100 books I keep on keeping: Deep Secret

[scripsi]

I haven’t finished anything, though I am reading a lot. But then I am reading four things as once, as I usually do. I’m on a fairy tale trip lately. And my sister’s latest IVF-treatment didn’t work, which makes us all sad. So I’ll talk about one of my comfort books today.

I love Diana Wynne Jones, and I like all her books- even her weakest are enjoyable reads, but Deep Secret is the one I reach for most often. In fact, my copy has been reduced to a heap of loose pages. This is one of her few adult books, and though it contains many of her usual tropes, the deaths and destructions are ramped up.

Deep Secret is mainly told from two POV’s. We have Rupert, Earth’s youngest Mage and as such responsible for a couple of worlds, most notable the abysmal Koryfonic Empire. In this universe there are a number of worlds, some Naywards, where magic has difficulties, and Ayewards, where magic can be used openly. When a bomb kills the Koryfonic Emperor, Rupert is tasked with finding the heir. The problem is that only the Emperor knew who it was. All his children have been raised without any knowledge of their heritage, and no one knows where they are. And added to that, Rupert's mentor dies and he has to find the nest mage-to-be and train him or her. This turns out to be more difficult than anticipated, and he ends up working magic to collect all his candidates to a SF/Fantasy convention at a hotel. Unluckily the candidates are far from perfect, there is Maree, whom Rupert instantlöy dislikes, a man who is utterly loathsome and a woman who lives in a cloud of negative energy. And a witch finder. And to top it off, his dead mentor is haunting his car.

Then we have Maree, a young woman who isn’t having the best time of her life. Her father is dying from cancer, her boyfriend has left her, she is broke and she is forced to live with her uncle. Not that the uncle is so bad, and she loves her teenaged cousin Nick, but Nick’s mother is a truly nasty person, who hates Maree. When her uncle, who is an author of fantasy novel, are invited to the convention, Maree is made to come along to keep an eye on Nick. To her annoyance she find Rupert there, whom she dislikes, but somehow they end up together again and again. And a lot of curious things are happened at the con, like centaurs bursting through worlds, or impromptu visits to other magids, and the fulfillment of ancient prophecies.

One of the reasons I love this book so much, is the backdrop of the convention. There are a lot of background figures who pop up, making the narrative colourful. I’ve never been to a convention, but I’ve been to other gatherings of nerds, and the characterizations of various types are both spot-on and loving. There is a moment when Rupert realise that the hotel is filled with people he likes to spend time with, and I know exactly how that feels. I also like the main characters of Rupert, Maree and Nick, none who are without faults, which makes them human and relatable. And Neil Gaiman makes a cameo as a member of a writer’s panel.

There is a sequel of sorts, The Merlin Conspiracy, which is more geared towards children, having Nick as one of the main characters.