Reviews

The Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones

thunguyen's review

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4.0

Siblings' adventure is one of DWJ's favourite topics and this story probably has the best siblings story that I've read. All the relationships and characters in this book appear quite simple because they were told from the view of a small child but the little details in the writing makes them all very real, relatable, and funny.
The writing itself is just wonderful to listen to in audiobook form except action sequels. The narrator is very good with voices. The story is rather messy as seen in other DWJ's books.
The ending is abrupt and weird. I thought the audiobook version miss a chapter or two. I hope book 4 will see all 3 stories string together in a grand scheme?

caroparr's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked the world, I liked Tanaqui very much, and as usual the ending is a mad rush to tie up all the loose ends. Nevertheless, the next two (chronologically) are winging their way to me, and then I can finally read them all.

liviascarlett's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

4.25

halfcentreader's review against another edition

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3.0

prequel now for the final in the series that ties it all together!

fibrejunky's review against another edition

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4.0

I have a feeling I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

margaret_j_c's review against another edition

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5.0

Jones is master of her craft. It will take more than a few rereads to appreciate her nuanced style.
Her characters are her strong suite - and in #3 they are unparalleled. Tanaqui and Tanamil will be some of my favorites long after I've forgotten everything else about the series.

4/22/17:
GOSH I'd forgotten how wonderful this book is. Truly delightful. I sat down and read it in one sitting. The one annoying thing was that I knew a million details were eluding me because it's been two years and because I'm not familiar enough with the series to recognize Jones' easter eggs. Motivation to revisit the others.

travelgirlut's review against another edition

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3.0

I love the premise in this book, that stories and spells can be woven into fabric, and the first half of the book had me fairly deeply drawn in. But when we get to the second half, it really lost me. The main character makes all sorts of intuitive leaps of understanding that I don't feel were ever adequately explained. Then throw in all the Undying that keep popping up and they each have a gillion different names and I got lost. Really lost. I kept reading hoping that something would sum everything up and make sense, but it didn't. I got the general gist of things, but I would really have liked to have been able to stay deeper in the story through the whole thing. I'm very much hoping that the final book brings everything together and isn't just another individual story as the first three have been.

nevafromtheswamp's review

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5.0

I adore it when women are given feminine magic that is just as powerful - or moreso - than that of men.

That asides, it was a good solid DWJ book with quarreling families, adventure, and bloodshet that I think is typical for this quartet by now.

quoththegirl's review against another edition

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3.0

I adored the first half, but I admit, DWJ started to lose me on the last half. My main issue with the first two books (leaps in logic/epiphanies that don't make sense) was compounded in this third book and made for a very confusing sequence of events. Which is a real shame, because the characters are SO lovely. I've been head over heels for this series up to this point because of the realistic portrayals of the characters, particularly family members, and I am still hopeful that the fourth book can weave (no pun intended) everything back together in a coherent form. Feels like this might be one I need to reread some day.

shoelessgirl's review against another edition

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4.0

DWJ writes so very wonderfully. This was completely captivating, and I am really looking forward to how the three books tie up in the fourth :)