Mixed magics

Review by Booklist Review

Gr. 4^-7. Jones offers four short stories for readers longing to revisit Chrestomanci, an enchanter with nine lives who oversees the magic in a parallel world "next door to us." Three of the stories have already appeared in U.S. editions: the witty "Warlock at the Wheel" and "The Sage of Theare" in Warlock at the Wheel and Other Stories (1984); "The Sage of Theare" again in Believing Is Seeing (1999); and "Carol Oneir's Hundredth Dream" in the anthology Dragons and Dreams (1986). "Stealer of Souls" is a good, strong story, notable for its creepiness as well as a bit of humor, but libraries where the other volumes are accessible will have to gauge whether one new good story is reason enough for purchase. --Carolyn Phelan

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

" `Stealer of Souls,' the only story original to the collection, is also its most ambitious and successful, offering Jones aficionados the pleasure of watching characters from different books (Charmed Life's Cat Chant and The Magicians of Caprona's Tonino Montana) meet for the first time," wrote PW. Ages 10-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8-Four previously published stories of varying length. The first and shortest is about a magicless warlock who suddenly finds himself in a new world, with his magic restored. He lands in the hands of a spoiled little girl and her dog. Given the choice of jail or caring for the youngster, he chooses the former. The longest of the stories involves Cat Chant and new boy Tonino Montana. They are sent on a disastrous visit that ends with them releasing the souls of eight enchanters from the power of an evil enchanter. Story three, which is perhaps the most fun, is about Carol Oneir, "the world's youngest best-selling dreamer." Her hovering mother and her own desires for the trappings of fame are too much pressure for her though, and her dreams dry up. With the direct help of Chrestomanci, Carol discovers that her main characters are unhappy; as they escape from her dreams, she is released to live a relatively normal life as well. The last story features Thasper, son of a god, who is destined to bring down the order of Heaven. His father's attempts to avert the disaster will leave readers scratching their heads and pondering the effects of even the simplest act on everything else in space and time. The plots are fully realized and engaging, but characterizations are uneven-Thasper and the Willing Warlock are rather flat, while Carol and her dream folk leap right off the page. "Chrestomanci" fans will best appreciate this book. For a truly delightful short-story collection, try Michael Stearns's A Wizard's Dozen (Harcourt, 1993).-Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

(Intermediate) Along with the re-release of Diana Wynne Jones's incomparable Chrestomanci novels comes this collection of four short stories featuring the powerful, nine-lived enchanter responsible for enforcing the proper use of magic. (Chrestomanci, by the way, was called ""You Know Who"" long before, well, You-Know-Who.) Though three of the stories-""Warlock at the Wheel,"" ""Carol Oneir's Hundredth Dream,"" and ""The Sage of Theare""-have been published previously, one is new; and a new addition to the Chrestomanci canon is cause for celebration. ""Stealer of Souls"" takes up where Jones's novel The Magicians of Caprona leaves off, with the young enchanter Tonino visiting Chrestomanci Castle from Italy. Cat Chant, from Charmed Life, is unhappy at all the attention Tonino is receiving, and unhappy at himself for resenting the homesick boy when he is supposed to be looking after him. Then both boys are kidnapped by an evil enchanter (the kind Cat is afraid he's turning into), and their memories are all but erased. The only thing Cat's sure of is that he has to look after Tonino, and his bold protection eventually disrupts Master Spiderman's spell for ""a ten-lifed enchanter, who is to be more powerful than any of your Chrestomancis!"" It's a terrific story, especially when read as a companion to Charmed Life: tense, fast-paced, and-not surprisingly-inventive. Jones's conception of the dead enchanters' newly-sprouted souls as animate, sentient leaf shapes-variously streaming after one another in a ""luminous line"" or huddling in nervous clumps as they attempt to escape Master Spiderman-is just plain brilliant. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Mixed Magics Chapter One The Willing Warlock was a born loser. He lost his magic when Chrestomanci took it away, and that meant he lost his usual way of making a living. So he decided to take up a life of crime instead by stealing a motorcar, because he loved motorcars, and selling it. He found a beautiful car in Wolvercote High Street, but he lost his head when a policeman saw him trying to pick the lock and cycled up to know what he was doing. He ran. The policeman pedaled after him, blowing his whistle, and the Willing Warlock climbed over the nearest wall and ran again, with the whistle still sounding, until he arrived in the backyard of a onetime Accredited Witch who was a friend of his. "What shall I do'?" he panted. "How should I know?" said the Accredited Witch. "I'm not used to doing without magic any more than you are. The only soul I know who's still in business is a French wizard in Shepherd's Bush." "Tell me his address," said the Willing Warlock. The Accredited Witch told him. "But it won't do you a scrap of good," she said unhelpfully. "Jean-Pierre always charges the earth. Now I'll thank you to get out of here before you bring the police down on me, too." The Willing Warlock went out of the witch's front door into Coven Street and blenched at the sound of police whistles still shrilling in the distance. Since it seemed to him that he had no time to waste, he hurried to the nearest toyshop and parted with his last half crown for a toy pistol. Armed with this, he walked into the first post office he came to. "Your money or your life," he said to the postmistress. The Willing Warlock was a bulky young man who always looked as if he needed to shave, and the Postmistress was sure he was a desperate character. She let him clear out her safe. The Willing Warlock put the money and the pistol in his pocket and hailed a taxi in which he drove all the way to Shepherd's Bush, feeling this was the next best thing to having a car of his own. It cost a lot, but he arrived at the French wizard's office still with £273 6s 4d in his pocket. The French wizard shrugged in a very French way. "What is it you expect me to do for you, my friend? Me, I try not to offend the police. If you wish me to help, it will cost you." "A hundred pounds," said the Willing Warlock. "Hide me somehow." Jean-Pierre did another shrug. "For that money," he said, "I could hide you two ways. I could turn you into a small round stone -- " "No, thanks' " said the Willing Warlock. " -- and keep you in a drawer," said Jean-Pierre. "Or I could send you to another world entirely. I could even send you to a world where you would have your magic again -- " "Have my magic?" exclaimed the Willing Warlock. " -- but that would cost you twice as much," said Jean-Pierre. "Yes, naturally you could have your magic again, if you went some-where where Chrestomanci has no power. The man is not all-powerful." "Then I'll go to one of those places," said the Willing Warlock. "Very well." In a bored sort of way, Jean-Pierre picked up a pack of cards and fanned them out. "Choose a card. This decides which world you will grace with your blue chin." As the Willing Warlock stretched out his hand to take a card, Jean-Pierre moved them out of reach. "Whatever world it is," he said, "the money there will be quite different from your pounds, shillings, and pence. You might as well give me all you have." So the Willing Warlock handed over all his £273 6s 4d. Then he was allowed to pick a card. It was the ten of clubs. Not a bad card, the Willing Warlock thought. He was no fortune teller, of course, but he knew the ten of clubs meant that someone would bully somebody. He decided that he would be the one doing the bullying, and handed back the card. Jean-Pierre tossed all the cards carelessly down on a table. The Willing Warlock just had time to see that every single one was the ten of clubs, before he found himself still in Shepherd's Bush but in another world entirely. He was standing in what seemed to be a car park beside a big road. On that road, more cars than he had ever seen in his life were rushing past, together with lorries and the occasional big red bus. There were cars standing all around him. This was a good world indeed! The Willing Warlock sniffed the delicious smell of petrol and turned to the nearest parked car to see how it worked. It looked rather different from the one he had tried to steal in Wolvercote. Experimentally he made a magic pass over its bonnet. To his delight, the bonnet promptly sprang open an inch or so. The French wizard had not lied. He had his magic back. The Willing Warlock was just about to heave up the bonnet and plunge into the mysteries beneath when he saw a large lady in uniform, with a yellow band around her cap, tramping meaningfully toward him. She must be a policewoman. Now he had his magic back, the Willing Warlock did not panic. He simply let go of the bonnet and sauntered casually away. Rather to his surprise, the policewoman did not follow him. She just gave him a look of deep contempt and tucked a message of some kind behind the wiper of the car. All the same, the Willing Warlock felt it prudent to go on walking. He walked to another street, looking at cars all the time, until something made him look up... Mixed Magics . Copyright © by Diana Jones. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Mixed Magics: Four Tales of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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