Younger brother of a talented witch, Cat seems to be the only guy
on the block - and, later, the only resident of the strange castle
to which the two orphaned children are transported - who can't do
magic. For a while after their move, Sister Gwendolen raises all
sorts of supernatural hell in protest against her less-than-fawning
treatment at the hands of Chrestomanci, the aristocratic lord of
the castle. But she's no match for the powers there, and when she
finds she can't rule this world, she takes off for another. (There
are nine worlds in all, we learn, and Cat's is a bit different from
ours.) And after Gwendolen's disappearance, Cat learns that he is
one of a very rare breed of nine-lived enchanters, that his special
gifts have marked him as a future Chrestomanci, and that Gwendolen
has been using his powers all along to perform her wicked tricks.
Jones' talents are slighted in a synopsis, for she writes with
exceptional finesse - whether establishing the atmosphere of the
castle, orchestrating large confrontations, or filling in the
domestic scene with vital incidentals. But the framing ideas are
weak. The notion of alternate worlds with duplicate populations is
commonplace, if functional, and not worth all her meticulous,
anticlimactic unraveling. And the revelation that the enigmatic
Chrestomanci is a "government employee," charged with keeping other
witches in check so they don't muck up the world (this in a world
where only the rich have cars), is both disappointingly tame and
disturbingly paternalistic. (Kirkus Reviews)
Everybody says that Gwendolyn Chant is a gifted witch, so it suits
her when she is taken to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Her brother
Eric is not so keen, for he has no talent for magic at all.
However, life with the great enchanter is not what either of them
expects and sparks begin to fly. Ages 8-12
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