Product Description

When Vivian is evacuated from London in 1939, she expects to be staying in the countryside. Instead, she is whisked away to Time City -- a place that exists outside time and space. It is a strange and remarkable place, where technology rules -- yet important events of both past and future are marked by the appearance of mysterious Time Ghosts. Here, a Time Patrol works to preserve historical events -- but unknown rogue time-travellers are plotting to take control and are stealing the wards that protect the city. If they succeed, Time City and History as we know it will both be destroyed. Jonathan and Sam are convinced that Vivian can help to save their home -- for, astonishingly, she appears as a Time Ghost herself in a forgotten part of the city. But how can she possibly know what to do, when the important event hasn't even happened yet?!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #204310 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
Praise for Diana Wynne Jones '[Wynne Jones] has a unique record of producing books you can't forget! Every book is different. And every book is likely to be in someone's top seven! I feel we need to acknowledge how lucky those of us are who grew up on her books, and to ensure subsequent generations enjoy the same intense and subtle pleasure.' The Guardian "!Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones's most outrageous plots to her readers' hopes and fears!" Publishers Weekly "Truly magical -- guaranteed to leave you gasping -- even hotter than Potter" The Bookseller "Diana Wynne Jones could teach Stephen King and JK Rowling a thing or two ! [she] has a skill for inserting just the right amount of detail in her written words, leaving you satiated but not stuffed." SFX

About the Author
Diana Wynne Jones spent her childhood in Essex and has been writing fantasy novels for children since 1973. With her unique combination of magic, humour and imagination, she has been enthralling children and adults with her work ever since. She won the Guardian Award in 1977 with Charmed Life, was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981, and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. She is married with three sons, and lives in Bristol with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Wynne Jones at her Best...
...which is difficult to say, because all her works are classic, no exceptions.

1) The writing style. When you pick up a book by Jones, you can tell without needing to glance at the author's name. Witty is an understatement. All her books have subtle and not-so-subtle jokes woven into every paragraph, while at the same time writing books that are sensitive and dark.

2) The characters. Jones' most memorable characters are those like Howl from 'Howl's Moving Castle' and Jonathan from this book (Time City). Both are arrogant and smart, and abitious to boot. Jonathan, however, is not the foppish pretty-boy that Howl is. He is very much like that smart kid that is positively certain that he is the smartest, and may well be. He, like Howl, also has very real faults, but in a different sense. While Howl is liable to be messy and spend hours in the bathroom, Jonathan does things much more recognizable: chew on his hair (which may not be recognizable for boys necessarily, but it still hits home with a lot of readers), doubt people, and jump headfirst into things without thinking.
Vivian, the female protagonist, is also imperfect, but also acts as an anchor for Jonathan and Sam (Jonathan's younger cousin)'s outlandish ways. Just like us, she blushes when Jonathan sees her Liberty bodice, she itches in wool sweaters, and she sweats and feels dirty and hot and uncomfortable. She is like the anti-Jonathan, per se. While he is overconfident, she is somewhat self-concious and uncertain. The whole thing balances the book greatly, but still manages to be quite madcap in the same instant.

But it takes all three heroes/heroines to come out victorious over the rolicking, complex plot and all the stakes Jones sets up for them. But don't worry, they're up to it-- so I'd definitly recommend this book, which could most certainly be called a modern classic, to anyone who loves to devour a book with rich, realistic characters (despite the fact that some of them aren't entirely human--can you say 'android'?) a wonderfully complicated storyline, and general spunk and ingenuity.

Not Classic Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones returns to her favourite themes of time travel and alternate histories in this book. I don't know of any other childrens' author who is so adept at communicating very complicated ideas about time and the effects of time travel and as always, I'm in awe of her world-building skills. Time City has a terminology and set up all of its own and whilst some of the terminology is a little complicated (given that this book is aimed at 8 year olds upwards), it's amazingly easy to get used to - mainly because of the sheer confidence and skill that Jones has with her writing.

And yet for all this, I just didn't find myself loving the book as much as I have her other works. There are two reasons for this:

1. At no point do I emphasise with Vivian or her plight. For someone who has been wrenched from her time, away from her parents and everything she knows, she's remarkably un-upset. Also, the reasons for Jonathan and Sam effectively kidnapping her are a little contrived and don't really make sense once you get to the end of the book and look back on it; and

2. You have no sense of who the bad guys are in this book until right at the end. Put it simply, it's too late. By the time their identity is revealed, the plot's too far gone for you to care about their motivation (which comes in an expositional paragraph) and this really robs the plot of a lot of the mystery that it needs.

Characterisations are also pretty bland and by-the-numbers. Just as I don't feel any empathy for Vivian, nor do I feel anything for Sam or Jonathan either - in fact, the two boys rapidly became an irritation as Jones makes them both manage to be smug. Elio and the Sempiturn do begin to make up for this (although both need more development) and in fact, the only character who worked for me was Dr Wilander (who reminded me of the gruff characters in Jones' other books).

There are some wonderful ideas in this book - the Time Ghosts were particularly intriguing and the idea of the Guardians had a lot of potential. I really think though that the book needed to stew a little more before being released because ultimately, it's not very fulfilling.

A cracking read!
This excellent book was one of the first fantasy novels I read as a child, and introduced me to the genre. All her books are wildly imaginitive and never patronise. The writing is accessible and the plot lines keep you thinking - wonderful.