Castle in the Air

While I did enjoy reading this book, there are some questionable/problematic things that bothered me.

1. always comparing women, who is better than the other, who is more beautiful etc. While it's not too obvious most of the time, it does bother me a lot at the end. Yes, I get it, you like her more than the other princesses but don't compare them like that. 2. Something about the portrayal of the 'south' and their characters bothers me.. I feel like there are a lot of stereotypes in this book..

I believe this book is very much a product of its time, especially given the time it was written and published.

My first thought was that I was reading the wrong book. I really thought I was reading Aladdin, which this book sort of is. It was such a jump from the first story (Howl’s Moving Castle) that I could not think of how they would connect. They do connect but it’s not revealed till close to the end of the story.

This story on its own I didn’t find as magical or endearing as the first. It not that it’s a bad story, it’s quite good. Its just missing that spark from the first book. I wish that the book was from the point of view the princesses as they were more interesting. They were funny, strong willed, and capable. Sort of what made Sophie so great in the first book.

This is still a good book to read and one that you could recommend to kids. Hopefully, the next book brings back that spark.

I love the whimsical storytelling style of Diana Wynne Jones. It's absolutely written for kids, but I think the best kinds of children's books are still good for adults, too. I loved the twist on the classic 'save the princess' tale in which the many princesses essentially rescued themselves. I imagine that if Abdullah hadn't gotten to the castle, then his princess would have found her own way out sooner or later. I also liked Sophie and Howl, both in disguise.

This is the kind of writing that allows an adult to relive the magic of childhood, and that's quite a rare quality!

After re-reading Howl's Moving Castle, which I turned out not to have remembered practically at all, I decided to read the sequel. I had not read it previously, possibly because it did not seem to be much of a direct sequel. I decided to read it, and Howl and Sophie do eventually appear.

I loved the new characters and different type of fairytale world. It reminded me a bit of The Horse and His Boy in the Chronicles of Narnia, where the book starts out with a character in a very different place, but it does give some information on your main characters from the previous books eventually.

DNF at 30%

I was a bit disappointed when I found out that this is not actually a continuation of the story from book 1.
Other than that, the book was not necessarily bad, but I just wasn't feeling it and on top of that, there is only so many times you can call someone fat before it's too much.

I might pick up book 3, but this one definitely wasn't for me.

abdullah is one of the most boring characters I've had the chance to read about. I really wish the story was told by the fmc instead.

The Orientalism is a bit icky at first, like do western writers believe Arabic culture is all made up, or are they assuming they're basing these universes on fact? Anyway, it get's better when Abdullah leaves Zanzib. It's like Aladdin on lsd, but Aladdin itself is hard to stomach lol, still a really well knitted series of events. Very entertaining.

Don't understand why the reference to Howl, Sophie, and Calsipher, only appears around the 80% mark?

Fun, lots of action, lots of interesting characters.

é TÃO bom quando retornamos a um universo que lembramos o quão “heart warming” ele era.
Confesso que, no começo, pensei “Howl's é infinitamente melhor”. Me perdia na família de Abdullah, e não entendia os “pra ques” da estória. Então, tivemos o gênio, os reis, o gradual desenvolvimento do instalove e, como meu amor por sequências e crossovers é imenso, HOWL, SOPHIE, LETTIE, SULLIVAN, CALCIFER e meu coração derretido, aparecem novamente.
E nos apaixonamos pelo livro. Ponto.
É o tipo de livro que eu gostaria que lessem para crianças antes de dormir, para que sonhem com reinos nos céus, amores verdadeiros, mulheres fortes como a Sophie, Gênios, feiticeiros como o Howl, demônios de fogo que se transformam em tapetes como o Cálcifer.

A wacky take on the classic Arabian nights genre this is Jones at her best – nothing is as it seems, and in the end there are several morals to be learned. However, the link between Castle in the Air and [b:Howl's Moving Castle 6294 Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165560187s/6294.jpg 2001] is tenuous at best, and at worst Castle in the Air is cheapened by the association, as the feel is extremely different and the characters from Howl seem shoehorned in.