Conrad's Fate takes place a few years after The Lives of Christopher Chant, while Gabriel de Witt is still Chrestomanci. It has a complicated plot but here are some of the elements:
A mountain setting in Series Seven (Chrestomanci's world is in Series Twelve)
A kid, Conrad Tesdinic, with bad karma, a flaky mom, a runaway sister, and a controlling uncle
A ridiculously big mansion (Stallery)
A teenaged stowaway, Christopher Chant, from another series
A missing enchantress (Millie)
A grumpy butler
A mysterious "pulling of the possibilities" -- using magic to affect stock markets and such
And ... a raucous troupe of actors
I always forget that Conrad's Fate is my second favorite Chrestomanci story until the next time I binge read it and find myself hating that it's over far too soon. I adore the friendship of Conrad and Christopher, the upstairs/downstairs world of Stallery, and the mysteries of the probabilities and Millie. I also love the fact that DWJ chose to write this book in the first person. She didn't do that very often (The Spellcoats might be the only other one) and it's interesting to have the story from the point of view of a kid who is being manipulated. This book definitely needs to be read after The Lives of Christopher Chant because it has spoilers for that one but could be your second Chrestomanci read.
Question of the Day: If you were to discover a family secret, would you rather it be: a noble title, money, or magic?
My answer? Magic. I have been trying for decades to activate my secret magical abilities and I'll keep trying for decades more. :)
Reveling in the possibilities,
K
This was definitely one of my favorites when I read the whole series back in 2012. Which, on a sidenote, makes me think it'll soon be time to revisit this entire series.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy I picked these to read right now. They're the perfect fun escape.
DeleteUm, I think Homeward Bounders is in the first person? And Deep Secret, and the Merlin Conspiracy...this is just off the top of my head. But it's true, there aren't so many and they are some of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll definitely take magic as my family secret!
Oh, I forgot Deep Secret and Merlin Conspiracy were too! Amazing how one forgets these things...
DeleteI really should have made the small effort to walk over to my bookshelf and open a couple of books. ;)
DeleteBut that could get dangerous...always makes me want to start reading. ;)
DeleteI think it's my second favorite, too, after The Pinhoe Egg, perhaps... I don't know, it's so hard to pick favorites... I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! <3 I agree, the first-person was different! (Aunt Maria/Black Maria was also in first-person, by the way... but I forgot that The Spellcoats was, so there you go!)
ReplyDeleteTeenaged Christopher was AWESOME in this. XD I had absolutely too much fun with it! I re-read it aloud to my siblings recently and oh my goodness. <3 Christopher and Conrad as buddies are like my favorite thing ever, and I loved getting the "behind-the-scenes" perspective of servants at a mansion! And Millie and shenanigans and just YES. :D
I'd want the secret to be money, because as much as the idea of magic is super tempting, I'd honestly rather have books... and money can get those, whereas I don't know if magic could... (If so, sign me up for a magical secret. ;))
It's definitely hard to pick favorites. Sometimes I just go with "whichever I read last". I really do love this one though!
DeleteAlso first-person: Islands of Chaldea!
ReplyDeletehttp://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2017/03/dwj-march-conrads-fate.html
I don't think I've read Conrad's Fate enough times (as compared to the others) to decide where it lands in my Chrestomanci favorites, but it's got to be either second or third. I love teenage Chrestomanci SO MUCH, both his good traits and his bad, and the book itself is such a classic DWJ story. Love love love.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the few ones where a parent redeems themselves at the end too! Conrad's mom sucked but it wasn't really her fault and then she was badass. Nice to see for once. :)
DeleteI had forgotten about teenage Christopher until I reread this one. Love him! And love the way Conrad and Millie bond over putting up with him!
ReplyDeleteYeah, have to say this is in my top three or four: I have to reread Charmed Life to decide if it nudges this one out of third place. (I think Pinhoe Egg is second, it's just so funny.)
Conrad and Millie complaining was fantastic. :)
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