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gerbilreads's review against another edition
5.0
I mean, obviously I loved this. But what I especially love is noticing the subtle differences between Hobb and Lindholm, how they write. I’m finding that where Hobb suggests a theme, threading it out over time with care and love, Lindholm wants to grab your labels and scream it in your face. This book deals with a lot, and I found myself honestly torn at many points as to whether I wanted the character to stop all this silliness and return to normal, or for him to embrace his beautiful magic and live with it fully. Quite challenging, in its own way and peopled with the rich and vast personalities that are to be expected of Hobb, or Lindholm.
rosielazar1's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bluemaiden's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aruarian_melody's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Took me a while to get into it but everything came together in the last third of the book. Loved the themes explored here but some things (including the final confrontation) were a bit too nebulous for me.
yak_attak's review against another edition
2.5
A difficult book to review for a number of reasons, not the least of which is expectations - Robin Hobb is a favorite author of mine, and I expect to find well written, nuanced, realistic characters along with a weighty, dark, but fulfilling plot. As one of her earlier novels, a whole decade from the famous Assassin's Apprentice, it's understandable that this wouldn't necessarily fulfill those expectations - oddly though, it mostly does... just... it's not...very...likable.
Far from the epic fantasy you've come to expect, Wizard of the Pigeons is a slow moving, subtle urban fantasy, set in modern (at time of publication) day Seattle. The titular wizard is a homeless man, who wanders the city, learns about its history and soul, and takes it upon himself to help out others along his journey.
It's these vignettes and small moments that I think are the novel's strengths, and lead to these great moments of both humanization of the homeless, but other a whole plethora of other issues - abuse, assault, familial expectations and pressures... etc. Lindholm's best writing is in these small scenes, and you really get the sense of this kindly 'soul of the city' helping out where needed, that I think she was going for.
Where it falls though is in its main plot - there's a threat, and a challenge that the main character undertakes, and I'd say that I'm trying to keep things simple to save you spoilers, but honestly that's about the degree of clarity you get from the book itself. Character talk past each other and never discuss the actual thing they're there about. The main character refuses to elucidate what his own thoughts are - The narrative itself even is confused (or rather, makes telling mistakes) with character's identities at times, meaning the whole book is in this bizarre "Is it real? is it a hallucination?" state - which... is interesting, but not emotionally compelling.
Moreover, it makes the central premise one that's weird and kinda uncomfortable - a magical homeless person, with issues pertaining to Vietnam written by someone who has neither of those attributes... I dunno, it's tough. I'm not saying Lindholm shouldn't be the one to write this, and in may ways she's brought up issues of exoticisng the homeless in the text herself, but it's all done in this weird romantic tone that... I dunno. Not a fan.
A hard one to recommend, even for fans of Hobb, but one I think also shows a lot of promise and subtlety from an upcoming writer. Don't skip it on my account, but certainly don't start here either.
Far from the epic fantasy you've come to expect, Wizard of the Pigeons is a slow moving, subtle urban fantasy, set in modern (at time of publication) day Seattle. The titular wizard is a homeless man, who wanders the city, learns about its history and soul, and takes it upon himself to help out others along his journey.
It's these vignettes and small moments that I think are the novel's strengths, and lead to these great moments of both humanization of the homeless, but other a whole plethora of other issues - abuse, assault, familial expectations and pressures... etc. Lindholm's best writing is in these small scenes, and you really get the sense of this kindly 'soul of the city' helping out where needed, that I think she was going for.
Where it falls though is in its main plot - there's a threat, and a challenge that the main character undertakes, and I'd say that I'm trying to keep things simple to save you spoilers, but honestly that's about the degree of clarity you get from the book itself. Character talk past each other and never discuss the actual thing they're there about. The main character refuses to elucidate what his own thoughts are - The narrative itself even is confused (or rather, makes telling mistakes) with character's identities at times, meaning the whole book is in this bizarre "Is it real? is it a hallucination?" state - which... is interesting, but not emotionally compelling.
Moreover, it makes the central premise one that's weird and kinda uncomfortable - a magical homeless person, with issues pertaining to Vietnam written by someone who has neither of those attributes... I dunno, it's tough. I'm not saying Lindholm shouldn't be the one to write this, and in may ways she's brought up issues of exoticisng the homeless in the text herself, but it's all done in this weird romantic tone that... I dunno. Not a fan.
A hard one to recommend, even for fans of Hobb, but one I think also shows a lot of promise and subtlety from an upcoming writer. Don't skip it on my account, but certainly don't start here either.
jess_eats_books's review against another edition
4.0
This was a charming and unusual take on fantasy, I really enjoyed it. Probably my favorite Lindholm work so far.
toddtyrtle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mushimilda's review against another edition
3.0
3,5. Un drôle de livre! Le style est inégal, et un peu trop brouillon et fleuri au début, et il manque clairement un vrai fil conducteur sur la première moitié de l'histoire. Si on s'accroche cependant on rentre dans l'univers très étrange des ces sans abris qui possèdent des pouvoirs magiques (comme avoir du pop corn éternel pour nourrir les pigeons ou savoir quelles chansons ont les passants en tête), et on suit l'aventure hallucinée du Magicien, avec beaucoup de difficultés à distinguer ce qui relève de la magie et ce qui vient d'un PTSD du Vietnam. Je ne sais pas si je le recommanderais mais je suis sûr de garder des bouts du livre dans mes souvenirs pour quelque temps.
caitann's review against another edition
5.0
The way Robin Hobb (aka Megan Lindholm) writes characters to be cared about is so staggeringly powerful that I don’t know how I can still be so blown away by it, after so many of her books, but I am! While this does show its age at times (admitted in the introduction), such as with the use of certain terms no longer used today, many elements in it otherwise felt absolutely timeless. So desperately sad, but also so heartbreakingly hopeful. A story about PTSD and pigeons, and she wrote absolute magic.