A Lion Among Men: Volume Three In The Wicked Years

Although it's not yet listed on the chapters.ca website, the trade paperback version of 'A Lion Among Men' has a release date of September 22/09, which will likely cost between $17 and $20.

One of the unfortunate things about growing up is having to give up fairy tales. Now, thanks to Gregory Maguire, we can have the fairy tales back, only this time written for grown-ups. If you enjoyed the Wizard of Oz, you will surely enjoy Maguire's take on the background of the characters. In A Lion Among Men, we are taken into the world of the cowardly lion and the"real" world that Oz is, politics, wars and everything. It's an amusing romp through the world of Oz as seen from the tarnished view of the grown-ups. The magic is gone, reality has taken over the yellow brick road.

The third installment in the "Wicked Years" follows the story of the Cowardly Lion and Yackle. Maguire, yet again, recreates the land of Oz in a vivid and colourful way. This is no longer the candy coloured world of Frank L Baum.
We get to find out the history of the Lion and his autobiography is a surprisingly busy, full, and unintentionally filled with many failures. Will the Lion ever see something through? Or realize that ethics are more important than being in the 'in' crowd. Will he always let others control his actions? We also get some glimpses into Yackle's life and a look at why she is always tied with the Thropp family.
This story would not have attracted me to the overall series if I had read it first, but it does seem to have its place within the series. There are times it goes off track in philosophical wandering, which may serve to underline the Lion's pomposity and lack of social graces. Oh, but what is an orphaned Cat to do?
This book in the series fills out more of the story and ties up some loose ends. However, if feels like a bridge to a fourth book (I wonder who he'll cover next? Tin-man, Scarecrow, Ozma, or back to Liir and his daughter?).
If you already love this series, read it! If you haven't started it yet, start at the first book (Wicked), then the second (Son of a Witch) and then read it!
On its own it's a good bookclub pick, too. Wicked bookclub anyone?

I read this book as a First Look Advanced Reader's Copy from HarperCollins, and I really feel lucky to have gotten it. I really loved this third Wicked book!

I have found this third book in Maguire's Wicked series to be intriguing and well-written. I enjoyed learning about the life of the Cowardly Lion, and how and why he became Cowardly in the first place. This plot was effective and mixed with the usual political intrigues of Oz, which creates a very interesting plot, that requires the reader to think. The book reads very easily, the chapters usually short and to the point, and leaving you looking for more information to be found in the next chapters. I think by choosing to write about the Cowardly Lion, a character from the original Wizard of Oz story, Maguire made a bright move that was, in my opinion, a better choice than the character of Liir, which we read about in Son of a Witch, the previous book.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read the previous two books, or to people I think would enjoy this series.