A wacky take on the classic Arabian nights genre this is Jones at her best -- nothing is as it seems, and in the end there are several morals to be learned. However, the link between Castle in the Air and [b:Howl's Moving Castle|6294|Howl's Moving Castle|Diana Wynne Jones|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165560187s/6294.jpg|2001] is tenuous at best, and at worst Castle in the Air is cheapened by the association, as the feel is extremely different and the characters from Howl seem shoehorned in. ( )

reread and review later ( )

Set in the same world as Howl's Moving Castle, this book focuses on Abdullah, a carpet merchant who ends up pursuing the love of his life and engaging with a Big Bad, before eventually (at the very end) meeting up with our cast from the preceding book.

Diana Wynne Jones retains the fairytale feeling of the first book but moves it to the Arabian desert, to tell a new tightly plotted story of princesses needing rescuing. This book made me giggle repeatedly, even when it was vaguely non-PC, with the same wry observations and genre subverting that I liked in the prior book. The whole setup -- even the cover! -- is a massive setup to a terrible joke, which is so bold that I can only shake my head with disbelief. This was absolutely the right book at the right time for me. ( )

Al sur de la tierra de Ingary, Abdullah, un joven y no muy próspero mercader de alfombras, pasa su humilde y tranquila vida soñando despierto con que es el hijo perdido de un gran príncipe y está destinado a casarse con una princesa. Pero un día la quietud de sus ensoñaciones se rompe con la visita de un extranjero que le vende una alfombra mágica. Desde ese momento se desata una vertiginosa fantasía, en la que nada (o casi nada) es lo que parece, llena de genios contestones, demonios buenos y malos, animales con insual personanalidad, persecuciones a camello y un castillo flotante cargado de princesas. Y un final que dejará a todos con la boca abierta.

I spent the first half of this generally annoyed but it did improve though the connections to the Howl's cast was annoying in a different way. A generally silly adventure lacking in basic story integrity. ( )