A Sudden Wild Magic

Rating:
Summary: An Intercontinual Intrusion
Review: A Sudden Wild Magic is an independent fantasy novel. In a universe like ours, but in which magic is potent, the Ring oversees the mages and witches of Great Britain. The head of the Inner Ring begins to suspect covert external influence in recent history. He tests his suspicions with great care to avoid detection and then takes his evidence to another member of the Inner Ring for advice.

In this novel, Mark Lister travels to Hereford to consult with Gladys, the old women in the Inner Ring. After a bit of confusion over his purpose, they visit a dreadfully injured young women in the local hospital and hear an incoherent story. The evidence brought by Mark and the young woman's story lead them to believe that the external influence is coming from another universe. After dreaming of the intruders, Mark and Gladys gather Amanda and Maureen, the other two members of the Inner Ring, and determine a plan to invade the hostile base and eliminate the interference.

Zillah is Amanda's sister. Some time before, she had an affair with Mark and had a young son, Marcus, by him, but now the two are estranged. However, Zillah still loves Mark and decides to stow away on the assault vehicle to separate Marcus and herself from Mark. She soon finds herself in an unexpectedly strange environment.

The High Head of All Horns and King's Vicar on Arth is the head honcho of the observation base watching our universe. The Arth garrison is out of favor back in the Pentarchy. When the High Head inspects the latest batch of servicemen, he finds them to be a lot of odds and sods, with only the spoiled son of the Pentarch of Frinjen, a throwback of a gualdian, and a knock-kneed centaur standing out in the rabble.

When the converted bus used as an intercontinual assault vehicle arrives in the target universe, many of the inhabitants have been unexpectedly killed, leaving six women and Marcus, and their weapons have been short-circuited and made useless. They are rescued by the Arth garrison, who don't really know what to do with them. Despite their disastrous start, the remaining commandos decide to carry on and soon begin to disrupt the routine of the male garrison. Zillah inadvertently gets Tod, the Pentarch's son, banished to Earth and she is forced to flee from capture with Philo the gualdian and Josh the Centaur. Then strange things begin to happen to the Arth fortress itself.

This story describes the defense of our universe against a subtle and powerful interference from the outside The lady commandos strike back directly against Arth, the forward base, and Gladys finds another way to influence the outsiders. Meanwhile, infiltrators from Arth are trying to pierce the veil of secrecy placed around the Ring's operations.

Highly recommended for Jones fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of daring and magic with more than a touch of intrigue.

Rating:
Summary: An Intercontinual Intrusion
Review: A Sudden Wild Magic is an independent fantasy novel. In a universe like ours, but in which magic is potent, the Ring oversees the mages and witches of Great Britain. The head of the Inner Ring begins to suspect covert external influence in recent history. He tests his suspicions with great care to avoid detection and then takes his evidence to another member of the Inner Ring for advice.

In this novel, Mark Lister travels to Hereford to consult with Gladys, the old women in the Inner Ring. After a bit of confusion over his purpose, they visit a dreadfully injured young women in the local hospital and hear an incoherent story. The evidence brought by Mark and the young woman's story lead them to believe that the external influence is coming from another universe. After dreaming of the intruders, Mark and Gladys gather Amanda and Maureen, the other two members of the Inner Ring, and determine a plan to invade the hostile base and eliminate the interference.

Zillah is Amanda's sister. Some time before, she had an affair with Mark and had a young son, Marcus, by him, but now the two are estranged. However, Zillah still loves Mark and decides to stow away on the assault vehicle to separate Marcus and herself from Mark. She soon finds herself in an unexpectedly strange environment.

The High Head of All Horns and King's Vicar on Arth is the head honcho of the observation base watching our universe. The Arth garrison is out of favor back in the Pentarchy. When the High Head inspects the latest batch of servicemen, he finds them to be a lot of odds and sods, with only the spoiled son of the Pentarch of Frinjen, a throwback of a gualdian, and a knock-kneed centaur standing out in the rabble.

When the converted bus used as an intercontinual assault vehicle arrives in the target universe, many of the inhabitants have been unexpectedly killed, leaving six women and Marcus, and their weapons have been short-circuited and made useless. They are rescued by the Arth garrison, who don't really know what to do with them. Despite their disastrous start, the remaining commandos decide to carry on and soon begin to disrupt the routine of the male garrison. Zillah inadvertently gets Tod, the Pentarch's son, banished to Earth and she is forced to flee from capture with Philo the gualdian and Josh the Centaur. Then strange things begin to happen to the Arth fortress itself.

This story describes the defense of our universe against a subtle and powerful interference from the outside The lady commandos strike back directly against Arth, the forward base, and Gladys finds another way to influence the outsiders. Meanwhile, infiltrators from Arth are trying to pierce the veil of secrecy placed around the Ring's operations.

Highly recommended for Jones fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of daring and magic with more than a touch of intrigue.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best fare
Review: Definitely not her best work but an easy read. I wish she'd get back to her chrestomanci/fire & hemlock books, don't you?

Rating:
Summary: Not her best fare
Review: Definitely not her best work but an easy read. I wish she'd get back to her chrestomanci/fire & hemlock books, don't you?

Rating:
Summary: No Title
Review: Great Book. Not her all the top best, but among her top three. Should try Deep Secret. Best book of all time.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge a Book. . .
Review: I love Diana Wynne Jones' work, but I actually avoided reading this book for YEARS because of <shame!> the cover. The pastel color scheme and curly pink title script just seemed to repel my hand every time I encountered it on the shelf. I finally got around to reading it, though, and I loved it. It is set in the same universe as *Deep Secret* but I'm pretty sure it was written before that book, so the universe is not as well-articulated. I would have liked to know more about some of the characters, but otherwise it was a rollicking good read. It follows, among other things, a handful of witches out to sabotage a pocket universe full of celibate men (hilarity ensues), in order to save the earth from global warming (among other things).

If you already like D.W. Jones' books, don't miss this one. If you've never read any of her books, you might do better to start with *Deep Secret* or the Chrestomanci books. And if you pick up a copy with the pink title and pale aqua-colored book jacket, don't be misled-- it's still a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge a Book. . .
Review: I love Diana Wynne Jones' work, but I actually avoided reading this book for YEARS because of the cover. The pastel color scheme and curly pink title script just seemed to repel my hand every time I encountered it on the shelf. I finally got around to reading it, though, and I loved it. It is set in the same universe as *Deep Secret* but I'm pretty sure it was written before that book, so the universe is not as well-articulated. I would have liked to know more about some of the characters, but otherwise it was a rollicking good read. It follows, among other things, a handful of witches out to sabotage a pocket universe full of celibate men (hilarity ensues), in order to save the earth from global warming (among other things).

If you already like D.W. Jones' books, don't miss this one. If you've never read any of her books, you might do better to start with *Deep Secret* or the Chrestomanci books. And if you pick up a copy with the pink title and pale aqua-colored book jacket, don't be misled-- it's still a good book.

Rating:
Summary: diana wynne jones rocks
Review: ok, maybe not 'rocks' but writes incredibly good novels. maybe not so good short stories, but when there is the time to fully develop a concept and then provide the most impossible yet believable answer to it, Jones rocks. she fully engages you with her universes and the people who run it, and this book will leave you crying to know what happens after the crisis has been resolved. her descriptions of how magic can be harnessed are so visual and tangible, and she also brings out the humour in high tension situations superbly. do read it, soon.

Rating:
Summary: No Title
Review: Read this book. It's great. A little long, and not for readers who enjoy low grade, easy to read vocabulary. Lots of fun. Her second best book. Her best is Deep Secret.