Customer Reviews

Wizard Of The Pigeons

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

I was in college when my boyfriend, another sci fi fiend from Seattle, turned me on to this book. I have read it several times since and have always come away with something more. Well written, good story, interesting twist at the end. Some say it was too slow - I felt the pacing just fine. Read this book, and pass it on to others. Maybe someone will get the hint and print up more copies!

This seems, at first, to be a good work of magical realism - Charles de Lint with a twist - but it turns out to be much more. We first see a fantasy world, where magic is real, but then we also see a more realistic worldview, where the main character is psychotic. Both of these views are allowed their integrity, and neither is shattered. This is a very difficult balance, and the tension between these two views casts some light on what fantasy is, and why each of us reads it.

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?

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.

I was sucked in from page one, totally absorbed, just coming up for air occasionally. The only part I felt wasn't perfect was the ending. Well worth reading, and certainly very thought provoking.

Surreal and captivating reading.

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.

This is a powerful book. I'm not sure that I can explain it but it sticks with me. It is very haunting. Just when I thought I had figured it out, I realized that I had not. The is fine, fine writing by one of my favorite authors. I gave it only a 4 because I do not trust 5 reviews.

Living on the streets of Seattle is a man called Wizard who talks with mummies and tells the Truth to those who sit beside him on the bus. But when he and other magic users are threatened by the amorphous gray Mir, Wizard must decide if he can and will use his powers to go to war. Wizard of the Pigeons is an urban fantasy that calls to mind Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint in both setting and style: realistically-rendered Seattle is filled with clever, cute bits of magic from treasure-filled junk shops to a parallel otherworld populated by the city's alternate timelines, magical men and a few elusive women walk the streets, yet the average citizen goes through their daily life without recognizing the wonder around them. The initial effect is almost twee, but Lindholm's magic is original and grows increasingly unidealized, and before long these aspects transfer to the rest of the book: Wizard develops complexity and multifold faults, his relationships and path become complex and difficult, and the story grows surprisingly dark while still retaining flashes of beauty. The maturation from fluff to grit isn't flawless: the plot is occasionally slow and confusing, Mir is sometimes too indistinct and imprecise an evil, and the darker character aspects threaten to become simply unlikable. But on the whole, Wizard's story is a dynamic journey, difficult and sometimes joyless but never without purpose and spark, and it makes for an intense and worthwhile read.

For better or worse, the book is also packed with dense gender issues. Wizard's mentor and sometimes-romantic interest is a woman named Cassie whose magic is rooted in the female archetype; she's a strong character, but her relationship with Wizard and role in his story is occasionally troubling. As a shapeshifter, Cassie takes on a wide range of female bodies--"wide" insofar as they're all cis-women, and most of them are attractive to Wizard. Her very existence reinforces the idea of a female archetype, and that it's linked with certain, creative, "womanly" powers. As the Female partner to Wizard's Male, Cassie reinforces a heteronormative gender binary; given her specific magical abilities function in the plot, she links Female with support and sacrifice. This isn't to say that Cassie is a bad character--she's powerful, independent, and far from compliant or mild-mannered; in fact, outside of her role as Female and as a supporting character, Cassie's awesome. But because her character is so strong, it's that much easier to swallow all that's bundled with her. Her archetype may resonate with some, and it's not entirely troubling or misogynist, but it doesn't sit right with me. This hardly destroys an otherwise enjoyable book, but it is a detraction. Such troubles aside, Wizard of the Pigeons is a surprisingly little book. Gaiman and de Lint-style urban fantasy rarely works for me because it often retains too much of its twee delight; Wizard of the Pigeons does a better job of building an intriguing premise into a satisfying story, one which is both magical and real. It's a fascinating read as an early, formative piece of the urban fantasy genre, and also one of the personally more successful books I've read from that genre. It's a pity that it's out of print, but if you can get your hands on this book I do recommend it.

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...