5 February, 2002: The Magicians of Caprona
With very few exceptions, I adore the work of Diana Wynne Jones. Perhaps this is because her characters are so frequently nasty, an invaluable trait in children's fiction, where authors frequent err on the side of the insipid. The Magicians of Caprona was the only book I didn't enjoy my first time through the Chrestomancy Quartet, perhaps because it's the least Jones-ish. Chrestomancy, as in Witch Week, doesn't appear until the book is well underway and is called in to clean up a mess; unlike Witch Week, the setting isn't England; the parallel universe fancies that are Jones' bread and butter get nary a mention. Instead, the book a vaguely Verona-esque city and two feuding families of magic-workers. I give away not a thing when I say that everything works itself out for the best. The second time through, I appreciated it more -- a few of the touches are nicely done (particularly the Punch and Judy show) and the main character's family is, if not as mean-spirited as real children or Jones' characters frequently are, believably self-centered and easily led. Enjoyable, but largely a filler book compared to the rest of the series.