A Lion Among Men

After trudging through Gregory Maguire's newest book in his Wicked series, A Lion Among Men, for about a week, I finally decided it wasn't living up to my expectations and I ended up skimming the last half of the book. The story begins many years after the death of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Civil War is brewing in Oz and the Cowardly Lion has been dispatched to track down Liir, Elphaba's son. As a descendant of the Eminent Thropp, Liir has a claim to govern Munchkinland and the Emerald City wants to make sure Liir will not stand in its way. The Lion is also tasked with finding the Grimmerie, an ancient book of magic, last seen in Elphaba's possession. The Lion attempts to interview Yackle, an old oracle who knew the Thropp family, for information that might lead to Liir's (or the Grimmerie's) whereabouts. In Hannibal Lecter fashion, Yackle insists on a quid pro quo arrangement, so the Lion is forced to tell the story of his life.

Maguire infuses the novel with his typical florid language, which at times is clever and at times is overdone. The plot unfolds slowly, as the events are interspersed with the flashbacks of the Lion's life. The majority of the action doesn't even occur until close to the end of the novel, which I found frustrating. But the main problem I had with the novel was the main character. I didn't think the Lion was a very interesting, or even likable, character. His story wasn't very interesting or illuminating, so the flashbacks felt boring and cumbersome. When I read Wicked, I absolutely loved it. I thought it was clever and original, and I found Elphaba to be an interesting, misunderstood, sympathetic character. Maguire captured something special with Wicked. But A Lion Among Men and his last novel, Son of a Witch, were very disappointing. I think the well has run dry here.