The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1: Charmed Life / The Lives of Christopher Chant

My husband read both of these books to our 8-year-old daughter (3rd grader) and they were both entralled by the stories. Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and A Wrinkle in Time fans will most likely enjoy these chronicles.It's got parallel worlds, enchantment, and humor. We meet and watch Christopher Chant's life unfold among different worlds. He has a big job on his shoulders -- to keep people from abusing their magic abilities.My husband excitedly told me about the story, something he doesn't do unless he enjoys it. He's a Star Trek, Lord of the Ring, and Star Wars fan. So, fathers or adults who enjoy those will probably get a kick out of these.

Ever since the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," people have imagined wizards as tall, elderly men with long gray beards, loose robes and pointed hats. Diana Wynne-Jones shatters the cliched image with Chrestomanci, a dapper Englishman who happens to be the nine-lived magician in charge of all the magic -- in all the parallel worlds."Charmed Life" is the story of Cat and Gwendolen, siblings who are orphaned in a tragic steamboat accident. While Cat is shy, Gwendolen is the opposite: She is an unnaturally powerful witch, and intends to rise high enough to rule the world. She thinks that she's got it made when Chrestomanci brings her and her brother to his castle. But Gwendolen has met her match in Chrestomanci -- and a magical war of wills has begun!"The Lives of Christopher Chant" is the backstory of Chrestomanci. Once he was an ordinary boy, whose ambition was to become a cricket player. But when he is tested by a powerful magician, Christopher Chant is found to be Chrestomanci: An amazingly powerful magician with not one, but NINE lives. The problem is, Christopher doesn't want to be Chrestomanci -- and he's already enmeshed in a wizards' smuggling ring that may spell doom for his new friends...Diana Wynne-Jones is at her best here: the books are funny, dramatic, well-characterized, well-written and well-plotted. The parallel worlds are well-thought out, such as Chrestomanci's world, where magic exists rather than science as we know it. As in many of her books, she shows unusual insights into the thought processes of both young and adolescent children. While readers may sometimes want to smack the lead characters, it's hard not to like the heroes and despise the villains. After reading this two-pack, readers should immediately read the next two books in the series, as well as the new short-story collection. Chrestomanci is too good to be missed.

I discovered these wonderful books quite typically...I was a Harry Potter fan, and I was looking for something similar to read while waiting for the fifth book...and I had read 'Dogsbody' by Diana Wynne Jones before. So, I stumbled upon these magnificent books. I totally adore them! If I were hardpressed to pick between the two, I would choose 'Charmed Life', but both stories are great. Chrestomanci is such a wonderful character, and the world that D.W. Jones creates is much more original than that J.K. Rowling creates. Of course, I shall always be a Harry Potter freak, but these books are much better. There is so much intrigue, action, humor, and wonderful characters, that I have read them over and over again.I highly, highly reccommend these books (and Volume II as well) to *anyone* who enjoys Harry Potter, fantasy, or just a good story. Read them...you will NOT be disappointed!

This book is wonderful! It is basically two books in one, which is great because the two stories go very well together and right after you finish the first, you'll want to start the second."Charmed Life" is about a boy called Cat, or more formally Eric, who becomes an orphan when his parents drown in a boat accident. His older sister, Gwendolen, is a witch, and when the two move in with their neighbor, Gwendolen begins to take magic lessons. Cat has no magic at all, and is often pushed out of the spotlight by Gwendolen. Then they go to live at Chrestomanci Castle, home to the great enchanter Chrestomanci. After waging a private war on Chrestomanci, Gwendolen jumps into another world and leaves a double with Cat. Cat and Gwendolen's double have to figure out how to save Chrestomanci and the magical community when Gwendolen and her friends on Coven Street try to take over."The Lives of Christopher Chant" is about the present Chrestomanci in Cat's time 25 years earlier. This gives you some background on Chrestomanci and is even better than the first book. Christopher Chant is a spirit traveler who can bring things back from his travels and is quite solid on his travels, and this has never happened before. Christopher's Uncle Ralph sees a neat way to exploit him and has him carry back tremendously expensive and rare items such as dragon's blood back from other worlds. It all ends up great.I would recommend both of these books very highly.

It's a shame that this book (or books rather) isn't more popular. Until I stumbled upon volumes I and II in a bookstore, I had never heard of them before. Diana Wynne Jones is fairly well known, but her work seems to have taken the backseat to other wildly popular childrens books. This is unjust! Charmed Life and the Lives of Christopher Chant are both well written and refreshingly original. If the books have one flaw, it is that they start out fairly slowly. Since this is all plot building and setting the scene, it doesn't become that terrible of a distraction. If you do decide to read this book(I hope you do!) then here's some advice: Even though Charmed Life is before The lives of Christopher Chant in the book, chronologically Charmed life happens after Christopher Chant. If you like to read things in order, keep that in mind, otherwise you know what has happened to the characters in T.L.O.C.C. before you read it.