Dangerous Games

Rating:
Summary: Lord Herodsfoot, I presume.
Review: I make a point of not reading the plot synopsis of a book before I read the book itself. When you pick up a novel and read the back or inside cover of it you might discover things that the author would really rather you find out within the context of the story and not via a fifty-word synopsis. So I didn't read the synopsis of "Dangerous Games" until after I read the book. Under normal circumstances, this rarely causes any problems. In this case, however, I discovered that I had unknowingly read this book out of order. You see, "Dangerous Games" is one of the books in the "Wolves Chronicles", which began with "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase". And Dido Twite, the heroine of this tale, began in those books. Not knowing this, I read this story without any idea that it was a sequel or continuing saga of some sort. And you know what? It didn't matter. "Dangerous Games" is so fast-paced, amusing, and intelligent that you needn't read any of its predecessors to appreciate it fully. Part "Treasure Island" part "Below the Root", the story is a comment on colonialism and how conquering a land does no good to either the conquerors or the conquered.

It may seem like a wild goose chase, but Dido Twite has been hunting down a ridiculously difficult prey for quite some time and thus far has had no luck. When the British King Jamie comes down with a cold (he's just a kid, you know), he insists that the only thing that will save him are some new and interesting games brought via Lord Herodsfoot. Herodsfoot studies games and his latest finds have taken him to the mysterious island of Aratu. Now Dido must find the man and bring him back to England, but not before she comes to know the lay of the land a little better. In Aratu you have native forest dwellers, called the Dilendi, and the colonizing Angrians. Once arrived, Dido finds herself caught in a war between a king and his brother, befriending a lost princess, speaking with ghosts, avoiding sting monkeys, creating rain itself, and all in all having a really grand adventure.

The book says some absolutely lovely things about the innate ridiculousness that comes when Europeans found colonies on already existing native populations. In this case, the Angrians settled on Aratu and began destroying the forest for further plantations. When the Dilendi cursed the Angrians with a deep abiding homesickness for their native lands, the population either emigrated or became peculiar. As a result, the remaining Europeans are a sorry crew. True, they control much of the island by force, but internally they've responded by oppressing their women, establishing rigid class systems, and generally disapproving of any and all fun. They're like puritans without the whimsy.

Aiken does a find job of never relegating a person to a distinct personality simply due to their skin color. I find it interesting that other reviewers of this book have accused it of racism when no one is a certain way solely because of their genetics. You've good Angrians and bad Angrians and good Dilendi and bad Dilendi. The villain of this tale is an Angrian who best represents all the failings that come with willful ignorance. The hero of this tale, Dido, is a wonderful London scamp with a Cockney accent and a penchant for pants. Her companion, Dr. Talisman starts as male and then turns out to be a wonderfully strong female character for whom you never worry one moment. As for the upper class twit Lord Herodsfoot, I found myself more than once wishing that someone would give the guy a swift kick in the butt once in a while. He's the perpetual schlemiel of the story. If there's a cliff to be accidentally fallen over or a poison to eat, you can bet who'll be the one doing the falling and eating.

Mostly, however, the book's real lure is its adventure. And I daresay that this is one of those rare adventure tales boys will read EVEN THOUGH the hero of the tale is, essentially, feminine. If your young male reader doesn't take to Dido then you may count them out as lost causes. She's such a wonderful character that it would take pounds of prejudice to keep from devouring her every word and action. I stumbled across "Dangerous Games" entirely by accident, but I'm truly glad that I did. It's a fine piece of work and a tale that, in spite of its series status, stands alone beautifully. A great great story.


Rating:
Summary: Don't bother with this one
Review: In all seriousness, I doubt that Joan Aiken wrote "Dangerous Games." It reads as if a committee were hired to create a passable story against the backdrop of her alternative history. The publishers would have been better off finding some decent internet fanfic writers to do the job, because nothing about "Dangerous Games" is anything but an embarrassing failure to measure up to the period detail, extravagant plotting, wrenching moral dilemmas (a necessary ingredient for good childrens's literature), and dark humor that made the previous books in the series so satisfying.

Come to think of it, "Cold Shoulder Road" read as if it were written half by Aiken and half by committee. Perhaps she is simply tired of the series. If so, she should let the thing die.

Rating:
Summary: Don't bother with this one
Review: In all seriousness, I doubt that Joan Aiken wrote "Dangerous Games." It reads as if a committee were hired to create a passable story against the backdrop of her alternative history. The publishers would have been better off finding some decent internet fanfic writers to do the job, because nothing about "Dangerous Games" is anything but an embarrassing failure to measure up to the period detail, extravagant plotting, wrenching moral dilemmas (a necessary ingredient for good childrens's literature), and dark humor that made the previous books in the series so satisfying.

Come to think of it, "Cold Shoulder Road" read as if it were written half by Aiken and half by committee. Perhaps she is simply tired of the series. If so, she should let the thing die.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Joan Aiken is one of my all time favorite authors but I did not think this was one of her best. The characters are exaggerated caricatures and the plot is pretty farfetched.

Rating:
Summary: Aiken is a wonderful author, but this is not worth it!
Review: Please, I beg you, purchase one of her other books! I have read nearly all of Aiken's works and they are FANTASTIC. However, this book was very cut-and-dried, dull, and prejudiced. The characters of the island people were so caricatured that it was borderline offensive. No child deserves to have to read this book!