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UK Authors - Sci-fi & fantasy |
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The Dark Lord of Derkholm |
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| The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones Millennium (Orion) 328 pages, 2000 ISBN 1857989368 Reviewed by our UK Editor Rachel A. Hyde In her Tough Guide to Fantasyland, Ms. Jones pointed out that fantasy novels basically consisted of a list of mix ‘n match ingredients gathered in as varied a selection as the author liked - and you had a fantasy novel. All this is, of course, very true of post-Tolkien work. It is certainly hard to find a book labelled "fantasy" that doesn’t involve a Dark Lord, superior elves, tough dwarves, villages with funny names, assorted mythical beasts, wizards and mercenaries. In this comic novel, she shows us a fantastic land next door to ours (shades of Xanth), fallen prey to the evil wiles of one Mr. Chesney from our world, who has enslaved a demon. He has turned the whole place into a vast theme park and is charging tourists from our side of the border telephone number sums to go there and participate in an adventure. This is organized by the hapless denizens of the magical realm, at great cost to themselves and little remuneration. Moreover, many of the tourists have been sent there by their families so they can be killed en route - something’s gotta give! It is up to the High Chancellor Querida to consult the oracles and find out who will save the day. Trouble is - it is the maverick wizard Derk and his young son Blade who just want to live quietly on their farm making mythical beasts. Ms. Jones has introduced a wonderful idea here, that is going to have most fantasy fans wanting to read more. The farm is an engaging place where Derk and his family live, with the strange creatures he has made. Initially, there is more than one dig at the perennially grooming griffins of Mercedes Lackey’s novels. But then cuteness creeps in, and I was reminded that the author normally writes for young adults. A bit of editing would do wonders in the first two-thirds of the novel, as the tour takes oh so long to get set up. At times I felt I was sitting at the table of a board meeting! I wanted to see more of the whingeing tourists, and find out how folk from our world behaved in a fantastic environment. But I had to wait until the last few chapters for this. However, by this time my attention had flagged and I felt sated with cute animals and organisation. A hugely enjoyable idea for a novel, difficult to carry off, and Ms Jones has had a valiant try at it. |
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