Cart and Cwidder

By: Diana Wynne Jones

Narrated by: Huw Parmenter

The first book in the spellbinding, epic adventure series from ‘the Godmother of Fantasy’, Diana Wynne Jones.

For centuries, Dalemark has been a land divided by the warring earldoms of the North and South. Now, with the help of the mysterious gods of Dalemark, four extraordinary young people must join forces to reunify their beloved home.

When twelve-year-old Moril’s father is murdered by soldiers, Moril inherits his ancient cwidder – a musical instrument with a mysterious past. As Moril and his siblings embark on a dangerous journey to escape the evil forces around them, he gradually learns how to channel the cwidder’s strange and powerful magic. But is it enough to protect those he loves from the looming threat of war?

Critic reviews

PRAISE FOR DIANA WYNNE JONES:

“…Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones’s most outrageous plots to her readers’ hopes and fears…”
Publishers Weekly

“The best writer of magic there is”
Neil Gaiman

“Truly magical – guaranteed to leave you gasping – even hotter than Potter”
The Bookseller

PRAISE FOR HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE:

“Imaginative and terribly funny ”
Michael Morpurgo
The Telegraph – 100 Best Books a Child Should Read

“Wit and humor glint from the pages"
The Horn Book

intuitive fantasy!

lovely story, nice characters, interesting magic!
I have read this book many times since childhood! the narrator is not quite right however: the singing is awful, which is a problem as the book is about the magic of music, and the children's voice badly rendered, in particular the girls,with some sort of unjustified cockney accent. However, I recommend !

Decidedly average

This book isn't bad. It just isn't great. It really is a book for older children and just does not have the complexities for an adult reader. But, having said that it was a mindless listen and that's good sometimes isn't it?