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A Lion Among Men (The Wicked Years #3)
"Maguire is full of storytelling brio...his OZ is meticulously drawn." New York Times on Wicked
"In the much anticipated third volume of the Wicked Years, we return to Oz, seen now through the eyes of the Cowardly Lion.
While civil war looms in Oz, a tetchy oracle named Yackle prepares for death. Before her final hour, a figure known as Brrr the
...moreHardcover, 312 pages
Published
October 16th 2008
by William Morrow
(first published January 1st 2008)
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To be honest... I'm getting frustrated with Maguire. His first book in the series (Wicked) has received national (if not global) acclaim, as it rightly should. I was originally entranced by Maguire's ability to reinvent Oz while still keeping the classical whimsical elements alive, in fact fleshing them out by putting them in a realistic and harsh reality of social commentary. However, with the introduction of Son of a Witch, about which he has said he never planned for, Maguire has gone on t...more
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So. The third book in what's now referred to as The Wicked Years. Alright. I adore Wicked, both in its written and musical forms. Son of a Witch was a decent sequel. And I was really excited when I learned that we'd get the Lion's perspective in all this.
Brrr is on Emerald City business, in search of the oracle Yackle, who was mentioned in Madame Morrible's notes. Why? Mostly in search of both The Grimmerie, Elphaba's book of magic, and Liir, her son. Yackle was often on the outskir...more
Brrr is on Emerald City business, in search of the oracle Yackle, who was mentioned in Madame Morrible's notes. Why? Mostly in search of both The Grimmerie, Elphaba's book of magic, and Liir, her son. Yackle was often on the outskir...more
I really love Gregory Maguire's writing style, and I love where he has gone with this story over the three novels. The structure of this book, however, felt somewhat scattered--it wasn't until the end, the last few chapters, where I started to feel that it had any coherency, unlike in Son of a Witch, where although it may not have always been clear what the connections where exactly, they always felt like connections. I suppose this is due to the fact that the protagonist in this story had lit...more
The third book in Maguire's return to Oz fills in some gaps in the ongoing storyline, and has a few moments, but overall falls short of the entrancing epic of "Wicked."
I enjoyed the book, and am glad to have read it, but wouldn't put it in the 'classic' status like "Wicked" or in my "must read again" bookshelf.
I enjoyed the book, and am glad to have read it, but wouldn't put it in the 'classic' status like "Wicked" or in my "must read again" bookshelf.
Considering how much I enjoyed Wicked, and how much more I enjoyed Son of a Witch, I found A Lion Among Men disappointing. I was all geared up to find out what happens with Liir and you-know-what-from-the-end-of-Son of a Witch, but the third book in this series barely mentions him. Instead, this book focuses primarily on the Cowardly Lion and his life experiences, and touches a bit on Fiyero's daughter.
I found the author's language annoying, if not incomprehensible at times (or maybe I ju...more
I found the author's language annoying, if not incomprehensible at times (or maybe I ju...more
Maguire is a fantastic world builder and blew audiences away with Wicked back in 1995. Lion continues in this tradition, but offers no characters that differ greatly from those in Wicked. Maguire has a tendency of making all his characters very similar: Incredibly pessimistic and overly verbose. Often they sound like depressives who have just walked out of a thesaurus. But what is more unfortunate is that Maguire tries to substitute this pessimism for the guiding philosophy of the book. By...more
It took me ages to get into this book. It's not the best of the series by far. I didn't even Like Brr or Yackle. You do learn a lot more about Yackle though. It is funny in parts too. The ending left room for more books. Eh...
"Wicked" was fantastically drawn, while at the same time intriguingly vague and introspective. In my opinion it was a masterpiece. "Son of a Witch" and now "A Lion Among Men" only make blind attempts at creating the same mystique; they stumble along the way and end up a jumble of meaningless revelations that do nothing but create a more convoluted and less intriguing story. At the same time that story has none of the charm of "Wicked". Fleeting referen...more
After the rushed feeling of "Son of a Witch", MacGuire redeems himself with this novel... it made me feel as if some wounds were healed for both the reader and the characters.
Disenchanted. That's what I am with Gregory Maguire. This book is almost completely backstory; we learn nothing more about Liir and Tristam and Candle and the new arrival. The part of the story that does advance moves only about 3 inches, and it was no mystery who the handmaiden of the clock is anyway. And Yackle's story--if you have to summarize it at the end, it wasn't well delivered. Speaking of the ending, it was ponderous, and Maguire could have done better than use a literal deux ex machin...more
I'll start this out simple; Maguire has yet to equal the writing he exhibited in Wicked. This being said, A Lion Among Men was a much stronger novel than Son of a Witch.
I don't get the sense that Maguire's writing abilities have improved since Wicked was published. Fortunately, he created a truly brilliant character back then in the form of Yackle. It is Yackle's presence that gives this novel much of its metaphysical spark and devious humor. She develops a rapport with the lio...more
I don't get the sense that Maguire's writing abilities have improved since Wicked was published. Fortunately, he created a truly brilliant character back then in the form of Yackle. It is Yackle's presence that gives this novel much of its metaphysical spark and devious humor. She develops a rapport with the lio...more
What a disappointment! Wicked was an act of amazing and original brilliance, taking a world that we are all familiar with, and turning it completely upside down. Brilliantly imagined and equally brilliantly realized, one of its strongest suits was the way in which Maguire took elements of the original books, (not just Wizard) and wove them together into a familiar and yet wholly new world.
Since then, his approach to the series feels labored and incomprehensible to me. Son of a Wi...more
Since then, his approach to the series feels labored and incomprehensible to me. Son of a Wi...more
This book focuses on the Lion as its central character, who, after the brief time as part of Dorthy's entourage, becomes a very low-level government employee seeking information about the lost son of the Wicked Witch of the West. My general feeling at the end of the book was that the climax was unsatisfactory (and difficult even to determine), and the Lion's story seemed to begin in the middle and end before anything of importance happened. I never like to be set up for the next book. But thi...more
Arg! Just finished this last night, and it has the same curse as "Son of a Witch," in that it reveals just so much, but leaves you with so many more questions. I'd really hoped, for the satement of my curiosity, that this would be the last book, in which all is revealed. But, no. Which some day will be magnificent, when we sit down with the many books in this series, a cup of coffee, a warm blanket, and days and days ahead to gorge on this delightful brain candy. For now, I am ago...more
This is the third book in the Wicked series and follows the Cowardly Lion as everybody keeps reminding him. Interestingly enough he is a misunderstood Animal who cannot seem to fit in the human world, nor the Animal world so playing on the feelings both societies have for him he acts as a spy to find information for the Wizard.....or is he?. It is interesting to follow the Lion before during and after the Dorothy meeting. We also got to learn a little bit about the Tin Man and a clock character...more
i loved this. maguire writes in a way that really attaches the reader to the characters. the characters or fully realized with little idiosynchracies and foibles. this wasn't as interesting as his second "wicked" novel as i believe the second seemed to be more of a set up for something else. this one felt like a real continuation of the story. there were revelations and intrigue and it sparked a desire to know more. to have the story continue. i sort of fell in love with the cowardly l...more
Why does Gregory McGuire insist on wirting about "heros" that you don't want to root for? He made the lion so repugnant, that I lost interest in the story after a few pages. The only reason I continued on was in some hopes that he would take all the loose ends that he created in his first two books, and tie them all up. Well, frankly, it didn't happen. And again, like the other two books, he took our main character's life, and spread it so thin that every event wouldn't only equal ...more
Brrr seeks out Yackle and the Grimmerie in a quest for answers and leads to his own past. Despite some criticism, I believe I liked A Lion Among Men better than Son of a Witch. While Son of a Witch continued the story of Wicked, it answered no questions about the strange occurrences in Wicked and added to the problems by raising story questions itself. A Lion Among Men answers some questions from Wicked, but fails to really continue the story of Liir. I was glad to see the Time Dragon Clock ...more
By this book, there is little doubt in mind that Maguire captivates me in one of 3 ways. His prose, his painstaking abilities in Character definition, and a philosophical subtext which leaves one rapt through mid-novel portions that otherwise would have been tedious.
Just when everyone thought they would get a third book to tie up the mysteries of the first two, Maguire seems to have learned from the minor mistakes of the 2nd book as he previously attempted to abandon the the formula of Fa...more
Just when everyone thought they would get a third book to tie up the mysteries of the first two, Maguire seems to have learned from the minor mistakes of the 2nd book as he previously attempted to abandon the the formula of Fa...more
Continuing the saga of The Wicked Years, A Lion Among Men is the story of Sir Brrr, a.k.a. the Cowardly Lion of Oz, and his quest to find out his own origins. Also tasked by the throne of Oz with acquiring any information he can find about the late Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West, he comes to the mauntery known as the Cloister of Saint Glinda to interrogate an ancient oracle known as Yackle on what she might know about the dead witch. In return, Yackle wants some ansers of her own...more
This is the third book in the "Wicked" series, best known to most now for the musical. I love the idea behind these books, taking the familiar Wizard of Oz characters and expanding their stories. This book I was a bit confused by as there had been a gap since I read the first two volumes, Wicked and Son of a Witch and there is lots of history and references to both. I would recommend these books but for sure start with Wicked. I'll be interested to see what others think of this ser...more
It has been three long years since we last traveled to OZ. And much has changed.
The land, once joined together, is now separated into two parties: those that support the current Wizard of OZ and the Munchkinlanders who long to be free and their own people.
It is not the OZ we’ve come to know. It is an OZ on the brink of war and on the cusp of social change. Whether it is change for the better remains to be seen.
Heedless of the turmoil of OZ that surrounds him, ...more
The land, once joined together, is now separated into two parties: those that support the current Wizard of OZ and the Munchkinlanders who long to be free and their own people.
It is not the OZ we’ve come to know. It is an OZ on the brink of war and on the cusp of social change. Whether it is change for the better remains to be seen.
Heedless of the turmoil of OZ that surrounds him, ...more
An entirely enjoyable read - but one that, unlike its predecessors (within the 'Wicked Years' series) almost impossible to read with any sort of understanding without having read Wicked and/or Son of a Witch. As such, this more or less shifts 'The Wicked Years' from being a series of standalone novels to a series, with all of the incoherency that that implies. Obviously, being in a series isn't a bad thing, in the least - but when I buy a lovely, not-exactly-cheap hardbound book, I tend to expec...more
I would give this four stars for Maguire's beautiful writing, but I have to admit I didn't feel like I understood the whole book, so I have to give it three. (That does make sense, really.) I bought this when it was new and then forgot to read it, so now that "Out of Oz" has been published, I've finally read this one.
As I began this book, I wasn't sure I would like it very much. I was glad I had somewhat recently reread (listened to) "Wicked", in which I discover...more
As I began this book, I wasn't sure I would like it very much. I was glad I had somewhat recently reread (listened to) "Wicked", in which I discover...more
2-13-09=This book tells the story of the Cowardly Lion. Brrr comes to the oracle Yackle for answers to Elphaba, Liir and the Grimmerie, just as they are caught between the war between EC and Munchkinland. Yackle is seeking death, but death does not come. Brrr is forced to recollect his life and the mistakes he has made, by telling his story to the oracle. I was really hopeful to find some answers in this third volume, but my satisfaction was not sated. Altogether, this book was a fantastic ...more
As I got to the closing chapters I was a bit disappointed this lacked the sense of finality I anticipated. That means for sure there must be a fourth book on the way. This installment tells the tale of the Cowardly Lion, as his life course overlaps with the Oz careers of Dorothy, Elphaba, Liir, and Mother Yackle. It also offers the opportunity to learn more of the mysterious and tantalizing Grimmerie. Satisfying as another of Maguire's counter-fairy tales, where even magical lands are reveal...more
This is the third book in the "Wicked Years" series from Gregory Maguire. I'm still trying to figure out what I really
think about this book. As with the previous books, this novel gives us an alternate look at the world of Oz that many of
us only know from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
A Lion Among Men is mostly backstory on the Cowardly Lion. A very different past than one would imagine him to have,
but interesting to read about. The action in the present is less ent...more
think about this book. As with the previous books, this novel gives us an alternate look at the world of Oz that many of
us only know from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
A Lion Among Men is mostly backstory on the Cowardly Lion. A very different past than one would imagine him to have,
but interesting to read about. The action in the present is less ent...more
I realized while reading 'A Lion Among Men" that my main reason for disliking "Son of a Witch" had nothing to do with Gregory Maguire's skill as a writer: I didn't WANT a new book. I wanted to be able to read "Wicked" for the first time again. Failing that, I wanted to read more behind-the-scenes stories, and have minor characters from the first book in the trilogy tell the story from their point of view. "Son of a Witch" didn't have much of that (and watching ...more
As my buddy Bill once wrote: "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"
If you notice, Bill made no mention of those people who aren't great. The average, the mediocre, the unimpressive. You know why? Because those people aren't very interesting to write about. Such is the case with Brrr, the titular Lion Among Men. In listening to this book I simply could not drum up the enthusiasm to give a good gol' darn about the main character,...more
If you notice, Bill made no mention of those people who aren't great. The average, the mediocre, the unimpressive. You know why? Because those people aren't very interesting to write about. Such is the case with Brrr, the titular Lion Among Men. In listening to this book I simply could not drum up the enthusiasm to give a good gol' darn about the main character,...more
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| need to read son of a witch first? | 6 | 16 | Jan 07, 2012 04:35pm |
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Gregory Maguire is an American author, whose novels are revisionist retellings of children's stories (such as L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into Wicked). He received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University, and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany. He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children'...more
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