Reviews

The Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones

eunicez's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

celiapowell's review against another edition

5.0

Back into the history of Dalemark we go, learning much more about the Undying, and the origins of the division between north and south. This was one of my favourite books as a kid - I loved how the whole story is a translation of the woven cloaks. One of my favourite parts about the Dalemark quartet is how each book has a different feel, yet they still come together into a narrative whole.

drlark's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

My favorite so far in the quartet! DWJ does such a beautiful job showing her young characters coming into their power, understanding the world around them, and becoming part of its history and mythology. Such mystery and wonder and, GOSH. I particularly like how she uses first-person narration in this story, in contrast to the others. Very clever. And she beautifully describes the centrality of the River setting. The storytelling in this prequel feels a good bit more sophisticated than the first two books. Excited for book 4! 

lauravernon's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

estanceveyrac's review against another edition

5.0

That was so great!!!!

ohsarajay's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I truly LOVED this. The characters are so faceted, the siblings are so realistic, and the weaving as a framing device was impeccable. When she unpicked the lament for her father......... I weep. 
In did spend the entire book waiting for this to tie in with the rest of the quartet, because I distinctly remember leaving this book mournfully aside in the school library as a 14 year old because it was number 3 in a series and I thought I wouldn't be able to follow. Joke's on mini me I guess

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism and Fatphobia

thrym's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

barnaclethereal's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

So far the best of the Dalemark Quartet. I was happy it had a female protagonist, and I enjoyed the story, just sometimes the writing is tough for me and the bickering of the main characters bores me a bit. I love a story that is so focused on water and rivers.

graygabs's review against another edition

4.0

This book took me forever to finish. I literally read two or three Chrestomanci books in between starting this book and finishing it. The world building in here is incredible but it is a bit hard to keep up at times. Much like Drowned Ammit this book takes a while to get started, the frame of this story is that it is an old epic within Dalemark, and I think it has a similar style to what you would expect of an epic. The pacing is generally pretty slow except when it isn't and not a lot really happens. The purpose seems to be more to build out the world of Dalemark, and the way it fleshes out the gods and heroes introduced in the other books while still keeping them in an uncertainty much like that of our actual myths is fascinating. It's a fascinating book, but if you like plot more than structure I'd give it a miss.

callmeren's review against another edition

4.0

Much more entrancing and magical than the previous ones. You get more of a hint of the mythological aspect of the story the more you go on. The magic and the magical beings were really entrancing.