Yes, that is a truly massive shark. The cover of the version that I read had something to do with a whale, but I like this one better. I thought I’d already reviewed this book, and it was only as I was sitting down to write my review of the next one in the series that I checked back through my previous posts and found that I was wrong. So before I tell you my thoughts on High Wizardry, let me tell you how I felt about Deep Wizardry.
The quick and dirty version is as follows: Diane Duane is good at her job, and she knows how to write books about young children taking on incredible responsibilities and facing overwhelming decisions… Which is a decent description of growing up, when I think about it. Of course, most of us aren’t given access to powerful magical forces except in a metaphorical sense. Deep Wizardry, like So You Want To Be A Wizard, is quality children’s literature; I’ll even go further and say that it’s good enough to merit your attention and reflection too, child or not.
With the exception of the “I think I read most of this before” section, my review of Deep Wizardry really is very similar to my review of So You Want To Be A Wizard. I’m still more than a little bit in awe of Duane, she still writes excellent YA adventure with exceptionally mature themes, and she still does an incredibly good job of not talking down to her audience. What I hadn’t really appreciated before is just how well her chosen storyline and protagonists map onto the experience of going through puberty and becoming an adult. Call me stupid, call me slow, but though I noticed it in the first book I took another book or two to finally decide that it was more than just a fortuitous construction of the moment. This, of course, has simply left me more appreciative of Duane’s writing chops, and her choice of subject material.
As per usual, there’s more after the break.
Fistful of Wits 