Friday, October 5, 2012

Fiction Friday (12)


Recently I've been reading a lot of longer books. Like most people, when I look at my shelf of books to read, I tend to skip over the thick ones, but for whatever reason, lately I've been gravitating toward them. Because of this, my book reviews have slowed down a little. However, I hadn't done one in a while, so luckily I had a wonderful book just waiting to be reviewed. It's a book I'd been wanting to read for quite some time and finally read over the summer. Enjoy.


Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

Not exactly a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, this novel inhabits the same world created in that story, but stars a completely different set of characters on a very different kind of journey (until the book nears the end). However both books share the same level of enchantment throughout.

The story follows a humble young merchant named Abdullah who suddenly finds himself caught up in an adventure straight out of his wildest daydreams. Once again Diana Wynne Jones is able to bring to a life a storybook sort of world that is incredibly transportive and a joy to visit. She also has a gift for blending adventure and humor in such a way that two work hand-in-hand to further the action. It's a blast watching this lovestruck, slightly naive character outwit evil Sultans, devilish dragons, and nasty bandits with the help of a stubborn magic carpet and a cranky genie.

By the end of the book, there are some nice surprises for fans of Howl's Moving Castle. The two stories don't really converge until the last third, but when they do, it's a lot of fun...just like everything else in Castle in the Air.

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