Wizard of the Pigeons

Rating:
Summary: Slow paced, but well written
Review: At a time when so many fantasy novels are rehashing the same plot, it was delightful to stumble upon such a different story. The concept is intriguing. The main character, Wizard, is bound by the rules of magic. He must not carry more than a dollar at a time, he must always tell the truth as he knows it, he must remain celibate, and he must feed and protect the pigeons. If you're thinking that the first and last rule make him sound like a lot of the homeless you encounter on big city streets - well, that's the idea.

A homeless Wizard. One who has an interesting way to help people. He doesn't cast spells, but he knows things. People talk to him, and what he tells them is helpful, accurate, and always insightful. Then a mysterious, shadowy figure from his past re-emerges and threatens to destroy not only Wizard himself, but the entire city as well.

Though beautifully written, WIZARD OF THE PIGEONS is a very slow paced book. A lot of time is spent on exploring and learning about the characters, and during this time, they don't really do much. Wizard, however, makes one bad choice after another, while constantly doubting himself, until I was ready to either throttle him or throw the book in frustration. The ending is anti-climactic, and quite disappointing as well.

Still, despite its obvious faults, I enjoyed reading this book for the simple reason that it's an excellent example of wonderful writing. Great descriptive passages and intriguing themes abound, but if you like your fantasy fast paced, this book won't satisfy.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing idea; but lost its push
Review: SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-), Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F)

DIALOGUE: B- STRUCTURE: C+ HISTORY SETTING: n/a CHARACTERS: B EVIL SETUP/ANTAGONISTS: C EMOTIONAL IMPACT: C+ SURPRISES: B- MONSTERS: n/a PACING: C- OVERALL STYLE: B- FLOW OF WORDS: B CHOICE OF FOCUS: B- TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: B- COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: B- OVERALL GRADE: C+

QUICK REVIEW: I really enjoyed the opening. It started out like a fairy tale (similar to Tolkien) and we had this intriguing idea; what if all the homeless people were tapped into special magical powers and used it to accomplish mundane tasks (i.e., get people to give them things; find food and a place to sleep). Wizard, the main character, always attracted trouble people when he rode the bus. This was a really great idea and humanized him. Then, he was able to show a verbally abusive father how he was handling his son incorrectly. But after Wizard went off to meet the other homeless people it started to lose steam. The story spent too much time on actual homelessness and Wizard had a not so spectacular meeting with his gaseous nemesis. All he did was turn into a turtle and go into his shell until the enemy left. Then, we hit the flashback of his past when he was chopping off chicken heads. After that part and the overall slow movement, I lost interest.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome.
Review: This book was great. I still have a copy from sometime ago.
I am sad to learn that her other books are also hard to find

Rating:
Summary: Magic Among the Homeless
Review: This week I want to talk about a book that is often hard to find, but one of the finest urban fantasies written. I refer to Megan Lindholm's WIZARD OF THE PIGEON. At a convention panel on magic, it was suggested that there were no mixes of magic and socialism in fantasy literature. I brought up this book as possibly the only socialistic treatment of a magic system (at least outside of a socialist country).

The book centers around the title character who is a street person. Apparently everyone with magic ability is a street person. Everyone's magic is different and none is better of worse than another. There is no one in charge. You just go to the person who can do what you need. The story sets up the characters and the world setting very nicely and quickly. Then our protagonist becomes hunted by a horrible monster.

I will leave it to the reader to determine if the story has a happy or sad ending. I personally found the ending to be rather sad. Whatever you decide, it is a very enjoyable and though provoking urban fantasy in a slender volume and I recommend it to anyone who can handle the concept of magic in a modern setting.

Rating:
Summary: Magic Among the Homeless
Review: This week I want to talk about a book that is often hard to find, but one of the finest urban fantasies written. I refer to Megan Lindholm's WIZARD OF THE PIGEON. At a convention panel on magic, it was suggested that there were no mixes of magic and socialism in fantasy literature. I brought up this book as possibly the only socialistic treatment of a magic system (at least outside of a socialist country).

The book centers around the title character who is a street person. Apparently everyone with magic ability is a street person. Everyone's magic is different and none is better of worse than another. There is no one in charge. You just go to the person who can do what you need. The story sets up the characters and the world setting very nicely and quickly. Then our protagonist becomes hunted by a horrible monster.

I will leave it to the reader to determine if the story has a happy or sad ending. I personally found the ending to be rather sad. Whatever you decide, it is a very enjoyable and though provoking urban fantasy in a slender volume and I recommend it to anyone who can handle the concept of magic in a modern setting.

Rating:
Summary: Wish she'd write more in this vein.
Review: When I finished Wizard of the Pigeons, I immediately went looking for more by Megan Lindholm. I was sad to find that most of what she's written is out of print. She has the same skill at finding the magic, that sense of Other, in unexpected places as Charles De Lint does. Who'd think there'd be magic in a flock of city pigeons and an almost empty bag of popcorn?

Rating:
Summary: Good except for the slow start and finish
Review: While the bulk of the story is a captivating way of experiencing the magic of Seattle and harsh realities of being a homeless vet the novel is bookended with a slow opening and a confusing ending. In both cases I found myself rereading passages just to figure out what was happening. The slow start nearly kept me from reading the rest of the book but I am glad I had continued reading.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, how I love this book!
Review: Why is this book out of print?!

Aside from that, the only problem with this book is that there's nothing else like it. I want more.

This is a truly unique novel, in part about the magic that is a city, in part about the wonder that is true magic. Schizophrenia, eternal love, and a time that's out of joint are only minor notes in a word-symphony of the human spirit...

Looking back on what I've written, I realize that my words cannot begin to justly describe the wondrousness of this book. Buy it and read it. 'Nuff said.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, haunting book
Review: Wizard of the Pigeons is an exquistely written book. It's well crafted, perfectly carried out. Also read her other books under the name Robin Hobb.

Summary on the back cover:

The other street people called him Wizard. He just wanted to be left alone.

He came back from Vietnam thinking he'd left its evils behind forever; he never wanted to feel the intoxicating rush of battle again.

But something wicked was drifting through the streets, a black magic that threatened the entire city--and only Wizard had the power to stop it.

Soon he would have to make a choice: To stand and fight, or turn and run. To be a wizard, or just a man.

The time had come to choose...