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House of Many Ways Review

Charmain Baker has been brought up to be a "respectable" young woman by her mother, which means she has no experience with housework, real life, or that most vulgar and low-class of things: magic. Her great-uncle William, however, just so happens to be the Royal Wizard of High Norland, and after falling ill, calls in Charmain to look after his tiny cottage and his even tinier dog, Waif, while he is off with the elves, being treated for his mysterious sickness.

Charmain soon realizes that Great-Uncle William's tiny little cottage is more magical than it originally seemed-for instance, in in order to get to the bathroom from the living room, one must open the door between the living room and kitchen, and immediately take a sharp left into the doorframe. Other hidden parts of the house are connected to the past, and one hallway leads directly to the Royal Mansion where the King and Princess live. A magical house with doors that lead mysterious places might sound a little familiar to fans of Diana Wynne Jones' writing, with good reason, as the characters of Howl's Moving Castle (Sophie, Calcifer, and Howl himself as well as a new addition to their family) make a decent cameo and are heavily involved in the plot.

The plot reveals itself as Charmain slowly finds out that not all is well in her country of High Norland-a disgusting and extremely dangerous creature called the Lubbock prowls the meadows outside town, and for some reason the gold in the Royal Treasury keeps disappearing. The King has become so poor that he must sell of many of the royal portraits and pictures that used to line the hallways of the Royal Mansion. Sophie, a famous witch, has been called in to help solve the problem, and she brings with her Calcifer the fire demon, her son Morgan, and a small, beautifully angelic, golden-haired boy who calls himself "Twinkle" and claims that "Thophie ith my auntie."

I have really liked Diana Wynne Jones' writing every since I first picked up her books in elementary school, and House of Many Ways was a great example of her storytelling. There was adventure, mystery, magic, and a good amount of humor when Sophie and her family showed up. I really identified with Charmain as her favorite activities are reading and eating-me too. But in the beginning I actually didn't like her all that much, which I think the author may have done on purpose...? She is a little spoiled, a little lazy-but I believe most of it comes from having such a sheltered lifestyle.

Great, fun read.

House of Many Ways Feature

ISBN13: 9780061477973
Condition: New
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House of Many Ways Overview

The sequel to Howl's Moving Castle

When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle's house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. She didn't realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard. Now, somehow, she's been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king's urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. The king is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he's called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, the great Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer won't be far behind. How did respectable Charmain end up in such a mess, and how will she get herself out of it?

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Customer Reviews

What about the first two? - Katlin D. Warren - Atlanta, Ga USA
After watching the film adaption I read this sequel without realizing there was a first two! While I throughly enjoyed House of Many Ways, it's very disappointing to not find the first two on kindle format. Surprisingly, the first two are very hard to find in bookstores and libraries. I only hope HaperCollins realizes its mistake soon.

Overall a lovely book, I only wish I had easier access to the first two in th series.

Fine Sequel to Howl's Moving Castle - J. Stanton - Minnesota, USA
The disappointment is that Howl, Calcifer and Sophie are not the stars of this book. The pleasure is that the new characters, Charmain, Peter and Waif are unique characters in their own right and not rehashes of successful predecessors. I Love Uncle William's house. I love how much more there is to Sophie's world beyond Market Chipping in Ingary. I'm looking forward to my next visit.

Enjoyable but still NOT a sequel - *Caligirl_08* - San Diego
So, Castle in the Air claimed to be a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle but barely had Sophie and Howl in it. This one is supposed to be the third in the trilogy but unfortunately we still don't really get to spend time with Sophie or Howl, and the only people in it from book 2 are Jamal, his dog and one of the kidnapped princesses, (all minor characters.)

Charmaine, the young protagonist is interesting enough. She is charged with taking care of her grand uncle's magical house while he is away due to illness. She meets an adorable dog named Waif whom I LOVED. She meets an OBNOXIOUS BRAT named Peter who managed to irritate me in every scene he was in. I know Diana Wynne Jones didn't mean to write him to seem so annoying but he was just so rude and bossy I just didn't enjoy reading his scenes. A lot of scenes were boring, do we really need a play-by-play of Peter teaching (bossing around) Charmaine how to wash dishes??

All that being said, it's a Diana Wynne Jones book so even with the negative bits it was still a fun read. I just wish she'd stop calling these things sequels, they are not. A sequel would involve AN ENTIRE BOOK with Sophie/Howl being the main characters. I could even accept the adventures of Morgan, their child, as a "sequel", it would make more sense then total strangers.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 07, 2010 16:51:07

Children's Books

Saturday, August 7, 2010