Jones, Diana Wynne. Conrad's fate.JONES, Diana Wynne. Conrad's fate. (A Chrestomanci Book.) HarperCollins. 375p. c2005. 0-06074745-5. $6.99. JS To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2005: Stallery Mansion looms high in the English Alps above the town of Stallchester, where a 12-year-old boy named Conrad lives with his mother and his uncle. He wants to go to Upper School, but instead his uncle sends him off to Stallery to become a page boy, insisting that he must work off his bad karma by putting an end to some bad person in power up at the mansion--who, exactly, the uncle doesn't know, but it's Conrad's job to find out. On the way to Stallery, Conrad meets mysterious, cocky cock·y adj. cock·i·er, cock·i·est Overly self-assertive or self-confident. cock  i·ly adv. Christopher, who also becomes a page boy. Christopher, who discloses that he is a nine-lived enchanter from another universe, is really there in search of a runaway enchantress. The two boys discover that Stallery Mansion is built on a probability fault, where a lot of possible universes come together, and unnerving un·nerve tr.v. un·nerved, un·nerv·ing, un·nerves 1. To deprive of fortitude, strength, or firmness of purpose. 2. To make nervous or upset. small changes take place constantly; their uniforms change color unexpectedly, for example. Even more ominously om·i·nous adj. 1. Menacing; threatening: ominous black clouds; ominous rumblings of discontent. 2. Of or being an omen, especially an evil one. , some nasty people are trying to seize power, and it's up to Conrad and Christopher to try to stop them. This "Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs, Downstairs was a BAFTA and Emmy award-winning British drama set in a large townhouse in Edwardian London that depicted the lives of the servants "downstairs" and their masters "upstairs". It ran on ITV for five series from 1971 to 1975. " tale features Jones' trademark humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was and inventiveness; it continues the much-loved Chrestomanci series that began with Charmed Life charmed life n. A life that seems to have been protected by a charm or spell. . Fans will be delighted to see Christopher again, though this amusing fantasy novel can stand alone for those new to his universe(s). Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. |
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