The Pinhoe Egg

This is Diana Wynne Jones’ latest Chrestomanci book. They’re sort of a series, in that they’re all set in the same set of worlds and feature some of the same characters, although every book is complete in itself. This one has her trademark mix of magic and common sense, and it’s set in her kind of England, one which missed most of the industrial revolution. Magic is getting out of control in the villages surrounding Chrestomanci castle; it’s a mess which only Chrestomanci, the nine-lifed magician, can resolve.

Wynne Jones does a good job of writing children, which is why she’s so successful. They’re not all-knowing and brilliant either; she strongly believes (read her autobiography and you’ll see why) that children should be allowed to be children, irresponsible, and directed by a wise(r) adult. While they might have magic powers, they’re like any other talented kid in our world, and need to be trained up and nurtured by people who care. What she hates most of all is apathy and neglect. The end of her stories – in this series – are often the same; the neglected child is taken off to be trained up at Chrestomanci castle.

She introduces a new magic in this book called “dwimmer”, which is kind of the magic of the land, and she introduces the old English folk-tale creatures related to that, such as unicorns and hobgoblins. At the same time she’s got a kind of technology magic going on, with Roger inventing a flying-machine, and her usual painstaking mathematical kind of magic as well. She’s added a few new characters and a few really surprising situations and twists, and resolved a couple of things from previous books. It’s not sharply new or brilliant, but it’s very readable and solid and interesting, and that’s still pretty rare.