalemark's history – but she has never heard anything about this supposedly-important young ‘Queen.'
Still, she feels she has very little choice but to go along with it, and as time goes on, she finds herself becoming emotionally involved in the situation she finds herself in – one that, for the reader, is yet more entertaining, because it involves characters we've met before in the other novels collected here.
All four of these books are good, and although they're not precisely part of a ‘series,' they go well together.
I think the appeal of Wynne Jones' books is that she believes strongly in ‘good' – and this comes through in all of her stories. But, at the same time, she has neither a simplistic view of the world or the naïve expectation that everything will go as it should or that authority can be trusted.
October 23, 2019
I LOVE this series. It is really creative and ties up pretty well at the end. I wish that there had been some more time spent on some of the characters, but I really liked the ending and thought it wrapped up pretty well! This is an engaging series and each book is connected, and wraps up in the final book, which was my favorite because I got to see all the characters again!
Read
November 11, 2021This was my first audiobook (yes, I am counting all four as one). What a journey this was.
Each book enraptured me, and I was (un)pleasantly surprised when the end came. Even as an adult struggling to engage their imagination, I was totally wrapped up in this saga. I would have loved this when I was younger.
Each book enraptured me, and I was (un)pleasantly surprised when the end came. Even as an adult struggling to engage their imagination, I was totally wrapped up in this saga. I would have loved this when I was younger.
September 24, 2019
i loved this whole series. each book was so novel and creative i was completely absorbed. and the last book brought it all together so well. i am only sad about the choices Hildi made as she had such promise. i guess that is the genius of DWJ that she can create such a life lesson for young minds.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2022
I really enjoyed this series. Each book highlights a different character and setting/point of view, that all comes together by the last book. There are traveling musician/storytellers, over-bearing earls, the undying, and lots of adventure.
November 26, 2020
Overall, I give the series 2 stars: It's OK. See my separate review of The Spellcoats, which has been a favorite of mine since I first read it ~40 years ago (as of 2020).
February 6, 2025
What a great series and very interesting.
June 25, 2020
I enjoyed re-reading the series. Mitt's story is my fav.
April 29, 2013
This book (this book which is technically four books in one) is my favorite book. When I say my favorite book, I mean this set of four books right here have been my favorite singular piece of writing since my mom first bought it for me from a library book sale when I was in sixth grade, almost nine years ago now. I consider this book to be Diana Wynne Jones's greatest masterpiece.
Originally, this being one of the first books I had ever read by her and therefore not prepared, I was extremely upset when I would go from the end of one book to the beginning of the next and find that the stories and characters had changed completely. I was so frustrated by that that I would end up quitting it for weeks at a time until my anger died down (this was my first read-through in sixth grade).
Let me tell you, I love Moril. Moril and Mitt are some of my favorite characters of ever, of any genre. I just want to give Moril a big squeeze and tell him that everything is going to be all right and he just needs to calm down. Even having read this before, I couldn't remember much of the actual plot of any of the books, and I was on the edge of my seat all the way through; especially the first book. I think I finished that one the same day I picked it up. Cart and Cwidder is the kind of book that starts going and keeps going, and you just need to try your best to keep up. The book with Mitt, Drowned Ammet took a little longer, mostly because this is the book where one starts to realize that there are a whole lot of facts here and you need to keep them all straight, and everything starts to blur together and suddenly I feel the need to make lists of who everyone is and where they are and what time period everything is happening in. The third book, Spellcoats, was the hardest for me to get through. Reading books set so far in the past give me a really jittery nervous creeped out feeling and man this whole book was like that, it was just so far in the past and you start to remember that everyone in this book has to be dead now (hahaha, right?) and that gives me terrible paranoia for some reason. But then even that book you start to realize things that you didn't before and it's simply astounding, the amount of detail that Diana put into this world,
The last book, The Crown of Dalemark and the bringing together that it causes... I cried my eyes out at the end of this book. Really, I started crying about halfway through this book and then severely dehydrated myself because I continued to cry for the next few days. For some reason, this story is extremely powerful to me. I invest a lot of energy into this book series, and it doesn't disappoint. Everyone needs to read this at some point.
Originally, this being one of the first books I had ever read by her and therefore not prepared, I was extremely upset when I would go from the end of one book to the beginning of the next and find that the stories and characters had changed completely. I was so frustrated by that that I would end up quitting it for weeks at a time until my anger died down (this was my first read-through in sixth grade).
Let me tell you, I love Moril. Moril and Mitt are some of my favorite characters of ever, of any genre. I just want to give Moril a big squeeze and tell him that everything is going to be all right and he just needs to calm down. Even having read this before, I couldn't remember much of the actual plot of any of the books, and I was on the edge of my seat all the way through; especially the first book. I think I finished that one the same day I picked it up. Cart and Cwidder is the kind of book that starts going and keeps going, and you just need to try your best to keep up. The book with Mitt, Drowned Ammet took a little longer, mostly because this is the book where one starts to realize that there are a whole lot of facts here and you need to keep them all straight, and everything starts to blur together and suddenly I feel the need to make lists of who everyone is and where they are and what time period everything is happening in. The third book, Spellcoats, was the hardest for me to get through. Reading books set so far in the past give me a really jittery nervous creeped out feeling and man this whole book was like that, it was just so far in the past and you start to remember that everyone in this book has to be dead now (hahaha, right?) and that gives me terrible paranoia for some reason. But then even that book you start to realize things that you didn't before and it's simply astounding, the amount of detail that Diana put into this world,
The last book, The Crown of Dalemark and the bringing together that it causes... I cried my eyes out at the end of this book. Really, I started crying about halfway through this book and then severely dehydrated myself because I continued to cry for the next few days. For some reason, this story is extremely powerful to me. I invest a lot of energy into this book series, and it doesn't disappoint. Everyone needs to read this at some point.
June 22, 2012
These four novels (collected in this SFBC omnibus) create a fascinating land full of living myths and unexpected magic. Most pleasingly, this land is not an obvious reflection of any particular real-world country or culture. That originality is wonderfully refreshing. The style of each novel is well-suited to the story it is telling (I'm thinking particularly of the dream-like quality of The Spellcoats). And the characters are all very realistic and focused on their own desires, from the contrasting personalities of the assorted siblings to the various adults, good and bad, that populate the stories. Those are the good--very good--parts.
The not-so-good parts? I found the overall behavior of many of the parental figures appalling. Not at all unrealistic; just appalling. The same is true of the overall level of violence--the very fact that it is treated as relatively normal is more disturbing than the violence itself. Finally, it's frustrating to see yet another of my favorite authors struggling with the crafting of a story's ending. Apart from (sort of) Cart and Cwidder (the first book), the stories don't really end; they just stop. It seems that really good writers can get away with that, but it's still annoying, and ultimately it's what kept me from giving these books five stars instead of four.
The not-so-good parts? I found the overall behavior of many of the parental figures appalling. Not at all unrealistic; just appalling. The same is true of the overall level of violence--the very fact that it is treated as relatively normal is more disturbing than the violence itself. Finally, it's frustrating to see yet another of my favorite authors struggling with the crafting of a story's ending. Apart from (sort of) Cart and Cwidder (the first book), the stories don't really end; they just stop. It seems that really good writers can get away with that, but it's still annoying, and ultimately it's what kept me from giving these books five stars instead of four.
May 23, 2011
I typically find Diana's stories intriguing and captivating; this one was no exception. This book is realy four books in one, with the first three stories occurring at different times and places, but within the same country. The final story tied everything together - for the most part. I can't help but confess confusion on more than one occasion while reading this book. The use of one name for more than one character (i.e. the Adon and Osfameron) was very hard to keep straight, especially when reading each book back to back. And for some reason, I couldn't quite understand the "undying" (a group of characters within the book). The story would refer to the Undying and then only later explain how that related to the storyline. The fourth book cleared this up a bit more, but I still think a precursor book (about the original Undying) to the Dalemark Quartet would have been very helpful. Would I suggest this book to other fantasy readers? Yes, but I would warn them that it's not necessarily an easy read.
October 30, 2020
The Cart and Cwidder is mainly a story about family. It follows the story of an eleven-year-old musician, Moril, and his family of traveling singers. They live on the road and perform all over the land of Denmark.
One thing that I like about this story is it shows that sometimes children are somewhat better than parents. Children learn to solve problems because adults are not reliable, for any kind of reason. In this story, the mother, Lenina is somewhat cool but distant. Moril and his siblings end up on their own because his father is killed and Lenina goes back to the man she loves more than his husband. Moril and his siblings are left to carry out his father's instructions before he died. However, their journey doesn't go as planned.
I admire the character Moril. He is such a daydreamer but he sees things. People would constantly underestimate his abilities. But, he proves that he is able.
This was my first time reading Diane Wynne Jones and I could say I enjoyed it. It was a quick read and perfect for YA who enjoys stories about family.
One thing that I like about this story is it shows that sometimes children are somewhat better than parents. Children learn to solve problems because adults are not reliable, for any kind of reason. In this story, the mother, Lenina is somewhat cool but distant. Moril and his siblings end up on their own because his father is killed and Lenina goes back to the man she loves more than his husband. Moril and his siblings are left to carry out his father's instructions before he died. However, their journey doesn't go as planned.
I admire the character Moril. He is such a daydreamer but he sees things. People would constantly underestimate his abilities. But, he proves that he is able.
This was my first time reading Diane Wynne Jones and I could say I enjoyed it. It was a quick read and perfect for YA who enjoys stories about family.
January 6, 2012
Dianna Wynne Jones is one of my very favorite authors, so it pains me to say The Dalemark Quartet does not represent Jones's strongest work, but it's still an interesting read all the same. I particularly enjoyed the third novel of the quartet, The Spellcoats. The Spellcoats is set during prehistoric Dalemark, centuries before the events of the other three novels. It's narrated by Tanaqui, a young weaver. Her narrative voice is an interesting mix of formality and youth, and it makes for an interesting and engaging read.
Though I'm all for ambiguity in a text, I feel that Jones leaves too many questions unanswered. The Undying and their relationships with one another and mortals was interesting, but ultimately a hair on the confusing side.
Though I'm all for ambiguity in a text, I feel that Jones leaves too many questions unanswered. The Undying and their relationships with one another and mortals was interesting, but ultimately a hair on the confusing side.
February 19, 2013
This wasn't quite what I normally expect from Diana Wynne Jones. It lacked the lighthearted quality her books often have. It did have the somewhat muddled and hard to understand feeling her books sometimes have.
But the characters were interesting and distinct, and the magic system and world building unique. The stories seemed to move pretty slowly, and I had to push to get through them. As it is, this book is very overdue at the library.
This book is actually as set of four inter-related stories, the first three seem to have totally unrelated characters with a somewhat related setting, but the fourth book brings them together with a satisfactory ending.
But the characters were interesting and distinct, and the magic system and world building unique. The stories seemed to move pretty slowly, and I had to push to get through them. As it is, this book is very overdue at the library.
This book is actually as set of four inter-related stories, the first three seem to have totally unrelated characters with a somewhat related setting, but the fourth book brings them together with a satisfactory ending.
August 10, 2014
Peculiar but interesting; not my favorite Diana Wynne Jones series but still enjoyable. I was surprised to find I really liked The Spellcoats, which started slow. Their religion and their journey unexpectedly had me reflecting on cool parts of my beliefs. (I wish I had written down those thoughts because they have disappeared!) The last book in the quartet was a fun adventure that pleasingly tied parts of all of these books together.
August 6, 2010
This book contains four stories. The first three felt short while I was reading them and while I enjoyed them felt something was missing in the endings. The fourth book was wonderful. It tied the first three together and made this a series. Diana Wynne Jones does this a lot in her books. She keeps you following with interesting bits and pieces then in the end she just makes it amazing.
April 25, 2011
Four novels - Cart and Cwidder, Drowned Ammet, The Spellcoats, and The Crown of Dalemark - that give the history of the return of a king to Dalemark after a long period of chaos and feudal-type rule by earls.
January 11, 2013
I'd read this again, particularly The Spellcoats, because Diana Wynne Jones, unlike so many authors, thinks about how magic works in her books and always does something you have not thought of before.
Read
June 16, 2015WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT QUALITIES OF A DIANA WYNNE JONES NOVEL?
GRATE BUILD UP AND FUNNY CHARACTERS BUT A SHITTY CLIMAX FOR WHICH THE RESOLUTION DOES NOT MAKE UP. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, DALEMARK QUARTET. >:(
GRATE BUILD UP AND FUNNY CHARACTERS BUT A SHITTY CLIMAX FOR WHICH THE RESOLUTION DOES NOT MAKE UP. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, DALEMARK QUARTET. >:(
November 13, 2022
**** Cart and Cwidder (1975)
**** Drowned Ammet (1977)
**** The Spellcoats (1979)
**** The Crown of Dalemark (1993)
One of those rare cases where the whole actually is greater than the sum of its parts.
**** Drowned Ammet (1977)
**** The Spellcoats (1979)
**** The Crown of Dalemark (1993)
One of those rare cases where the whole actually is greater than the sum of its parts.
December 22, 2007
Amazingly good series; four different stories based in a parallel universe with the "Undying" gods and the people who are affected by them.
July 18, 2008
Many plot strings are left unfinished, but still fun to read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews