Dark Lord of Derkholm

Howl's Moving Castle (book & film) is one of my top favorite books.  And Dark Lord of Derkholm, also by Diana Wynne Jones, is another fun adventure.  It doesn't override Howl & Sophie (OH MY HEART), in my opinion, but it is still a crazy, fantastic ride all the same.

I enjoyed the old-fashioned writing style of this novel.  And the characters, the story-world, & dry humor all appeal to me.  For the most part, it is fairly clean with the exception of one specific scene & some language (see below).  Also, there are snarky DRAGONS, talking Griffins, Elves, & all manner of fantastical beasties.  And I must add, I loved the non-typical hero you find in Derk, who would rather experiment & play with his farm-load of creatures than venture out to save the world.  His children (who consist of a son, a daughter, & his adopted Griffin sons & daughters) also have a major role in the story & rally together as a family to rid the world of Mr Chesney's foul games, which kill their people & leave their lands and crops desolate.

Each character has their strengths & weaknesses, talents & flaws, but in the end, it's their efforts as a team & family that will rid their world of Mr Chesney's controlling hand. 

Criminals are sent over from Mr Chesney's world to serve as soldier's in the Dark Lord's army.  It is a punishment, as the majority do not survive the battles.  They are restrained using magic, but that doesn't stop them from some cruelty.  At one point, they escape their dome of magic & attack Derk's children in charge of marching them to their destination.  Chaos ensues & a violent act is implied upon Blade's older sister... We see nothing, until the soldiers are driven away & she's left whimpering in a trembling ball on the ground (see Romantic content below).

The Grand Tour is a yearly thing, as mentioned in the blurb, that Mr Chesney controls.  He sends people from his world (which is actually our own), who pay a hefty price to be in the Tour, where they experience Derk's world's fantasies uncommon to ours---magic, mythical creatures, medieval battles, etc.  It's mentioned rather underhandedly the rumor that many of the wealthy pay to have relatives, and/or anyone they need out of the picture, to go into the Tours because there's not much chance at all of them surviving.

Battles rage all in a performance setting, but they are all too real as people are actually killed.  It's described in a rather lighthearted way as each event takes place, and there's no details as to the body count or any blood or gore.  But it's obvious many die by sword, mythical beast, spear, etc. etc.

People exclaim, "May the gods preserve us!" and "Anscher (a god) preserved us!" and other such phrases.  The latter was in praise of the fact they didn't run out of beer.

There's a high priest who serves the god Anscher.   Derk & his son, Blade, seek out the Oracles in an effort to rid their world of Mr Chesney.  There are wizards & other beings capable of wielding magic.  At one point, Derk is at the altar of a god to whom he prays conversationally to.

It is widely known that Mr Chesney made a pact with a demon, and that is how he holds such power over Derk's world.  (SPOILER:  It seems he actually holds said demon as a prisoner...)  

As a part of the Grand Tour, Derk is supposed to manifest a god for the benefit of the Pilgrims, but instead he summons a demon (grumbling the entire time that he always messes up things like this---which he did).  The demon is a huge blue creature on at least three appendages and threatens to kill him, but Derk manages to sway him by saying they wish to be rid of Chesney, who it seems the demon mutually dislikes for reasons his own.

An enormous dragon is awoken from his sleep & VERY nearly kills Derk by blasting him with his fire breath.  Derk uses his magic as a shield, but is still severely wounded.

A Griffin is shot down during a battle & assumed dead.

At least one use of "d---", "a--", & "b----" each.

Beer.  Complaints of insufficient barley crops to make said ale & beer, thanks to the Tours.  (A huge reason why the people hate Mr Chesney.)  When a person is severely injured, they are induced into a magical coma of sorts to heal their bodies---this puts them to sleep for days at a time.

Due to this Grand Tour, Derk & his wife (who plays the role of a great enchantress during all of this) struggle in their marriage.  Her duties keep her distracted & insanely busy, & Derk, a homely fellow who wants nothing more than to be left alone with his family & his farm, struggles with the worry that his wife is going to leave him & that she doesn't love him any more (this isn't true).

In his experiments, Derk uses his & his wife's genetics to alter those of Griffin eggs---that's why he refers to the Griffins as his children.

As mentioned in the Violence section, it is implied that Derk's daughter is raped by a mob of soldiers.  I believe we hear her screams, but her brothers can't make it to her with all the chaos.  When it dies down & control is returned, we find her huddled in a ball on the ground trembling & whimpering in fear.  I must be honest---this scene was WHOLLY UNEXPECTED.  And to make it worse, nothing happens because of it!  Neither her brothers nor her father does anything to defend her honor, and she keeps to herself for quite awhile, until other events take place & she returns to her cheerful personality.  This bothered me that such an obviously implied act (we can certainly assumed that was what happened) went basically unnoticed---brushed aside in a light-hearted manner, you could say.  Now, nothing is described in any sort of detail, but it is very easy to assume that is what took place.

All told, I greatly enjoyed this story.  It was so unlike any other fantasy I've read---the writing style is old-fashioned & very British (if you know what I mean).  I loved Derk's character, as well as those of his children (Griffins included!).  Each had their own personalities & traits, and they were so much fun to read.

Other than that one particular scene, and the language, this was a fun read!

FOUR out of FIVE stars, due to some language & violent content.