Archer’s Goon

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Rereading this aloud was so FUN. Doing the voices etc. for this crazy cast of characters was fabulous. I also loved reading it a second time because this time I actually understood what was going on, after all those mindbending plot-twists in the first reading. A.k.a. IT WAS EVEN BETTER THE SECOND TIME AND I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE. Story summary: The Sykes are living their ordinary family life, with unwanted music lessons and awful little sisters, until one day, there's an enormous goon in their kitchen. He demands that Mr. Sykes (an author) write two thousand words (any words) for his boss Archer. It turns out Archer is one of seven wizard siblings ruling the town and battling each other for power. And all of them, in their own ways, are out to get Mr. Syke's two thousand words.

This amazing fanart. And also this by the same artist. (Note, there's some other Diana Wynne Jones artwork in there as well. Also excellent.) Howard gets his own bullet because he was just awesome. I liked how he was both similar and different than Blade from Dark Lord Of Derkholm? Although that revelation at the end... yeah. More about that later. Riddle for the Ages: What exactly are the seven siblings and where are they from? Quentin describes them as “wizards” and Awful calls Dillian an “evil enchantress” but they never refer to themselves in such terms or use the word “magic” to describe their powers. There’s a vague implication that they might be aliens, but that’s all we’re ever going to get.There's this concept that I for some reason really love, where people stand for, or even are, ideas or abstractions in some sense. It's a similar idea to anthropomorphism. The Greek gods are a pretty good example of this; some of them are considered actual things, like Helios who is the sun, and and some just have qualities similar to the things and are generally in charge of the things, like Apollo the sun god. In this book, this is realized through the idea of "farming". The wizard siblings "farm" various town functions, like education and infrastructure and future related things, or music and entertainment and shopping and fun related things. What they farm seems related to their personalities and powers in some ways, and you could easily imagine Torquil, for example, as the "god of arts and entertainment". My love for abstraction and structure is quite strong, and trumps realism any day, and this idea is an important reason why I love this book so much. (Some of the other books I like for a similar reason are The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton, The Pilgrim's Regress by C.S. Lewis, and Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. And I'm sure there are more I've forgotten.) Lynn Bryant reviewed Archer's Goon in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 79. [2] Bryant commented that "Well written and original, a gripping read." [2] It is a weird book. And not extremely deep with the most complex characters or anything. If you're looking for something that isn't funny, strange, light, subtle, and family-friendly, then you probably won't like this. Finally, I should like to indicate how much words have an import beyond their superficial appearances, and that one should beware of McGuffins.

In 1992, the book was adapted as a six-part TV series by the BBC. [5] Of the experience, Diana Wynne Jones says: [6] It’s 1983, and the Sykes family find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy of squabbling siblings who plan to ‘farm’ the world; can Quentin Sykes, the father and a struggling author, stand up against the malevolent forces who besiege the family house and seek to use the power of the written word for nefarious purposes? Thoughts: As I said above, this is about the families. Sibling. Parents. From annoying, to mostly-evil, to decent-but-with-a-selfish-streak-and-a-temptation-to-take-over-the-world. And there's almost nothing I like better than families, especially when it's not the "heartwarming and wholesome" type of story, but filled with grudges and reconciliations and temper tantrums and people who dislike their siblings so much they'll confine them to the sewers for thirteen years.* And yes, also some heartwarming bits too. Weird Tales reviewer John Gregory Betancourt praised the novel as "a witty little urban fantasy [and] a delight to read." [3]The Goon takes Howard to see Mountjoy, who reveals that the town is secretly run by seven wizard siblings: Archer, Shine, Dillian, Hathaway, Torquil, Erskine, and Venturus. Each one "farms" some aspects of the town's life and industry (for a list, see below). Mountjoy has instructions from an unknown superior to post the words but does not know who the actual recipient is. Written and published during the Reagan-Thatcher years, when it felt as though some of the world at least was taking a dangerous lurch towards an confrontational and authoritarian triumphalism, Archer’s Goon explores some of that state of affairs in what presents merely as children’s fantasy. The Harry Potter books are frequently compared to the works of Diana Wynne Jones. Many of her earlier children's books were out of print in recent years, but have now been re-issued for the young audience whose interest in fantasy and reading was spurred by Harry Potter.