Book of the Week – Archer’s Goon

Diana Wynne Jones strikes again.

I’ve wanted to reread Archer’s Goon for some weeks now, but only just found it at the library earlier this week.  I would say that this is, beyond a doubt, my favorite book by this author, except that would be unfair to her other books.  Where would I be without her Chrestomanci series?  Some of my clearest reading memories from childhood are of me curled up with a Chrestomanci book.  Or one from the Dalemark Quartet (Cart and Cwidder, Drowned Ammet, The Spellcoats, and The Crown of Dalemark).  Or The Ogre Downstairs.  Her two Derkholm books are also very good (Dark Lord of Derkholm, and Year of the Griffin).  I could go on, but suffice it to say that her books have definitely influenced my enjoyment of fantasy.  I’ve written about her books in general before, and I feel like I’m repeating myself.

In Archer’s Goon, Howard’s family has a series of nasty run-ins with the people who really run the town.  It begins with Archer sending a Goon to make demands of Howard’s father, and ends with the family trying to get rid of all the unwanted attention.

This is one of Jones’ less convoluted (and shorter) novels.  Don’t be fooled, though – it has plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes.  It follows a recipe I’ve heard for a good book – interesting things happening to interesting people.


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