Castle in the Air
by Diana Wynne Jones
★ Top 25 book of 1990 · #22 on Best Books of 1990
Abdullah, a carpet merchant who lives mostly in his daydreams, buys a magic carpet by chance. Suddenly his imaginings come true, and dangerous adventures become part of his everyday life.
Best for: Fantasy fans who like daydreamers swept into magical, perilous adventures
Castle in the Air is #22 on BookWard's Best Books of 1990, out of 39 1990 books that cleared our data bar.
What Castle in the Air is about
Abdullah is a handsome young carpet salesman in the city of Zanzib, and he spends his days daydreaming that he is really a stolen prince. When a strange traveler sells him a magic carpet, it carries him at night to a garden, where he meets Flower-in-the-Night. They decide to marry, but a huge flying djinn snatches her away, and Abdullah ends up in trouble with the Sultan himself.
His search for her takes him to Ingary, with a bad-tempered genie who grants only one wish a day, a bitter soldier, and a cat and kitten for company. Diana Wynne Jones draws on the Arabian Nights for this 1990 fantasy, a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle set in the same world. Familiar faces from that book turn up, often in disguise. The tone is whimsical and funny, and it works for readers who like adventure with a light touch.
Castle in the Air on the Best Books of 1990
Castle in the Air came out in 1990. Of the 39 books first published in 1990 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #22 on our Best Books of 1990 list.
Why it made the list: 205 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.6 out of 5 (19 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1990 list
- Almost Heaven Judith McNaught, #20
- Brida Paulo Coelho, #21
See all Best Books of 1990 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1991.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 156 want to read it, 13 are reading it now and 36 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.6 out of 5 from 19 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 46 | 55% |
| Reader love | 8 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 51 | 20% |
Questions about Castle in the Air
When was Castle in the Air published?
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones was first published in 1990.
Was Castle in the Air one of the best books of 1990?
Castle in the Air is #22 on BookWard's Best Books of 1990, out of 39 1990 books that cleared our data bar. 205 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.6 out of 5 (19 ratings).
Why is Castle in the Air on the Best Books of 1990 list?
205 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.6 out of 5 (19 ratings).
More of the best books of 1990
- Good Omens Terry Pratchett, #1
- Jurassic Park Michael Crichton, #2
- The Eye of the World Robert Jordan, #3
- The Witching Hour Anne Rice, #4
- Flow Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, #5
- The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien, #6
See the full Best Books of 1990, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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