Great sequel to "Howl's Moving Castle".



Unusually for a sequel, especially a fantasy novel following on from a previous volume, initially, the story, characters and even the setting have little (or, apparently, nothing) in common with the earlier work. Instead of the faux-medieval land of Ingary, with Walled Cities, Kings and Witches, Hat shops and Bakeries we have an Arabian Nights type Eastern setting with Deserts, Bazaars and Djinn. But with the magic of Diana Wynne Jones firmly still in place, "Castle in the Air" is every bit as entertaining and involving as its predecessor.



Abdullah, our carpet seller hero, is a funny and worthy character. His adventures in land of Raspuht are fast moving and action -packed. It's almost a shame when (about half way through) we leave the the city of Zanzib without quite tying up all loose ends and the scene shifts to Ingary.



The later parts of the book do allow DWJ to revisit the characters from "Howl's Moving Castle"..a book which ended rather frenetically.. and show the fate of the various heroes and heroines. This time out, more lengthy closing scenes give a chance to properly establish what happens to everyone.



Funny and perfectly plotted and paced, this adventure of young wizards and witches is, for my money, far superior to the rather more clunky "Potter" books.