Year of the Griffin

Rating:
Summary: "Year" passes quickly
Review: Diana Wynne-Jones' "Dark Lord of Derkholm" remains the cleverest spoof of pretentious fantasies. The sequel, "Year of the Griffin," takes a slightly different turn, focusing on some rather strange young wizards-in-training, as they try to keep themselves in the frying pan rather than the fire.

Because the offworld tours have stopped, money has become scarce. Wizard Corkoran, the new head of Wizard University (who is obsessed with reaching the moon), hopes to soak the parents of the new first years. They consist of a mysterious young foreigner, a pirate girl, an impoverished prince, a half-Marsh girl with a jinx, a runaway dwarf, and the griffin daughter of Wizard Derk. None of them have any money, and quite a few aren't even supposed to be there. To top it off, their magic is anything but normal.

When Corkoran stupidly sends out money-seeking letters to their parents and relatives, the students start trying to magically protect themselves from the Emir, a pirate, the dwarf overseers, and the Romanesque Empire. Add some primitive griffins, a vindictive teacher, and some magic gone horribly awry, and it's a year to never forget... especially when they take an unexpected trip to Mars.

Those expecting a retread of "Dark Lord" will be disappointed; "Year" is more along the lines of "students at a wizard school battle evil," albeit far more imaginatively than most books with that theme. Jones happily mashes together Roman empires, pirates, fantasy dwarves (complete with armor and underground cities), and ties it together with her previous book. Don't worry, reading "Dark Lord" is not necessary, though it is recommended.

Writing is amusing, descriptive and often pleasantly quirky; Jones never stops juggling personal quirks and weird relationships. However, the final chapters are the weakest part of the book. While the conclusion is being cooked up through the entire book, it feels a bit lifeless. The way the problems are dealt with feel a bit contrived. However, the long-suffering tiny assassins and the wandering furniture add the typical Jones sparkle to the proceedings. (Things never go quite smoothly in her worlds)

The quirky cast is mostly quite well done. Elda is a pleasant heroine, although her crush on Corkoran is a little distracting. Felim and Ruskin are delightful, while Olga and Lukim are just engaging. (No pun intended) Claudia and Corkoran, while well-written enough, never really come to life.

While not really on the same theme as "Dark Lord of Derkholm," "Year of the Griffin" is still an entertaining fantasy tale with a bit of botched magic, student crushes, and the occasional dizzy assassin.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: DWJ is a wonderful author, but this book is definately not one of her best. The characters, although they are very well developed and such, kept confusing me. For instance, Olga and Claudia I kept getting mixed up with one another. Which one was the half marshwoman again? Which one was the royalty? Wait-- wasn't that Claudia? I kept asking myself those questions as I read this book. The only two I managed to keep straight were Elda and Ruskin-- only because they weren't exactly human.

However, I did enjoy this book... but not as much as Dark Lord of Derkholm. It has its funny bits, and its touching bits, and all around rather good, but not great.

Also, I suggest you read "The Tough Guide to Fantasyland" and "Dark Lord of Derkholm" (In any order) before reading "Year of the Griffin." "Year of the Griffin" may spoil some things from "Dark Lord of Derkholm."

All in all, I did enjoy it, but I enjoyed "Dark Lord of Derkholm" more. DWJ is a great author.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it(not as much as Darklord of Derkholm)
Review: I really loved this book but unfortunatley it did not reach the high and extremely lovable standards of Darklord of Derkholm but it was still wonderfully Diane Wynne Jones!!!

Rating:
Summary: A great sequel
Review: I thought this book was a great companion to The Dark Lord of Derkholm. I also thought that it was great of Diana to shed more light on the youungest of Derk's daughters.Derk sends Elda to the university he had hated after she pushed a mountain out of shape. The university he knew ass a child however is even worse than before, andd is now run by incopitant wizards. One of whom is trying to get to the moon even thouh he's afraid of hights. At school Elda finds friends, all have some reason for not wanting to be discovered.
I'm looking forward to another sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Not Quite
Review: In Year of the Griffin, Diana Wynne Jones returns to a world she's written about twice before - in the children's novel The Dark Lord of Derkholm, and in the adult(?) book The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. It's a pity, too, because the books have been declining in quality as she goes. The Tough Guide was a reasonably funny book for readers of fantasy and RPGers, Dark Lord was a rather standard, empty romp, and now - Year of the Griffin. Which, unfortunately, has the characteristic Jones tone, but lacks the wit, the intelligence, and especially the cohesive plot of her best books.

The eponymous griffin is Elda, the daughter of the human magician Derk, and the year portion of the title refers to her freshman year at the magical university. (Please, no comparisons to Hogwarts or to the Unseen University - it isn't in the same league as either.) The university is seriously strapped for cash, and the members of Elda's class all have secrets - and most of them are being hunted for one reason or another.

The freshmen become a group, and together repel assassins, parents, and problems in ways that should be thoroughly hilarious, but somehow aren't. The feel of Jones' former works is present but the joy is not. Much of the problem appears to be that the author is too fond of her characters; the gigantic but gentle Elda and her cohort occupy a lot of the space that should be plot. The book feels stretched and very light, like a two-page essay made to look like an 8 page one.

It isn't necessary to begin this series at the beginning; if for some reason you want to, you can begin with Year of the Griffin. But if you've never read Jones before, start with her children's classics - Archer's Goon, The Ogre Downstairs - or her best adult novel, Deep Secret. It pains me to say this, because I love Jones' writing, but - unless you're a diehard fan, give Year of the Griffin a miss.

Rating:
Summary: Same faults as "Dark Lord of Derkholm"
Review: Like its predecessor, this book should have been better than it actually is. Like its predecessor, it is full of things the reader should apparently already know, too many characters, too many plot elements that are used to no good effect, too many deus ex machina solutions, and some disturbingly dark elements that I don't find appropriate in a book aimed at children. And in "Year of the Griffin" you can add to that some utterly silly plot holes.
I don't know, some may find this unfocused tale of students at wizard school seeking to redefine what magic is and can be engrossing . . . But I didn't, because the characters aren't very interesting, there is no sense of time passing, the issue of magic's potential goes nowhere, and the novel ends as an excuse to reintroduce characters from "Dark Lord of Derkholm", tie up a few loose ends, and marry everyone off.
Disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Hysterical again and great for us sappy romantics...
Review: Okay, if you are a romantic and you always want the characters in your novels to fall in love... you will definately love this book. If you like outright hilarity and antics that make you giggle as you read, you'll love it, too. But, if you especially love subtle humor, i.e. an anime-esque moment where a character is staring at someone in shock and in disbelief, and in the background something else is blowing up, emphasizing their shock... you'll love it. Diana Wynne Jones has been writing for an awfully long time and she has reached a point in her novels where she hits the subtle notes so well that I end up rolling aroung laughing. I was in fits for the whole last chapter (which is pretty long as things just keep happening!).
This is a great book for both kids and adults. The book is about 6 young people who are attending the Wizarding University in the world Jones created for The Dark Lord of Derkholm. In the process of meeting each other, learning the true meaning of magic and the process of learning itself, and in trying to deal with their insane professors, they learn about themselves and about each other. There are some very poignant moments at the end of the book when some of the kids have to dig into the pain of their pasts to try to fix themselves and their magic before it is too late.
It is a great book about growing up and learning about yourself. Make sure you read The Dark Lord of Derkholm first, or you'll spoil all of the surprises and wonderful things that happen in that fantastic book!

Rating:
Summary: Unusal, but good
Review: This book differs from Diana Wynne Jones' usual style of writing, but that does not make it bad. I loved reading every page of this book, and still turn randomly to any spot and read.

Basic Plot: It's Elda's first year at the university, and her friends and her have adventures.

Rating:
Summary: WAY better than the first one!
Review: This book, Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones, was pretty low on my list of to read books. This is because the first book, The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones, was terrible! The plot was confusing and jumbled together, altogether an awful book! Anyway, I thought that The Year of the Griffin would be along the same lines. It turned out to be my latest favorite book! The story was wonderful and the characters endearing! It makes you wonder if the two books were written by the same person.... The only part of this enchanting book that seemed rather stupid was that in the last few pages, all the characters find their "perfect match" among the other characters and they all fall in love instantly! But this should by no means be a discouraging factor in reading this book. I highly recommend it on all accounts and I think everyone should read it! If there were more stars to give this book, it would definately have all of them!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: Year of the Griffin is one of the finest fantasy books I've read in a while. The characters are so authentic and well-described, you feel like you've known them forever after just a few pages. The plot has all the complex and witty twists we expect from Jones. I think this book is better than Dark Lord because it surpasses fantasy, in that I think even non-fantasy fans would love this book. In fact, I read it to my parents, and they loved it! It's the kind of book that has you laughing constantly, but also touches you emotionally. It can be a little sappy, but it's handled well, and who doesn't like a little sweetness now and then? All in all, I just can't wait to read the next one, and find out what all the characters are up to!