This fall, I had a ton of books to read and review, and I got very busy finishing all of them (as well as working and parenting and writing). It got pretty overwhelming, so I was glad when I finally got through my review pile and could read the books I chose. One of the first ones I picked was The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones, a book I’d read about and was really excited to get into. And I’m so glad I finally got the chance to read it, because it was everything I’d been hoping for and so much more.
First of all, the book is very sharp and funny. Wynne Jones pulls apart fantasy tropes with a keen eye and enjoyable wit, and the book in part reads as a brilliant parody. Yet, what makes the story most compelling is her thoughtful and realistic depictions of family life. Her main characters include the wizard Derk, who has been assigned to be the “Dark Lord” of the year’s “Pilgrim Parties,” a type of service that traffics tourists from our ordinary world into the magical fantasy world so that they can have an “adventure,” which usually involves defeating (or pretending to defeat), the Dark Lord. Many of the other wizards think that Derk is hopelessly inept, and they secretly hope that he’ll fail badly enough to stop the Pilgrim Parties for good. Yet, Derk prove to have surprising strengths, mostly stemming from his family.
It’s rare for fantasy books to really examine family, and the bonds that bring families together, both genetic and chosen families. Derk’s family includes his two human children, Blade and Shona, as well as a whole group of intelligent and magical griffins that Derk and his wife created. He also has a farm full of other magical creatures, from flying pigs to angry, intelligent geese. I loved this big, brash, and chaotic family, and the special bonds they have with one another, and the way all of Derk’s children grow and struggle to find their place among their multitudes of diverse and talented siblings.
It’s also rare for a parody or a satire, and this book is in large part a satire, to have such a vivid and exciting plot. Wynne Jones might be sending up fantasy as a genre, but she also manages to create a wonderful and enjoyable fantasy story, one that’s funny, joyful, dark, and frightening in turns.
In short, I loved this book, and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy, especially funny or light fantasy such as Good Omens or anything by Terry Pratchett.
