Spilled Ink

dwj2012:

I’ve had this quote taped up to my computer for several years now — Gili Bar-Hillel:

You don’t like fairy stories. Have you read them?” Said Mr. Lynn. Polly was forced to shake her head. “Please read them,” said Mr. Lynn. “Only thin, weak thinkers despise fairy stories. Each one has a true, strange fact hidden in it, you know, which you can find if you look.”

I immediately bound the Diana Wynne Jones reissues I wrote about last month and I’m finally getting a chance to read them.

I’ve wanted to read THE TIME OF THE GHOST for some time now. It’s an unusual little story (the way that all of DWJ’s stories are), melding family drama, horror, science fiction, and fantasy. The story centers around a ghost who is trying to figure out which of four sisters she is, and, more importantly, how she died and what she could do to prevent an ancient evil from emerging from its cocoon. Although DWJ’s books are generally billed as children’s literature, this book (like POWER OF THREE), proves that DWJ does not write inside a box. Although the protagonists of this book are children (for a good portion of the book, anyway), the themes Jones explores are not typical of children’s literature. Jones describes domestic violence, neglectful parents, murders, and ritual sacrifices—not at all for the faint of heart—and she uses all of these to craft an engaging story. This isn’t my favorite DWJ book, but I’m definitely glad I read it. For aspiring writers, it’s a clinic on how to write complex plots. My one complaint is that the book ends a bit abruptly, but endings, in my opinion, were never Jones’ strong suit.

I devoured POWER OF THREE yesterday. It reminded me so much of THE DALEMARK QUARTET, in the sense that the story takes place in an ancient-seeming setting and involves adventure and intrigue. As is typical of Jones, the plot is complex, but all is revealed in the end. I loved how Jones kept me turning the pages and steadily revealing more layers behind the plot. The characters (even the odious ones) are all engaging. Jones also handled heavy issues like racism in a fresh way.

relatedworlds:

“Hexwood is ostensibly about a machine that goes crazy, and also a girl who accidentally wanders into the woods one day and finds a boy and a man raising the boy in the woods, but then it becomes interstellar finance and orwellian capitalism and also the arthurian legend?? But it WORKS. Oh, and all of it happens because somebody wanted to play D&D. Seriously.”

—

Elle on Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones

I hope this is next on the list of DWJ reissues in the US. I’ve been wanting to read this forever!

It looks like HarperCollins’ GreenWillow imprint will be reissuing several of DWJ’s most difficult-to-find books in January 2012. So far, it looks like these reissues are for the Kindle and Nook (so far). It’s unclear whether other formats (like new paperbacks) will follow. Jones’ official site doesn’t seem to have any information on these upcoming reissues.

The new titles include:

• Time of the Ghost
• The Dalemark Quartet (split into four editions: Cart & Cwidder; Drowned Ammet; The Spellcoats; The Crown of Dalemark)
• Aunt Maria (UK Title: Black Maria)
• Homeward Bounders
• Power of Three

You can check out all of DWJ’s current and upcoming e-book titles at Amazon’s site or at BN.com.

A Tale of Time City, Dogsbody, and Fire & Hemlock will be published by Penguin in March 2012.

ETA: These are US reissues. It’s unclear whether other territories will be receiving these as well.

“No mercy,” she said aloud, “no redemption. You forced a man to kill his harmless songbird, and somehow I think that was the greatest crime of them all.” — Terry Pratchett, I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT

(Source: sabrinawrites)