The Merlin Conspiracy
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4.7 • 13 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
When the Merlin of Blest dies, everyone thinks it's a natural death. But Roddy and Grundo, two children traveling with the Royal Court, soon discover the truth. The Merlin's replacement and other courtiers are scheming to steal the magic of Blest for their own purposes.
Roddy enlists the help of Nick, a boy from another world, and the three turn to their own impressive powers. The dangers are great, and if Roddy, Grundo, and Nick cannot stop the conspirators, the results will be more dreadful than they could possibly imagine.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Whimsy, invention and the chilling sense of a world (multiple worlds, actually) gone topsy-turvy characterize this grandly outsize fantasy from Jones (Year of the Griffin). In an alternate England, where the king maintains the magic of the realm by constantly traveling the land, teenage Roddy and her best friend-cum-prot g , the younger boy Grundo, have spent their lives as part of the peripatetic Court. When Roddy and Grundo stumble on a fiendish plot to take control of all their world's magic, they realize that they must put a stop to it even though one of the would-be usurpers is Grundo's own mother. Meanwhile, here on our own version of Earth, Nick (aka Nichothodes Koryfoides, whom Jones's fans may already know from her adult fantasy A Sudden Wild Magic) is tipped into yet another alternate world and begins a journey that eventually lands him right in the middle of Roddy and Grundo's struggle. Cities personified (imagine Old Sarum as a walking, talking and somewhat grumpy old man), hordes of smuggled salamanders and a pair of astonishingly bratty twin sisters (in response to their rude behavior, their mother gushes, "Aren't they a caution?") are just a few of the delights to be found here. Ensorcelled by this exuberant tale and Jones's unmistakable wit, readers may find themselves echoing Nick's off-the-cuff literary critique: "By the time I'd read two pages, I was so longing to get to this other world that it was like sheets of flame flaring through me." Ages 10-up.
Customer Reviews
Great Tale of Magic and Merit
I was thoroughly impressed with this book. It has now become one of my favorites by Diana Wynne Jones.
In The Merlin Conspiracy, Jones weaves a magical story out of the perspectives of two people from different worlds who come together to save the universe.
I love how Diana builds worlds upon worlds with vast differences while still harboring human beings who have to deal with human struggles, wherever people can be found. She not only creates these worlds where magic makes sense, but she proves that what matters most is merit— in other words, grit and integrity.
Her characters each have unique talents and abilities, yet still have to make their own ways within their world(s) and work hard to overcome adversity and earn their successes.
I enjoyed how the individual plots of these two characters came together in the story. It was a fun read— well worth the investment of money and time!