- Joined
- Dec 31, 2017
- Messages
- 95
- Reaction score
- 3
Hi all,
I've searched for a thread discussing the late DWJ's works and couldn't find one. We can talk about her novels in general here, and I'd like to start with the Chrestomanci books, which I find both awesome and galling at the same time. The awesome part lies in the first book, Charmed Life, which I almost enjoyed as much as the first HP book. I think the magic system was incredible and the characters were great. I loved all the fuss that was made over the character Chrestomaci before his appearance (especially the You-Know-Who-esque "Don't mention his name!"). I simply cannot fault Charmed Life in any way, it's one of the best MG books I've ever read. The best part was watching Gwendolen develop from a girl with an evil streak to a full-fledged dark witch at the end.
For me, Gwendolen is one of the reasons why the other five Chrestomanci books were a disappointment. I still remember reading them, one after the other, hoping the plot with Cat and Gwendolen's rivalry would be revisited, but it never was. DWJ pulled a Narnia by making all books after Charmed Life take place in different timelines with a whole new cast of characters (except for The Lives of Christopher Chant, which is a prequel). I always thought that, by the end of CL, the stage was set for Gwendolen to be the main villain of the series and Cat and Janet as the heroes with Chrestomanci as their mentor. I could really see the other five books in the series being sequels to CL, that would've certainly made the series more interesting than those standalone books (Caprona, Witch Week, Conrad's Fate, Pinhoe Egg). I wonder if DWJ didn't think too highly of CL's cast? Or maybe she just wasn't fond of direct sequels? She kinda does the same with Howl's Moving Castle (her masterpiece, IMO). Who wouldn't have wanted a trilogy and even seven books about Howl Pendragon?! Instead we get two inferior books after HMC with different main charcters (Abdullah and Cimorene) in which Howl and Sophie barely appear.
Between not writing a sequel for either Charmed Life or Howl's Moving Castle, do you think DWJ didn't fully tap into her characters' potential? I honestly do
I've searched for a thread discussing the late DWJ's works and couldn't find one. We can talk about her novels in general here, and I'd like to start with the Chrestomanci books, which I find both awesome and galling at the same time. The awesome part lies in the first book, Charmed Life, which I almost enjoyed as much as the first HP book. I think the magic system was incredible and the characters were great. I loved all the fuss that was made over the character Chrestomaci before his appearance (especially the You-Know-Who-esque "Don't mention his name!"). I simply cannot fault Charmed Life in any way, it's one of the best MG books I've ever read. The best part was watching Gwendolen develop from a girl with an evil streak to a full-fledged dark witch at the end.
For me, Gwendolen is one of the reasons why the other five Chrestomanci books were a disappointment. I still remember reading them, one after the other, hoping the plot with Cat and Gwendolen's rivalry would be revisited, but it never was. DWJ pulled a Narnia by making all books after Charmed Life take place in different timelines with a whole new cast of characters (except for The Lives of Christopher Chant, which is a prequel). I always thought that, by the end of CL, the stage was set for Gwendolen to be the main villain of the series and Cat and Janet as the heroes with Chrestomanci as their mentor. I could really see the other five books in the series being sequels to CL, that would've certainly made the series more interesting than those standalone books (Caprona, Witch Week, Conrad's Fate, Pinhoe Egg). I wonder if DWJ didn't think too highly of CL's cast? Or maybe she just wasn't fond of direct sequels? She kinda does the same with Howl's Moving Castle (her masterpiece, IMO). Who wouldn't have wanted a trilogy and even seven books about Howl Pendragon?! Instead we get two inferior books after HMC with different main charcters (Abdullah and Cimorene) in which Howl and Sophie barely appear.
Between not writing a sequel for either Charmed Life or Howl's Moving Castle, do you think DWJ didn't fully tap into her characters' potential? I honestly do
Last edited: