Jones' epic quartet is concluded in this book, which brings together the past, present, and future inhabitants of Dalemark to bring about the reign of King Amil and the ultimate defeat of Kankredin. We are told the story from the perspective of Maeqin, a girl from the future who is sent back in time by Wend (of the Undying and one of the four siblings from the Spellcoats) to play the part of the girl who would unite Dalemark under one crown. It seems like an easy replacement - she does know what the future looks like after all - but the plot is much more complicated than that! Jones' storytelling abilities are put to the ultimate test as she must miraculously make all of the various torylines make sense, and as per usual she does not disappoint! ( )

It has been seven years since the death of Diana Wynne Jones, and I've been a fan of hers since childhood, but I had never read this series before.

The Dalemark Quartet, arguably the most effective series Jones ever wrote. Jones' genius didn't lend itself to sequels. When she created a world and characters she said all that she wanted to say in that first volume. That's why many sequels often had mostly new sets of characters, if not new worlds, and often, fell flat. Dalemark is a magical kingdom divided among feuding lords, with a sharp division between those in the North and those in the South. Ideology, prejudice, and history must be overcome and its fate rests in the hands of children, sometimes scattered over centuries.

This is where it all comes together. Our heroes, with some disappointing behavior from a certain young lady from 'Drowned Ammet' who I expected more of frankly, come together. Mitt and Moril strike sparks as protagonists must when colliding, but there is a fresh perspective in the form of Maewen. A girl of modern Dalemark, she has been transported into, for her, the distant past, and must help unite the disparate factions of Dalemark and trust her new friends, before an ancient evil arises and changes history.

'Crown' effectively ties together all of the loose ends of the series, blending Mitt and Moril's stories, the distant past and even the modern coda at the end of 'Spellcoats' into a whole greater then its parts. That very effectiveness takes away some of the thrill of the book, as a reader can see where much of the plot is headed, but is still a worthy ending to the series with a strong message of forgiveness entwined in its plots.

Dalemark Quartet

Previous: 'The Spellcoats' ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2018/05/201825-crown-of-dalemark-diana-wynne.html ( )

Mitt and Moril meet up as they journey with a group of people following Noreth, apparently the daughter of one of 'the Undying', and the rightful heir to the long-absent crown. Flash-forward 200 years, to Maewen, a new heroine sent back in time to take Noreth's place on the journey to find the crown. No spoilers! Great read. ( )

In this last book, many of the elements of ‘The Spellcoats' become more clear, as it is shown that many of the characters and gods mentioned in that story have become part of Dalemark's mythology and legends – it explains why it was decided to print it there, out of chronological order!
Here, Maewen, a young girl from ‘modern' Dalemark is convinced/tricked to go 200 years back in time and impersonate a young woman who has disappeared – but who was convinced that gods spoke to her and that she was destined to be Queen of all Dalemark, reuniting the conflict-riven North and South. Maewen has doubts about this, as she meets characters that she was familiar with from paintings that she saw displayed of famous people from Dalemark's history – but she has never heard anything about this supposedly-important young ‘Queen.'
Still, she feels she has very little choice but to go along with it, and as time goes on, she finds herself becoming emotionally involved in the situation she finds herself in – one that, for the reader, is yet more entertaining, because it involves characters we've met before in the other novels of the quartet. ( )