Diana Wynne Jones knew her way around every nook and cranny of fantasy, and nowhere is this more evident than in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland,  originally released by DAW in 1996 but completely revised and updated in 2006 by Firebird (which, by the way, does expressly label it as being from “Firebird Travel”). The Firebird revision feels even more like a guide with the different size page layout, allowing more room for the icons – along with a detailed list explaining what each one means, which the prior version did not contain.  Also added were easy-to-spot letter indexes along the side of the book improving ease of use since the pages are not intended to be read in order. There’s also several fun additions, such as calling out a specific entry for “Armageddon” but even more enjoyable are sidebars on “”What to Pack for Your Tour” and “How to Compose a Ballad”.

In order to have produced such a high quality book calling out all the fantasy tropes so skillfully, Diana Wynne Jones showed a complete understanding of the genre while being able to have fun with it. Also, possessing that knowledge and figuring out how to do the unexpected, gave her a skill to create meaningful and memorable works. As a writer as well as a reader, having this book be my initial exposure to her writing allowed me to fully appreciate her overall contributions to the field of fantasy.

 

More recently, I’ve gotten the incredible opportunity (with a great thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy) to experience the writing of Diana Wynne Jones again fresh years later, getting to read Dogsbody in its Firebird reissue form with an introduction by Neil Gaiman. Though the main character spends the book in the form of the dog, it is the human aspects of the dog that shone through so strongly it is often easy to forget he is a dog. Even though rebirth into a human form is a fantastical fantasy element, the book draws it strength in well developed characters and an interesting mystery.

 

— Shannon Muir, Writer/Reviewer, AmoXcalli

 

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Longtime AmoXcalli Fred Patten also did some reviews of Diana Wynne Jones material over the years. Check out his takes on these books —

 

Fred Patten Reviews The Game

 

Fred Patten Reviews The Pinhoe Egg

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I first fell in love with books by falling in love with Alan Lang’s Color Fairytale books.  They led me to Fantasy and eventually Crestomanci and Diana Wynne Jones.  Just say that word, “Crestomanci.”  Doesn’t it just BREATHE magic?  I fell in love with the name first, then the book and then DWJ as I gobbled up everything I could get my hands on.  When I read HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, I was floored, completely floored but it.  Years later, I was just as gobsmacked by Hayao Miyazaki’s lushly beautiful animation of it.  Every time I think of Diana Wynne Jones, I think of magic, color, animation and dreams.  Howl’s has captured the imagination of so many people, that there is even a Second Life rendition of it and perhaps several sims.  DWJ influenced, captured, inspired so many with her magical words that she, and her books will live forever.

– Gina Ruiz, AmoXcalli

AmoXcalli thanks Sharyn November and the Penguin Group for allowing us to be a part of the  Diana Wynne Jones Blog Tour.  Stay tuned this month for more reviews and DWJ talk as we review more titles from the Firebird re-issue.