Synopsis: Years before the events of Charmed Life, the future Chrestomanci Christopher Chant struggles to find a way to help his family. Many people seem to believe that he has some great power, yet control of even the most rudimentary magic eludes him. The one thing that he can do is travel from world to world through his dreams and bring back souvenirs. That seems to be enough for his Uncle Ralph, who quickly becomes a hero to the boy, but this heightens the tensions between his parents and soon his mama and papa are pulling him in different directions. When his power is finally unlocked, he becomes a ward in the forbidding Chrestomanci Castle, but the tension still exists. It seems that everyone has his path planned out, but when he finally makes his choice far more will hang on the decision than just his own future. 

 Review: The Lives of Christopher Chant is a prequel to Charmed Life and, although the two novels are available in a US omnibus edition, they are best not read back to back. Aside from some – largely superficial – similarities in the plots, the events referred back to in Charmed Life are just a little too obvious if you have only just finished it. 

This quibble – which is largely my own fault – aside, on its own terms Lives is another splendid tale of tawdry villainy (Jones rarely if ever falls into the trap of making her villains glamorous, however powerful they might be), family betrayal and loyalty. As ever, Jones presents a set of likeable protagonists and a supporting cast whose actions, viewed only through the eyes of the lead, can be read very differently as the lead’s own preconceptions and opinions are trained or overridden. 

Jones writes a very human breed of fantasy, beautifully blending low morals and high magic. Some of her work is highly demanding of the reader, but this is not one of those and it would make a splendid stepping stone from the likes of Harry Potter to a more sophisticated and subtle kind of magic.

2007-04-04