Diane Duane: Games Wizards Play

Diane Duane's tenth young wizards novel, Games Wizards Play, is just as wonderful as the earlier books (and shorter pieces) in the series. Yes, I am a huge fan.

On the surface, it's a step back from the high-stakes save the universe stories in many of the earlier books. This time around, the mission for Nita, Kit, Dairine and her wizard-computer Spot is hardly the stuff of life or death: they are mentoring young wizards competing in the Invitational - a "science fair" held every 11 years where wizards with a flair for creating new spells present their work for judging, with the prize being a year's apprenticeship with Earth's Planetary wizard.

But of course it's more than that. The novel is full of encounters, coincidences, and prophetic dreams that warn us to read carefully, because what is happening around this seemingly low-risk assignment will have an affect on whatever is coming. Some plot-threads from earlier books are happily furthered, or resolved, as well.

And it's also a treat for fans, because we get to see wizards - lots of wizards - interacting, and we learn a lot about how wizardly society works around the world.

Lots of fun for long-time fans, probably not a book for a new reader to start with.