House of Many Ways

Written by Diana Wynne Jones

Narrated by Kristin Atherton

A chaotically magical sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle.

Charmain Baker is in over her head. Looking after Great Uncle William's tiny cottage while he's ill should have been easy, but Great Uncle William is better known as the Royal Wizard Norland and his house bends space and time. Its single door leads to any number of places – the bedrooms, the kitchen, the caves under the mountains, the past, to name but a few.

By opening that door, Charmain is now also looking after an extremely magical stray dog, a muddled young apprentice wizard and a box of the king's most treasured documents, as well as irritating a clan of small blue creatures.

Caught up in an intense royal search, she encounters an intimidating sorceress named Sophie. And where Sophie is, can the Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer be far behind?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Jul 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9780008501082

Diana Wynne Jones

In a career spanning four decades, award-winning author Diana Wynne Jones (1934‒2011) wrote more than forty books of fantasy for young readers. Characterized by magic, multiple universes, witches and wizards—and a charismatic nine-lived enchanter—her books are filled with unlimited imagination, dazzling plots, and an effervescent sense of humor that earned her legendary status in the world of fantasy.

Reviews for House of Many Ways

[wunder-62679 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not top-notch Diana Wynne Jones, but still a pleasant read.

[themulhern · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have a sneaking suspicion that all Diana Wynne Jones books are really written for adults. I read several when I was young, and can not remember enjoying them nearly so much.This is not quite a standalone book, since it helps if you recognize the characters from previous books who show up in the second half. But the characters original to this book are really quite excellent. I liked Charmaine, she is really a quite decent sort, and I understand her need to read.Everything happens quite rapidly. In the end the villains are summarily disposed of, with no remorse shown by any character. The domestic catastrophes are DWJ's most typical trophe, but they are funny. The elf gazes at the laundry with "grave astonishment".

[KataHonu · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The worldbuilding is like a fable and quite nice but the characters are some of the most entitled I have ever experienced. In general an enjoyable story but it pulls you out of the story somewhat when almost every single character is beyond self centered. Character growth isn't hard to write if they all start as mentally egotistical children.

[ladyjoana-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It truly is an unforgettable book. Magical and beautiful something i would treasure throughout my whole childhood and carry it with me till i was old and feeble telling it to my grandchildren. I have to say in some ways this book is better than the other two, but they somehow feel even more magical than the last book, probably because i read them first though.

[bgknighton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A nice continuance of the storyline. Nice twists, people who grow better as you go, you find out what happens to some of the other characters.

[mmaestiho · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful, entertaining read that captivates your attention through small details and then carries you away with the plot. The main character is lovely and relatable and it integrates the more prominent Howl's Moving Castle characters in amusing ways.

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A light adventure we enter when Charmain, a bookish teen is tasked to take care of her wizard-great-uncle-by-marriage's house while he is off being cured by elves. Charmain, out from the repressing reign of her mother finds out there's more to life than books and being respectable and the plot doesn't get bogged down in it's villains who mostly show up after Charmain has got her grip on a new life.

[moonspider-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another not-quite-sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, in that it focuses on new characters but old characters come back as well as the same world. Takes place after Castle in the Air, so anyone knows. You will be disappointed if you figure it to be a direct sequel to Howl's Moving Castle.And this I actually enjoyed more than Castle in the Air! The Aladdin-esque beginning to Castle in the Air put me off some, so the usual wizardly setting here was good to see. I identified strongly with the main heroine, Charmain, though others may find her stubborn, stuck-up, hard-hearted, etc. Morgan found a cute little playmate by the name of Twinkle who was simply adorable and you will know right away why he take the spotlight at times~. Just a lot of love for this book. Reading the three in order, it's a great introduction to this sort of fantasy literature. (I tend to prefer ghosts, demons, vampires, reapers and the like...not so much the wizards, dragons, ogres kind of worlds, but I like the ones by this author at least! I would say start here - from Howl's Moving Castle in the beginning, I mean - if you are the same.)

[nextian_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another fantastic story in Howl's universe. It was great spending some more time with his family and meeting new friends along the way. Twinkle was probably my favorite character of the bunch, but he would be for obvious reasons. Sophie was amazing as always. And I grew rather attached to Charmain as well and hope that we will eventually get to read more about her as she matures. I found this to be a very worthy sequel overall.

[bakudreamer · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

sucked in many ways

[brittlandess · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book centers around Charmain Baker, a girl who has lived a sheltered life thanks to her mother’s idea of being a respectable young lady. After her Great Uncle William becomes sick for unknown reasons, Charmain volunteers to help take care of the house while he’s gone. Accepted for the job, she arrives just as Great Uncle William, who she later learns to be the Royal Wizard of High Norland, is taken away by elves in order to find out what is wrong with him. When she starts to unpack, she meets Waif a dog who is male and finds that the house bends space and time. While exploring the house, she attempts a spell that would allow her to fly. When she goes through a window in her uncle’s study, she runs across a lubbock, a creature that eats humans or lays eggs in them. After barely escaping from it with the flying spell, she meets a kobold who is angry with the hydrangeas that are in Uncle William’s yard. After denying him the right to cut the hydrangeas down, she goes inside when it starts to rain. While reading, someone comes in, saying that Wizard Norland took him on as an apprentice. It turns out that it is Peter Regis, the Witch of Montalbino’s son. After confirming this, the two get into many arguments including one which reveals that Waif is actually a girl, even though both William and Charmain believed that Waif was originally was a boy. They then decide it would be best to settle down for the night and find out that Peter is unable to tell the difference between left and right. During the following days, Charmain receives a reply to her letter volunteering to help the king by working at the Royal Library, her mother visits, and is met with a group of angry kobolds afterwards. They then refuse to work for Great Uncle William. The king on the other hand accepts her offer and soon has her at the library, helping to organize some papers in order to help find the treasure that had disappeared. Through them she meets Sophie Pendragon, her son Morgan, and her lisping “nephew Twinkle.” They too are trying to help the king find the stolen gold. As the days pass by, Charmain continues to work at the castle; finding out the Prince Ludovic is the next successor, learning about the elfgift and the fact that her father uses magic. This explains how, in great times of anger, is able to bend things to her will by yelling at it. This includes stopping a pipe from gushing water, changing the water to the correct temperature, and changing Waif back to her original size after a spell by Peter gone wrong. During that time, one of the elves return with lubbock eggs, the reason that Uncle William had been sick. Charmain goes and brings back Calcifer, the fire demon the came with Sophie, and has him destroy the lubbock and its eggs. This unfortunately doesn’t happen until after Peter and Charmain watches as the same kobold that caused trouble for Great Uncle William being paid by the lubbock who plants eggs inside him after the kobold starts to walk away. After all of this, Calcifer seems to have disappeared after he falls off a cliff. Charmain heads to the castle the next day to tell Sophie of this. Before she leaves though, she finds out that Peter’s mother has come and finds out that Waif is a, literally, enchanted dog that chose Charmain as its master and even changed its gender to be the same as Charmain’s. She then leaves to tell Sophie of what happened to Calcifer an discovers the Prince Ludovic is a lubbockin, the offspring of a lubbock and a human woman. She warns Sophie of this just as the family is about to “leave.” Unfortunately, Prince Ludovic steals what at first seems to be Morgan but turns out to be Twinkle. After a chase after the lubbockin, they find where the gold is hidden and kill the lubbockin. It is revealed that Twinkle is actually Howl Pendragon, Sophie’s husband who is a famous wizard in Ingary. Howl reveals to everyone else that the elfgift is actually Waif.This book was definitely another good one by Diane Wynne Jones. I love how her characters have their faults. This book had many unexpected twists and turns that made it enjoyable and a good read. It had a good pace and a good ending. I think the Diane Jones writing style is delightful and entertaining. I think that it’s nice how she made Howl’s Moving Castle and the House of Many Ways separate but interwoven stories. The way that you can read each story separately and still understand it is good, and this story is amusing and entertaining by seeing how someone such as Charmain deal with the odd situations she is given. I would gladly reread the story again and watch the magic unfold again.

[codonnelly · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

House of Many Ways, the final book in Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle trilogy, struggles to maintain the same caliber of writing and creativity as the rest of the series. House of Many Ways introduces another set of new characters: Charmain, an impractical, often irresponsible, book-obsessed young girl, her Uncle Norland, a royal wizard, and Peter, his self-effacing, hapless, and unskilled apprentice. While Sophie, Howl, and Calcifer play a significant role in the story, their personalities differ enormously from the first two books. A meandering plot, a lack of connection to the new and old characters, and a mostly absent antagonist results in an underwhelming reading experience.

Where Castle in the Air concentrates on exotic magic (genies, flying carpets, and djinns), House of Many Ways dabbles in folklore, although less effectively. Jones adds in background characters called kobolds, which appear in German folk stories as pesky sprites. The antagonist is also an odd creature called a lubbock that lays eggs in humans, which when hatched, kill the host. As interesting as these characters sound, their presence is not utilized effectively. The lubbock only directly shows up in one chapter, and afterwards is merely referenced throughout the rest of the book. The kobolds are described repeatedly, but they play such minor roles in the plot that the heavy description seems unnecessary.

Jones writes Charmain and Peter, the two main characters, in such a simplistic manner that it would be laughable if it weren’t so annoying. She beats the reader over the head with how their personalities and the actions they take are the complete opposite of the other. Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer appear rather early on in the plot, but even they cannot save the book from mediocrity. Howl is purposefully not himself for the majority of the book, but this choice is taken to an uncomfortable extreme. Sophie is more exasperated than her usual persevering nature, and she takes little to no action in controlling her husband and child. Calcifer even receives far less time to make witty banter.

The most disappointing aspect of all comes from the lack of character development. On a surface level, Charmain’s adventure may lead to a satisfying conclusion, but her magical powers, which are strong from the very beginning of the book, never wane or intensify. She always gets what she wants and succeeds without much effort, so she never learns from her vices. Peter’s lack of magical skills never corrects itself and he continues to clean up after Charmain’s messes, even though she has proved again and again that she doesn’t care much for him or anyone else. Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer don’t contribute much at all to the conclusion, despite adding a few complications and a predictable twist or two.

Diana Wynne Jones’ House of Many Ways suffers in comparison to the first two books in the trilogy. The stakes are never high enough to hold much interest, the new characters are far too static, and the old characters too unfamiliar. If you choose to read it, I would recommend viewing it as a standalone, as it may dull the pain that comes from a disappointing finale.

[ilirwen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent, fun, fascinating, as usual

[flemmily · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is not one of my favorite DWJs. It's rather simplistically written, and doesn't really get good until DWJ's signature chaos descends about forty pages from the end. I think one of the problems is that the main character doesn't like to actually do anything, and would much rather sit around and read. There's nothing wrong with this of course, in fact I feel the same way, but her proclivity means that she doesn't go looking for trouble, and there is not quite enough trouble finding her to make the book really sing. It is a very quick read. It is fun to see Howl and Sophie again of course.

[sandyamcpherson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not as well-crafted as the first 2 books in this group. Amusing, delightful events, but the story didn't hang together as well. I had to read it twice (with a long interval) to really grasp the implication of many of the details. A book worth reading if you are a die-hard DWJ fan.

[aerrin99 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cute, funny, an entertaining read, but with neither the plot nor the characters of the other two Howl books. Pleasant enough, but not something I'd re-read, or really bother to recommend to someone over the age of 13.

[rosenstern · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charmaine loves book and desserts. I related to her and absolutely loved her within the first few paragraphs. Plus in this book, Sophie and Howl pop up, like proper witches and wizards. Howl has a lisp which made me laugh in a very unlady like way.

[saroz_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The third and final book set in the universe of Howl's Moving Castle. Of the three, I think this one is pretty easily my favorite; it has a good initial setup, a fun mystery, and alternating moments of comedy and suspense that keep the reader wanting to know more. Like the other two, it eventually speeds toward en ending reminiscent of a 1930s screwball comedy, with every major character somehow involved, but unlike the others, this one seems fully earned. House of Many Ways also contains one of the funniest examples of the reader knowing something before the protagonist. It is immediately obvious, when he appears, that the blue-eyed, golden-curled child Twinkle is someone familiar in another form, and watching him wreak havoc is terribly, terribly entertaining. DWJ knew how to make a story fun, and there are no indications that - unlike so many authors - she was at any loss for imaginative ideas or intriguing plots even as she approached the end of her long career.

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What does one slightly spoiled, definitely pampered young lady's venture into house sitting for an infirm elderly wizard have to do with the Wizard Howl and his devious ventures? (The cover proclaims this to be the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle.) For Charmaine, who's never heard of the Wizard Howl, but who has an exceedingly desperate fascination with libraries and books, the connection isn't immediately apparent either. But as she copes with sinks missing taps, multiplying laundry, and one small, white, very determined dog, it eventually becomes clear.Read and discover along with Charmaine - you won't be sorry.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book. It's no more a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle than Castle in the Air was - again, a different character has a bunch of adventures, then encounters Howl and family and (eventually) the matter is resolved. But possibly the weirdness at the beginning has a stronger flavor of Moving Castle - oh gee, now I have to go reread the other two to be sure. Oh, save me.I don't think much of either of the kids, though I do (somewhat) identify with Charmain's constant desire to read a book. I'm certainly capable of ignoring dirty dishes and laundry to read. But I do know what to do with them (though it's a lot easier for me! Labor-saving devices...) and do eventually get around to them. (They also don't multiply when I ignore them - at least, not of themselves.) I didn't like her any better when she ran into the lubbock, either. I started to like her when she resolved to be kinder - when she thanked the King, actually. By the end of the story she was quite tolerable. The boy (Peter?) was still pretty much a non-entity to me, though. And the solution(s) were way contrived. I don't know. Not one of my favorites - which doesn't mean I won't reread it! DWJ is held to a higher standard than many...

[cindywho-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oops, I had planned to reread Howl's Moving Castle and didn't realize this was a sequel until after I started listening to it. Sophie and Howl are secondary characters in this cute semi-Mary Sue story of a young woman house-sitting for a great-uncle wizard. The house is delightfully weird and so is the story.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this story of Charmain who is roped into minding her great-uncle's house by her aunt. Charmain has been sheltered all her life from magic but now she's immersed in it and her curiousity is going to teach her a thing or two. Before she got roped into this she applied to the King to work in his library, he's going to take her up on this which adds to her workload. Then Howl and Sophie turn up with Calcifer and their child. Someone has to work out where the money from the kingdom is going and they are all going to have to work hard at it. Meanwhile an unexpected guest turns up in the House of Many Ways.It's a bit of a riot and felt to me like there could have been a story in just the house of many ways, fun and interesting. I enjoyed the read.

[francescadefreitas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charmain, who has never been allowed to do anything useful, goes to look after her wizard uncle's house while he is off with the elves for medical treatment.Yay! This is more of the cosy, off-kilter domestic magic that I enjoyed so much in the first two Howl books. Although Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer are minor players in this story, this enchanted world has plenty of other engaging characters.I enjoyed Charmain, whose instinctive reaction to stress is to go and read a book.I'd give this to any fantasy fan.

[shelbya14 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

House of Many Ways is the story of a sheltered young girl, Charmain, sent to care for her uncle's house while he is ill. Her uncle is a wizard and his house turns out to be full of surprises and secrets. Charmain is also hired to help the King catalogue his extensive library, where she meets a fire demon, a witch named Sophie, her son Morgan, and a mysterious boy named Twinkle. The castle is abuzz with rumors of theft, a mysterious missing Elfgift, and the despicable Lubbock. Can Charmain help the King and Sophie to unravel the puzzling events plaguing the castle?I enjoyed reading this book, but I didn't think it compared to Howl's Moving Castle. The characters were not as likeable, but the plot was intricate and engaging. I would say this book is probably best suited for readers 9 and up.

[klburnside · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was my least favorite of the Howl's Moving Castle trilogy. I can see why kids would like it, as it is has funny magic in it, but it reminded me of a story that you make up on the spot to tell a little kid. It didn't really have any depth and didn't really come together in a satisfying way.

[neithernora · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A cute story, but quite the disappointment as sequels go -- Howl's Moving Castle was so wonderfully complex and twisty, and both this third book and the second in the series are just predictable and downright silly by compare. This one felt particularly childish, wrapping up far too neatly. The characters were trite and monotonous -- even the protagonist showed no depth or development to speak of, spending the entire story irritable and impatient. Also, any book character who's outlandishly book-obsessed always strikes me as gratuitous self-insertion. So yes. I didn't think highly of this conclusion.

[teckelvik · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is more of a tangent to Howl's Moving Castle than Castle in the Air, although it isn't a direct sequel. It takes place after the other two, and there are recurring characters, but the main plot lne follows someone entirely new. Jones has an amazing ability to make sense of plots without spelling everything out, and she creates amazingly realistic characters. I enjoyed Charmain's growing knowlege of her own flaws, and the way she watches herself make mistakes over and over despite her best intentions. That, and her emotional intensity and basic self-centeredness, rang true for a teenaged girl.

[Alette · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was so much fun! Utterly delightful! I am at a loss for words to describe all the things I liked! I will call this a most read!

[yarmando_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lightweight sequel to "Howl's Moving Castle." That particular inspiration well seems tapped out, as Jones is recycling characters and ideas. Still, it's nice to see Sophie, Howl, and Calcifer again. The main character Charmain reminds me of Angelica from "Magicians of Caprona," another girl whose magic always works no matter how badly she flubs it, and Peter also seems like a treatment for a character in the "Chrestomanci" series -- one whose magic goes wrong no matter how correctly he executes the spells.The titular House is an interesting device: its single door seems to lead to infinite destinations. In that respect, the book seemed like a cartoon version of "House of Leaves."

[elegantnocturne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Exciting and unexpected. At times funny and at others serious, but overall a great, incredible adventure. Witty and delightful.