The Dark Lord of Derkholm - Softcover

Jones, Diana Wynne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007507577 ISBN 13: 9780007507573

Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks, 2013

Synopsis

Title: Dark Lord of Derkholm <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: Diana Wynne Jones <>Publisher: COLLINS CHILDREN'S BOOKS

About this title

Review:

If, next door to our ordinary world, there existed a world full of magic, wouldn't you want to visit it? That's the situation that Diana Wynne Jones explores in Dark Lord of Derkholm, and she makes an effective and comical tale of it.

Groups of tourists, called Pilgrim Parties and organised by the cold- hearted profiteer Mr. Chesney, take a portal to the magical realm, where they are shepherded about the countryside by a wizard guide. Mr. Chesney sets the rules, such as that all wizard guides must have long white beards--even 14-year-old Blade--and every Party gets to "slay" the Dark Lord. No wizard wants to be chosen as the year's Dark Lord, because Mr. Chesney demands large battles that cause great devastation in the local villages and farms, and he doesn't pay very well, but he does have a captive demon to enforce his will. This year, things are going especially badly for the chosen Dark Lord, Derk. He can't seem to keep his evil forces on the right track, despite help from his son Blade, his daughter Shona the bard, and his griffin sons and daughters. His chief aide, Barnabas, is drinking heavily and muddling his spells. And the dwarfs are taking their baskets of gold as tribute to the one they say is the real Dark Lord--Mr. Chesney.

Jones spoofs many of the trappings of fantasy epics, while at the same time portraying a family, with its surface squabbles and underlying love, through a rollicking and somewhat unwieldy story. Her messages about exploitation and responsibility come through clearly. Although not as tightly focused as some of her earlier novels, the galloping pace makes Dark Lord of Derkholm a quick, fun read for her numerous fans. --Blaise Selby, Amazon.com

Review:

For Diana Wynne Jones:
“...Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones’s most outrageous plots to her readers’ hopes and fears...”
Publishers Weekly

“Truly magical – guaranteed to leave you gasping – even hotter than Potter”
The Bookseller

For The Merlin Conspiracy:
“The characterisation is first rate, the ideas are fabulous ... This is fantasy at its most inventive – canny, funny and far-reaching.” The Telegraph

“A curiosity shop of a book ... a pleasure to lose yourself in.” The Sunday Times

“The Merlin Conspiracy is Wynne Jones on top form ... [her] powerful narrative and her ability to create extraordinary charachers with real emotions make her more than a worthy rival to J K Rowling.” Financial Times

“A must for all Wynne Jones fans, past, present and future.” Limited Edition

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0007507577
• ISBN 13: 9780007507573
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512