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Midwinter Nightingale (Wolves of Willoughby Chase)Snagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here!  List Price: £4.99 Amazon.co.uk's Price: £4.49 You Save: £0.50 (10%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackEAN: 9780099447726 Edition: New edition ISBN: 009944772X Label: Red Fox Manufacturer: Red Fox Number Of Pages: 256 Publication Date: January 06, 2005 Publisher: Red Fox Studio: Red Fox Related Items:
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - grim but goodThe other 2 reviews say all that needs saying about the plot; apart from that, it's true that the atmosphere is very sinister indeed, but it is also very convincing. If I have any complaint, it's that the final showdown is a bit contrived. The next book, "The Witch of Clatteringshaws", also has a very sinister atmosphere - like so many of Aiken's books, such as "Midnight is a place" or "The cuckoo tree" - but ends on a less gloomy note than this one. Rating: - Dido Twite is back--and as sassy as everWho needs Harry Potter when you can thrill to the adventures of Dido Twite, the indefatigable Cockney heroine of Joan Aiken's Wolves Chronicles? In the penultimate installment, Dido is back in England during the (fictional) reign of King Richard IV, just in time to help save the throne from the loutish son of a werewolf baron. Yes, the plot sounds outrageous, and perhaps it is--but the story is so fast-paced, the narrative so vivid and yet so concise, and the characters so charismatic that even the most literal-minded reader (youngster or adult) is unlikely to care. For fans of Aiken's entire series, which begins with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and includes Black Hearts in Battersea, Nightbirds on Nantucket, and The Cuckoo Tree (one of my favorites), one of the most rewarding aspects of Midwinter Nightingale is sure to be Dido's reunion with her mate Simon--and the bittersweet yet open-ended way Aiken closes the book... leaving way for the final installment, The Witch of Clatteringshaws. Rating:  - Not as good as usualIt's understandable that this book isn't quite of the usual quality - apparently Joan Aiken was nursing her terminally ill husband while writing it, and has herself since died - the last book in the series is to be published posthumously. I have been a fan of her work for many years and have enjoyed the "James III" series greatly. However, this, the 11th in the series, is not as satisfying as the others, though I still enjoyed it. Everything seems rushed: there is none of the usual character development, and most of the characters appear only for a short time before meeting an unpleasant end. The tone is almost uniformly dark, with some quite horrifying scenes and a cast of mainly evil characters. I hope the last of the series will show a return to Miss Aiken's old form - I will buy it when it is published, but fear it too may not quite reach the standard of the others. Nonetheless, Joan Aiken leaves a fine body of work that will thrill yet more generations of readers.  Try searching the Internet for "Midwinter Nightingale (Wolves of Willoughby Chase)" or Ebay for "Midwinter Nightingale (Wolves of Willoughby Chase)". You might also be interested in the following great products:
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