In this second installment in the Deptford Mice Trilogy, Audrey makes a deal with the mysterious Starwife that she will journey to the countryside, taking the mad rat Madam Akkikuyu with her, in exchange for the Starwife saving her friend Oswald’s life. The two of them set off with her brother Arthur and friend Twit to visit Twit’s family and stay with the fieldmice of Fennywolde. Once there, however, the countryside proves to be far less idyllic than Audrey had anticipated. Many of the country mice do not take kindly to the newcomers, and soon their peaceful lives are threatened by an even greater evil which has come with the mice from Deptford.Having read all of the Deptford Mice books now, I think that this one is my favourite. Robin Jarvis does a wonderful job of creating the society of the fieldmice and of making it different from that of the town mice in Deptford that we saw in the first book. The pace of life is slower but there are also far more dangers to be thought of: the fieldmice post guards constantly around there homes, whereas danger for the city mice is an external thing which thus far has remained outside their domain and is only encountered by those who go looking for it. I particularly liked the traditions and folk ways which played such an important role in the fieldmouse culture and in the plot of this novel, including the much greater emphasis on the Green Mouse and the mouse religion. This managed to be both charming and rustic as well as having a latent threatening quality, and I enjoyed watching Jarvis show how this tension slowly and believably built up as the fieldmice transformed from welcoming but wary characters into a raging mob.Madam Akkikuyu is a wonderful character. She has a distinct way of speaking that is instantly recognisable, and I’m pleased that this book spends more time with her than the first installment, The Dark Portal, did. The Crystal Prison also sees the other characters develop well: Audrey becomes more sensible as she is forced to make difficult decisions; Arthur plays a much bigger role, allowing the reader to get to know him a bit better; and Twit shows that he is not as empty-headed as all the mice suspect (although I’m sure the reader won’t have been lured into the same trap) simply because he is cheerful and has a rural accent. In this, and in its cliffhanger ending, it paves the way well for book three.
I liked this trilogy in middle school, and this book is still really engrossing years later. I liked:-everything about the relationship between the Starwife and her squirrelly minions-that Jarvis lets his characters get themselves deeper into trouble through their own actions-the general storylineI did not like:-some of the characterization just doesn't quite work for me. Alison Sedge, in particular, seems like someone that Jarvis just wants us to hate, and who is never really given room to be a full person-while the characters were allowed to get themselves INTO trouble, Audrey, who is supposed to be the main character, never really fixed her own problems. She was saved by Twit, Madame Akikkuyu and others, but even at the climax, she didn't really save herself so much as all the people who caused her problems ceased to be an issue. I would have liked to have seen Audrey save herself once or twice.Overall enjoyable, fairly creepy, glad I went back to it.
What do You think about The Crystal Prison (2002)?
The second book in the Deptford Mice trilogy is darker and even more exciting than the first. A wonderful tale of the power of evil and redemption. Audrey, Arthur, and Twit are commanded by the Starwife to take Madame Akkikuyu to Twit's home of Fennywolde. But evil comes with them and affects everyone in the field. Mice are murdered, evil magic abounds, and the mice struggle to find the source of all their troubles. But have they found the real culprit? A great sequel, can't wait to read the third and final book.
—Dayna Smith
