This book was somewhat a disappointment. I'd read "Wicked" years ago and enjoyed it very much. This book, the third in the Wicked Years series, kept putting me to sleep. The story follows the life journey of the Cowardly Lion. It has a slow start, but eventually picked up enough speed to keep me awake. Or maybe, because of the nap I'd had earlier in the evening while trying to read this book, it just seemed to. Este é o terceiro livro da série The Wicked Years, sendo precedido pelos títulos ‘A Bruxa de Oz’ (Wicked) e ‘O Herdeiro de Oz’ (Son of a Witch).A história começa aquando de uma Guerra Civil em Oz, num momento em que Yackle – uma velha oráculo – se prepara para abraçar a morte, sem sucesso. Enquanto espera pela sua morte recebe a visita de Brr – um Leão Cobarde – que procura informações sobre o Grimmário – o livro mágico misteriosamente desaparecido.Em troca dessas informações, Yackle pede a Brr que lhe conte sobre a história da sua vida, para perceber se pode, ou não, confiar nele.A maior parte da narrativa desenrola-se assim… com Brr vagueando pelas suas lembranças, desde a sua infância até chegar ao momento presente, em que se encontra com Yackle.Isto seria tudo muito interessante, não fosse a maioria deste conteúdo completamente desnecessário e não correspondesse a cerca de 2/3 do livro.Além disso Brr é um protagonista sem graça, sem uma história particularmente interessante e que chega a tornar-se chato.Grande parte da história é arrastada, contando pormenores desnecessários sobre assuntos que nada acrescentam à narrativa, enquanto outras partes, significativamente mais importantes, passam (literalmente) em três páginas.Como vem referido no próprio livro ‘Na verdade, nada na sua vida valia a pena ser recordado. Cada reviravolta prometera uma recompensa e revelara um fracasso.’A maior parte deste livro é completamente independente dos volumes anteriores, abrindo-se a excepção já na parte final do livro quando – qual momento de epifania – aparece a Trupe do Relógio do Dragão do Tempo e finalmente nos são dadas algumas informações: Onde pára o Grimmário, porque é que Yackle não consegue morrer e o que aconteceu a Nor.Não deixam no entanto de existir uma série de pontas soltas, provavelmente a serem resolvidas no volume seguinte – Out of Oz, ainda não traduzido para português.Em suma, esta leitura demorou muito mais tempo do que inicialmente se fazia prever e dei por mim várias vezes com preguiça de pegar no livro.O final do livro voou e li (as últimas 100 páginas) praticamente sem dar por isso, daí considerar realmente uma pena o início ser tão sem graça e enfadonho.Não sei para quando está previsto o lançamento do quarto volume em português mas, irei com certeza querer ler, para dar um término a esta Aventura.
Do You like book A Lion Among Men (2008)?
WICKED was an absolutely fantastic read and I loved how Gregory Maguire told the story of the Witches of oz in a modern voice of the take 20trh century. SON OF A WITCH was a good read too and I was looking forward to finally reading A LION AMONG MEN. I was surprised to see so many two and three star reviews and after reading I can understand their disappointment. I think most people think of the Cowardly Lion as portrayed in the movie where he was sacred of his own shadow and a little bitty Toto. The Cowardly Lion in this book was not a meek soul although in the beginning he seemed afraid to do anything because of how others would react which I thought was an interesting idea for a character trait. As the story went on Brr got progressively bolder, more witty and outspoken and egotistical and not very likable. There is a mystery of his birth he needs to solve and he meets a number of wild creatures along the way. Somehow though I felt ti was a bit of a stretch and even though I like the book with its humor and imagination but in the end I felt let down and that something was missing. I liked the book but would probably never rad it again and will only keep it because it is a part of the WICKED series.
—Gloria
WICKED was an absolutely fantastic read and I loved how Gregory Maguire told the story of the Witches of oz in a modern voice of the take 20trh century. SON OF A WITCH was a good read too and I was looking forward to finally reading A LION AMONG MEN. I was surprised to see so many two and three star reviews and after reading I can understand their disappointment. I think most people think of the Cowardly Lion as portrayed in the movie where he was sacred of his own shadow and a little bitty Toto. The Cowardly Lion in this book was not a meek soul although in the beginning he seemed afraid to do anything because of how others would react which I thought was an interesting idea for a character trait. As the story went on Brr got progressively bolder, more witty and outspoken and egotistical and not very likable. There is a mystery of his birth he needs to solve and he meets a number of wild creatures along the way. Somehow though I felt ti was a bit of a stretch and even though I like the book with its humor and imagination but in the end I felt let down and that something was missing. I liked the book but would probably never rad it again and will only keep it because it is a part of the WICKED series.
—Hanner12
Haven't finished. Kinda meh. Not awesome like wicked.
—CuteZombie225
