4.5 starsOriginally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.I'm still making my way through the full backlist of Diana Wynne Jones. Since I was participating in the 48 Hour Book Challenge last weekend, I decided it was a good time to tackle Deep Secret. I've owned this book for a while but hadn't gotten to it yet. It was an excellent book. Not surprising.Rupert Venables is a young Magid. As a young Magid, it is his job to look after the Empire of Koryfos. It always goes to the youngest Magid because no one else wants it. Upon returning from a trip there that fills him with as much disgust as possible, Rupert is faed with the death of his mentor. Since Magids must be replaced as quickly as possible, Rupert (who is again the default Magid responsible for this) begins his search with names Stan left him. After meeting the person he thought was his most likely candidate, Maree Mallory, and immediately taking a dislike to her, he begins a working to draw all his final candidates to one place and time so he can evaluate them all at once. The place is the Hotel Babylon and the time is a sci-fi fantasy convention taking place there over a weekend. Much to Rupert's exasperation none of the other candidates are up to snuff. Maree turns up at the convention as well and turns out to be not as bad as Rupert feared. And because everything has to happen at once, the Empire of Koryfos is falling apart after a mass assassination. No one knows who the next ruler is supposed to be, and they need Rupert's help. Now Rupert has more than one magical working in the process and may have be in way over his head.Diana Wynne Jones excelled at writing a certain type of hero. That type of hero happens to be the type I love to read about which always makes her books fun for me. Rupert fits nicely with the others I love but he also has his own individual personality. He is arrogant and a little to sure of himself. He spirals into panic so fast when everything starts coming down around him, and it's quite delightful. I did like that he knew when he needed to get help, and that he had a supportive community willing to help him when he needed it. The narrative switches between Rupert and Maree. Maree is an excellent foil for Rupert, and her naive and innocent, yet equally annoyed perspective on everything that is happening is a great counter-point to his frustrated, overwhelmed, harried, pessimistic one. Maree's younger cousin, Nick, is also a pivotal character and is a DWJ hero in training. He is basically a younger version of Rupert, a fact Rupert is hilariously unaware of for a good deal of the story and has to have pointed out to him by more than one person. I loved all three of them and all the supporting characters.One thing I love about Diana Wynne Jones is that her novels defy age categorization. We need more novels that do this. Does this book work as YA? Yes. Does it work as adult? Yes. Could even work as a MG? Yes. It is good fantasy for any age reader who loves stories with magic, centaurs, zany capers, and humor. What I really like about Deep Secret is how it celebrates but also pokes fun at the industry that has built up around speculative fiction. There are some problematic aspects in this (fat jokes that are unnecessary), but for the most part it is done well and balances on a fine line. Basically in the end I loved this because it was fun and complex at the same time. It has serious moments, but it never takes itself seriously overall. I'm looking forward to reading the companion novel, The Merlin Conspiracy.
Fantasy. Wikipedia is quick to point out that this book was "marketed to adults." I expected a little bit of romance, or maybe some salty language. What I got was the gruesome death of several characters, including three children, a passing reference to an orgy in a stairwell, and a plot that's more tangled than usual. From the very first page this was a struggle to read. Not only is it missing Jones' normally transparent prose, I didn't care about any of the characters, could not keep straight what was going on with Iforion due to the jerky pacing, and felt uncomfortable with the way fans and fannish behavior were viewed by outsiders. I did like how Jones folded actual fantasy elements into the convention, and I loved the imagery surrounding thornlady, the disagreeable bush-goddess, simple, yet menacing, the way the best enemies are.This has some nice moments in it, but the fantasy elements are of the type that use Capital Letters in place of actual explanations, and it just didn't feel real. Also there was something REALLY WEIRD going on with the eroticisation of the teenaged centaur. ALSO, when the main character picks up the almost lifeless body of his female companion, he describes it as "one of the most sexual experiences [he has] ever had." Seriously. Yuck.Two stars. I'm calling this one a dud.
What do You think about Deep Secret (2002)?
I'd heard of Diana Wynne Jones thanks to Howl's Moving Castle, though I didn't realize it was a book until I found it at the library sometime after I saw the movie. Regardless, I enjoyed the book every bit as much as the film and read the other two books in the series before promptly forgetting about her.So when I was browsing a used book store and saw something by her that I'd never heard of, I figured I'd buy it on the basis of her name. I scanned the back quickly and saw a bit about magic and other worlds, and that was good enough for me. I also found a photo of a Chihuly sculpture in it, which also seemed to be meant for me. It wasn't until much later, when I was actually over a hundred pages into the book, that I realized where most of the action took place.A science-fiction convention. I've only been going to these for about four years at this point, but it's a wonderful community that has made me feel right at home. It's not a setting I find in a lot of books, but it makes me giggle and glee that I actually know what's going on in what I'm reading.Aside from all of that, Jones writes interesting and compelling characters, who carry the book even when the settings and history get fuzzy. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and my only regret is that I couldn't read it all in a single day. Some plot points became fairly obvious halfway through, but others were genuine surprises and twists for me. All in all, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction, fantasy, and conventions, and I know I'll be reading again soon.
—Mouselet
This was an awesome, fun, magical, interesting, creative, like-no-other, trope-inverting book. My gosh, some of it took place at a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Convention, for goodness sake! WHAT A GREAT TIME! Fantastic character development, as well- went from hating the primary main character to adoring him by the end of the book. :) And here's a thing that is weird- I still don't understand some of what the magic of this book was- it was baffling- but it was so good that this lack of understanding doesn't cost me any enjoyment. This book was still so fabulous that it's 5 stars ANYWAY.Looking forward to eventually reading more of Jones' work, for sure.
—Rachel
This was the second book by Wynne Jones that I've read. The previous one, Howl's Moving Castle, was fantastic. My daughter and I just loved it and I was looking forward to this one. I was disappointed. It is supposedly pitched to a more "adult" audience, but the author seems to think that means throw in a little sex, esp. references to the male narrator's tastes and observations, rather than exploring deeper or more complex philosophical ideas. Also, the plot just didn't seem well put together. One big chunk was totally out of sequence for no apparent reason. I've heard the excuse "it didn't fit the narrative flow earlier" but I've seen other authors deal with this problem beautifully. The characters seemed shallow and not very likable. I got tired of the fat references. I mean, really, it needed to be said that the fatter characters got up earlier to eat breakfast? Really? Sadly disappointed and will not continue with this series.
—Andrea
