『Howl's Moving Castle』(邦題『魔法使いハウルと火の悪魔』)の続編にあたる魅力的な本書でも、ダイアナ・ウィン・ジョーンズは壮大なスケールで軽快なテンポのファンタジーを見事につくりあげている。この物語のなかでは、人も物もけっして見た目どおりではない。良い魔神に悪い魔神、瓶のなかの精霊、魔法使い、魔女、猫と犬(でもほんとうに猫と犬なのか?)、さらわれた姫が大勢いる不思議な空飛ぶ城、さらには不可解なふたつの予言も登場する。物語は人をからかうような紆余曲折を繰り返しながら加速していき、やがて予言が現実のものとなり、いろいろなものの真の姿が明らかになる。そして、息をのむような、驚きでいっぱいの文句なしのエンディングで、すべてが見事に解決する。
Abdullah was a young and not very prosperous carpet dealer. His father, who had been disappointed in him, had left him only enough money to open a modest booth in the Bazaar. When he was not selling carpets, Abdullah spent his time daydreaming. In his dreams he was not the son of his father, but the long-lost son of a prince. There was also a princess who had been betrothed to him at birth. He was content with his life and his daydreams until, one day, a stranger sold him a magic carpet.
In this stunning sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones has again created a large-scale, fast-paced fantasy in which people and things are never quite what they seem. There are good and bad djinns, a genie in a bottle, wizards, witches, cats and dogs (but are they cats and dogs?), and a mysterious floating castle filled with kidnapped princesses, as well as two puzzling prophecies. The story speeds along with tantalizing twists and turns until the prophecies are fulfilled, true identities are revealed, and all is resolved in a totally satisfying, breathtaking, surprise-filled ending.
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