tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754919688510890076.post3164694887074516874..comments2024-03-07T11:38:48.622-08:00Comments on We Be Reading: #DWJMarch: Early Reader Discussion -- The Islands of ChaldeaKristen M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02335598194501733541noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754919688510890076.post-21061983462770924812014-03-31T15:58:49.527-07:002014-03-31T15:58:49.527-07:00I'm so looking forward to this one! Thanks for...I'm so looking forward to this one! Thanks for doing a non-spoilery bit (I'll come back to this post after i've read it)!Kim Aippersbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02556947405633680410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754919688510890076.post-32960538846794760882014-03-26T02:00:38.513-07:002014-03-26T02:00:38.513-07:00Even though emotionally conflicted that this is th...Even though emotionally conflicted that this is the last DWJ book I felt this did justice to her reputation. And there are still a handful of books I've yet to read! <br /><br />In my Wordpress review blog I hint at some of the elements that Diana drew on to create this story, though I didn't go so much into characterisation and relationships: perhaps another time...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754919688510890076.post-21439003080165073422014-03-25T05:15:34.484-07:002014-03-25T05:15:34.484-07:00I'm waiting for the US edition. Ordinarily it ...I'm waiting for the US edition. Ordinarily it would be torment to wait, but honestly, I am not in the world's hugest rush to read the absolutely-last-ever Diana Wynne Jones book. It makes me sad even writing those words!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754919688510890076.post-72438674908683314852014-03-25T04:10:08.757-07:002014-03-25T04:10:08.757-07:00I felt that the pacing was pretty good. I was draw...I felt that the pacing was pretty good. I was drawn into the story straightaway, and I never felt bored. I felt the ending was maybe a little bit rushed, but it was actually less frantic than your classic DWJ denouement.<br /><br />I really liked the Guardians, they were probably one of my favourite elements of the story. I especially liked how you could tell they would be an important part of the story, since they were powerful, magical creatures, but their true identities only became apparent bit by bit. (Even when we knew that Green Greet was the embodiment of a Guardian, it still took me a while to work out that Pug Ugly was as well. I guess because we didn't meet the other Guardians until very near the end.)<br /><br />I really liked the romance between Aileen and Ogo. I suspected right off the bat that they would end up together. Ogo just totally seemed like the sort of maligned character who would grow into himself over the course of the story. I guess I like a story where a character's perception of someone else changes over time as they get to know them in a new way. I also found the romance between Beck and Alisdair quite heartwarming, although it seemed to me the sort of thing that might have come more from Ursula than Diana. I don't really know how I feel about Ivar and Riannan. She didn't feel very fleshed out to me, but she seemed a better fate than Ivar really deserved. I would have liked to see him get some sort of comeuppance for being such brat.<br /><br />I agree with you that Chaldea could easily be a part of the Magids loop, although you would have thought that maybe a Magid should have intervened in the situation if it was! I also thought that Aileen reminded me a bit of Charmain from House of Many Ways. They are both pretty strongminded, opinionated girls who don't really realise the full extent of their powers.<br /><br />Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It doesn't feel fully like a classic DWJ to me, but I couldn't recognise the seam where Ursula took over. I did find myself thinking toward the end (I can't remember where exactly, but possibly when they were in the balloon or maybe even at the singing competition) that we were definitely into Ursula territory. I think I mostly missed the specific sort of wit and wackyness that Diana always brought to her stories. I did feel that there were some things I would have liked to see more fully developed. I would have liked to get to know Rees and his family better, and Aunt Beck's recovery felt too easy and convenient to me. Overall though, I think Ursula did a great job. I can't imagine having to pick up an unfinished manuscript and just trying to guess where Diana was going with it from the subtle clues that you usually don't see until after a re-read (or a few). The ending was a bit more tied together and happily ever after than I think Diana would have had it, but I am so glad that it was finished and we are all able to have one more trip to one of DWJ's magical worlds.<br /><br />And I totally cried reading the Afterword. :(Laurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08954655413382143774noreply@blogger.com