Dark Lord of Derkholm
![[Cover Thumbnail]](pix/covers/derkholm.gif)
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![[Cover Thumbnail]](pix/covers/derkholm_hard_uk.gif)
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| US Hardcover, Greenwillow Books 1998, ISBN 0-668-16004-2. Cover art by Jos. A. Smith. |
published 1998.
Deb's Comments
I'd recommend reading Dark Lord after reading Tough Guide to Fantasyland, though it doesn't really matter in what order you read them. I loved this book. But then, I would, wouldn't I? I mean, I love them all.
What was really compelling about this book was not so much the lessons it learned from Tough Guide, but the lessons Diana learned from writing A Sudden Wild Magic -- namely, that there is no easy division between children's, YA, and adult novels. Dark Lord causes us to sympathise with both the adult and the adolescent heroes[*], all of whom go through major growth as the story progresses. Diana did not hold back from depicting extreme violence and one harrowing near-rape, but she did hold back from presenting them in any unecessarily graphic manner -- none of which detracts from the text's overt anti-violence message. (As for covert textual meanings, you'll have to find them yourself. As usual, there's plenty of layers going on here...
[*]and, to a lesser extent, the heroines. There's a topic for a paper. Why does Diana write better male characters in general? Does it have something to do with having sons? But she also has sisters...
Awards
- Dark Lord of Derkholm
- 1999: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
- Diana's remarks upon winning the award (scroll down)
Reviews
- the Mythopoeic Society posted a review when they gave the book the award
- Rambles review
Year of the Griffin
Elda is off to the Wizard University.