Rating: Summary: Very Enjoyable Review: I VERY much enjoyed this book! It is full of detailed and mythical encounters that I loved to read! Her description and creativeness in going about the plot made this book one I highly reccomend.I did enjoy Howl's moving castle a little more but I felt that The Casle in The Air was almost as good!I do not regret spending my money on this book and if you enjoyed Howl's moving castle I could almost garuntee you'll like this book!
Rating: Summary: pretty good Review: I was all excited when I got this book. I was hoping to find out more about what happened to Sophia and Howl. But instead there were a bunch of new characters, which weren't quite as interesting, and when Howl and Sophia showed up at the end, and felt like I had missed a bunch of stuff.
Rating: Summary: Pretty Good Review: I was sort of disappointed to read this after Howl's moving castle. It was good, but the characters weren't as interesting, and the plot was sort of confusing. I also felt like I had missed part of the story with Sophie and Howl and Calcifer, when they all showed up near the end.
Rating: Summary: "Castle" spins very well Review: One of Diana Wynne-Jones' less impressive works, "Castle in the Air" is nevertheless a funny and entertaining read, full of memorable characters and tight plotting. A little too tight in places, but never quite becoming irritating. Mediocre Diana Wynne-Jones is still exceptional.Abdullah is a dreamy young carpet merchant with a slew of nosy, overbearing relatives and a prophecy made at his birth; they see him as wasting his life, which is quite humble to say the least. But his fortunes change when he is sold a magic carpet by a mysterious stranger. The carpet takes him as he sleeps to a secluded garden, where a naive, beautiful young woman called Flower-in-the-Night is. Unsurprisingly, Abdullah and Flower-in-the-Night fall deeply in love. Unfortunately, her rich father wants to marry her off to a prince. Abdullah tries to elope with Flower-in-the-Night, only to see her carried off by a hideous djinn. He ends up on the run from her father with a mercenary soldier, the flattery-hungry carpet, a malicious genie who makes every wish go wrong somehow, and a mother cat and her kitten. Soon they end up enmeshed in a bizarre tangle involving wizards, djinns, demons, genies, dogs smelling of squid, and a slew of princesses with minds of their own. Though this is a sequel to "Howl's Moving Castle," the characters from that book take over half the book to show up. Instead, we are treated to Wynne-Jones' entertainingly skewed version of the "Arabian Nights," with the hapless and sweet-spoken Abdullah slogging to the castle. Jones manages to affectionately poke the Middle-Eastern setting and its various customs, while spinning the story outward to encompass "Howl's Moving Castle" as well. Her humor is especially present here, with the revolt of the many princesses, Flower-in-the-Night insisting that Abdullah is a woman, the ultra-sensible Princess Beatrice, Abdullah's constant gushing over the carpet, Abdullah's intended brides, and many other amusing items. Abdullah is the Everyman hero, who simply wants to marry a princess and live a life of luxury; evidently he never expected to have to work so hard for it. The genie is crabbily endearing, especially when one considers that he will try to turn every wish against the one who makes it. The unnamed soldier is a gruff Han Solo character with a weak spot for cats. Flower-in-the-Night is a great heroine: despite her initial naivete, she has a quick brain and the ability to cow even a demon. And as you read this, remember that no one in it is quite who they appear. What are the problems? Well, the extended sequence with the soldier and Abdullah caring for the cats is rather dull in places. Also, the ending is just a little too neat and happy. While I don't like dangling threads that are simply left, it seemed like every thread was tightly wrapped up at the expense of realism. However, "Castle" is an amusing and endearing read. A delightful read for fans of fantasy, wizards, and the Arabian Nights.
Rating: Summary: Buy "Howl's Moving Castle" first Review: Sequels are never as good. I don't think I wasted my money on "Castle in the Air," since I love Diana Wynne Jones, but this is not the book of hers that I would recommend to someone. Read its predecessor, "Howl's Moving Castle" - possibly my favorite children's book of all time; I still read it once in a while to smile - or "Charmed Life," or "Dogsbody". Wynne Jones is a wonderful author, with a light precision of tone that amazes me, and she is very skilled at introducing seemingly insignificant details at the beginning of a book that grow in resonance and importance until you realize they are central to the plot. She is also marvelously good at characterization. Buy your children Diana Wynne Jones, they will thank you - and you will enjoy reading her yourself.
Rating: Summary: The best book I have ever read! Review: The book "Castle in the air" was the best book I have ever read.And I don't even like to read! This book is so filled with suspense and excitement that I finished the book in two days! With this book I got punished because I wouldn't get my nose out of it! I think that if you like fantacies, you should get this book, I can gauarantee it will be worth your time,and money. I also think that this book would be enjoyable even to adults! All I can say is that it's awsome!
Rating: Summary: Good but not great Review: This book is good but not as good as Howl's Moving Castle which is a given since sequels are rarely as good as the ones that come before. I thought that it was a bit slow, and though Howl was in it far more then these rewiews would suggest, I felt that there were some very exciting things that happened of which Howl was a part that were not explained hardly at all in this book such as the war between Ingrey and Strangia and the enchantment of Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer. I would have liked to know more about these, and I feel that it would have made the book more exciting. Plus, the flattery language of the main characters annoyed me almost as much as it annoyed Howl! If I heard one more conversation that begun with something like "Oh jewel among waitresses" or "Oh sapphire among genies" or something of the like; I'll scream! Other then these things it was a good book.
Rating: Summary: ** A MUST READ For Fantasy Lovers ** Review: This incredible book is definitely one of my favorites. Diana Wynne Jones does an excellent job of combining a strong sense of fantasy, with a plot that quivers your heart strings delightedly. If you're a lover of fantasy like myself, you must read this book.
Rating: Summary: Awesome!!!!! Review: This is an absolutely wonderful book, made by an author of numerous qualities and gifts in writing. She really knows how to make a book. This was no exception. Although it came before Howl's Moving Castle, I read that one first. This one was a perfect next read. The plot in this story was one that builds up your suspense for a big discovery in the end. Please feel free to e-mail with comments on the book or my review.
Rating: Summary: Disappointing Review: This was rather poor, especially after reading Howl's Moving Castle. The plot seemed to be more jumbled than planned, and none of the characters were half as interesting as Sophie or Howl. Don't buy for more than a couple of dollars. Otherwise, all other novels by this author have been well worth the time!
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