Reviews

Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm

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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.

echo86's review

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3.0

I really liked the idea of this book and wish I could have found out a little more about Wizards background including how he ended up on the street. I enjoyed some of the powers shown and the final confrontation, but found it a little slow paced. This book is very character centred rather than plot driven.

cassidee_omnilegent's review against another edition

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4.0

“His round child’s chin jutted into the firm jaw of a young man; his small nose lengthened; the brows on the ridges above his eyes thickened, and deepened the eyes themselves into a man’s angry stare. The anger and hurt in his face were not the emotions of a willful brat. Ted was looking into the eyes of a young man being forced to act against his own judgment and resenting it keenly. One day he would have to justify himself to that man.”

It has been 35 years since Wizard of the Pigeons was published and I was fortunate enough to get a signed ARC copy from Grim Oak Press, as well as a personalized signed copy from The Signed Page. This urban fantasy is unlike anything I’ve read. Wizard, a homeless Vietnam veteran living in Seattle in one of the few graced with a higher consciousness which allows him to tap into The Knowing. This allows him to see truths in people and objects around him, but it comes at a cost. He can never have more than a dollar in his pocket, he must remain celibate, and he must protect the pigeons.

Whether she’s writing as Megan Lindholm or Robin Hobb, she’s made it abundantly clear that she understands the human psyche (as much as one can, at least). Poetic and heartbreaking, quiet and joyful. She sees what’s beneath the surface, something many people have trouble with.

Wizard of the Pigeons focuses on the quiet magics of the world. Children and their songs, the way a parent shapes a child, the way we react to someone living their life differently than us. It finds magic in the people that the rest of us forget about. The stories of who we are and how we became that person. Psychology itself is a magic that far too many people take lightly. Whether it’s a father that berates his son, the trauma of being a soldier, the way our bodies are honed, used, or abused. Lindholm’s writing is the type that takes my breath away.

Make no mistake, if you are a fan of Hobb but haven’t read any Lindolm, this still may not be your cup of tea. Like her writing as Hobb, it has that quality to it, but the way she presents information and sets a story is completely different. Wisdom radiates from every page. I can’t wait to read more under this name!