Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones

Conrad’s Fate is the only one of the Chrestomanci books that I had never before read and since it includes my favorite character in the series, Christopher Chant, I was really excited to finally read it.

Conrad Tesdinic lives in the mountain village of Stallchester, in the English Alps, along with his mother, uncle and sister. Ever since he was a young child Conrad has been warned by his uncle that he possesses bad karma, from an important deed left undone in a previous life, and this is the reason for any unpleasantness in his life. After graduating from school Conrad is eager to continue his education at Stall High with his friends, but his uncle puts an abrupt halt to Conrad’s plans by insisting that instead his goes to work as a servant at the Stallery Mansion.

According to Conrad’s uncle, the person responsible for his bad karma resides at Stallery and if Conrad does not eliminate them by the end of the year, he will die.
Frightened into compliance, Conrad makes his way to Stallery to apply for a position there. Upon arrival he makes the acquaintance of another boy, Christopher, who arrives at the mansion in a gypsy caravan, impeccably dressed and fully determined to be hired on as a footman at the Mansion.

Thrown together as trainees for the same job position, Conrad and Christopher quickly become friends. And soon they each discover that the other is there under false pretenses. Each of them has a mission to accomplish at Stallery and it’s only with each others help that they may succeed.

Conrad’s Fate is a cute book which includes many of those themes that readers of Jones’s books will recognize, including negligent parents, scheming adults and a boy ignorant of his own magical talent. But even though many of the books by Diana Wynne Jones do have certain reoccurring themes, she somehow manages to make the central character in each of them completely unique and memorable.

Conrad is a very appealing protagonist and the fact this his story is told in the first person makes it particularly easy to empathize with him. Though what I especially enjoyed was getting to know Christopher Chant, the future Chrestomanci, as a fifteen year old boy and viewing him from Conrad’s prospective. Conrad’s irritation at Christopher’s superior manner is amusing, and one of my favorite parts is when he and Millie are gossiping together about how annoying Christopher can be.

He would keep calling me Grant in that superior way, and there were times when I wanted to hit him for it, or shout that it was only my alias, or—anyway, he really annoyed me. Then he would say something that doubled me up with laughter, and I discovered I liked him again. It was truly confusing.

I said... “He’s far too fond of his own way. And the way he makes superior jokes all the time—I want to hit him!”
“Oh, doesn’t he just!” Millie said.
After that…we both tore Christopher’s character to shreds. It was wonderful fun.

And while many of Jones’s fans will probably be picking up this book largely because it features Christopher Chant, they will find that Conrad himself is an interesting, well-drawn character worthy of standing on his own.

I do have to admit though that the story itself didn’t engage me as much as those told in the other books in the series. I just didn’t find it to be as interesting. I also think that if I had read this book when I was younger I would have found all the talk about alternate probabilities to be very confusing. But ultimately I was satisfied with the book since it gave me the chance to spend more time with Christopher Chant and Millie, and also introduced some new interesting characters. And unlike in many of the other books in the series, I felt like the events here were tied up neatly in the end, giving readers the satisfaction of knowing where the characters eventually end up.

If you have already read and enjoyed the other books in the Chrestomanci series then you will most likely want to read Conrad’s Fate as well. But if you are new to these books then this would not be the best place to start reading and I suggest you pick up Charmed Life first.

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

Most people die only once, but Christopher Chant can die again and again, or at least nine times. And at the rate that he is currently going, those nine lives won’t last very long.

Raised in a London mansion by a bevy of nurses and governesses, young Christopher lives a privileged but lonely existence, largely ignored by his flighty mother and distant father. But each night he escapes from the nursery into the Place Between from where he can enter into other worlds and where he befriends some of the interesting people that populate them.

But everything changes the day that Christopher's uncle shows up at his home, determined to take charge of the family’s failing finances and of Christopher’s future. There is even talk of going to school, which Christopher is quite excited about. Christopher is enchanted by this charismatic uncle who is the first adult to actually take a personal interest in him, and so when he requests that Christopher assist him with some experiments involving his cross-world visitations, Christopher eagerly complies.

At first the experiments are fun, and they lead Christopher to make new friends and discover new worlds. But after he gets stabbed in the chest by a spear and then burned to a crisp by a dragon, the excitement begins to wear off. Once at school Christopher becomes occupied with his new school friends and an obsession with cricket, and he no longer has time to go trekking in other worlds, to his uncle's dismay. Though Christopher's school days are short-lived as his father has other plans for him.

After being killed, once again, Christopher is pulled out of school by his father and presented to the
Chrestomanci in the belief that Christopher is really a nine-lived enchanter. Furious at having his nephew whisked away from him, Christopher's uncle executes his revenge against the Chrestomanci and that is when Christopher discovers the truth about his family and his own unknowing participation in this sinister plot.

The Lives of Christopher Chant tells the story of the Chrestomanci as a child and is a prequel to Charmed Life, and the rest of the Chrestomanci books. If you are as a big of a Chrestomanci fan as I am, then you will be just as delighted to get to know him in his younger days, before he became the powerful enchanter of the first three books in the series.

The Lives of Christopher Chant is a wonderfully entertaining and intelligent story, making it a book that readers of any age can enjoy. The story is full of action, adventure and magic and the characters are likable and sympathetic. Christopher is wholly believable as a self absorbed young man who is much more interested in playing cricket than in becoming an enchanter. He can be pushy, arrogant and rude though he also has a strong sense of honor and loyalty and a streak of mischievous, all of which combine to make a compelling character that readers will come to care for. There is also the pleasure of discovering the surprising truth about Millie's origins, and getting to know her as a young girl.

I also really enjoyed finding out more about the different alternate world, which Jones’ had touched upon in Charmed Life, as well as reading about the development of another young nine-lived enchanter as he navigates the discovery of his own magical abilities and potential.

The story also includes those themes common in Jones’s books, of unreliable adults, distrustful children and the betrayal of those close to them. While these are all pretty heavy subjects, Jones works them in subtly so that they give the story depth while keeping it light enough for young readers to easily enjoy.

I highly recommend The Lives of Christopher Chant to readers of all ages, particularly those who are just begin to develop an interest in fantasy. Though I do suggest you read Charmed Life first because it will give you a better appreciation of the of the story’s characters .