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Summary
Summary
A stand-alone novel of magic and adventure by the renowned fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones, who also wrote Howl's Moving Castle and the Chrestomanci books. Almost finished upon her death in 2011, the manuscript was completed by Diana's sister Ursula Jones, an acclaimed novelist and actress. Publishers Weekly called The Islands of Chaldea "a story to cherish" in their starred review.
Aileen comes from a long line of magic makers, and her aunt Beck is the most powerful magician on Skarr. But Aileen's magic has yet to reveal itself, even though she is old enough and it should have by now. When Aileen is sent over the sea on a mission for the King, she worries that she'll be useless and in the way. A powerful talking cat changes all of that--and with every obstacle Aileen faces, she becomes stronger and more confident, until her magic blooms. This stand-alone novel, by the beloved and acclaimed author of such classic fantasy novels as Howl's Moving Castle and the Chrestomanci books, will be welcomed by fans old and new. "Jones's imaginative vigor is unabated in this last, picaresque novel; her deft, fluid style and penchant for precise, characterful description are amply present," proclaimed The Horn Book.
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 (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in a luminous and beguiling magical land, this standalone novel was begun by acclaimed fantasist Wynne Jones before her death in 2011 and has been seamlessly completed by her sister Ursula, an actress and writer. Just a day after Eileen seems to fail her initiation into her family's magical tradition, she and her Aunt Beck-a fully-fledged Wise Woman-are sent on a quest to breach the mysterious barrier that separates the islands of Skarr, Bernica, and Gallis from the enemy land of Logra. Accompanying Eileen and Beck are Ivar-the haughty prince whom Aileen plans to marry ("Until then I feel free to admire him greatly in secret")-and Ogo, an awkward Logran boy. More companions join the travelers, including a sometimes-invisible giant cat that Aileen nicknames Plug-Ugly. As Aileen grows into her own powers, she reunites with long-lost family and reassesses her romantic plans. Though the plot twists are slightly less fiendish than in previous works, Wynne Jones's humor, compassion, and invention continue to delight throughout this exhilarating tale. A story to cherish. Ages 8-12. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Diana Wynne Jones's humor, insight, and brisk, inventive style shine in this posthumously published novel, completed by her sister Ursula Jones. Aileen is embarrassed and ashamed when she fails her initiation as a Wise Woman, but her feelings are eclipsed when the king sends her and her Wise Aunt Beck, along with a prince and his attendant, on a quest through the islands of Chaldea. Their task is to cross a magical barrier that separates Chaldea from the eastern island Logra, freeing captive princes from both sides and dissolving the barrier. En route by sea and by land, Aileen discovers her own "very vigorous" powers while dealing with temperamental fairy queens, magical animal Guardians, and an aunt incapacitated by a spell. Jones's imaginative vigor is unabated in this last, picaresque novel; her deft, fluid style and penchant for precise, characterful description are amply present in Aileen's voice as she recounts her journey. Characters and island geographies are quickly, colorfully drawn, and depictions of an "almost violently beautiful" landscape or the stillness of "moon-quiet" are vivid and memorable. The story makes a rather headlong rush at its conclusion, but there are riches aplenty before then. deirdre f. baker (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Shortly after the nightlong vigil during which young Aileen failed to come into her powers as a wise woman, like her aunt Beck, the two of them are sent on a mission by their king. With their fellow travelers, they must break the spell that has formed a transparent wall between the nearby island of Logra and the other three islands of Chaldea. After Aunt Beck is stricken by evil magic, it's up to Aileen to lead the others, access her unknown powers, and save those she loves. The novel was mainly written by Diana Wynne Jones, who died in 2011, and completed by her sister Ursula, an actress, writer, and playwright. The journey offers a sound framework for the story and many adventures for Aileen and her companions. But the focus continually returns to the girl's growing awareness of her expanding world and her potential role in it. An enjoyable fantasy written with a light touch and narrated by an engaging heroine.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2014 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up-When Aileen turns 12, she is required to go to The Place for her initiation into a long family line of Wise Women. Disappointed that her magic has not been revealed during the ceremony, she is assured by her Aunt Beck that it will come. Aileen lives on Skarr, one of the four magical islands of Chaldea. The largest and most magical of the islands, Logra, has been isolated from the others by a huge barrier that prevents anyone from leaving or entering. As a result, it is draining the magic from the other three islands. Aunt Beck, Aileen, and a representative from each of the three islands have been sent to use magic to break the Logra barrier. It is during the ensuing adventures that the gifts bestowed upon Aileen come to fruition. On their journey, Aunt Beck is rendered powerless by a drunken queen who takes offense at her outspoken manner. Aileen is forced to take charge, and with each encounter her power grows. The author passed away before finishing the book, and her sister has kept it alive. Continuing the medieval magic of wizards, witches, and supernatural animals, she gives the ending a sweeping flourish of action, romance, and humor. Although there are some inconsistencies in the characterization, diehard fantasy fans will not be deterred. Recommend this novel to the Jones's many fans and other avid fantasy readers.-D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Guardian Review
The daughter of a powerful family perceives herself as awkward and inferior, doomed to be a lifelong misfit. She lives in a down-to-earth fantasy landscape, described with an evocative clarity that immediately welcomes the reader. In her story, fortunes are reversed, certainties overthrown, and extraordinary capabilities discovered in the least prepossessing people and creatures. Diana Wynne Jones's last book may have been finished posthumously by her sister, Ursula Jones, but The Islands of Chaldea is instantly recognisable as her own. Kinship is a key preoccupation. The women of Aileen's family, on the harsh, lovely, sea-scented island of Skarr, are wise: scryers, diviners, users of magic. Her mother was a powerful adept, her father a talented bard. So great things are expected of Aileen, especially by abrasive Aunt Beck, who brought her up with plentiful porridge and little coddling after her mother's death in childbirth. But when she fails her initiation at the age of 12, the book of her future seems to slam shut. There are wider problems in the Islands of Chaldea. For years, they have been divided by a magical barrier: Skarr, Bernica and Gallis have had no trade with Logra since an invisible seawall went up between them. Families have been separated - Ogo, a lanky Logran whom Aileen disdainfully pities, was stranded on Skarr as a child of five. Alasdair, Chaldea's crown prince, has been kidnapped by Logran wizards, alongside Aileen's father. Now petty princes, powers and priests operate fiefdoms and extortion rackets in every corner of the disrupted realm. But there's a rumour abroad that if a wise woman of Skarr can cross the barrier with a man of each island, it will at last be broken. Aficionados grateful for a bittersweet last encounter with DWJ as well as newcomers will slip under the surface of this clear, assured quest fantasy with barely a breath. Journeys are rendered with delicate, transporting physical detail, and the prose is sprinkled with wrong-footing juxtapositions: "We came over a couple of gentle rises to find the war blocking our road." It's also delightful to encounter an alternative Britain broken up like toffee under the hammer into four islands, each with its national foibles and unique geography. Diana Wynne Jones's back catalogue has unparalleled breadth and originality, from Howl's Moving Castle, about a Welsh wizard who moves through several worlds, to Fire and Hemlock, a bildungsroman built around the legends of Tam Lyn and Thomas the Rhymer. Her last book is not her best - there are too many other extraordinary contenders - and the crisp, pitiless logic that makes her most outrageous plot twists seem organic and inevitable elsewhere is sometimes softened or lacking in The Islands of Chaldea But it makes memorable reading, nevertheless. Trying to detect the moment at which Ursula Jones takes over is particularly challenging - none of the book's advance readers (including me, despite a 20-year addiction) have been able to pinpoint it without being told. Ursula Jones has already spoken about the "unbearable second parting" that the last sentence of The Islands of Chaldea represented. The readers who still miss Diana may find it so, too. To order The Islands of Chaldea for pounds 10.39 with free UK p&p call Guardian book service on 0330 333 6846 or go to guardianbookshop.co.uk. - Imogen Russell Williams There are wider problems in the Islands of Chaldea. For years, they have been divided by a magical barrier: Skarr, Bernica and Gallis have had no trade with Logra since an invisible seawall went up between them. Families have been separated - Ogo, a lanky Logran whom Aileen disdainfully pities, was stranded on Skarr as a child of five. Alasdair, Chaldea's crown prince, has been kidnapped by Logran wizards, alongside Aileen's father. Now petty princes, powers and priests operate fiefdoms and extortion rackets in every corner of the disrupted realm. But there's a rumour abroad that if a wise woman of Skarr can cross the barrier with a man of each island, it will at last be broken. - Imogen Russell Williams.
Kirkus Review
The fates of four countries hang in the balance, and only an apprentice magicworker can save the day. For the ultimate in bittersweet feelings, fans must confront the final novel of master fantasist Jones, posthumously completed by her sister Ursula. In a little stone house on the island of Skarr, Aileen's being raised as an apprentice Wise Woman and magicworker by her aunt Beck. When Aunt Beck is sent on a quest by the High King to rescue a kidnapped prince, Aileen tags along. Their journey takes them across all the little islands of their world (a wee European-style fantasyland that stretches from skirling pipes and heather on Skarr to olives and grapes on Gallis). Quiet at first, Aileen is forced to come into her own when her aunt suffers a mishap. Now, a band of ragtag adventurers, including an invisible cat named Plug-Ugly, depends on Aileen to lead them, as they take nearly every transportation method in the fantasyland guidebook: sailing ships, donkey carts, floating wagons and hot air balloons. Affectionate chaos and loving revelations follow, forming a classic, joyful screwball comedy. Aileen says of one of her friends, "[w]e stay awhile with each other, then part." If that's all we get, we can be grateful for the while we have. (Fantasy. 10-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
