The Merlin Conspiracy
core novel 2003 Magids
Record
| First published | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.93 (6,596 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 480 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780060523183 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
The Merlin Conspiracy is set some years after Deep Secret and follows Roddy, short for Arianrhod Hyde, the daughter of two magicians in the parallel magical realm of Blest, where she travels with the King's Progress, a mobile royal court that maintains the kingdom's natural magic. Alongside her lifelong friend Grundo, the son of a scheming enchantress, Roddy uncovers a conspiracy involving Grundo's own mother and a man posing as the court's Merlin, both plotting to seize the throne and its magic for themselves. Unable to convince the adults around her, including her grandfather, the seasoned Magid Maxwell Hyde, Roddy attempts to summon outside help and instead accidentally reaches Nick Mallory, a teenager from ordinary present-day England who has long dreamed of becoming a Magid himself.
Where it sits
- Universe: Magids
- Series: Magids core; position 2 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Young Adult Book), 2004: nominated; Locus young-adult-book poll placement (3rd place); registered per this canon's no-cutoff rule for Locus poll results.
Notes
- From the series record (Magids): A complete 2-book duology sharing the Magids/Related Worlds premise; Diana Wynne Jones's 5th universe in this canon, confirmed distinct from Howl's Moving Castle, Chrestomanci, The Dalemark Quartet, and Fire and Hemlock.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Magids: position 2 of 2: previous Deep Secret (1997)
Sources
- Diana Wynne Jones Wiki (Fandom)
- Wikipedia (English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merlin_Conspiracy
- sfadb, Science Fiction Awards Database
- sfadb: Locus Awards 2004 (Best Young Adult Book corroboration)
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