(no subject)

[skygiants]

I always forget just how much I love Archer's Goon until I reread it.

This is one of the set I mentally classify as DWJ's Really Weird Books (which are of course all the ones I love best.) In it, thirteen-year-old Howard Sykes finds that a group of seven ambiguously super-powered wizard siblings are planning to take over the world as soon as they get rid of whatever block is stopping them from leaving Howard's town.

The block, it seems, has to do with some rubbish short stories that Howard's famous-author father has been writing once every three months, and all of the wizard siblings are now determined to get their hands on them -- and they are not averse to using their powers to do things like shut off all the power, dig up the street in front of Howard's house, send marching bands and disco dancers to harass them at all hours, and stop the family's bank accounts. Every member of the household has a different reaction to all these goings-on:

QUENTIN, HOWARD'S FATHER: storms around shouting dramatically about MEGALOMANIAC WIZARDS and how AS A TAXPAYER and CITIZEN OF THE WORLD it is his bound duty to not write any magical words for anyone! He must TAKE A STAND!
CATRIONA, HOWARD'S MOTHER: is very, very unimpressed with all these wizard shenanigans, until it turns out that super-powered wizards could potentially cause her to lose her job, at which point she becomes very unimpressed with Quentin
AWFUL, HOWARD'S BRATTY LITTLE SISTER: seems to have discovered a new joy in life, which is to be as bratty and terrible as possible to every single super-powered wizard that she meets
FIFI, AWFUL'S FRAZZLED BABYSITTER: is not very comfortable with all these goings-on, until she meets Archer, the sexy oldest wizard brother, and suddenly becomes a little too comfortable with these goings-on
THE GOON: is a tower of strength in their time of crisis! For the record, the Goon does not properly belong to the household; he's a giant gorilla of a person who shows up as Phase 1 of the Campaign to Acquire Quentin's Words and sort of amiably refuses to leave until Quentin produces some words for Archer. Eventually, since there seems no getting rid of him, they make him up a bed on the sofa and set him to running errands and barbecuing in the backyard

You may have noticed something especially unusual about this description now: Howard's parents ALSO have to cope with 'surprise, there's magic!' This is something I feel I always want to see in kids' novels and never do; usually it's the kids' jobs to take care of everything while the parents remain oblivious. Archer's Goon is emphatically NOT THIS. It is, instead, very much a book about families, and how some things about the ways families interact remain the same no matter what the circumstances -- not just with Howard's family, but with super-powered wizard siblings, too, who have a complex family dynamic all their own.

Also, Quentin and Catriona are also probably my favorite set of parents in a DWJ book. They're completely human and super flawed, and prone to tremendous arguments, and not always particularly great people, but the fact that they really love their kids is never in doubt.

Ahhh, Archer's Goon! I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I mean, it's not perfect, and the ending is horrendously unfair to Fifi and those two poor Shine minions who get sent off with them -- but especially Fifi! She needs an Archer intervention, not a honeymoon trip off the planet -- but, I mean, no one is saying that anyone involved in making these decisions are actually good people, and I love all the characters too much anyway to care. (Also, where is all the fic about [SPOILER] coming and inviting Awful to rule the world?)

Comments

[petra]

I love Awful more than anyone should, ever.

Also Torquil.

Also--well--just about everyone, but I concur wholeheartedly that Fifi's ending is entirely unjust.

[skygiants]

Um I must disagree with you, everyone SHOULD love Awful with all of their heart and soul. SHE'S A BEAUTIFUL TERRIBLE FORCE OF NATURE. *___*

(Everyone who has read the book already loves Torquil so I feel no need to sing his praises! But he is glorious. My favorite is actually Erskine, though, even when I'm shouting at him not to be a creeper. He's terrible. But wonderful!)

I also want fix-it fic for Fifi though. :(

[petra]

I adore Erskine, too. Creeper that he is. They're all right there at the intersection of terrible and wonderful, except some of them lean slightly one way and some lean the other.

Maybe the Doctor showed up on the spaceship and took her off to have interesting adventures.

[skygiants]

It's true! Which is another thing that makes the end so hilariously arbitrary; like, it's not that the ones who get sent off are so objectively worse than anyone who stays behind, they're just a more immediate threat and the other four happen to all be friends at the time!

YESSS I would totally campaign for Fifi to be a Companion. FIFI AND AWFUL TAG-TEAM. How great would that be?

[petra]

Oh, absolutely it's arbitrary. If they'd figured out how to get one/several of their siblings offplanet a week before the book started, it would have been an entirely different set of people sent off and a different set staying behind.

Fifi and Awful and Seven for the win!

SPOILERS AHEAD

[skygiants]

I think really the only constants are really Hathaway and Erskine -- Hathaway because you can't really winkle him out of the past, and Erskine because he's too smart to get sent off.

Fifi even dresses a bit like the Doctor. Stripey leg warmers on her head! Seven, from what I know of him, would be DELIGHTED.

Re: SPOILERS AHEAD

[petra]

Besides, no one really has strong feelings about Hathaway. They haven't seen him all the time as they have with the rest of the family.

Erskine has the benefit of being able to run farther away than anyone else.

Oo, that is a great point about Fifi's outfits. She'd fit right in on the TARDIS.

Re: SPOILERS AHEAD

[skygiants]

And Hathaway is too busy to mostly get involved, anyway. The moral of Hathaway's story: having kids is a HUGE DISTRACTION from trying to take over the world.

Erskine is also the mastermind of the spaceship plan anyway, so the only way he's really going to be getting in it is if he decides he's sick of everybody else and takes off in it by himself. Which, I mean, given the rest of the family is always a possibility!

The other option for a Doctor Who crossover is, of course, that time that Fifi and the Doctor have to save the world from the evil dictatorship of Erskine and Awful.

Re: SPOILERS AHEAD

[petra]

I hit this post via your recent one about older sibling-super powered people dragging around younger siblings, and my first thought on reading the first paragraph was, "Oh I ADORE this book, I must comment on this post!"

At least I am consistent in my feelings towards it, and now I'm beaming all over again at the thought of Fifi on the TARDIS.

Re: SPOILERS AHEAD

[skygiants]

lololol I HAVE DEFINITELY HAD THIS EXACT EXPERIENCE

[amazing]

I scrolled past the spoilers just to say that my eye was caught when one of characters had my name (it's not common) and this may be a really shallow reason to add a book to my "to read" list but WHATEVER I DO WHAT I WANT.

(I haven't read much DWJ, but I remember liking Eight Days Of Luke as a young teenager. So that's another reason: I've also been meaning to read more since you keep reviewing her books!)

[skygiants]

On the contrary, it is A GREAT REASON! I mean, it's the whole reason I read Ivanhoe, after all.

(Man, I am on a lifelong mission to get people to read more Diana Wynne Jones. She's so delightful! *__* Which is to say: I FULLY ENCOURAGE THIS.)

[mneme]

This! Also, I think Archer's Goon was the first book of Diana's that I read where I remembered enough about how awesome it was that I decided I must read Everything by this author, ever.

[adiva_calandia]

Ahaha, Archer's Goon has a character with my unusual name as well! Totally a good reason to read a book.

[qian]

Archer's Goon is one of my favourite DWJs. It's just so GOOD. It's hard to explain why it is so good!

But what delights me most about this review and reminder of the book is how little sense the plot makes. I've always thought of DWJ as kind of a mystical writer despite her clear prose and the sensible mundane (DECEPTIVELY SO) feel of her worlds and I think it's because she just seems to write from her gut and all this weird primal stuff about siblings and being trapped in a town by SOMETHING and adults being shitheads to kids comes out. (Although AG is comparatively light on adults being shitheads to kids, IIRC, compared to some of DWJ's other books!)

In conclusion: *_____*

[skygiants]

Ha, I know, right? DWJ does not even CARE how everyone gets their powers or manipulates the system or builds spaceships or anything. THAT'S JUST HOW IT IS. The world is a strange and mystical place, DEAL WITH IT. (I would agree! AG is more about how adults are people and kids are people and all of those people are going to screw up and do more or less well by each other at times. Quentin and Catriona really are quite good parents, on the whole.)

[sophia_sol]

Hang on I've always been under the impression that I'd read Archer's Goon, but upon reading this post it is clear I HAVEN'T. I bet it was one of the DWJ novels my childhood library didn't have. It always weirds me out to realize there are DWJs I haven't read because I DEVOURED ALL OF THEM where "all" means "all that my library had"....

Anyways I clearly need to read it!

[skygiants]

Hah, I feel the same way! I think I have actually read all of them now, but there are a couple that I only read once or twice and DON'T have basically memorized because my childhood library did not have them, and it's a very strange feeling!

But yes, totally read it, IT'S DELIGHTFUL :D

[nextian]

Becca, I went on a huge binge of DWJ based on this review (and other of your reviews... over the years...) and 1) Archer's Goon is amazing and 2) Amazon Kindle has two more of her books that you don't seem to have reviewed ever; any guidance? They are Enchanted Glass and Witch's Business.

[skygiants]

YESSSSSS MY POWERS REMAIN STRONG. >:D Archer's Goon! Isn't it great?

I did review Enchanted Glass, it was her last one and I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. :( But I should reread it and see if I like it better now! Witch's Business I . . . have actually never read?! I think I always thought it was a short story collection! WHAT IS THIS.

[zopyrus]

AH! Archer's Goon was the book that converted me to DWJ's books. My best friend in high school grew up with them, I did not, and she was a little too determined to get me to like them so I was skeptical at first.

I didn't click on your spoiler section because I just realized that I've finally forgotten most of the plot twists. I may have to re-read.

[skygiants]

I feel like, in this scenario, I am probably your high school friend . . . >.>

Hah, yes, it's definitely worth going in mostly-unspoiled -- lucky you for having the chance to do that twice! :D

[rushthatspeaks]

When an irresistible force meets an immovable object, the result is a family fight!

One of the two or three possibilities for my favorite DWJ, and one of those books I sometimes just pick up and open at a random place. When there started being an actress called Anne Hathaway, I was so confused, I tell you what.

Now, what always bothered me about the ending was that he gave away his spaceship. I know it was a terrible spaceship, but. Under the circumstances, I am not sure I could have.

Quentin and Catriona are some of my favorite parents in YA.

I fully support the future Awful-[spoiler] dictatorship, it would be so hilarious and amazing, I would not be able to stop laughing long enough to rebel.

[skygiants]

A MAXIM OF TRUTH I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN.

I don't think it ever makes top top top favorite for me, but it's always hovering up there in the circle of Ones I Like Best, and one of the ones I do accidentally quote at random intervals before realizing that no one else will understand me.

But it was a terrible spaceship in a giant temple MADE TO LOOK LIKE HIS OWN HEAD! That is the part that really gets me. IT'S A GIANT HEAD OF VENTURUS. BALANCED ON FOUR OTHER HEADS OF VENTURUS. How he could actually bear to bring the thing down for other people to see, that's what I don't understand.

Quentin and Catriona are both such real people, is the thing. They are not saintly great parents and they are not terrible parents. They're just people! Who are also parents!

It would be like the bit in the middle when they form an alliance: the LEARN HOW TO COOK AND MAKE DINNER alliance. A smelly, pragmatic, glorious dictatorship. They've got my vote!

[nny]

:D

[skygiants]

<3333

[nny]

Torquil was always and forever my favourite because he is bratty and obviously enjoyed playing the younger sibling thing and therefore refused to associate much with Venturus, whereas Erskine decided Venturus was his responsibility and long-sufferingly allowed him to hang off various limbs. So Erskine has slowly snuck up there - being most like me - but it was the TV series that finally cemented him as edging forward into best. XD

[skygiants]

Yes! I mean, I love Torquil too, because he has so much fun and yet thinks he has so much secret manpain. But just, all the little moments on this read - Erskine just kind of barreling unstoppably through places, and glaring Torquil into remembering to pay for stuff, because he's the RESPONSIBLE one (but, I mean, he's still a member of That Family, so it's not like he actually realizes freezing an entire store and taking what you want from it is wrong. BUT HE TRIES.)

[katta]

I love Archer's Goon and I still have only read it in translation, which, shame on me. But there are still a few DWJs I haven't read at all, and some more that I don't own in any form, so buying one I technically do have hasn't been a priority. But I should, at some point, because I bet it's even better in English.

Awful is one of my favourite characters in her books. I love how at the Bristol conference, Awful was the most spoken about character, because she's JUST THAT AWESOME. Also, Earwig has a little bit of Awful about her, I think.

[skygiants]

It's SO GOOD in English! But I mean, I bet it's also fantastic in Swedish.

Ha! Yeah, there are a lot of characters with a little bit of Awful about them. I tend to put Awful, Hildy, and Helen Haras-Uquara all together in my head a little bit -- though they're as different as they are similar, and I love them all for different reasons. But bratty little girls are my favorite thing!

[izilen]

Drive by comment to say that I obviously really appreciate your choice of icon here (no actual comment because you know my opinions about this book well).

[skygiants]

Ha, there is a reason I mentally shelve Fly By Night next to the Dalemark Quartet in my head!

[elsane]

AH THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE DWJs EVER.

(I tend to like the twistiest puzzliest ones. BUT IT'S NOT JUST THAT.)

I agree with regards to Fifi, but that aside I think this book is flawless and amazing. I don't think I have the problem you have regarding the relative morality of the siblings? It seems to me very much that there's, not so much good and evil, but unteachable and teachable, and the ending does very well at establishing which is which, while leaving the door open to the possibility that teachable doesn't mean taught (and therefore that vigilance is necessary), if you know what I mean.

[skygiants]

Hmm! I think you are part right about teachable and unteachable, but also part wrong, or maybe it's just that I don't want you to be right -- like, everyone in the book is so very much a mix of traits good and bad, and so likeable in some respects and so terribly selfish in others (like all people are!) that I don't want to think of even the eldest three as totally unredeemable. After all, they're part of the family too.

But I love, LOVE how Venturus Mark 1 is the most selfish of the lot in some ways, and that what changes him (makes him teachable?) is the experience of being an older brother for a change, and having to be responsible for someone else, and how that fundamentally changes you. It may be my favorite theme in the book, really.