The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Vol. I (Chronicles of Chrestomanci, 1)

I found this book listed on the internet in a blog about books to read if you were suffering from Harry Potter withdrawals.Well, I wasn't - but I was still interested in good fantasy fiction. So I gave this one a try and was very pleasantly surprised.A couple of warnings for those of you who are [..........]about reading in order - the second book in this two book compilation actually takes place before the first one. It doesn't hurt to read them out of order, and in some cases may actually read better as you learn about Christopher Chant and how he became the person he is in Charmed Life. If you are really uptight about it, then read the second story first. But I think you are better off reading them in the order they appear in the book.The Chrestomanchi series focuses on special people who have 9 lives and strong magical powers. They take the title Chrestomanchi and their job is to use their 9 lives and the special magical powers to make sure that people in their world do not abuse magic.There are many worlds and some people that can travel among the different worlds and bring powerful (and illegal) things like dragon's blood back with them - these things must be regulated and policed to make sure that people with magical powers who mean ill are not able to run roughshod over the world.Unlike Harry Potter, which is one book after another of Harry being pursued by Voldemort and no one believing him or Dumbledore and the same plot lines one after another, the Chrestomanchi series is inventive and different from book to book. I highly recommend it - and as you can see from the other reviewers, I am not alone.

I grew up on these stories and have reread them so many times. I usually read The Lives of Christopher Chant first and then Charmed Life, but I do love seeing the brilliance of how the prequel came about. But I love the characters and the worlds. Both novels ate just amazing.

a wonderful treat for young and old. komplex and beautifully written story with interconnecting details from start to finish. we loved it!

This is two books in oneFirst is Charmed life, the tale of Cat and his sister Gwen, who end up in Chrestomaci castle, Gwen is the pone who is grea and using Magic, cat is a bit slow, but Gwen wants to grow in power, thinking Chrestomaci is the villian, the things she doe to make him angry are fun, then things gobad, Gwen turn villian to the point of wanting to kill Cat. Great story, with fun, tensión and lots of magic. 5 starsSecond is the many live of Chant, which is the story of how the Chrestomanci of the previous book was the kid who learned to later become Chretomacci, and the advetures he had. The adventure part is good, but it suffers in the figure of the previous Chretomancy, the usual adult who would say nothing to the kid he is teaching abou the important thing he should really know to avoid all the problems. And after Reading several books where this become a plot device it's starting to feel like not so good. 3.5 stars

Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favorite children writers and Chrestomanci series are one of her best (but the just does not have bad books). Recently I had a pleasure to share my love for Chrestomanci books with my 9 year old daughter and she fell in love too. She read almost all Chrestomanci books by now. As always with Diana Wynne Jones it's a treat and a combination of the captivating story, wonderful language and interesting characters. It is sad that her books are not well known in the US.

Incredible series and wonderful writing, bought all three (three volumes with two "books" in each) for my stepdaughter who loved Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but is getting a little more into irony and a bit less... lets say Disney happy-happy pink flower princess-y, as she gets into her teen years. Its just got that starting bite of sarcasm and darkness without it being a bad influence. And to be clear I read (and THOROUGHLY enjoyed) the entire series as an adult before buying her copies.

Diana Wynne Jones has created an infinitely imaginative and engrossing world with her Chronicles of Chrestomanci. I fell in love with her writing style, wit, and magical storytelling after reading these two books. In each book, we meet a new cast of complex and entertaining characters who become just as important as the plot. Jones is a wonder when it comes to forming full personalities and vibrant voices, and her twisting and subtle plots and mysteries had me curious till the end and gearing for a reread in the future.

And you have to rip them open, running the pages. So far it's almost every 15 pages or so. Very bad quality control. The book itself is great though.

The media could not be loaded.  A primeira história, Charmed Life, é uma fantasia incrível, muitíssimo bem escrita e completamente satisfatória.Por sua vez, a segunda história, The lives of Christopher chant, consegue ser tão excelente quanto a primeira! Para além, chega a preencher todas as lacunas que eu nem sabia que existiam.Incrível (re)leitura!Quanto ao livro em si, é um paperback que faz jus ao preço (menos de cinquenta reais, quarenta eu paguei). Mesmo assim, a diagramação é muito boa, sendo extremamente confortável a leitura. Quem quiser algo de colecionador talvez valha a pena outra edição. Para mim, essa está ótima.

I originally read The Lives of Christopher Chant about 20 years ago. I loved it so much that I remembered many details about the book and was interested in re-reading it to get the details I forgot. It's about a boy who unknowingly has 9 lives and can travel to different worlds while he sleeps.Any child I have recommended this book to has loved it and when I bought this book recently and read Charmed life, I was equally enthralled even now as an adult.The rest of the series is quite good. But, these two are the best by far! Must reads for adolescents and adults alike!

I ordered this for my daughter having googled top books for young adults and it has instantly replaced her long-time favourite as "best book ever" so couldn't have hoped for any better! Haven't read it myself, but if you are looking for something for a teenage girl, you could do a lot worse than this.

Pour tous les amateurs de fantastique et de magie, on se laisse entrainer volontiers. Après avoir lu ce premier volume j'ai hâte de lire les autres livres du même auteur.

THE LIVES OF CHRISTOPHER CHANT:Reading chronologically, this is the first book of the Chrestomanci series. And what a beginning it is. The reader gets to grow alongside Christopher Chant, and learn magic with him. The many worlds presented are fun, vibrant, and make for an interesting contrast to the one Chant lives in.Jones' writing keeps readers thoroughly invested and submerged in her world. Even bits of exposition are presented as casual comments rather than any heavy-handed world building. Her works are always a joy to read, but Chrestomanci was always one of my favorite series.I would have loved to see more of the antagonist's actions, motives, and general antagonizing; but there's always the next book.This is all part of an attempt to finish the series in 5 days.CHARMED LIFE:The third book chronologically in the Chrestomanci series picks up the slack from the sagging second book. We're back to 3rd person PoV (a huge improvement, Jones' favors 3rd person I feel).With all the wonder and fun and excitement of the first installation, but none of the staleness or slow-pacing which marred book two.The protagonist, Cat, is quite a bit of fun, even if he is clueless and very dependent on others a lot of the novel. I feel as a whole, it stands as a good novel for those facing bullies and how to break free and find their voice.Readers can look forward to meeting new characters as well as seeing some old favorites again. The ending too, leaves you wanting to go right ahead and dive into the next nove