By John Flanagan
Previously I have struggled to enjoy fantasy as a genre, so I picked up this book incredibly tentatively. It was hand selected by a very close friend and marketed to me without the term 'fantasy' (key to their success). Instead, they sold this book to me as like a historical fiction of ye old times with knights and kingdoms and castles. I generally enjoy historical fiction and thus was intrigued- though still skeptical. The next comment regarded the book as like the BBC show, Merlin, without the magic. I thought that was ridiculous. Magic is the crux of that show and without magic the show would simply be boring (sans some Merlin/Arthur bromance). The last comment made in selling this book to me was about the pace at which I could digest the material.
I felt a challenge and a bit of a spark to embark upon a new journey in reading a new genre at a pace I thought impossible. Also, I have been trying to converse with this friend about the books we read for awhile and felt this could help bridge the gap and create groundwork for sharing books and conversation later.
Almost immediately I was frustrated at Mr. Flanagan's inability to portray female characters. The two young girls, Jenny and Alyss, and the one woman, Lady Pauline seemed to float on the surface while the many male characters were rooted with deep backgrounds and development and motivation. It was/is clear that the author did not grow up with sisters or have strong women role models in his life. I found this err quite unsettling as I have not read books with poorly written female characters in a long time. I cannot even guess as to what literature previously stooped this low in terms of quality. The author was writing for his son, but still, having well rounded characters is crucial, especially if there are only 2.5 of one gender.
Maybe it is because this book is marketed and written for the likes of a 12 year old boy, but the general methodology in writing craft was greatly different than what I am accustomed to reading. This is a story book. It tells a story. I grew up being taught to write with the method of "show, don't tell." For years I have enjoyed noticing when authors carefully show us information so that we are able to draw the correct conclusions and make discoveries and ideas all on our own (with the authors' guidance, obviously). This story, however, was told to me. There is little work to be done on the readers part and that definitely took some adjustments for me. I guess this helps aid the pace, as I was able to complete the book in record time, as hypothesized previously.
While I do not love this book, it is also important to note that the last few books that I have read have mostly ranked among my top 10 books I've ever read. A change of pace and trying something new was exciting. This is a series book with 22 books total. I do not imagine reading all of them, but I may continue on the fantasy journey for two or three books more. We shall see!
For book two I am hoping for more development in the female characters, more background into the villain and maybe more about the Ranger meeting that happens every year. I will be braced for the writing method in hopes that it continues to allow for a quick pace.
Happy Reading, Bookworms!
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