Castle in the Air

By Diana Wynne Jones

Abdullah has always lived in Zanzib, a lowly carpet merchant, spending his every free moment daydreaming. His life was pretty consistently boring until the day he was sold a thread-bare carpet that happened to be magically endowed to fly. This one event leads to Abdullah’s daydreams beginning to come true-he finds the love of his life, princess Flower-in-the-night, only to see her be whisked away by a powerful djinn. In an effort to save her, Abdullah starts on a magical journey with the aid of his magic carpet and an ornery genie. Mayhem is sure to be a step ahead of him as he finds himself in the land of Ingary; the self-same land that houses a certain wizard named Howl…

Oh, I just love Diana Wynne Jones! I read this hoping for another helping of Howl and all the characters in the previous book, and much to my delight, I found myself loving Abdullah and new characters just as much. This book is a great fantasy and reminiscent of Aladdin or Ali Babba and the fourty thieves, wrought with magic carpets, sultans, deserts, genies. While the first two-thirds of the book can be read without any foreknowledge of Howl’s Moving Castle, the last bit of the book will definitely confuse readers who haven’t read it. It makes me laugh just to think of this book and all the hilarious encounters that Abdullah has, and Howl and Sophie’s unconventional return! Read it if you liked Howl’s Moving Castle! Please do!