Novella Review: Ruler of Beasts (Dorothy Must Die #0.6)

Release Date: February 16, 2016
Author: Danielle Paige
Publisher: HarperCollins
Length: 84 pages
Source: Library Audio Book

Danielle Paige delivers a dark and compelling reimagining of a beloved classic, perfect for fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Beastly by Alex Flinn, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

When the Cowardly Lion set off for the Emerald City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with Dorothy and the others, he sought courage above all else. This digital original novella is the sixth installment in the prequel arc to the edgy and thrilling New York Times bestsellers Dorothy Must Die and The Wicked Will Rise, and is the Lion’s story after he got what he’s always wanted.

The Lion’s wish has finally come true—he is the courageous ruler of the forest and all of its beasts. But the Lion is bored—he misses the days of his adventures with Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, and the Scarecrow. When Glinda the Good Witch shows up unexpectedly and tasks him with a mission back in the Emerald City, he jumps at the chance to do something exciting, even though he knows she’s not telling him the entire truth.

    

SPOILER WARNING: So I wrote this while very tired, still a little tired, and there are mild/medium level spoilers in this review. I'll try and come back and edit this review later so there are as few spoilers as possible, but I'm kind of going to pass out right now.

Review:

Protagonist: Lion is bored, after the excitement of confronting General Ginger, all Lion wants is something to do and a purpose in his life. Enter the puppet master, Glinda, who asks Lion to watch over Ozma and try and find a long lost necklace capable of helping bring back an old friend. I can't believe I'm saying this since Lion seemed to have the most "red flags" when it came to turning to the dark side, but he's sort of the most sympathetic of Dorothy's friends. I was surprised to find that underneath his rough exterior, is a soft little kitty cat, well sort of. This is still a story of his turn to the dark side, but there's a large part of me that really wanted him to be forced into it, or it really wasn't him we saw in the main series because a large part of me bleeds for this character we see in this book. Lion wants to be good, but since he's not as shrewd and cunning as Scare, or as ambivalent as Tin, his perception of what is truly "Good" is off.

World Building: So, I've said before that the world building for these novellas isn't that big, especially these ones that deal with how Dorothy's friends turned evil, but if I'm not mistaken, and I sincerely hope I'm not, it seems that this story does hold a good amount of world building that will hopefully serve as foreshadowing to what might happen next in the main series. Also, after six prequel novellas, it's interesting to look back and put everything in chronological order to see how some of these carefully laid plans fell into place. I said Glinda's a puppet master and this story shows just how much she is.

Predictability: Going into this book I had so many expectations on how this story would unfold, especially after reading the previous two novellas, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Not only did it sort of break the streak of interesting yet unnecessary novellas, at least presumably, but even after finishing it, I still felt sympathetic towards this character, which the only other time that happened in one of these novellas is in The Witch Must Burn. There are a few twists this book holds as well, some things that are hopefully foreshadowing for the future and some things that show more of how everything ties together.

Ending: I was really surprised and excited by how this story ended. Again, I still felt the Lion is a sympathetic character, and I almost wish we had seen more of how he turned evil, but I liked seeing that there was still a little bit of humanity in him, however much of an oxymoron that is, by the end of this story. The final climaxes, yes there are two, were really interesting and show not only how the Lion has come a good way since the beginning, but also set the stage for more in this world.

Rating:

I was not expecting to give this book five stars, I thought the Lion would be the least sympathetic of the bunch but there's a part of me that wants to just give him a hug, and the story was actually really fun and hopefully foreshadows what the future holds.

Book Review: Argos: The Story of Odysseus as Told By His Loyal Dog

Release Date: May 31, 2016
Author: Ralph Hardy
Publisher: HarperCollins
Length: 400 pages
Source: eARC via Edelweiss

From a compelling new voice in middle grade comes a reimagination of The Odyssey told from the point of view of Odysseus’s loyal dog—a thrilling tale of loyalty, determination, and adventure.

For twenty years, the great hero Odysseus struggles to return to Ithaka. After ten years beneath the walls of Troy, he begins the long journey back home. He defeats monsters. He outsmarts the Cyclops. He battles the gods. He struggles to survive and do whatever it takes to reunite with his family.

And what of that family—his devoted wife, Penelope; his young son, Telemachos; his dog, Argos? For those twenty years, they wait, unsure if they will ever see Odysseus again. But Argos has found a way to track his master. Any animal who sets foot or wing on Ithaka brings him news of Odysseus’s voyage—and hope that one day his master will return. Meanwhile, Argos watches over his master’s family and protects them from the dangers that surround a throne without its king.

    

Review:

Protagonist: This is my second adventure into books with animal protagonists, and for the most part I don't mind it, however it doesn't feel all that special. I mean essentially the author just gives human intelligance and understanding to an animal or multiple animals of their story. In this story we have Argos who's fierce loyalty to his master is well known. So much so that various animals seek him out to tell him tales of his master. What I really enjoyed about Argos in this tale is that he felt very much like a king of Ithaka in his own right, though more of the animals of the island. He's a very responsible and motivated dog, and I really enjoyed learning his tale.

Writing: So my biggest problem with this book is the writing. Disclaimer: I'm going to be going on a rant here. So this is a Middle-Grade book, regardless of what the author set out to create, it's now a Middle-Grade book. However the writing in this book is way too complex for the average Middle-Schooler to comprehend. That itself wouldn't have been terrible, if the story was compelling enough they could power through and come out more well-read for it, however the story moves at a very slow pace and in this day and age I can hardly see a Middle-Schooler having the attention span to keep up with this book. Next the writing is so grandiose that it begins to come off as pretentious. At first I didn't mind how the author wrote the book in a way that mirrored old-English while keeping it fairly accessible, however between the grandiose writing, the pseudo-Old-English, and the fact the it seems the author goes out of his way to spell every word he can in the least common way, things got really annoying and aggravating really fast.

World-Building: While this story is about Argos and his adventures on Ithaka while awaiting his master's return, it's also a retelling of The Odyssey, the epic tale of how Odysseus, after the fall of Troy, spends the next ten years trying to get back to his wife and son, while they deal with suitors who've come to marry Odysseus' wife Penelope after it's assumed Odysseus dies on his way home from Troy. So I will confess again, I haven't read The Odyssey, however I know many of it's stories and many of Odysseus' adventures from the epic poem. From what i do know this seems to be a faithful adaptation breathing new life into these old stories for a younger generation to discover.

Predictability: Since I know a lot of the story of The Odyssey, there wasn't all that much that came as a surprise for me. However that isn't to say there were no surprises. In fact I don't know if it's because I've recently read another, vastly different, tale of the dog Argos, or if the author did a great job with the foreshadowing, though I suspect it's the former, but there were quite a few fun little twists in this book. Nothing unexpected, but still a great surprise to read.

Ending: So the ending of this book is kind of weird. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say that it shifts focus a bit. The final "book" in this story really encompass the ending of The Odyssey very well. Though I will say it was more drawn out than I expected. There were a few things towards the end that, while they didn't piss me off, did really annoy me that the author would dare even tease the readers about that. Since this is a standalone everything ends in a very wrapped up way, and while I did sort of feel as though this book ended too soon, another part of me felt that it didn't end soon enough.

Rating:

At first I really enjoyed this book, but as I began looking at it through the eyes of it's intended audience, I began to see it's flaws. While there are some MGers who I am sure can easily follow this story, the average MGer most likely couldn't. Plus with it's slow pacing and nausiatingly grandiose writing, even I got sick of this book. While the story itself is great, it could have been told in a much more accessible way.

Book Review: Argos

 Release Date: May 10, 2016
Author: Phillip W. Simpson
Publisher: Month9Books
Length: 300 pages
Source: eARC from Publisher

Loyalty has no limits

Raised from a pup by Greek hero, Odysseus, Argos has come to learn the true meaning of love and loyalty. But when Odysseus leaves for the Trojan War, little does Argos know it will be 20
years before he sees his master again. With Odysseus gone his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, are easy prey for neighboring kings and the Gods themselves.

But Argos was tasked to keep them safe until Odysseus returns and that is a promise he is
determined to keep – whatever the cost. Told through his eyes, Argos recounts the story of his life – his pain, his joy, his triumphs and failures; his endurance in the face of hardships almost too great to believe.

Above all else, Argos strives to do what is right – and to remain loyal to his King when all others have given up hope. To live long enough to see his beloved master one more time.

This epic myth of love and loyalty proves that a dog really is man's best friend.

    

Review:

Protagonist:So this is a new one for me. I've never before read a book where the protagonist isn't human, or well isn't humanoid. This book holds the story of Argos, the beloved dog of Odysseus. Argos is unlike other dogs, he has a special awareness that other dogs don't. This awareness makes him feel very much like a typical human/humanoid narrator. He has complex thoughts and emotions, and is nearly loyal to a fault. I really loved the character of Argos, he has such a love for his family, a deep protectiveness over them, and it drives nearly every choice he makes.

World-Building: So confession time, I may have said it in another review already but if not here it goes, I haven't read The Odyssey yet. However that doesn't really matter here. I mean it does a little bit, but from what I do know about Odysseus and the little I researched before writing this review, there is very little of The Odyssey in these pages, instead it tells the life of a minor character, Argos, and by extant some of the key players in The Odyssey. Fear not though, this book is still steeped in Greek Mythology, there are plenty appearances by both Greek gods and Greek monsters.

Predictability: So, there's a lot to this book that's predictable. It's sort of obvious where it's going and how the end comes into play. However, I guess that's not where the twists and unpredictable moments would be. That being said though, I honestly can't think of any unpredictable moments. I mean things happened that I wasn't completely expecting, but they weren't really shocking or surprising. That being said though, this story never quite got boring. Even though I was neither shocked nor surprised, this book still managed to keep a nice steady, for not a bit swift, pace, which I actually enjoyed quite a bit.

Ending: So like I said the ending's, kind of, incredibly predictable, or at least it is for a 22 year old. That being said though the final climax was awesome. For those who have read The Odyssey, you can no doubt guess what the final climax of this tale is. As this book comes to a close, there aren't any loose ends. I mean sure there are things I'm curious about, but they're small. Then comes the epilogue. It's short, sweet, and maybe made me tear up a little bit.

Rating:

Even though this is a Middle Grade story it's extremely compelling and very fun to read. It's a fairly short read and it's just one of those books that warms your heart. If Middle Grade isn't your thing I'd still recommend it for those who enjoy a good Greek Mythology inspired tale.