Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones

Title:  Dark Lord of Derkholm
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
ISBN: 9780064473361
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright Date: 1998
Genre: Fantasy

About the Author:
In a career spanning four decades, award-winning author Diana Wynne Jones 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 were filled with unlimited imagination, dazzling plots, and an effervescent sense of humor that earned her legendary status in the world of fantasy. From the very beginning, Diana Wynne Jones’s books garnered literary accolades: her novel Dogsbody was a runner-up for the 1975 Carnegie Medal, and Charmed Life won the esteemed Guardian children’s fiction prize in 1977. Since then, in addition to being translated into more than twenty languages, her books have earned a wide array of honors—including two Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honors—and appeared on countless best-of-the-year lists. Her work also found commercial success: in 1992 the BBC adapted her novel Archer’s Goon into a six-part miniseries, and her best-selling Howl’s Moving Castle was made into an animated film by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki in 2004. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006, and became one of the most financially successful Japanese films in history. The author herself has also been honored with many prestigious awards for the body of her work. She was given the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award in 1999 for having made a significant impact on fantasy, received a D.Lit from Bristol University in 2006, and won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Convention in 2007.
Amazon. Diana Wynne Jones. https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Wynne-Jones/e/B000AP7PX0.

Curriculum Ties:

• Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
• Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Plot Summary:
Derk’s world is being destroyed by the evil Mr. Chesney’s Pilgrim Parties. They come each year and make the people in Derk’s world dress up in costumes, take on different roles, and fight each other. The worst of these roles is playing the Dark Lord, who has to organize the whole event, summon a demon, hide clues on how to defeat him, and oversee the evil army of convicts assigned to him. This year, the role of Dark Lord is assigned to Derk, who isn’t the best at any of those things. In fact, he would rather tend to his flying pigs and griffin children than do any of that. Matters get even more complicated when a dragon burns Derk, leaving most of the event on the shoulders of Derk’s family. It’s up to them to make sure that the pilgrimage goes smoothly, while dealing with the larger problem of how to get Mr. Chesney to never return again.

Critical Evaluation:
The world of The Dark Lord of Derkholm is an interesting take on the traditional fantasy tropes. We see characters struggle to perform as expected and mock these normal aspects of the story, like assigning pirates to kidnap pilgrims, dwarves mining gold because they have to in order to pay Mr. Chesney, and the transforming of Derk’s country estate into a dark castle complete with fire pits, goblin servants, and a demon. The author does a good job of introducing the regular tropes of fantasy in this way, though it is not overdone. The characters of the story are well developed, though many of the minor characters are only seen complaining about the losses that they have sustained during the years of the pilgrimage, like the Lady of Horses, who is perpetually angry that the horses are getting hurt. However, Derk and his children are all presented with their own personalities, like Kit, a griffin with a flair for organization, which help make the story fun and complex.

Readers Annotation:
Commercialization takes over everything, even other worlds. Watch as the wizard Derk and his family of griffins work to end the nefarious Mr. Chesney's schemes to run pilgrim parties through his world.

Book Talking Ideas:

• Talk about some of the things you expect to read in a fantasy. Have readers look for other things in the story.
• Talk about how Derk's family consists of different people and creatures. Look for how they react with each other and think about how you can treat others better.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12-18

Challenge Issues:

• Some violence, including a hand cut off.
• Sexual references, including one attempted rape
• Magic, Gods, and demon summoning

Defense Collection:

• Books for Youth, Older Readers: Gr. 7-10. Mr. Chesney's Pilgrim Parties have been wreaking havoc for some 40 years, and the University Emergency Committee has convened to try to find a way to put an end to the incursions. After all, the kings, lords, wizards, and other inhabitants of the land are weary of being forced to serve as the army of the Dark Lord or the Forces of Good and tired of letting kingdoms be ravaged as entertainment for the annual Pilgrim Parties. This year, they seek the advice of both the White Oracle and the Black Oracle and end up with the unconventional Wizard Derk as the Dark Lord and his son Blade as the Wizard Guide to the tour. There is a sense of the absurd to the story as Derk and his family work to turn their house into "a black castle with a labyrinthine interior lit by baleful fires" and to cast an illusion rendering a prosperous village into a grouping of squalid hovels. Add the tour groups, hardened criminals playing soldiers, dwarfs, elves, griffins, dragons, flying pigs, and a big, blue demon, among other characters, and you get a side-splitting, sometimes scary tale that will intrigue readers of the very fantasies being spoofed here. A true delight. ((Booklist, Reviewed September 1, 1998)) -- Sally Estes
• On a par with Jones's best (Charmed Life; Fire and Hemlock), this expansive novel manages to be both an affectionate send-up of the sword-and-sorcery genre and a thrilling fantasy adventure in its own right. Something is decidedly rotten in the enchantment-laden world in which teenage fledgling wizard Blade has grown up. Each year, the country's magical agrarian economy is disrupted by the Pilgrim Parties--tourists from a world much like ours, come in search of Tolkienesque adventure. Organized by the sinister and implacably bureaucratic Mr. Chesney ("A Dark Lord's citadel must always be a black castle with a labyrinthine interior lit by baleful fire--you will find our specifications in the guide Mr. Addis will give you"), the Pilgrim Parties are in fact highly choreographed package tours. The local population is bullied, cajoled and paid hard cash to participate, all because of a deal struck with a demon some 40 years ago. This year's appointee to the onerous post of Dark Lord (who must act as chief villain and tour-coordinator) is Blade's mild-mannered father, Derk, who would far rather spend his time creating marvelous new animals (he already has flying pigs, talking horses and clever geese). When an encounter with a dragon puts Derk out of commission, Blade's entire family--including his five griffin siblings--must help. As elaborate charades are staged for the tours, a deeper magic also emerges which (in combination with some hilariously banal legalities) offers the hope of release from Mr. Chesney's domination. Thought-provoking and utterly engaging, this tour-de-force succeeds on numerous levels. The marvelously characterized griffins are a particularly noteworthy pleasure. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
• Awards:
• Mythopoeic Award: Children's Literature
• School Library Journal Best Books: 1998
• Freedom to Read Statement
• ALA Library Bill of Rights
• Springville Public Library Collection Development Policy


• The Library Director and designated staff actively evaluate and select materials. The Springville Public Library Board, acting under the authority given to it by Title 4, Chapter 6 of the Springville Municipal Code and Title 09 of the Utah State Code, has the ultimate responsibility for the determination of the policies for selection and acquisition of materials.
• Library materials are selected based on the following (not necessarily in order of priority):
• Local public demand and usage potential
• Popularity
• Subject coverage
• Relevance
• Accuracy and currency
• Presentation, readability and format
• Point of view (all sides)
• Cost
• Local connection
• Social values
• Collection balance
• To assess the item based on the above criteria, staff utilize:
• Nationally recognized and relevant pre-publication reviews
• Staff expertise
• Bestseller lists
• Patron recommendations and requests
• Reliable social media reviews 

Purpose in Collection:

The Dark Lord of Derkholm is a good introduction to the world of fantasy, using many of the tropes that are popular in the genre. It is also enjoyable for those who are already a fan of the genre. Diana Jones is also a fairly popular author, especially with her book, Howl's Moving Castle, which make her work a good addition to any collection.