A Sudden Wild Magic
#6493.78 adjusted 3.85 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1992 Reading commitment Low Diana Wynne Jones Last reviewed 2026-10-08
Overview
Diana Wynne Jones's first novel for adults (1992) begins with the Ring, a secret society of British witches who quietly keep the world running, discovering that the celibate mages of Arth, a citadel in a neighbouring universe, have been stealing Earth's ideas for centuries and manufacturing its disasters as experiments. The Ring's response is a busload of witches sent through the gap between worlds with orders to disrupt Arth by any means, seduction included, and the chaos that follows runs through three worlds, a monkish fortress, a pirate kingdom and a kitchen full of cats. Looser and ruder than her children's books but recognisably hers; a separate world from Chrestomanci, Howl and her other universes in this canon.
Comic fantasy, Portal fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
A Sudden Wild Magic (1992) core · 3.78 (1,662 ratings); William Morrow, October 1992; Gollancz (UK) 1992. Jones's first novel written for adults. A separate world from her other universes in this canon.
Quick answers
- How many books are in A Sudden Wild Magic? A Sudden Wild Magic's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is A Sudden Wild Magic finished? Complete (1992).
- How much reading does A Sudden Wild Magic take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~412 pages).
- How is A Sudden Wild Magic ranked? #649 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,662 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #649?
Ranked #649 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.78 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (1,662 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.05 behind #648, Three Hearts and Three Lions.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 2k ratings · Ranks #649 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment comic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No award could be confirmed for this novel.
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Suggestions computed from what A Sudden Wild Magic and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Silverlock Mythic fantasy / Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.91
- The Dead Cat Tail Assassins Sword & sorcery / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.84
- The Starless Sea Portal fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.84
- Three Hearts and Three Lions Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.83
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.78 across 1,662 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: A Sudden Wild Magic (Diana Wynne Jones) accepted 2026-10-08
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-08
Rule: Core Canon = A Sudden Wild Magic (1992) only, standalone.