Enjoyable fairy tale with plot twists that were not surprising, but were sweet. I enjoy the way Jones does her storytelling, it feels light and adventurous. Delightful but somewhat forgettable. ( )

A fun fantasy romp from DWJ. We get all the standard Aladdin-esque trappings, a magic carpet, a genie in a bottle, evil djinns, bandits, sultans, camels...(the plot is based on stories from the Arabian Nights) and for a while you think you know roughly where it's all heading. And while it might be standard storytelling, its fun. DWJ is an amazing writer. You're rooting for our protagonist, Abdullah, as he tries to find and rescue the beauteous Flower-in-the-Night from a wicked djinn, Hasruel (who is being forced to kidnap princesses from all over the world by his brother, Dalzel). Then things fall into a familiar place (the land of Ingary) and you find yourself anticipating the reappearance of the Wizard Howl and Sophie. You soon realize: "oh, I get why this is part of a trilogy about Howl's Moving Castle! Now, this makes sense!"

The ending was where things fell apart a little for me. DWJ ties everything up in a frantic rush - like the Scooby Doo mask-pulling finale ... Abdullah teaming up with Sophie Pendragon orders the magic carpet to take them to Sophie's child, Morgan (stolen by the djinn). The carpet does so, taking them far into the sky, to the castle in the air, which is merely Wizard Howl's castle, having been greatly enlarged. There they meet the stolen princesses and plot with them to escape the castle. Led by Abdullah, they overpower the two Djinn, freeing Hasruel who banishes his brother, Dalzel). Flower-of-the-Night had by then wished the genie free, who turned out to be Sophie's husband, the Wizard Howl! The DJinn Hasruel is then redeemed!

While the ending rushes to conclude the story and ties it up in a nice little bow, I did find Castle in the Air to be a highly enjoyable read and it was fun being back in the land of Ingary. It was also fun visiting the city of Zanzib for the first time. ( )

2.5 Stars ( )

A wacky take on the classic Arabian nights genre this is Jones at her best -- nothing is as it seems, and in the end there are several morals to be learned. However, the link between Castle in the Air and [b:Howl's Moving Castle|6294|Howl's Moving Castle|Diana Wynne Jones|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165560187s/6294.jpg|2001] is tenuous at best, and at worst Castle in the Air is cheapened by the association, as the feel is extremely different and the characters from Howl seem shoehorned in. ( )

reread and review later ( )