Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Willamina Public Library | YA JONES | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | YA Fic Jones, D. 2005 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | J Jones, D. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
"Unless you put right what you did wrong in your previous life -- and put it right now -- you are going to be horribly and painfully dead before the year's out." Someone at the mysterious Stallery Mansion is pulling the possibilities. At first only small details change -- the color of the mailboxes, the titles of books -- but the changes keep getting bigger and bigger. It's up to Conrad Tesdinic, a twelve-year-old with truly terrible karma, to find the person behind it all. Armed with his camera and a sticky cork that can summon an eerie being called a Walker, Conrad infiltrates the staff at Stallery. And he's not the only one snooping around the mansion. His fellow servant-in-training -- charming, confident Christopher Chant -- is searching for his friend Millie, who's lost in one of the possibilities. Christopher always seems to have a trick up his sleeve. To find the person behind all the mischief and to rescue Millie, the two boys have to work together. Can they keep Conrad's fate from catching up to them?
Author Notes
Diana Wynne Jones was born in London on August 16, 1934. In 1953, she began school at St. Anne's College Oxford and attended lectures by J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. After graduation, she created plays for children that were performed at the London Arts Theatre. Her first book was published in 1973. She wrote over 40 books during her lifetime including Dark Lord of Derkholm, Earwig and the Witch, and the Chrestomanci series. She won numerous awards including the Guardian Award for Children's Books in 1977 for Charmed Life, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 1984 for Archer's Goon, the Mythopeic Award in 1999, the Karl Edward Wagner Award in 1999, and the Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Organization in 2007. Her book Howl's Moving Castle was adapted into an animated film by director Hayao Miyazaki, and the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. She died from lung cancer on March 26, 2011 at the age of 76.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-10-Jones is a master of British fantasies that are hilariously droll and totally heartfelt at the same time. This is a new novel in the series that began with Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant (both 1998, HarperCollins), the story of how Christopher, the "nine-lifed enchanter" who regulates the uses of magic throughout 12 sets of alternate worlds, began his career. This book introduces Conrad Tesdinic, a boy who lives in one of the Series Seven worlds and has been told throughout his youth that he has bad luck, an Evil Fate, bad karma. When he graduates from lower school at the age of 12, his magician uncle reveals that Conrad's black Fate has been caused by his failure to kill a depraved evildoer in a previous life. The reincarnated evildoer, he is told, dwells in nearby Stallery Mansion, which generates so much magic that no one living nearby gets any TV reception. Conrad must take a job as a servant at the mansion and kill the villain, whose identity he must discover. Once hired, he meets his roommate and fellow servant, a smug, handsome young man named-aha!-Christopher. Almost all the players-including Conrad-conceal their true identities as they dash from one alternate Stallery Mansion to another, solving several interlocking mysteries. This witty, satisfying story can be read on its own, but is much richer when read as part of the series. It's a must for all Jones fans.-Walter Minkel, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Wynne Jones's latest addition to her Chrestomanci books brings a servant's eye-view (a la Gosford Park) to her characteristic blend of magic, mystery and snortingly funny slapstick. Instead of going on to secondary school like most of his friends, 12-year-old Conrad is sent by his uncle to Stallery, a castle high in the English Alps, to work as an apprentice servant. Conrad has a secret mission: According to his uncle, he has a terrible karma that can only be cleared by seeking out and killing a mysterious someone who lives at the castle. On his way there, Conrad strikes up a friendship with a self-assured, slightly older boy, whom the author's fans will recognize as Christopher Chant, enchanter and future Chrestomanci. Christopher has a secret mission, too: He must locate his friend Millie, who has run away from her Swiss boarding school and hidden herself in Conrad's world. When Conrad and Christopher are not busy blacking boots, ironing linens and learning to be as discreet and unobtrusive as "Living. Pieces. Of furniture," the boys search for Millie and discover that Stallery stands on a "probability fault," with the power to whisk visitors to alternate worlds. Adding to the magical mayhem are at least two pairs of star-crossed lovers, a troupe of unemployed actors, and a couple of hair-raising visits from a messenger of the Lords of Karma. Long-time Chrestomanci fans will take particular pleasure in learning how the enchanter acquired some of his more notable traits. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) In this new Chrestomanci novel, a sequel to The Lives of Christopher Chant, Jones once more turns her attention to a confused adolescent discovering his talents -- this time twelve-year-old Conrad Tesdinic, who has been told by his uncle that he suffers from Bad Karma. Off Conrad goes to Stallery Castle, intent on murdering the one responsible for his evil fate. Instead, he meets Christopher Chant -- now a ""tall boy"" impeccably dressed, expensively groomed, and seeking Millie, who has fled her nasty finishing school only to be caught up in a ""probability fault,"" stuck between ever-shifting worlds. Disguised as valets-in-training, Christopher and Conrad unearth more than Millie and a probability problem: they untangle Conrad's family history, bring down the powers of Stallery, and get into a great deal of trouble with their elders. Jones has a genius for inventiveness, humor, and flair: as usual, everyone in the full cast has an essential part to play in a tricky, satisfying plot. Conrad pales a little next to Christopher's bumptious, superior personality -- Christopher is definitely evolving into the Chrestomanci of elegant dressing-gowns he becomes in Charmed Life. This is ""Upstairs, Downstairs"" Diana Wynne Jones-style, where magicians, domestics, law enforcement officers, and actors cannot always be distinguished from one another. A speedy, entertaining read. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Conrad Tesdinic has an Evil Fate in this entertaining Chrestomanci tale that begins a few years after The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988) leaves off. Conrad detests working in his Uncle Alfred's bookshop in the shadow of magical Stallery Mansion, and yearns for the day he can leave for high school. Alas, his dark Fate intervenes; Uncle Alfred explains that Conrad's Karma, earned with wicked deeds in a previous life, will lead to an agonizing death unless he kills a man in Stallery Mansion. Luckily for Conrad, Uncle Alfred has gotten him a job at Stallery. Conrad dislikes Stallery Mansion, and somebody keeps shifting reality, turning eggs into bacon and sundials into statues. He befriends fellow trainee Christopher, a charming and secretive boy who is searching for a magically stuck friend. As Conrad and Christopher explore multiple realities, Conrad's long-lost sister appears, involved in Stallery's dangerous intrigues. A wild romp with a fast-paced and satisfying conclusion, Conrad's humorous adventures will appeal to Christopher's existing fans and Jones neophytes alike. (Fantasy. 10-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. Twelve-year-old Conrad is convinced by his magician uncle that his bad luck is the result of his failure to put an end to someone in his past life, as required by the Lords of Karma. To atone for his mistake and to save his own life, Conrad reluctantly applies for a job at the mysterious Stallery Mansion, where he must find and dispose of someone he doesn't know. At the mansion, he meets Christopher. Although Christopher is quite maddening, he's full of ideas and surprises, and Conrad eventually learns that he has traveled from a parallel universe in search of a missing friend. The two boys explore the mansion, which slips in and out of various universes, while they try to discover who is working the alarming magic that is threatening to destroy Conrad's universe. The latest in Jones' Chrestomanci series, this funny fantasy romp is as antic and farcical as the preceding books, and is sure to be appreciated by the series' fans. --Sally Estes Copyright 2005 Booklist