Reviews

Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones

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foggy_rosamund's review against another edition

4.0

The wizards' university is struggling. The buildings are falling apart, and the teachers haven't been properly educated. But Elda the griffin, daughter of one of the most famous wizards in the world, arrives excited and eager to learn. In her tutorial group, she meets Ruskin the runaway dwarf, as well as four humans: Lukin, Felim, Claudia and Olga. Faced with terrible food and unhelpful teachers, the six of them quickly bond. Then the assassins arrive.

This is a very fun DWJ adventures: Elda is a wonderful character, a loving and intelligent griffin, and her friends are all very likeable and have interesting backstories. The madcap magical exploits combine with DWJ's typical distrust for authority and characters who must learnt to depend on themselves. DWJ is passionate about learning, but her books tend to feature characters who struggle with the pedagogical method presented to them and must figure out how to do things in their own. Year of the Griffin is particularly typical of this. I really enjoyed many of the elements here: the unruly cast of characters, the overlapping plot threads, and the respect and humour with which DWJ explores her themes. For a lesser writer, the many elements here would push the narrative too far into nonsense -- and this is a trap DWJ has fallen into in other books. But everything works in Year of the Griffin, creating imaginative and thoughtful escapism. Recommended.

raadelma's review against another edition

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3.0

Still my favorite extremely chaotic magical school story.

doora's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

amylewsmiles's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

Read this after The Dark Lord of Derkholm and I loved it even more than that first book. It's got the "wizard school vibe" to it, but like, if that school is severely underfunded and lead poorly.
There are so many funny details that just make this book altogether silly and charming and makes me wish I could keep reading it forever. Highly recommend if you need a lighter fantasy read for a while.