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A Lion Among Men
by Gregory Maguire

The third book in Gregory Maguire's "Wicked Years", A Lion Among Men is yet another fresh, daring and ambitious perspective on the reality in the ever familiar world of Oz.  Oz is indeed a world which most of us (at some point in time) wish we could visit, and why shouldn't we?  Oz is beautiful and colorful and filled with many fascinating creatures, all of whom have their own conquests.  Some of its inhabitants wish to go home, some of them want a brain, some of them long for a heart, and then some of them just need a little courage.

Courage is indeed a theme surrounding the protagonist, the enigmatic Brr (yes, Brr . . . the Cowardly Lion of Oz); but in what ways is this theme of courage satisfied?  Though, more importantly, how exactly is the theme of courage re-enlightened?  Most remember the Cowardly Lion as the bushy, lovable beast in the dark forest that feared everything and everyone and picked on poor unsuspecting dogs from Kansas.  He was a wannabe bully who feared even himself, yet with just a little courage his life could be vastly different.  And that quest for courage was ultimately put to the test during the Lion's assistance in the eradication of the Wicked Witch of the West . . . all in all to help Dorothy go back to the boring, black-and-white land of Kansas.  In the end, the Lion is awarded a medal.  But that's just the movie . . .

L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has a completely different series, albeit similar, sub-plots for the characters of Oz.  In fact, the Wicked Witch herself barely makes an appearance.  The Wizard still commands her removal from Oz, which Dorothy and her companions set out to do, but in the original story the conquest only lasts a coupls of chapters.  The rest of the book consists of nothing more than exploring Oz, including stumbling upon a small civilization of porcelain dolls and funny slug creatures with spring-style heads which shoot out several feet and butt things out of the way.  As for the Lion, his tale is still the same in both versions of the Oz story: he's a big, scared cat.  All he needs is a little bit of courage.  Which he ultimately does discover, for which he is awarded a medal for his show of bravery in killing the giant, evil spider lurking in the forest, for which he is thus anointed king . . . at least, that's how L. Frank Baum's story goes.  So how does Maguire's version of the Lion's tale hang in the balance?

Well, like the other two volumes in the Wicked Years, the focus (and indeed the plot) attempt to pull you away from the familiarity behind all of our lives (if indeed the Wizard of Oz has had such a lasting affect on society) and show you a new world which both dismisses and reflects the lives we're all accustomed to.  The Wicked Witch isn't that wicked (despite the murders) and her son (who appears in volume two, Son of a Witch) is an honorable (yet wickedly-militant) character, as for the Lion, he's a different beast all together.  Or rather, he's not a beast at all.  He's just a Lion.  He's just a character in Oz.  He does very little, save wonder to and fro, and along the way reaping the rewards of heroism and suffering the anguish of biases.  Why?  Well, because he just happened to be at the right place at the right time; or at the wrong place at the worse time.

Indeed, Brr's character in A Lion Among Men doesn't have any real obstacle to triumph over.  He just wonders about Oz, going from town to city to forest, meeting both man and Animal alike, and at times is befriended and at times out-casted.  But why?  There's definitely a psychological theme in Maguire's latest volume as he contemplates the affects of isolation and abandonment, but there's a deeper existential crisis apparent in Brr's character.  Yes, he is a lonely Lion, but it's not courage he seeks, nor is it a sense of family; what he seeks, in earnest, is nothing at all.  Maguire leads you from idea to idea, planting suspicions behind Brr's motives, but all seem to arrive to no end and without any apparent conclusion.  It would seem that Brr's obstacle is some sort of existential realization: as if understanding that he's the son of a king would fulfill his life, or learning that he's the lost orphan of a great pride would spark an emotional conquest . . . but no.  No such dilemma exists.  Sure, there's the ever apparent mystery of Brr's youth, but even when said mystery is answered it's nothing more than a brief emotional investment if that. 

So how interesting is a character who just lingers about, doing little to nothing and earning a reputation all the same?  Pretty interesting (at least in my eyes).  This novel received quite a few bad reviews (from my research [one of which the very critic surmised Maguire forgot how to write and killed Oz forever]); my own judgement of the novel agrees that this latest installment of the Wicked Years is lacking, but my feelings on the novel are quite different.  I personally loved Brr, finding his rather bleak observations on life refreshing and charming.  All the mayhem and achievements which have accompanied Brr are reflected upon with such innocence, as if Brr's completely oblivious . . . but no, not oblivious, just simply nihilistic to the whole ordeal.  Brr wonders through Oz, and indeed through life, because it's what he does.  He has no real connection to anyone or any place and he's fine with that.  Sure, he likes some of the individuals he meets, but once he's had enough, or if they've had enough, he moves on.  But why?  Is it because his expectations on family and friends are too high, or is it simply because he's a coward to the commitment of a place and its people, or is he still searching for something (and if so, then what)?  The answer is . . . there is no answer.

Unlike it's predecessors, which were concluded in glorious detail, A Lion Among Men has no real conclusion.  The plot and sub-plots lead you all around, exploring the various parts of Oz and allocating a variety of themes ranging from death to ignorance to destiny . . . all of which have no real lasting impression.  So what is the real message behind Maguire's Oz?  What is this new take on courage?  Well, I for one would conclude (in philosophical elitism) that it takes more courage to live the life of isolation and abandonment than it does to overcome one, but only if you're a Lion.        

So . . . decent-enough book, Good Read!

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A Storm of Swords

by: George R. R. Martin

This is the third installment of George R. R. Martin's magnificent series: A Song of Ice and Fire.  Chances are you've already heard of it.  George R. R. Martin has been in the lime-light of fantasy for a number of years now, winning numerous awards; this particular novel was nominated for the Hugo award.   Undoubtedly, this epic fantasy is his most famous work.  And with good reason . . .

A Storm of Swords continues to tell the story of war and its participants.  The whole premise of this novel, and it's two predecessors--A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings--is centered around the political intrigue of a land known as Westeros, which is currently in strife as many lords and QUOTE-UNQUOTE kings battle for the realm.  In what is nick-named the seven kingdoms, the land of Westeros is without one great king, though the family occupying its castle at King's Landing would argue differently.  Such is the plot of the story, in which everyone battles everyone else for their right to rule the seven kingdoms.  There are other problems however . . .

The land of Westeros is not only divided up into seven kingdoms with lords and rulers, but the very northern part is cut off by an enormous wall which spans from sea to sea, several hundred feet high.  This wall is controlled by a group known as the Night's Watch, who kneel to no particular king or kings and have no interests in the political struggles that affect Westeros.  Their only interest is to protect the entire realm of Westeros from the monsters (including reanimated corpses [but not in that cliched zombie way . . . at least, not yet] and hideous beasts [including giants and mammoths] and of course the people of the frozen north [including savage killers and toothless women]). 

There's also a land to the east consisting of free cities ruled by various tyrants.  It is here that the last heir of the overthrown king Aerys Targaryen resides with power.  There she builds an army and a vast following of peasants, gaining strength while waiting to head back to Westeros to claim her own right for the throne.  She has a trick up her sleeve . . . or rather a pet . . . or pets, for that matter.  Dragons.  Three dragons.  

In the long run, this book is far too in depth (like its predecessors) to go into very much detail.  And in fact, this is the largest book in the series (at least concerning the ones that have been published).  Roughly, in basic paperback format, the book consisted of 1100+ pages of pure enjoyment.  It's a long book, to be sure, but as it just continues the tale from the first two novels, in the end it's nothing more than just an additions to a great story.  A story, which like I said, is far too complicated to explain. 

It's easier to sum it up as a political intrigue involving a kings and knights and mythical creatures.  There's battles a plenty, as well as drama, and sex, and ultimately what you're dealt is a damn good story.  The story consists of several characters, with overarching plots, some of which criss-cross one another.  There isn't one central plot, other than that everyone is fighting everyone, nor is it easy to pinpoint a protagonist and an antagonist.  Sure, it's easy to spot who leans toward the side of good and who leans toward the side of evil, but ultimately all you're really left with is a mystery.  Who's going to win?!  But just when to start to calculate the chances of this character or that character, thinking that they'll ultimately be force to reckon with towards the end of the series, off goes their head!  And just when you think that this character over here is a horrible menace and a jerk and deserves death, you begin to sympathize with their plight until ultimately they redeem themselves through some act to which you (the reader) find a glimpse of hope in their evil caricature.

So in the end . . . there is no end.  Only another installment in the series.  The last book to be published, sadly, is the fourth novel in the series, A Feast For Crows.  George R. R. Martin has stated that he plans on writing seven novels in the series, but thus far only four have been published while he currently is working on the fifth and sixth one.  Although, it's been five years since his last novel was published in the series and fans are worried about whether or not the series will ever be completed.  With such a huge story consisting of so many characters and plots, it would be incredibly disappointment to have been dragged through the bloody mud of Westeros only to discover . . . nothing.  But I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Anywho . . . GOOD BOOK!  GOOD READ!    

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Satyrday

a fable by Steven Bauer
***

Every summer the local library has a used book sale which is a killer deal for any book fanatic. For a mere ten dollars you buy a box and cram as many books in it as possible. It's been a year since I've last been and I'm still trying to get through the box. In fact, I have too many books as is and tend to just reach for whatever one strikes my fancy at the particular point in time. The latest book was Satyrday, by Steven Bauer. I remember picking this book up at the library book sale because it was A) sitting amidst the science-fiction/fantasy table and B) had an interesting cover . . . yes, yes, I judge books by their cover. Who doesn't? I must admit that a part of me was leery about this book, simply because I never even heard of this author, but since it was going to cost nothing more than a little space within a ten dollar box, I thought: why not? And it took only one year for me to get around to reading it.

***

My initial suspicion about the author proved correct. What little research I've done on the author proves that he's (more or less) a one-time-novelist. I remember seeing somewhere that he was working on another novel, but seeing how Satyrday was published in 1980, I'm not going to anxiously anticipate another novel anytime soon. Not only has been thirty years since he's written a novel, in sincere honesty, he's not a very good author.

***

That's not too say that I didn't enjoy this book . . . which, well I didn't really, but neither did I hate it. In truth, I've read far better and I've read far worse. Overall, I generally liked the writing style, though it did become tedious at times. Apparently, the author is a poet (or at least was), and Satyrday is rich in poetic phrasing. Slant rhymes, alliteration and of course lush imagery are on every page of this book. But as I said, this heavy poetical influence did become rather blase, oftentimes having a rather dull affect during climatic scenes.

***

As for the climax, and with regard to any scene within the book, Satyrday felt a bit stilted, yet hackneyed. The characters were not terribly fascinating and seemed far too dramatic than was needed . . . of course, by dramatic I don't mean individual-character mannerisms or actions, but their overall presence within the story. For example, the evil owl which wished to cloak the world in eternal darkness and proclaim himself as ruler . . . a rather weak antagonist. Weak because there was little description of his wickedness. He kidnapped the moon, he wanted to kill the sun and he did banish a few creatures here and there, but overall he wasn't as villainous as he should have been. Most of his wicked attributes were thoughts and plans for action. Also, it was hard to view the owl as a convincing antagonist when it was difficult recognizing the main protagonist. In fact, every other character within the book seemed to be the protagonist, all of whom finally brought the evil owl's reign of terror to an end. Ergo, was it really an evil owl or an isolated character with opposing ideals?

***

Without getting too deep into a plot synopsis, the idea behind the story was appealing. An evil owl kidnaps the moon and a boy and a satyr and all manner of critters set forth on adventure to rescue the moon. And on the way there's a lot of poetic vices, but not enough literary compliments to keep one's attention. It wasn't a difficult read by any means, in fact it's a rather short novel, but from the very first few pages I knew it was going to be a novel which I would trudge through simply to finish it.

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Son of a Witch

by Gregory Maguire

* * *

I recently finished Gregory Maguire's next installment in The Wicked Years and was rather pleased with the work as a whole. This is the fourth novel I have read of Mister Maguire's and it was one of those books which helped rank the author's status as a favorite on my book shelves. Having, of course, read Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, I was instantly enchanted by Mister Maguire's novel ideas (pun intended), but did not declare him as one of my favorite writers even after having read some of his other books. In fact, Mirror, Mirror was the third novel I read by him and it put me off quite a bit . . . so much so that it took near three years for me to pick up one of his other books again, or rather an audio version of Wicked.

* * *

On my first date with Kayla, I bought her Wicked, assuming of course that she was a fan of literature. She is not. However, she was compelled to acquire an audio version of the book which she listened to all day long at work. Because our company allows personal audio devices (in fact, you'd go crazy if you didn't have one), it only took her a few days to listen to the novel . . . and in the end all she did was talk about it incessantly. Because it had been years since I last read the novel, I couldn't remember much of the story, so I too gave it a listen. My, how much does one forget? I love that story!

* * *

So . . . I ran to the local bookstore and purchased both Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men (sequels to Wicked). And as I mentioned, I just finished the second novel in the series and was thoroughly impressed with the overall story. It was a little rough in the beginning, having a displaced framing of time, but it didn't take long for the main character, Liir, to suck me into his conquest. And what a conquest it was . . . prisons, brooms, Animals and animals, dragons, a little unconscious raping, as well as homosexuality . . . yeah, it was a good story. Although, I will declare that I wasn't solely convinced on the passion shared between Liir and Trism (not because it was same-sexed, but simply because it just came about during the climax [again, pun intended]). But that's just nit-picking.

* * *

What I liked most about this story were the themes conveyed . . . that sometimes even the most bitter person can be the most heartfelt; that sometimes we have to accept disappointment; and that sometimes the things we seek don't seek us. Those are all pretty standard themes for any number of novels, but throw in some fantastical elements (already based off the classical, familiar realm of Oz) and I'm thoroughly impressed. So, I applaud.

* * *

Good book. Good read.