Reviews (56)

Wolves
My dad read this to me when I was about 9, and I thought it was just the most fascinating story ever.I read it to my 9-year old sister a while ago, and she loved it just as much as I did.
A Great Book, A Great Film, and...Dido Twite?
I was first introduced to The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase through the 1989 British-made film of the same name starring Stephanie Beacham (Miss Slighcarp), Mel Smith (Mr. Grimshaw), Emily Hudson (Bonnie), and Aleks Darowska (Sylvia).The film is superb and it is a shame that it is currently out of print almost everywhere (I had to order a poorly recorded VHS version from Canada in order to get a copy of it).I had never heard of the book or its author, Joan Aiken, before I saw the film.The book is even better than the film and should delight anyone who finds stories involving children, wolves, mansions, and evil governesses entertaining.Both the book and the film were childhood favorites of mine and I love them as much today as I did then.Upon purchasing the other five books in Joan Aiken's Wolves Chronicles (Blackhearts in Battersea, Nightbirds on Nantucket, The Cuckoo Tree, The Stolen Lake, and Dido and Pa), I was disappointed to learn that the other five books focus on the increasingly unwieldy adventures of Dido Twite, a character introduced in the second book.Bonnie and Sylvia Greene are never mentioned again.It is as if the last five books are a series and the first book stands alone as a separate story (the only element that links TWOWC to the other books is Simon, a character who appears again in the second book).I found this incongruency rather odd and irritating, but I'm sure that Dido Twite has her fans.Just don't read the other books expecting to hear more about Bonnie, Sylvia, and Willoughby Chase.TWOWC is truly a lone ranger.

Excellentexciting drama
I remember this from when I was a child and recently re-read this book to my 7 year old.The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is the first book in a fairly long series and far surpasses the Unfortunate events series. The Story starts with our Heroes Bonnie, Sylvia and Simon, and some evil shady characters who are really quite shocking, there's a real dickensian feel to the story and the story accelerates to a marvellous conclusion. Which is really quite gratifying. [..] ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Fiction    4. Runaways    5. Fantasy    6. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure   

Reviews (6)

Rediscovering an old friend
My copy was inscribed to me when I was six, in between Dr. Seuss and the Phantom Tollbooth. Looking at it again now, I marvel that it was only eight stories. Bits of them have stuck in my mind ever since: the necklace of raindrops, each with a special power, the girl who had to be washed with her dress on and hung out on the line to dry so it wouldn't shrink past her, the train station in the desert, the cat who ate the yeast, the quilt and the camels and the traffic lights from Beirut. Get a copy and wear it out, then read Joan Aiken's other marvelous books.

Fanciful Stories
I am thrilled to see this book back in print after so many years. I read it when I was a kid and even after 3 decades I still remember the story of the girl who gets a magic necklace of raindrops and the story of the cat and his wishing mat made out of a gray dress. The new illustrations are nice and I like the fact that it is in hardback, because it will last longer.

Eight stories designed for bedtime reading
Eight stories designed for bedtime reading or relaxing newly independent readers will find appeal in a wide age range. From a flying pie to elves on shelves, A Necklace Of Raindrops And Other Stories is packed with whimsical scenarios and fun moments. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 4-6    3. Juvenile Fiction    4. Juvenile Short Story Collections    5. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    6. Short Stories    7. Juvenile Fiction / Short Stories   

Reviews (21)

Jane Fairfax was never so interesting!
I have read Jane Austen's Emma many times since I was a child. I always wondered about Jane Fairfax, a character I always despised. Until now.
The Secret Keepers
As a fan of Jane Austen, I am often curious about authors who use her characters as spin-offs for their writings."Jane Fairfax", by Joan Aiken, is a commendable look into the life of the little-known character from Jane Austen's "Emma".Austen devotes little time to Jane Fairfax, the young woman destined to be a governess who forms a secret engagement to Frank Churchill; but Joan Aiken takes readers into the background of this fictional character, from youth to marriage, with generally pleasant but uneven storytelling.
Wish they'd make this into a movie!
What a wonderful book. No, it is not in the style of Jane Austen, but if that is not important to you then it is a great book for you to read. It takes you back into the beginning when Emma and Jane were little playmates. If you read Emma and wondered what her childhood was like, then you will love this book. You can discover the real reason why Emma dislikes Jane.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Historical    3. General    4. Historical - General    5. Popular English Fiction    6. Fiction / Historical   

Reviews (18)

So cool!
I loved this book. Simon comes up to London and from the start, people are trying to get rid of him for reasons unknown to him. Dido Twite is introduced in this book and she is a lovely hilarious spirited character. The story is light-hearted and fun to read. The characters are portrayed effectively and such a variety of them! A satisfying ending, though I wasn't completely happy until I read Nightbirds on Nantucket to find out what happens to Dido.

Black Hearts in Battersea- a Great Book
Black Hearts in Battersea is a great mystery. Simon, the main character goes to Battersea to study art, but his freind isn't there where he told him he'd be. Instead, there's a strange family that tells him that they never heard of his friend. Soon it turns into a plot against the king....and I can't tell you the rest! Just read this book, and you'll enjoy it.

Plots afoot and foiled in an alernate England
This is a direct sequel to "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase," which took place about a year before.In it, for the first time, we learn that Aiken's world is not our own, but an alternate reality in which the Stuarts kept the British throne; the King is James III, the "Hanoverian Wars" were fought some 15 years earlier to keep him in office, and the "Pretender" is "Bonnie Prince Georgie over the water," who is supported at home by a conspiracy of Hanoverians.Simon, the young orphan hero of "Wolves," is now 15, and comes to London to study painting and lodge with Dr. Gabriel Field, whom he befriended in the previous book.When he finds the doctor's lodgings (not without a good deal of misdirection, which proves to be enemy action), not only is Field not there, but everyone insists he never was.Bewildered, Simon manages to gain entry to the art school in Battersea, where he deeply impresses the master and meets Justin, the thoroughly untalented nephew of the Duke of Battersea, whose castle lies directly across the Thames.He soon makes the acquaintance of the Batterseas themselves, a delightfully foggy middle-aged couple (the Duke is a keen natural scientist and experimenter in gas balloons, and his lady has such a horror of boredom that she carries an arsenal of amusements wherever she goes, including the opera), and discovers to his delight that his dear friend Sophie, whom he knew in the orphanage before running away at the age of eight, is now the Duchess's lady's-maid.His friendship with his landlord's slangy small daughter, the neglected Dido Twite, leads him to the discovery of an arsenal of guns and pikes in the Twites' cellar and the realization that the family is Hanoverian--a persuasion shared, as it proves, by just about every servant in Battersea Castle (though not at the Duke's country house in Chippings).After he, Sophie, and the art students foil two attempts on the Batterseas' lives, he learns of a conspiracy to assassinate King Jamie, but is kidnapped to sea before he can warn anyone.Dido and Justin, stowing away on the ship, contrive to rescue him, there's a fire and wreck in a savage storm, and after a series of revelations that would do credit (once again) to Dickens, the conspirators come to their deserved end (or at least most of them do) and Simon and Sophie learn the secret of their roots.Though the British slang used by many of the characters may be puzzling to American readers, it can be worked out from context, and the plot is fast-paced and builds skilfully toward a climax.Robin Jacques's lovely line illo's add immeasureably to the story."Battersea" defies the maxim that sequels are always inferior to the original.A great read-aloud that all families should own. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Fiction    5. Humorous Stories    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. London (England)    8. Humour & jokes    9. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure    10. Ages 10 & up    11. Grades 5 & up   

Reviews (11)

Inaccurate but Entertaining
This is an amusing book, and it is well written with touches of wry humor, but it is not at all like Austen's narrative. As other reviews have pointed out, Aiken's plots are more Dickensian or sensation-fiction-like than anything else: full of cross-dressing, mistaken identities and secret wills. They are nothing at all like the "novels of manners" Jane Austen wrote.
Disappointing
I woud have given this a 2-1/2, if that had been available, if only out of sentiment. I read quite a few of this author's books when I was younger, but either my standards were much lower then or hers are now. It was readable enough, and she had the premise for an interesting story, but whether she lost interest or just got sloppy, it ended up being wildly improbable. Apart from killing off a couple of my favorite Austen characters, I feel that she did actual violence to the character of Col. Fitzwilliam, who was extremely likeable in Pride and Prejudice but comes off as slightly shady in this book. I agree with other reviewers that some of the plot details are extremely unlikely and conflict with the original, such as the idea that the estate was from Lady Catherine's family (she specifically mentions in P&P that Sir Lewis de Bourgh's family did not find it necessary to entail it in the male line so Anne can inherit), and the suggestion that Sir Lewis was a nouveau riche is even more laughable. I've often thought that an interesting novel could be written telilng Anne's story, but this is NOT it.

Aiken really ought to stop attempting Austen sequels
The first third of this book is very promising but then it fragments into a mishmash of inconsistent or undeveloped characters, improbable and unresolved plotlines, motiveless behavior and gross historical errors to become one of the worst novels that I have ever read.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Administration of estates    2. English Historical Fiction    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Historical - General    6. Kidnapping    7. Mothers and daughters    8. Nobility   

Subjects:  1. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    2. Mystery & Detective - General    3. Mystery/Suspense    4. Popular English Fiction    5. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (7)

Part of the great series about Dido Twite
My daughter and I read this book together.I had read other books in this series as a child and loved them.Nightbirds on Nantucket is very well written.Dido's is a very engaging heroine and we have read most of the books by Joan Aiken that involve Dido.I recommend all of them, but this is one of my favorites.

Dido Twite, Meet Melville & Verne!
There's a more fantastical than Dickensian feel to this third in the Wolves Chronicles.As the story opens, we find Dido Twite (thought drowned in the climactic storm in "Black Hearts in Battersea") aboard the Nantucket whaler that has picked her up, just waking from a "long winter's nap" indeed--ten full months.The ship's Captain, Jabez Casket, is, like Captain Ahab, in quest of a whale--but his is as pink as a strawberry ice.Since the ship is currently in Arctic waters, he can hardly return Dido to her beloved London, but he does have a task for her: lure his young daughter, Dutiful Penitence, out of the stores closet in which she has locked herself ever since her mother's tragic death at sea early in the voyage.This the resourceful little Cockney succeeds in doing, but as she explores the ship and gets to know the crew, she discovers that there are mysteries aboard.Who is the stowaway hidden in the hold?What was the paper Second Officer Slighcarp tore into bits and flung overboard soon after the "Sarah Casket" had bespoken another whaler?
A Rich and Exciting Read
When we last saw Dido Twite at the end of "Black Hearts in Battersea" she was going down with the Dark Dew ship, swept away from her friends Simon and Justin in the middle of the ocean. Whilst the two boys were forced to go on without her (eventually preventing an assasination attempt on the Duke of Battersea), Dido's fate remained a mystery, that Joan Aiken now resolves for expectant readers in the third book in her "Wolves Saga".

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Fantasy    5. Fiction    6. Humorous Stories    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Whaling    9. Humour & jokes    10. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure    11. Ages 10 & up    12. Grades 5 & up   

Subjects:  1. Detective and mystery stories    2. Mystery/Suspense    3. Popular English Fiction   

Reviews (4)

A conspiracy of ravens
When you are feeling bored with life and cannot think of anything else to do, ask your nearest and dearest friends and relations to recommend their favorite books from when they were young.You're bound to be amazed by the insight you receive when you find out that your dreamy peculiar friend loved "The Giving Tree" while your uptight straight-as-a-rod neighbor was a fan of "Mertle the Turtle".I was once asking a friend of mine what book he best preferred when he mentioned "Arabel's Raven" by Joan Aiken.I'd heard of Ms. Aiken before, of course.The author of that magnificent "Wolves of Willoughby Chase", Aiken was the gothic queen of her day.But a quick glance at the cover of "Arabel's Raven" shows she had a lighter sillier side as well.Illustrated by an illustrator best known, perhaps, for his Roald Dahl books, Quentin Blake adds his distinctive style to this book about a girl and her perpetually voracious and curious raven.
Still available in the UK
I have loved this book since I was a kid. I suppose it was strange for a second-grader to go about saying 'nevermore', but this book started a fascination with ravens for me. I still want my own Mortimer! I was in London recently and the book is available (the paperback doesn't have the Arabel & Mortimer in a red wagon cover) or alternatively it's available from amazon.co.uk

Great for all ages!
When I was in fourth grade, my teacher gave me a copy of this book for Christmas.I read it over and over, and my copy is well-worn and loved.No matter what your age (and I'm now 27) it is a funny and witty book. When I was 10, I didn't get the whole Raven "Nevermore" thing,but that makes it all the funnier! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Birds    2. Children: Babies & Toddlers    3. Fiction    4. Humorous stories   

Reviews (8)

A Fantastic Book for Potter and Baudlaire Fans
This book is great! It has mystery and makes you want to read more. And I can garentee guarantee something will change your favorite character. You may want to dose in some points, but most of it is pure enjoyment! Dido Twite has some problems, to get a lake! Findmystery and adventure The Stolen Lake!

Possibly the best of the Dido Twite Series
Of the many reasons to read the works of Joan Aiken, two stand out: the irresistable pluckiness of the heroines (especially Dido Twite), and Joan's marvellously detailed alternate history of the planet Earth. This should be compulsory reading for ALL
Out of all the books in Joan Aiken's Wolves of Willoughby Chase series, this is hands down the best. (OK, I haven't read Dido and Pa, but of the others.) It really has no connection to the other books in the series, and I don't think that it's the greatest read for very young children, however it is the most thrilling, the least predictable, DEFINITELY the most imaginative, and the most mature.It's not as humourous as the others, but it has its moments, and I personally feel that this is the climax of all Dido's adventures before she gets home to meet Simon again. As always, unforgettable characters (Cap'n Hughes, Mr. Holystone, Elen, Bran...) that are always believable, no matter how fantastical the plot is, and well, an all round fascinating, entertaining, frightening, happy-ending, beautiful book.MUCH more adventurous than the previous books in the series.Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Action & Adventure - General    3. Adventure and adventurers    4. Adventure fiction    5. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    6. Children: Grades 4-6    7. Fiction    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure    10. Ages 9-12   

Reviews (6)

Falls apart halfway through - Try John Coates
I don't expect Aiken to fool me into thinking that this is Austen's work, but I do expect a competent novel. This was initially promising, but it begins to descend into melodrama. The ending is very perfunctory; the heroine finds her "true love" with almost magically with little development of their relationship. What is there is quite good, it is just not substantial enough for me to believe that the moment Emma catches sight of him, she knows that they are going to be married.
DISAPOINTING ENDING!!!!!!!
This book is a sad completion to one of Jane Austens books. Joan Aiken mixed Autens material with most of her own, and did not do it in the most pleasing manner. While this book was nothing like Jane Austens book or writing, I still read on (which proved to be a big mastake) Unappealing
Joan Aiken's attempt to re-write Jane Austen's unfinished early piece, "The Watsons", is far inferior to her take on "Emma" from Jane Fairfax's point of view (in a novel named after its heroine, "Jane Faifax"), and it does not have the saving grace of "Jane Fairfax" by a semi-entertaining story with fairly believable characters.Read more

Subjects:  1. Domestic fiction    2. England    3. Fiction    4. Popular English Fiction   

Reviews (4)

Good
This was a good quick read. I enjoyed the Dido Twite books a lot more, but Is Underground and Cold Shoulder Road are entertaining though darker than Joan Aiken's other Wolves' books.

Grim Cliffhanger sequel to 'Is Underground'
'Cold Shoulder Road' is the latest installment in Aiken's juvenile series set in an alternative Victorian England.Beginning (more or less) with 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase', continuing through 'Black Hearts inBattersea', 'Nightbirds on Nantucket', 'The Stolen Lake', 'The CuckooTree', 'Dido and Pa', and 'Is Underground' the stories present theadventures of the Twite family as they frustrate attempts by 'Hanoverians'to unseat the Stuart dynasty, who in Aiken's fictional universe still ruleBritain. A thrilling adventure mystery!
If you are a Joan Aiken fan, you will love her latest book about the Twite family.This exciting sequel to Is Underground continues the story of Is and Arun.They have yet another rollicking adventure filled with telepathy, deceit, and shadycharacters.The Merry Gentry make a repeat appearance, and Penny is rounded out as a person.Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Adventure and adventurers    3. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Extrasensory perception    6. Fiction    7. Sects    8. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure   

Reviews (7)

Alternative history and adventure
I loved it - plenty of action and an interesting twist on history with a strong female lead. Great reading for all

Dido in her element
At long last Dido Twite is back in London, though perhaps not as she anticipated she'd be.Unexpectedly reunited (much to her delight) with her old friend Simon, now the Sixth Duke of Battersea, she has been spirited away from him by her rascally father Abednego, who with most of his family killed in the destruction of Battersea Castle has become Music Master to the Hanoverian Ambassador.The position is not unearned--for all his bad qualities, Mr. Twite is a brilliant composer and a performer of note on the hoboy, whose music often brightened Dido's younger days even though he always favored her much older sister Penny.But, quite naturally, the Ambassador is also a pivotal player in the ongoing Hanoverian plots against the Stuart throne, so Mr. Twite's politics mesh nicely with his employer's.Unfortunately for them both, "Bonnie Prince Georgie" (the King George IV of our universe) has recently died without issue, so what's a Hanoverian plotter to do?The answer's plain: find a way to become the power behind the throne.And this the Ambassador has done, with a Dutch double for King Richard IV.With the help of a network of street urchins and a young artist who is in love with Simon's sister Sophie, Dido contrives once again to foil the plot, though not without a few near escapes, and in the process is reunited with Penny and with what seems to be a younger half-sister, the oddly-named Is.She is also overlooked by a blind apple seller who has a gift of foreseeing and declares that he "can see crossed sparkling lines over her head, and a whole shower of lucky stars...a gold crown in her hand...and a velvet carpet under her foot."Take good care of her, he warns Mr. Twite, or the luck will turn for you...
Dido Twite:Role model
I read these books when I was much younger, and re-read them every time I come back to my parents' house.They are incredibly well written; characters, plot, and dialogue are all wonderfully done.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Action & Adventure - General    3. Adventure and adventurers    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. Fathers and daughters    7. Fiction    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure   

Reviews (2)

On the better side
I'm not much of a book reader. I usually stick to magizines and news paper articals;But I must say I consider this book to be one of the better Books I have read. Some parts seemed to drag on forever, but then again Their were so many suprises and secrets that it all evened out. If I do ever decide to read a book or novel I like to read Gothic Mysteries. This book struck my fansy when I saw that it had the word Haunting in it. For the most part The Haunting of Lamb House was very injoyable!

a unique and literary tale
This book describes the intertwined lives of the persons who live in Lamb House over the course of many years:a crippled boy whose greatest desirenever comes true; Henry James and his infatuation with various younger men;and other characters.And I do mean characters!These are notrun-of-the-mill folks.They are interesting and quirky and unique.I alsosensed some tongue-in-cheek pokes at sexuality, which were amusing.Theentire book is enjoyable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1843-1916    2. 1862-1925    3. Authors    4. Benson, Arthur Christopher,    5. English Historical Fiction    6. Fiction    7. Fiction - Historical    8. Historical    9. James, Henry,    10. Benson, Arthur Christopher    11. James, Henry    12. Lamb family   

Reviews (4)

A good quest derailed
Joan Delano Aiken is a prolific British author of adult and young adult fantasy, mysteries, and gothic romances."The Wolves of Willoughby Chase," which won the 1965 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award is probably her best known young adult novel.Regardless of whether her works are intended for adults or for children, they often contain hair-raising adventures that alternate (somewhat oddly, in my opinion) with lighthearted romps. Now THIS is fantasy
Joan Aiken's lesser-known works are among her best. Fresh off of "Cockatrice Boys," I picked up "Whispering Mountain" with a vague sense of unease. Too often fantasies with Celtic backdrops have become stale and repetitive, but Aiken's wry humor and delightful use of characterizations make this a rare treasure. The Whispering Mountain
I am astonished that this book is not more popular, and is no longer in print. It has always been my favourite among Joan Aiken's novels, and is one of my most treasured children's books. The dramatic Welsh setting, and the theme of the fabled Golden Harp of Teirtu give the book a special enchantment, and it is enlivened by such delightful and eccentric characters as the Seljuk of Rum, in search of his lost race of gold-working dwarves, and the dreamy poet Tom Dando, not to mention the sinister, gold-obsessed Marquess of Malyn. The intrepid Owen and wilful Arabis are an unusual and sympathetic pair of heroes. Then there are the comic cockney villains Bilk and Prigman. The tale is set in Aiken's alternative Britain, where the wicked Hanoverians plot to oust the rightful Stuarts, familiar from the Dido Twite novels. I warmly recommend The Whispering Mountain to readers and publishers alike. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Juvenile Fiction    4. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    5. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Reviews (5)

Visit Playland
In the book Underground, the main character Is tries to find her missing cousin, Arun, in the city of London. She later finds out that more than half of the children are gone and they are going to a place called Playland. Not her best
I am a fan of the 'Wolves' series, but they are beginning to vary a lot in quality. a growing family
Good book, picking up from the earlier Dido and Simon pieces.Is is Dido's younger half sister, first mentioned, i beleive in Dido and Pa.Did sends her to stay with thier mutual sister Penelope but obviously she is a younger version of Dido, and gets into equally interesting adventures.Theconsequences of the ending of this book are rather heavy for Dido's friendSimon as becomes clearer in a later work. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Adventure and adventurers    3. Adventure fiction    4. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    5. Children: Grades 4-6    6. Coal mines and mining    7. Fiction    8. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 2-3    4. General    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    7. CHILDREN'S FICTION    8. DRAGONS_FICTION    9. Juvenile Fiction / General    10. Picture books   

Reviews (5)

Lord Herodsfoot, I presume.
I make a point of not reading the plot synopsis of a book before I read the book itself.When you pick up a novel and read the back or inside cover of it you might discover things that the author would really rather you find out within the context of the story and not via a fifty-word synopsis.So I didn't read the synopsis of "Dangerous Games" until after I read the book.Under normal circumstances, this rarely causes any problems.In this case, however, I discovered that I had unknowingly read this book out of order.You see, "Dangerous Games" is one of the books in the "Wolves Chronicles", which began with "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase".And Dido Twite, the heroine of this tale, began in those books.Not knowing this, I read this story without any idea that it was a sequel or continuing saga of some sort.And you know what?It didn't matter."Dangerous Games" is so fast-paced, amusing, and intelligent that you needn't read any of its predecessors to appreciate it fully.Part "Treasure Island" part "Below the Root", the story is a comment on colonialism and how conquering a land does no good to either the conquerors or the conquered.
Don't bother with this one
In all seriousness, I doubt that Joan Aiken wrote "Dangerous Games."It reads as if a committee were hired to create a passable story against the backdrop of her alternative history.The publishers would have been better off finding some decent internet fanfic writers to do the job, because nothing about "Dangerous Games" is anything but an embarrassing failure to measure up to the period detail, extravagant plotting, wrenching moral dilemmas (a necessary ingredient for good childrens's literature), and dark humor that made the previous books in the series so satisfying. Aiken is a wonderful author, but this is not worth it!
Please, I beg you, purchase one of her other books!I have read nearly all of Aiken's works and they are FANTASTIC.However, this book was very cut-and-dried, dull, and prejudiced.The characters of the island people were so caricatured that it was borderline offensive.No child deserves to have to read this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Action & Adventure - General