I don't have a favorite Diana Wynne Jones book; I have a cluster of five favorites and six more second-tier favorites. Of those top five, three were published consecutively, and Archer's Goon is the first of those. DWJ's sixteenth published book, Archer's Goon represents, with Howl's Moving Castle, the peak of the humorous writing that characterizes much of her 1980s period. The core is a strong, beautifully plotted story, but it's overlaid with so many funny bits that it isn't until you get to

Writing can take over the world.When even random daydreams are important signifiers you know you are in the grip of a superbly plotted extravaganzer. There is so much to admire here, and a huge cast of characters, each of whom is important, is distinctive and memorable, despite only appearing briefly in person. The story rolls along at speed without ever feeling forced.As usual with DWJ lots of acutely observed moments, the epic hypocrisy of taking the taxpayers moral high ground when you aren't...

Very pleased to finally share one of my favorites with my kids! As a writer, the idea of beating writers' block by turning in two thousand words about anything is pleasing and reassuring to me. As a parent, seeing the way the parents deal with their children and the chaos around them is also pleasing and reassuring, and I had forgotten how much sly humor there is about the parents. And it holds up well for children, too. My kids loved it, though (since we read it aloud over a month's time) I did...

A bit tricky to follow on occasion, but I liked the twists.

REREAD July 14, 2016Rereading this aloud was so FUN. Doing the voices etc. for this crazy cast of characters was fabulous. I also loved reading it a second time because this time I actually understood what was going on, after all those mindbending plot-twists in the first reading. A.k.a. IT WAS EVEN BETTER THE SECOND TIME AND I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE.THIS IS THE BEST AND UTTERLY BRILLIANT AND MIND-BLOWINGLY UNIQUE AND I LOVE ALL THE CHARACTERS AND I ADORE IT AND IT'S PERFECT.THAT IS ALL....

One day Howard and his sister Awful (you soon discover just how "awful" Anthea is and the reason for her nickname becomes evident)come home from school to find a huge goon in their kitchen. He says he was sent by Archer because Howard's dad hasn't turned in his quarterly payment of 2000 words. Just who Archer is and how 2000 words can be payment for anything turn are the beginning of a quest that take Howard and Awful on an adventure that truly is indescribable. It is a mystery that constantly s...

...This is brilliant. And to think I was nervous about reading it, after Eight Days of Luke didn't work for me! This is very much in the vein of Eight Days of Luke, actually, but whereas I found that novel derivative, this is original and surprising and densely plotted - and it feels new and somehow grounded, because of its amazing familial interactions, even in the ridiculous lengths it eventually goes to. Sometimes it's a bit too self-aware, particularly when Quentin is griping: "Well, [writer...

I've liked this book for decades. In fact, the edition I have is old enough to still have 'mail to this address with postage enclosed' book order forms in the back.While it was YA before YA was mainstream, the characters are perfectly plausible, there's no love triangle (can it still be YA, in that case???) :) and the atmosphere of 1980s UK is perfectly evoked.What it does contain, which to me has always been one of the key components of YA, is an otherwise unremarkable, imperfect teen protagoni...

Ahhh! Another DWJ book. I've owned this one for a while, sort of keeping it around as something extra special to anticipate. And all that anticipation was rewarded: This story is delightful. Now I want to read it again so I can better appreciate its complexity!Other reviewers have explained its brilliance--I won't try to repeat or compete.Just . . . read it and enjoy!

This was the first of Dianna Wynne Jones' books that I ever read, and I went on from there to read and reread them all, or at least all of the ones on the library shelf.Archer's Goon is without a doubt one of the most genuinely oddball books you will ever read. Wickedly witty, is how one "real" reviewer described it. And I'll stick with that, since an actual description of the plot couldn't give you ANY idea of how good it is. It's funny, it's suspenseful, it's full of characters likeable and ha...

Archer's Goon is a mysterious large man who shows up one day in Howard Sykes's kitchen, refusing to leave until Howard's father Quentin delivers the two thousand words he owes. When Quentin won't deliver, the Sykes family finds out that their town is run by seven competing siblings who are wizards - and one of them needs those words. Jones's plots are always mysterious, and I think Archer's Goon is up there with her most bizarre. But she does a wonderful job keeping the mystery intriguing right

I got this book from the library. The best part was that on the last page, someone had written neatly in pencil: "this book comes with free spider." A spider was evenly pressed between the pages. Seriously, this was the best part of the whole book.

at this point, I don't even know what to say, only that it might be the saddest thing about my life that there's no hope I'll ever meet Diana Wynne Jones, ever

I had been wanting to read Archer's Goon for quite some time, following my discovery of Jones' Chrestomanci series and generally feeling that she was my type of writer, something that hadn't been dispelled by the enjoyment of a couple of her other novels like Eight Days of Luke and Howl's Moving Castle (which, I believe, is soon to be a motion picture). But Archer's Goon had been originally published in 1984 and no one had seen fit to bring it back into print. I searched in vain at used book sto...

If ever there is a day when I don't love one of Diana Wynne Jones' books, I shall either be ashamed of myself for losing that bit of myself that appreciates her particular humor and writing style, or I'll be disappointed that Mrs. Jones didn't quite live up to the standards of greatness that I've come to expect of her works. As it is, her record still stands, and she's still my favorite author!

The first book in which I was introduced to Diana Wynne Jones' seemingly haphazard, confusing, crazy but riveting storylines. It's like an amusement park ride! I actually had to re-read the story around three time to fully understand it, and it was an enjoyment every time!

I've actually read this three or four times, but only recently started tracking my readings through Goodreads, sooooI needed a comfort read in transitioning back from being in the country of my heart - England - to my so-called life in the desert, so I turned to Diana and the book I think is definitely one of my very favorites of her books. We had an author spotlight on Diana Wynne Jones on our delightful literary tour through England, so I was itching to revisit one of my favorites. I had forgo...

I have this weird thing about Dianna Wynn Jones books. I know that they will be wonderful and I will love them... but I have an awful case of cover judging EVERY SINGLE TIME. Archer's Goon was no exception; the only reason I picked it up was that I had to return it to the library the next day. But I'd hardly started it when I was sucked into the story. I don't know if it was better than Howl, but that would take a lot. There's not much that is better than Howl.Things I liked:-The characters. I d...

This is the last Diana Wynne Jones novel I hadn't read (apart from her first, Changeover, a political satire for adults that's been out of print for decades and *very* expensive on the secondhand market). No more worlds to conquer! This was definitely up to standard, and I was proud of myself for figuring out the BIG TWIST before the author reveal - the first (and evidently only!) time that's ever happened for one of Jones's novels.

3.5 stars, rounded up since I haven't read a children's book in a while. What a charming little book!! There is not one but TWO big twists at the end, which I didn't see coming but loved. Not sure how I skipped this book in my childhood, but it was nice reading a Dianna Wynne Jones book for the first time again :)

The Goon shows up demanding Archer's two thousand and the Sykes family find themselves caught up in a family feud which threatens to destroy them.Jones' delightful fantasy for children contains some high level concepts which are worth pondering by readers of all ages.

I first read this at the age of about 10 or 11, I guess. To this day, when I'm running late and desperately need the bus to come, I say a prayer to Hathaway under my breath.My point is, how good must a story be to implant a polytheistic belief system into the brain of a Catholic child strong enough to last for a quarter of a century?

Howard's ordinary life is turned upside-down when he comes home from school one day to find the Goon sitting in his kitchen. The Goon claims he's from Archer and wants Howard's father to give him two thousand words. But the words are only the beginning. Howard's town is ruled by seven siblings who want nothing more than to be released from their confinement here so they can take over the world . . .This is probably my favorite Diana Wynne Jones book (tied with Dark Lord of Derkholm). I love the

One of my all-time favourite Diana Wynne Jones books. She's at her best dealing with families, and this deals with two. There's the core family, the Sykes-- Quentin (author and professor), Catriona (music teacher), Howard and Awful (Anthea is her real name, but she's *earnt* the name Awful). They live in more or less domestic harmony, of the sort that involves balancing out each minor crisis with tea, affection and the distraction of another crisis. Then there's the other family, seven siblings

I must have read this one for the first time back when I was in high school. I seem to remember reading it around the time just before or after Hexwood. I do believe that I liked it much better this time around, probably because I'm older and can appreciate the way that Jones writes such perfectly true to life disfunctional families in the midst of such wonderful fantasy. Some of my favorite moments in this book have to be when one of the characters is having a realization about their place in t...

YA Fantasy. Howard Sykes comes home from school and finds his kitchen full of Goon, an enormous man with a tiny head. The Goon says that Howard's dad owes Archer his quarterly payment of 2000 words and the Goon's there to collect.Consider this a more cheerful version of Jones' Eight Days of Luke with a hint of Gaiman's Endless thrown into the mix. Seven powerful wizards control Howard's town, and he and his family visit each of them, trying to free themselves from their meddling, eavesdropping w...

Definitely in my top 5 from DWJ. Not a number one, but not far from that.Slow to pick up at first, but becomes steadily more and more fascinating as the story proceeds. The numerous big plot twists are mind-blowing even for Diana's writing, yet still, it all makes sense and comes down very logically. This book is a prime example of how Diana had a tendency of dropping hints for observant readers to pick up. You can tell what's going to happen next if you just know where to look, yet it's never b...

Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones is very well created in the way that she starts her story off as it is created in a regular world and then flips that upside down in the next few pages. You can explain the writing as going from zero to one hundred or "Jumping right into the action. Right as she introduces a character named goon things are carefully explained in a way that still leaves you wanting more from the story and the author in general. In no time we find out that it's not a normal world...

I always enjoy Diana Wynne Jones's books and got to borrow this one from a friend. She wanted me to read it so she could have someone to talk to about it. No one else she knew had read it. It took me almost a year to pick it up. This seems to be one of her first books, and it really shows how much she has developed as a writer. The book, while not bad, sometimes loses it's drive and I can't really put my finger on why. Sometimes I just don't want to get things resolved or see how they could be.

Reading David Langford's collected Critical Mass columns recently, I was startled by how many of the books I loved I'd first encountered on those reviews' original magazine publication. For some I had always remembered Langford as the vector; for many more, I did not until I encountered again the phrases which had first sold them to me. Others, I've since determined to read. And a couple sounded like things I should have read, but I genuinely couldn't remember if I had. This was the first one I