Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I thought this book was really great I really liked the plot. The flow of this book was really good. Diana didn't stop in important parts to go to another part of the book. My favorite character was Elda. I really recommend this book and all of Diana Wynne Jones other books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Uncomfortable execution of a great idea
Review: I wanted to like this book, but I didn't. This is the first Diana Wynne Jones book I've said that of, but unfortunately not the last. The idea of the "behind-the-scenes" people in a fantasy adventure plotting to get rid of the troublesome types who regularly appear to make their lives a misery in the name of adventure is a great one. This idea had the potential to turn the genre on its head. Unfortunately it was badly handled in the execution.
Why do I say this? There are too many characters and too many plot elements, too many things that appear to no good purpose or are suddenly there as a solution to a plot difficulty with no warning to the reader. Mysteries are solved with no clues for the reader to pick up on. It's like the reader has been dumped into a load of stuff they should already know. If Wynne Jones had instead concentrated on developing only a few characters such as Blade and Derk (as the beginning seemed to promise) and fleshing out the setting, the book would have been better for it. It would not have seemed so thin.
The other problem I had was with the tone of this book. At one moment it's full of hilarity and pitched at the junior reader's level, at the next it becomes quite disturbingly dark. Are we supposed to assume, for example, that the worst happened to Shona when the soldiers escaped and attacked her? If so, what on earth is that scene, those elements, doing in a book pitched at children?
Sorry. Two stars only.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT GREAT GREAT
Review: I was only looking for one more book as a "filler" as I had to buy a certain amount to qualify for a discount/coupon. Surprise surprise! Of the 5 books I bought, this is the one I truly enjoyed the MOST! Excellent writing, plenty of humor and my interest was kept well up throughout the book, start to finish. I was sad when I neared the last few pages, I wanted to read more about Derk and his family's adventures. The other book I bought, a $17.95 hardcover copy of The Last DragonLord was SOOOO DULL and boring, ridden with cliches every corner you turn. Ironically, the other book I bought was also Jones' - TOUGHT GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND - which pokes fun at fantasy book cliches. Wish I had bought more of Jones' books instead.
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable read
Review: I wasn't expecting much when I first picked up this book, but it turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable read. "Dark Lord of Derkholm" keeps a nice pace so you are not bored once, and there are several good laughs through out the story. This book is a wonderful spoof on the whole concept of the evil Dark Lord versus the good guys. I believe people of most ages would definitely enjoy reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: If you read only one fastasy book this year, let it be Dark
Review: If you read only one fantasy book this year let it be Dark Lord of Derkholm. Only Diana Wynne Jones genius could create a magical world beseiged by tourists and populated by middle-aged wizards with teenaged griffins enarmored by gameboys. And all the while you're reading this grin-producing treasure, you can sense JRR Tolkien smiling over your shoulder. Don't wait for paperback! This is a keeper - buy it today.
Rating:
Summary: Hail the Dark Lord!
Review: Immensely enjoyable book, written by the mistress of alt-universe fantasy. (...)Pilgrim Parties (read: Fantasy tourists) are taken through a magical portal to the magical land where they can battle and triumph over the Dark Lord, who is elected periodically. Everyone is sick of the Dark Lord tours, such as kings and magicians, who have to take sides with Good or Evil; however, the tour guide Chesney isn't about to lose any money there. The newest Dark Lord is Derk, a wizard who mainly wants to create bizarre critters. But apparently, like jury duty, you have to be Dark Lord..The problem is, Derk isn't very GOOD at it. He and his odd family manage to rearrange things and make him Dark Lord, but unfortunately being the Force of Evil is not as easy as it looks. Add that to possible stealing from Chesney and you have a bizarre fantasy/fantasy-spoof that is difficult to put down. Jones's spoofing of fantasy started in her delightful "Tough Guide to Fantasyland," and many of the elements involved appear here, as if she has novelized the pseudo-encyclopedia. This fact occasionally makes the book a bit more "drifty" than her Chrestomanci tales, but it's still a darn sight better than most books. And funny indeed this book is (well, where it isn't creepy). The scramble to create the perfect "Dark Lord's stronghold"-type building is hilarious, as is the side-splitting idea of tourists engaging in specialized tours in which they get to be High Fantasy heroes. Derk's kids aren't as well defined as is usual for Ms. Jones, but Derk the Reluctant Dark Lord makes up for that. Her writing style is its usual chipper, brisk style, full of fun descriptions. The blue demon was an especial treat, as were those terrific griffins... A small warning: You may want to have a copy of "Tough Guide" alongside you while reading this book, to get the full effect of it's kookiness. And can't wait to see the sequel, "Year of the Griffin..."
Rating:
Summary: The Paralel Universes
Review: In Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones, Wizard Derk's world has been forced to change everything to accommodate Mr. Chesney's tours. Mr. Chesney is a man from another world, and his orders are backed by the queen of all demons. This year Wizard Derk has been selected to be the Dark Lord and his son Blade must be the Wizard Guide for the last tour. Derk must turn his idyllic country home into a crumbling fortress lit by balefire and manifest himself as a ten-foot tall shadow with blazing red eyes. At the same time, Blade must lead a group of pilgrims through the adventures that have been set up especially for them. From the start everything goes wrong. The drug used on the convict soldiers from Mr. Chesney's world wears off too fast, and the base camp for the forces of darkness is too close to the base camp for the forces of good. Then the wizard making the base camp for the forces of darkness gets drunk and doesn't finish. Meanwhile Derk has been almost killed by an angry dragon so his griffon children Kit and Don, with the help of Blade, must run the battles. Can Derk overcome these challenges and keep up with the things that are required? If he doesn't it will be bad news for himself and his whole world. This is the book for you if you like adventure books. It has battles, magic, and much more.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes it's best to start with book two . . .
Review: My daughter got this book for her birthday, and I immediately borrowed it. Truly wonderful - a very funny and affectionate send-up of D&D. But my daughter had a hard time getting into the story. Probable cause: after a rousing start there's a fair amount of set-up time for the complicated plot, and lots of characters to keep track of. For Christmas, the same friends gave my daughter "Year of the Griffin." This time it was love at first sight. "Year of the Griffin" begins with a group of new students arriving at school, so the introduction of the characters is very simple and straightforward. After finishing "Griffin," my daughter returned to "Dark Lord" and read it straight through. While that's the wrong order chronologically, it might be the right order for some readers. (I know this book has nothing to do with ballet. But it's only natural for ballerinas to enjoy fantasy, right?)
Rating:
Summary: Funny, fresh, and moving
Review: Plot summary:
There is a portal between the world we know and a world of magic. A capitalist entrepreneur, Mr. Chesney, controls the portal and uses it annually to transport adventure-seeking tourists to experience Magical Pilgrimages, in which the usual figures of Dark Lord, Enchanted Temptress, Wizard Guide and so on are supplied by the denizens of the magical world--against their will and to the complete disruption of their usual lives. This is where the fun starts, for denizens of the magical world have feelings and motivations much like ours. That is to say, how would YOU like to live forever as a "cast member" in Disneyland? That is their fate--except that they are rebelling against it at long last. The central characters of the story are the Wizard Derk and his family. Derk is a master of biological wizardry--he's a gene splicer. His children are both human and griffin (one of the best parts of this story). We get to know each of the children in turn as they help their father fulfill the burden Mr. Chesney has placed upon him, sometimes with heartbreaking results. Diana Wynne Jones is marketed in the book world as a young adult novelist, but I (an adult) have thoroughly enjoyed every one of her books. Positive elements: Characterization is very good--the children (human and griffin) are well drawn and believable. The plot twists and turns in a satisfying way. Some of the magical creatures are very funny (flying pigs?). I particularly liked the way Jones meshes mundane reality and magical comeuppance. If you haven't read a great deal of fantasy, some of the humor will pass you by, as the book gently mocks the conventions of the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Superb!!!!
Review: Thank-God. I have been waiting for so long for a new Diana Wynne Jones book to come out. She is by far the best young adult-fantasy author there is out there. I have read about half of her books and I know that the others will be great(If only I could find where to buy them!) This book was no exception. I felt as though I was right along side Derk and Blade in their adventure. I was absorbed right into the pages of the book. I felt Derk's sorrow at all the losses he encountered, and I could feel the magic coming right out of the book and onto my skin. I could not put it down at all. Have fun reading it!!!!
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