Castle in the Air

By: Diana Wynne Jones

Narrated by: Kristin Atherton

A magical Arabian Nights tale from the captivating creator of fantasy, Diana Wynne Jones. The dazzling sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle.

Far to the south in the Land of Ingary, lives a young carpet merchant called Abdullah. In his dreams, he is the long-lost son of a great prince. This dream is a complete castle in the air… or is it?

Abdullah’s day-dreams suddenly start to come true when he meets the exquisite Flower-in-the-Night, daughter of the ferocious Sultan of Zanzib. Fate has destined them for each other, but a bad-tempered genie, a hideous djinn, and various villanous bandits have their own ideas. When Flower-in-the-Night is carried off, Abdullah is determined to rescue her – if he can find her.

©1990 Diana Wynne Jones (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

“This is the Arabian Nights with a twist. Readers won’t put down the book until they figure out all its secrets.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review)

"A bewitching romp, gratifying to mind, imagination, and funnybone."
KIRKUS REVIEWS

Highly Enjoyed The Sequel

I was a bit confused when the story started off with a completely different person in a completely different location but I love how the story developed and the different plot twists that occurred throughout the book.

Fun story

It was fun, although some of the conclusions felt a bit odd. Can’t say much else without spoilers

Briliant as the first one

I loved the story almost the same as the Moving Castle. Wish there is a movie adaptation one day.

Decent story but great performance

If you love Howl’s moving castle this is a decent way to get some more content from that universe. The descriptions and writing is good, some tropes are pretty outdated and might not be for everyone.
There are counts of hitting children, as well as some sexism and the fact one of the villains is described as having a hooked nose. Otherwise a decent story with amazing descriptions of the surroundings and the magic is as always fun and different.