Rating: 
Summary: Oh God! I'm so excitied!
Review: 2001 is an awesome year for well written fantasy, methinks. Not only is Meredith Ann Pierce publishing her first book in 5 years, 'Treasure at the heart of the Tanglewood', but Neil Gaimen has a book out as well, 'American Gods'. And now I get another Young Wizards book by Diane Duane? *swoon* I'm really intregued by the plot of this one. Diane Duane can be hit and miss at times, but her last couple of books were really great, and the reviews look good, so I shall look forward to this with all eagerness.
Rating:
Summary: Much Better!
Review: After I read the 4th book, I was very disappointed. The 4th book just didn't have the same element that all of the other books had. With this book, though, I was impressed at how different (and better) this book was. This was a really good book, and if you haven't read it, you should. :)>-< <--- that's my smiley man.
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Summary: Nita and Kit are back!
Review: After the slight disappointment of A WIZARD ABROAD, Duane is back up to the level of SO YOU WANT TO BE A WIZARD and DEEP WIZARDRY which are the best of this series IMHO. DILEMMA is very nearly up to that mark.At its best, the Young Wizards series is true sci-fi/fantasy and adolescent fiction at is best, perfectly readable by teenagers and adults alike (for what it's worth, I'm 47!) Duane's characters confront moral dilemmas and learn to make the right choices, living in a world created with a wonderfully whimsical sense of humor and fascinating characters. (Like most series of this kind, these should be read in chronological order - SO YOU WANT ..., DEEP WIZARDRY, HIGH WIZARDRY, A WIZARD ABROAD and then DILEMMA). Nita and Kit are growing older, losing some of the wizardly power they had at first but gaining insight into the nature and limits of their powers. I've always found Dairine (Nita's sister) a bit hard to take, but here we get an insight into her prickly character that makes her a lot more human. If you insist on happy endings with all the loose ends tied up, you may not be pleased with the end of this book. I also suspect that Christian fundamentalists may have some problems with the world view, but this line of fiction isn't likely to appeal to that crowd anyway. Most of fantasy literature is about the things magicians can do; Duane's genius is to write fascinating stories about the things they *can't* do.
Rating: 
Summary: I still love Diane!
Review: Although I found the fifth instalment of the Young Wizard's series just a wee bit draggy, Diane was still superb in her portrayal of the wonderful wizard's world. I feel that this volume delved much more into emotional issues than the previous ones-there was less of the wizardry-physics jargon and more of Nita's relationships with the people around her. Which I have always admired Diane for-her ability to include a lot of morals and poignancy amidst a backdrop of immense scope and originality.As usual, there is the culmination of an explosive climax where they come face-off with the Lone Power. The subtlety in how the Lone One fights and how the characters react is incredible:the outcome is never matter of just defeating evil, but there are lessons that are learned too. Diane introduced many things into the series with this book: the Transcendant Pig, for one thing. I love the character. And also, there are hints of Ponch becoming a wizard, but I'm not sure. Hope my all-time favourite author writes again soon!
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Summary: I love this series, a definite read!!
Review: Although not my favorite book in this series, which was high wizardy, this was definitly second best in the series. What makes this book so good is that things have changed so dramatically for the characters. However, this was exactly what made me weary of the book at first. I did not want the relationship between kit and nita to change. But as i continued to read the book, i found that that was what made it interesting. I kept hoping that things would fall into place and that everything would be perfectly fine just as they once had been. Another aspect that made this soo good is that it did not have the happy ending with everything taken care of at the end as all the others have. While i loved the other books, after reading four and seeing that they all end with the main obsticle beaten or accomplished, it was nice to see that that wasnt the case in this book. While it was a bitter sweet ending, i love the way Duane worded it and made it come alive!! i definitly would recomend this book to those who havent read it, and to those who have not yet began this series, you must read all five!!!
Rating:
Summary: Really Good!!!
Review: As the title suggests, this book involves a dilemma for a wizard. This portion of the book is handled very well (although I am not sure I agree with the way it was resolved). Nita is faced with a terrible dilemma. Her mother is terribly sick and wizardry does not seem like it can provide the answer. But there may be a way if she gives up her ability to work magic. That means she will also give up her oath to protect life. She has already saved thousands, how many more would she save if she stayed with wizardry? A dilemma indeed. This story is primarily about Nita and not Kit. To manage this, the two are estranged for a number of reasons. First there is a minor argument. This is resolved fairly early but the questions it raised were not dealt with. There are references to the young wizards' work in the manual that are never resolved and seem to only hang around long enough to keep the two apart. Even Nita's message to Kit, sent via manual, never reaches him even though it was set to keep trying to resend. When Nita is deep in the worries about her mom, Kit still seems very distant even though he is supposedly committed to help her. There are things going on in the book which could be of major importance to all of wizardry across the universes, but it is pursued only half-heartedly. But still, Nita's dilemma is handled quite well and the reader gets a real sense of moral and personal dilemma that is seemingly insurmountable. But too much of the other stuff detracted from the book for me to give it more than 3 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good aspects, but they don't quite knit
Review: As the title suggests, this book involves a dilemma for a wizard. This portion of the book is handled very well (although I am not sure I agree with the way it was resolved). Nita is faced with a terrible dilemma. Her mother is terribly sick and wizardry does not seem like it can provide the answer. But there may be a way if she gives up her ability to work magic. That means she will also give up her oath to protect life. She has already saved thousands, how many more would she save if she stayed with wizardry? A dilemma indeed. This story is primarily about Nita and not Kit. To manage this, the two are estranged for a number of reasons. First there is a minor argument. This is resolved fairly early but the questions it raised were not dealt with. There are references to the young wizards' work in the manual that are never resolved and seem to only hang around long enough to keep the two apart. Even Nita's message to Kit, sent via manual, never reaches him even though it was set to keep trying to resend. When Nita is deep in the worries about her mom, Kit still seems very distant even though he is supposedly committed to help her. There are things going on in the book which could be of major importance to all of wizardry across the universes, but it is pursued only half-heartedly. But still, Nita's dilemma is handled quite well and the reader gets a real sense of moral and personal dilemma that is seemingly insurmountable. But too much of the other stuff detracted from the book for me to give it more than 3 stars.
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Summary: Fascinating, deep, story.
Review: At 22, I love this series as much as ever.
I see the standard fantasy battle between good and evil as a reflection of the ethical struggles and dilemmas we face. Thus, I like my fantasy to bring out the interior struggles and dilemmas the characters face.
Diane Duane excels at this, and nowhere does she demonstrate it more clearly than in this book. We all come up against the limits of our abilities. Where we go from there isn't just a wizard's dilemma!
This book really kept me reading until the end; Nita came so close to messing it up that I wondered how (and if) she was going to get out of this one.
I just don't feel that level of suspense with most fantasy; you know there will be a happy ending. P.s.
Did anyone else think of the flight from Tolkien's Numenor when Kit saw the ships in that one world he made? 8-D
Rating:
Summary: Good book, great series!
Review: Diane Duane consistantly writes good books, and this one is no exception. Readers should be warned that "The Wizard's Dilemma" is a far cry from the childish, simplistic "So You Want To Be A Wizard." "Dilemma" deals with cancer and a daughter's love for her mother. That being said, this is a very good book, and I highly suggest it to fans of the series!
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Summary: Great Adventure!
Review: First of all, I think that this is a great book. Now what you've all been waiting for... THE PLOT! Nita is mad at Kit because they disagreed about how to treat the pollution building around Manhattan. Then, she finds out that her mother has a brain tumor. She has to learn how to find the kernel, or main "control center" in practice universes, where nothing bad can happen. When she's finally ready to help the doctors in surgery (magically), she has passed a number of tests within the practice universes. They help her to understand her time constraints, etc. I know I'm being terrible, but you will have to read the book to find out what happens to Nita, her Mom, Nita and Kit's friendship, and Dairine.
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