The third book in the Dalemark Quartet seems to go back in time, to tell the tale of a legendary family connected to the Old Ones. Their story tells the tale of the Heathen invasion of the land, and how they have to turn back the real invador, a powerful mage. But the mage is the main enemy in the last book in the series, so either he's really old or the book isn't meant to be historical... While I enjoyed some aspects of the story I found much of it kind of tedious since it didn't seem to connect to the other two novels. I'm going to assume that the fourth book ties everything neatly together, since Jones is not one for sloppy series. ( )

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.

The Spellcoats takes us deep into the history of Dalemark, before there was a kingdom to be divided. It is a story of survival and overcoming prejudice and becoming one's own savior. Treated with Jones' characteristic wit, this was my favorite of the quartet by a long shot. There were additional puzzles to solve and it was wonderful coming onto every new bit of lore Jones threw my way.

Dalemark Quartet

Next: 'The Crown of Dalemark'

Previous: 'Drowned Ammet' ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2018/05/201824-spellcoats-diana-wynne-jones.html ( )

The Spellcoats happens in pre-historic Dalemark before there's a North and South. it wasn't obvious at first that it was set in the same world as the first 2 books. In 'going with the flow' this is quintessential DWJ. The children in the story are enjyable characterizations and their tale is compelling. ( )

At first, this story seems to have little relationship to the two before it. It's not till the very end that it's revealed that it takes place in Dalemark – but during near-prehistoric times. The society portrayed is very primitive, perhaps analogous to Bronze Age tribes in Britain. When most of the men of a village go off to fight a war against some blond invaders, the pale, fair looks passed down to one family's children by their mysterious, foreign(?) mother make them a target of fear and superstition.
They escape their threatening neighbors, bringing only their household gods with them in a boat down the river – but these gods turn out to be more than the reader might have assumed, as they embark on a journey of danger and magic, which will lead them not only to the center of the conflict between two tribes, but to the greater threat posed to all by an evil, soul-catching sorcerer.
The narrator is a young woman who tells the story through her complicated weaving, setting her tale down in a textile coat. To her people, these ‘spellcoats' have both traditional and magical powers, and the record of her story will become essential to her story. ( )