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jgintrovertedreader's review
2.0
A Lion Among Men revisits the Oz of Elphaba Thropp and [b:Wicked|24936|Wicked|Gregory Maguire|/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|1479280]. This time the political maneuverings in Oz are told through the eyes of the Cowardly Lion, otherwise known as Brrr. The story begins when Brrr has tracked down Sister Yackle to the mauntery where she is trying to die. There is a lot of back story from both of them and then a lot of resolution in the present in the last hundred pages or so.
Let me say right up front that I won this in a first reads giveaway. So I hate to say it, but I really didn't enjoy this book. I liked Wicked and [b:Son of a Witch|562233|Son of a Witch|Gregory Maguire|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175810518s/562233.jpg|845295], but A Lion Among Men just crawled along for me. I liked Yackle's parts of the story, but Brrr's just seemed to drag on and on. His story could practically have been summed up with "Wrong place, wrong time, story of my life."
Finally, around page 240 or so, the story caught up to the present and things got interesting. That far in, there was finally a synopsis of what had come before. It's been a while since I read Son of a Witch, so I'd been kind of lost throughout the book. It also probably didn't help that Brrr's purpose in visiting Yackle isn't revealed until around page 190. So it picked up and I enjoyed it--just in time to be left hanging, waiting for the next book.
Honestly, this felt like filler. I truly dislike reading books that don't serve much of a purpose other than to hook you into the next book, and that's how this felt to me.
The "witty dialog" between Yackle and Brrr mostly just fell flat. Here's an example:
"Is this germane to your investigation, or do I detect a particular interest in sexual jealousy? An uptick in your circulation? Some shallow breathing?"
"F**k you."
"If I'd only been so lucky."
That's about the way it goes.
I guess the upshot for me is that die-hard fans of the series will enjoy this latest installment. People who recall the storyline from the previous books better than I do will probably enjoy it also. But this is the end of the line for me and The Wicked Years.
Let me say right up front that I won this in a first reads giveaway. So I hate to say it, but I really didn't enjoy this book. I liked Wicked and [b:Son of a Witch|562233|Son of a Witch|Gregory Maguire|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175810518s/562233.jpg|845295], but A Lion Among Men just crawled along for me. I liked Yackle's parts of the story, but Brrr's just seemed to drag on and on. His story could practically have been summed up with "Wrong place, wrong time, story of my life."
Finally, around page 240 or so, the story caught up to the present and things got interesting. That far in, there was finally a synopsis of what had come before. It's been a while since I read Son of a Witch, so I'd been kind of lost throughout the book. It also probably didn't help that Brrr's purpose in visiting Yackle isn't revealed until around page 190. So it picked up and I enjoyed it--just in time to be left hanging, waiting for the next book.
Honestly, this felt like filler. I truly dislike reading books that don't serve much of a purpose other than to hook you into the next book, and that's how this felt to me.
The "witty dialog" between Yackle and Brrr mostly just fell flat. Here's an example:
"Is this germane to your investigation, or do I detect a particular interest in sexual jealousy? An uptick in your circulation? Some shallow breathing?"
"F**k you."
"If I'd only been so lucky."
That's about the way it goes.
I guess the upshot for me is that die-hard fans of the series will enjoy this latest installment. People who recall the storyline from the previous books better than I do will probably enjoy it also. But this is the end of the line for me and The Wicked Years.
deblyn's review
3.0
This was a good story, but I was a bit disappointed. I really wanted more about Liir and the baby. There was a lot of flashback and I felt like we revisited a lot we aleady knew.
sparklethenpop's review
3.0
Son Of A Witch is still my favorite of the three. This one was a lot of filler and only seemed to be setting up for another book in the series.
shysmiler91's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
adequate_squatch's review
2.0
I was rather taken aback when I first saw that Gregory Maguire had written a third book in the Wicked series. Huge fan of the first book. It didn’t really need a sequel, but Son of a Witch was decently entertaining. Maguire could have stopped there. Or, if he had to continue, why write about the Cowardly Lion? What could that possibly add to the story? After a while, I did warm up to the idea of reading it, though I waited until it was released in paperback.
I was optimistic when I first started reading, despite my initial reservations. Maguire effectively revives his rich, cultured version of Oz, and in the beginning alludes to previous events with the tantalizing promise of new information to come. Perhaps A Lion Among Men would advance the plot of the first two books, tying up loose ends and closing out the series in a satisfying manner…
A Lion Among Men follows the life and travels of the Cowardly Lion, also known as Brrr, the Lion cub who was saved by Elphaba in Wicked. Brrr has been commissioned by the Ozian government to collect information about people connected with The Wicked Witch of the West, and to discover the whereabouts of her alleged son, Liir. His investigation leads him to a convent, and an ancient old woman named Yackle, who will only answer his questions in exchange for the story of Brrr’s life.
Turns out, my first impression of this novel was correct. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t go anywhere. You learn a lot about the life of the Lion, but he’s not a very interesting character. His life is nothing but disappointments, and the book depressed me more than anything else. The only reason I kept reading was because of the allusions to Liir, Candle, and their child, in hopes that they would come in to play later in the story, because clearly they were where the action was. Maguire let me down. Oh sure, you do find out a couple interesting bits of information that tie in to the two previous books—the whereabouts of Nor, and the identity of the individual who betrayed Elphaba and Fiyero—but it doesn’t make up for the time I wasted in reading the rest of the book. I could have been doing something useful, like prying my eyes out with a butter knife.
Perhaps I’m not being fair to Gregory Maguire. He is a great author, and even in this book, I cherished the opportunity to immerse myself in his Oz. It’s the lead character in all three novels, and it’s always a pleasure to visit. I wish, though, that he had stuck to the plot he was spinning with the first two books instead of attempting to get his readers interested in a character who—let’s face it—no one has ever been that interested in.
I hear that he’s in the process of writing a fourth book in the series, and that it will be about Glinda. That has some potential, I think, seeing as she was a pivotal character in the first two books. I’d certainly be more interested in reading about her than the Lion. However, as bad as I feel saying this, I’ll be relieved when Maguire stops beating his dead Ozian horse and brings this series to an end.
I was optimistic when I first started reading, despite my initial reservations. Maguire effectively revives his rich, cultured version of Oz, and in the beginning alludes to previous events with the tantalizing promise of new information to come. Perhaps A Lion Among Men would advance the plot of the first two books, tying up loose ends and closing out the series in a satisfying manner…
A Lion Among Men follows the life and travels of the Cowardly Lion, also known as Brrr, the Lion cub who was saved by Elphaba in Wicked. Brrr has been commissioned by the Ozian government to collect information about people connected with The Wicked Witch of the West, and to discover the whereabouts of her alleged son, Liir. His investigation leads him to a convent, and an ancient old woman named Yackle, who will only answer his questions in exchange for the story of Brrr’s life.
Turns out, my first impression of this novel was correct. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t go anywhere. You learn a lot about the life of the Lion, but he’s not a very interesting character. His life is nothing but disappointments, and the book depressed me more than anything else. The only reason I kept reading was because of the allusions to Liir, Candle, and their child, in hopes that they would come in to play later in the story, because clearly they were where the action was. Maguire let me down. Oh sure, you do find out a couple interesting bits of information that tie in to the two previous books—the whereabouts of Nor, and the identity of the individual who betrayed Elphaba and Fiyero—but it doesn’t make up for the time I wasted in reading the rest of the book. I could have been doing something useful, like prying my eyes out with a butter knife.
Perhaps I’m not being fair to Gregory Maguire. He is a great author, and even in this book, I cherished the opportunity to immerse myself in his Oz. It’s the lead character in all three novels, and it’s always a pleasure to visit. I wish, though, that he had stuck to the plot he was spinning with the first two books instead of attempting to get his readers interested in a character who—let’s face it—no one has ever been that interested in.
I hear that he’s in the process of writing a fourth book in the series, and that it will be about Glinda. That has some potential, I think, seeing as she was a pivotal character in the first two books. I’d certainly be more interested in reading about her than the Lion. However, as bad as I feel saying this, I’ll be relieved when Maguire stops beating his dead Ozian horse and brings this series to an end.
greenblack's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
readersrun's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
augustlight's review
3.0
Honestly all but the most devoted "The Wicked Years" fans can skip this one. The parts with Yackle are great, there's a couple good scenes with the Lion (whose name escapes me), the clock lore is important I guess, but all in all it's just dull and not super memorable.