The Diamond of Darkhold

The Diamond of Darkhold
First edition cover
Author Jeanne DuPrau
Language English
Series The Book of Ember series
Genre Young adult, Science fiction, Fantasy novel
Publisher Random House/Yearling
Publication date
 August 25, 2008
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages 285 (hard cover)
ISBN 0-375-85571-8 (hardcover first edition)
OCLC 191023753
Preceded by The Prophet of Yonwood

The Diamond of Darkhold is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer Jeanne Duprau, published in 2008. The novel is the fourth "Book of Ember" and was released on August 26, 2008.[1] The fourth book picks up where The People of Sparks left off, during the Emberites' first winter above ground.[2] Lina and Doon find a mysterious book that alludes to a mysterious device that was left outside Ember.[3] An advance copy was given out to attendees of the San Diego Comic-Con 2008 who visited the Random House booth.

Plot

The story begins with the Builders discussing what the Emberites should do when they are released from the city. It is decided that a recent invention (which is later shown to be a diamond-like gadget) will be stored alongside a guide providing information regarding its use. However, these items are left undiscovered when the Emberites escape.

Nine months after Ember and Sparks have reached a truce, a roamer comes into town with a mysterious book, on the front of which is printed "For the People of Ember". Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow obtain the book via barter but soon learn it contains only eight pages, as the trader used the rest to light campfires. Unable to make sense of the book's remaining contents, Lina and Doon decide to return to Ember to investigate.

When they arrive, they discover that a family has taken over the darkened city. The Troggs — Washton, Kanza, Minny, Yorick and an adopted boy, Tim, whom they have dubbed "Scawgo" — believe they own Ember, and have renamed it Darkhold. They capture Doon, but he manages to communicate with Lina and she goes back to Sparks for help. Meanwhile, Lizzie Bisco (from Ember), Torren Crane and Kenny Parton (both from Sparks) attempt to locate Lina and Doon but don't succeed, prompting another, larger search party to go looking for them. While Doon is with the Troggs, they show him a diamond they found just outside Ember, but Scawgo gives Doon the diamond and Doon escapes. In the process, he also breaks the pipe connecting the generator to the waterwheel that created power for Ember, thereby dimming Ember's lights and stopping the city's water supply for good.

When Doon finds Lina, a pack of hungry wolves is threatening her. Doon throws the diamond at the wolves to frighten them away, but shatters it and twists his ankle in the process. Lina treats his wound and takes him to the place where the book and the diamond were discovered. There, they uncover shelves filled with hundreds upon hundreds of diamonds, and Lina and Doon realize that the devices are solar-powered sources of electricity. Ultimately, the people of Sparks as well as the former Emberites help them retrieve the diamonds and other items left behind in Ember, enough to ensure both groups will survive the coming winter. Before returning to the Earth's surface, Lina collects the drawings of her "dream city" that she sketched at her former home, then goes to City Hall and stands on top of the building to say "Goodbye, Ember — forever."

Later, the Troggs arrive in Sparks and decide to settle there after learning why Ember/Darkhold was abandoned. Lizzie takes an interest in Tim (abandoning her earlier hope of becoming Doon's girlfriend), while Lina gets a horse named Fleet and becomes a messenger as she was in Ember. The last chapter reveals that Lina and Doon eventually fall in love and have children together. Many years later, after new cities have been built using solar power, one of their descendants views the now-fragile pictures drawn by Lina as a girl in Ember and notes how strongly they resemble a world she didn't live to see but nonetheless helped create.

References

  1. ↑ "The Diamond of Darkhold". Random House. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  2. ↑ "What's Next". Jeanne DuPrau. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  3. ↑ "The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember". Random House. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
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