Archer's Goon
core novel 1984 Archer's Goon
Record
| First published | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.08 (5,044 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780688025823 |
Synopsis
Archer's Goon is a 1984 fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones, a single-volume story set in an English town. Thirteen-year-old Howard Sykes returns home from school to find a huge, unnamed man sitting in the family kitchen, introducing himself as "Archer's Goon" and demanding the two thousand words that Howard's freelance-writer father, Quentin, apparently owes each quarter to a figure named Archer. When the usual payment goes astray, pressure mounts on the Sykes household, and Howard, his teacher mother, and his younger sister Awful are drawn into the affairs of seven powerful, eccentric siblings who each secretly control a different part of the town's civic life, from the police to the water supply. Howard sets out to learn why his father's words matter so much to them, and why the family seems unable to simply leave.
Where it sits
- Universe: Archer's Goon
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Awards (verified)
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 1985: nominated
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (Fiction), 1984: honor
Notes
- Stand-alone novel; unconnected to Jones's Chrestomanci, Dalemark, or other registered universes.
Sources
← Archer's Goon dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.