Conrad's Fate
Published on 6. March 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-0-00-719087-4 (ISBN)
Description
A splendid, new, magical adventure from Diana Wynne Jones, set in the worlds of Chrestomanci!
Conrad is young, good at heart, and yet is apparently suffering from the effects of such bad karma that there is nothing in his future but terrible things. Unless he can alter his circumstances - well, quite frankly, he is DOOMED.
Conrad is sent in disguise to Stallery Mansion, to infiltrate the magical fortress that has power over the whole town of Stallchester, and to discover the identity of the person who is affecting his Fate so badly. Then he has to kill that person. But can any plan really be that simple and straightforward? Of course it can't! And things start to go very strangely for Conrad from the moment he meets the boy called Christopher...
This is trademark DWJ - packed with laugh-aloud humour, insane logic, spot-on observations, organised chaos, and all wrapped up in a rattling good adventure which oozes magic from every seam. Literally.
Conrad is young, good at heart, and yet is apparently suffering from the effects of such bad karma that there is nothing in his future but terrible things. Unless he can alter his circumstances - well, quite frankly, he is DOOMED.
Conrad is sent in disguise to Stallery Mansion, to infiltrate the magical fortress that has power over the whole town of Stallchester, and to discover the identity of the person who is affecting his Fate so badly. Then he has to kill that person. But can any plan really be that simple and straightforward? Of course it can't! And things start to go very strangely for Conrad from the moment he meets the boy called Christopher...
This is trademark DWJ - packed with laugh-aloud humour, insane logic, spot-on observations, organised chaos, and all wrapped up in a rattling good adventure which oozes magic from every seam. Literally.
Reviews / Votes
"Books so inventive that each of them more or less rethinks the fantastical from scratch and comes up with a new purpose for it ... You'll gleefully swallow Conrad's Fate as another unpredictable does of animal spirits." Francis Spufford, Evening StandardFor DWJ:
"...Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones's most outrageous plots to her readers' hopes and fears..."
Publishers Weekly
"Truly magical - guaranteed to leave you gasping - even hotter than Potter"
The Bookseller
For The Merlin Conspiracy:
"The characterisation is first rate, the ideas are fabulous ... This is fantasy at its most inventive - canny, funny and far-reaching." The Telegraph
"A curiosity shop of a book ... a pleasure to lose yourself in." The Sunday Times
"The Merlin Conspiracy is Wynne Jones on top form ... [her] powerful narrative and her ability to create extraordinary charachers with real emotions make her more than a worthy rival to J K Rowling." Financial Times
"A must for all Wynne Jones fans, past, present and future." Limited Edition
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 9 years
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
284 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-719087-4 (9780007190874)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011) spent her childhood in Essex and began writing fantasy novels for children in the 1970s. With her unique combination of magic, humour and imagination, she enthralled generations of children and adults with her work. She won the Guardian Award in 1977 with Charmed Life, was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981 and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal.