#Archer's Goon

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote YES if you have finished the entire book.

vote NO if you have not finished the entire book.

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[melanovia]

this is going to sound pretentious but I think a big part of what I love about Diana Wynne Jones' writing are its flaws her stories aren't refined and homogenized they're sprawling and all over the place in a way that really paves the way for new ideas.

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

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[quietflorilegium]

“The Goon suggested, “Learn to drive?” “Never,” said Quentin. “My mission in life is to be a passenger.”

Diana Wynne Jones, "Archer's Goon"

[bellaroles]

Archer's goon is so weird and original. And it remains as good as ever after many rereads. I love each of the Sykes family. Quentin is so damn stubborn and his refusal to be bullied by the 7 is so damn funny. I love how Catriona is still this sensible after all the chaos the 7 bring to her family. Awful is a cunning little devil and I love her to bits. Howard is a harassed teen who clearly loves his family so much even though he just wanted to be left alone to design his spaceship in peace. I love every minor, and major plot twists this book has!

[kattahj]

I have come to the conclusion that Tankhun is the spiritual child of Torquil and Delirium. Overdramatic, with exuberant fashions, and an entourage of partying cronies, like Torquil. Childlike, veering between enthusiastic and pouty, and living in a world of his own, like Delirium. Exasperating his siblings like both of them.

[isfjmel-phleg]

I love how the seven siblings in Archer’s Goon are all recognizable family roles. Such as:

Archer: Eldest child, the overachieving variety. Outshines almost all the others, assumes himself the clear and obvious leader, very controlling, but still gets blamed for everything.

Shine: Eldest daughter but second child. In a power struggle with the eldest, drastically differentiates herself from him, also very controlling but with a different emphasis.

Dillian: Technically a middle child but also the youngest daughter. Deliberately the total opposite of her sister in persona and tactics but still envies her and wishes she could emulate her, attention-seeking.

Hathaway: Middle child, the avoidant variety. Prefers to (mostly) stay out of the drama and has established a life and identity separate from the rest of the family.

Torquil: Middle child, the determined-not-to-be-overlooked variety. Dramatic, flashy, doing everything possible to call attention to himself, even if it’s utterly ridiculous. 

Erskine: Middle child, the resentfully responsible variety. Gets stuck with the jobs and responsibilities that no one else wants, feels an especial obligation to the youngest, deep down is seethingly frustrated about all this.

Venturus: Youngest child. A very bad case of being The Baby.

There’s also realism in who gets along with who. The greatest friction seems to be between siblings who are immediately next to each other in order (and who are thus more likely to be potential rivals).

[sunlit-music]

No plot twist or reveal can beat the one where we find out who Venturus REALLY is in Archer's Goon.

[indigo--montoya]

You know what would be funny? If, after Armageddidn't, Crowley and Aziraphale went on vacation to Alpha Centauri

and saw what was an undeniably marvelous spaceship

that happened to have three extremely angry wizards on it (and possibly up to three humans)

[nerdysk8s]

No one:

Not a single soul:

Torquil:

[columban-von-iona]

“Learn to drive?" "Never," said Quentin. "My mission in life is to be a passenger.”

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

forget zodiac signs, which sibling from archer's goon are you

[no-where-new-hero]

*So little known you had to buy a shitty/ancient edition just to own it. I’m considering Dogsbody, Fire and Hemlock, and Tale of Time City “well-known” by this rubric because they had recent reprint editions accessible in many US bookstores/Amazon, which is why I left them out!

[quietflorilegium]

“And I’ve got a new book coming on.” Howard and Awful both groaned at this. Quentin looked at them coldly. “How else,” he said, “shall I earn your bread and peanut butter?” “You look through me and fuss about noise when you’re writing a book,” Howard explained. “And you go all grumpy and dreamy and forget to go shopping,” said Awful. “You must learn to live with it,” said their father.”

Diana Wynne Jones, "Archer's Goon"

[bellaroles]

Awful is marvellous! Nasty little girl, I love her.