Conrad's Fate

Diana Wynne Jones (author)

HarperCollins Children's Books, UK: 2005; 392pp

ISBN: 0007190867

Genres: adventure, fantasy

Issues: corruption, power

Conrad is a good-hearted, well-meaning boy who lives in Stallchester with his mother, who is a feminist writer, and his uncle, who is a magician. His older sister, Anthea, is more of a mother to him than their own mother, whose feminist principles mean that she declines to do any housework or cooking.

When Anthea leaves for university, Conrad finds that he is expected to take her place. His manipulative uncle convinces him that it is his Fate. Until Conrad finds what he did in a previous life, or didn't do, and alters his circumstances, then he is doomed and will probably die within a year. Uncle Alfred sends him to Stallery Mansion where Conrad is supposed to who it is in that magical fortress that is exerting so much power over Stallchester and who is affecting his Fate so badly.

At the Mansion he meets a strangely confident and charismatic boy called Christopher who also seems to be searching for something. Joining forces, they find that something very strange indeed is happening at the castle. Things keep changing - and not just little things, like the colour of the curtains. There is one section of the house where the building itself seems to change and it is possible to become trapped between one shift and the next.

For those who are fans of Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series, this novel is set after The Lives of Christopher Chant, before Christopher becomes the Chrestomanci and about fifteen. The Chrestomanci series is a great deal of fun and this novel fits well into the series. Full of magic, mischief, strange characters, unexplained events, and sudden changes, Conrard's Fate is an entertaining adventure, although without the depth of character and narrative found in Diana Wynne Jones' work outside this series.

Good fun, and recommended for readers who enjoy J.K. Rowling's work.

Same Series: Charmed Life; The Lives of Christopher Chant; Witch Week; The Magicians of Caprona; Mixed Magics; The Pinhoe Egg

Same Author: Black Maria; Eight Days of Luke; The Ogre Downstairs; A Tale of Time City; The Homeward Bounders; Power of Three; The Game