This is the second installment in Diana Wynne Jones’ Dalemark Quartet, and it is the volume that really hooked me and prompted a back-to-back marathon reading of the series when I was 14, and a similar re-read in 2012.Drowned Ammet is essentially the story of Mitt, or Alhammitt Alhammittson to be more precise (don’t worry, the odd name has significance but doesn’t show up much). After Mitt and his family are forced to leave their farm by increasing rents, they move into a rundown tenement in the city of Holand, the heart of the repressed and tyrannized South. When Mitt loses his father, a freedom fighter in the struggle against the corrupt Earl Hadd, he concocts a plan to avenge his father and become a freedom fighter in his own right with the Free Holanders. After years of planning, Mitt undertakes a dangerous mission, but ends up embroiled in a much larger conflict when he goes on the run and meets a couple of young nobles with problems of their own.This installment in the Quartet is very different than its predecessor, Cart and Cwidder. Part of this is due, I think, to the fact that C&C is the “set-up” volume of the series, using Moril and his family of travelling musicians to introduce readers to the world of Dalemark, with its pre-industrial timeframe and political complications. Both volumes are strongly character driven, but Mitt is a more complicated and detailed character than Moril, and we see more of his early life and development. We know what drives Mitt, probably better than Mitt himself. Since C&C did the world building grunt work, DA is now able to expand upon the earlier impression and give depth to Dalemark by providing further insight into the social structure and belief systems that become increasingly important as the story continues into the 3rd and 4th volumes. In the beginning of the tale, Mitt can seem a bit unsympathetic. He’s angry and, with the typical short-sightedness of youth, tends to jump to conclusions. But he’s an underdog, and he slowly but surely reveals a decent person beneath his pinched expression and quick temper. He has a conscience, and the brains to understand that the way something seems is not necessarily the way it is. Honestly, I love Mitt. He’s strong and resourceful, but not in the unrealistic way of many fantasy heroes. He’s also young and inexperienced, and it is fun to watch him learn that the world isn’t black-and-white, but complicated and morally ambiguous. When Mitt meets Hildy and Ynen (I still haven’t figured out exactly how that name is supposed to be pronounced), we see how the other half lives, and it’s not all sunshine and daisies.Hildy and Ynen are the grandchildren of the terrible earl Hadd. When their grandfather dies, the children use the confusion to run away from their respective problems; Hildy from betrothal to a stranger, and Ynen from feelings of general uselessness within his scheming family. When they are thrown together with Mitt, each must come to terms with their own unhappiness and determine their ultimate place in the world. Just when you think the three are coming together as friends, a fourth is introduced to the party and things get very, very complicated.As I mentioned in the beginning, this was the book that made me really want to read the whole series. The characters are well-formed and the story is equal parts political intrigue and coming-of-age. There are some weaknesses, which are mostly issues of balance and pacing. Often, the action scenes are rushed and understanding of a complex situation occurs too quickly for real appreciation of the process or the implications. But these are generally minor grievances in a book obviously aimed at a young teen/tween audience and produced very early in Diana Wynne Jones’ career. This being a re-read of a much beloved series, I am loath to critique it as much as it may (or may not) deserve. More than a decade later, I still find this series entertaining and enjoyable, which is exactly what they’re supposed to be.
Mitt lived with his parents on a farm, but the rent kept going up and eventually, his father had to live to find work elsewhere. Mitt and his mother were left behind to continue to work on the farm, but the rent continued to go up and no longer could they pay it.Mitt and his mother to go Holand to live with his father. Life isn't easy there. It's not happy like the one Mitt had with his mother and father at the farm. And Mitt's father is part of the Free Holanders, it sets things in motion for his life to change even more.The book starts out a bit slow, but soon picks up. It doesn't continue from the previous book, but briefly mentions the previous book's events. It is set in the same world as Book One, but has new characters. Besides Mitt, there are also Hildrida and Ynen, who are some of the Earl's grandchildren. They are wealthy, fed and taken care of, but aren't happy. Their lives have already been planned for them even though they are still children.It seems that with Mitt, Hildrida and Ynen, they have all had to grow up early. The theme it seems throughout the book is that your parents may not always be there for you. So I felt very sorry for Mitt, Hildrida and Ynen. I felt especially sorry for Mitt. Hildrida and Ynen's father may seem to ignore his children, but he really does love and care about them. Whereas Mitt, I don't know about his parents. His mother I believe does care for him, but she certainly lets him be put in a lot of danger. The adults that did seem to care for Mitt's well being were other members of the Free Holanders and his stepfather, Hobin. Towards the end, there was a twist, something I did not see coming and it made me feel even more bad for Mitt. I won't spoil it in my review for those who haven't read the book yet.But even with the lack of parental guidance, Mitt, Hildrida and Ynen turned out to be great characters. At first, they weren't very fond of each other, being that Mitt is poor and Hildrida and Ynen are wealthy, it seemed their lives were just completely different. But they ended up being friends, despite what differences they may have.I really enjoyed the book, as much as I enjoyed the first one. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Do You like book Drowned Ammet (2001)?
Unfortunately after raving about the complexity of Diana Wynne Jones's writing, I found an example of what happens when she doesn't quite get it right. Drowned Ammet has some of the same themes that made Cart and Cwidder so much fun, but it lacks the irresistible appeal. The main problem is that DWJ is usually good at POV – and that's where most of the complexity comes from, because she has the ability to make you see through a character's eyes. But she fails to do this for some reason with the main character here, Mitt. As a result he is unsympathetic for most of the book and at the same time he's unsympathetic in a very unconvincing way and his motivations don't even have an internal logic. The positive side is that the setting of this book is really creatively depicted and there are some nice ideas about religion and faith and the proper use thereof. But it would have been a lot more fun to read if any of the protagonists had been more appealing/convincing.
—Katharine
For that post-Harry, pre-something heavy and involved time.Recommended to me by my genetics prof (who saw me finishing a Harry Potter book one day on campus). The Dalemark Quartet is more advanced reading than the Harry Potter books, but the same type of fanstasy and contains a long and interwoven story line that fully comes together in The Crown of Dalemark. Characters and items in each previous book play a main role in this last installment so the quartet must be read in order and close together (or the reader must have a solid memory).Other books on my list by this author are appropriate for younger audiences.
—Sabrina
I discovered this book at the same time The Crown of Dalemark came out. Not only had I never heard of it, I didn't realize that the other two books in the series were even part of a series. Drowned Ammet is by far my favorite of the Dalemark stories. Mitt is exactly the kind of person I feel drawn to in fiction, concealing his pain even from himself, acting prickly to push people away but still hoping that someone will be his friend. There are few truly noble characters in this book, and I love it for how realistic and varied they all are.Re-read 12/6/12: Reading all of DWJ's books in order of publication gives me an even greater appreciation for Drowned Ammet. It has a complexity that builds on the previous books--not just its companion Cart and Cwidder, but everything else she'd written to date: the family dynamics of Eight Days of Luke and Dogsbody play out in a fantasy setting more mature than Cart and Cwidder's. It's difficult, I think, to create a mythology that makes as much sense in its "pure" form as in its devolved state (the corruption of Alhammitt to Old Ammet, for one) but DWJ pulls it off brilliantly. It remains my favorite of the Dalemark books and one of my favorite DWJ books in general.
—Melissa McShane
