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A review by kaiforest
The Lost Stories by John Flanagan
2.0
As usual, this Ranger's Apprentice book was filled with decent writing and fun adventures that, while a bit trope-y, are definitely good material for kids. This book, however, had some major issues I can't overlook.
First of all, the Roamers, who are clearly based on the Romani, are portrayed as universally sexist, abusive, thieving, and cruel to animals. Usually Flanagan portrays other cultures as different, but with positives and negatives and, above all, people, just like the main culture featured in the books (England). The Romani have no such representation. There isn't a single good or sympathetic act performed by a Roamer, and the one sympathetic character associated with them was a Gallican captive. Besides producing flat writing (admittedly something of a problem with most of the villains), it encourages readers to believe racist stereotypes circulated about the Romani, who are actively marginalized in the real world.
Secondly, while I understand the distress caused by Tug's inevitable retirement, the solution is not to create a Tug-clone and pretend they're the same person. It's disrespectful to both Tugs, by taking away their uniqueness of character that real horses would actually have. It's like if someone pretended Harry Potter was James Potter - it's okay to acknowledge similarity and to start out with a bond from the shared heritage, but it's not okay to transfer the identity of the elder to the younger.
Thirdly, the dog died. Specifically, the wolf. Flanagan took the time to make the wolf a sympathetic character, outlining his struggle for survival, and then killed him. No one wants to see a sympathetic dog die. This isn't a real complaint, unlike the first two, but I'm personally offended in a not-very-sincere way.
First of all, the Roamers, who are clearly based on the Romani, are portrayed as universally sexist, abusive, thieving, and cruel to animals. Usually Flanagan portrays other cultures as different, but with positives and negatives and, above all, people, just like the main culture featured in the books (England). The Romani have no such representation. There isn't a single good or sympathetic act performed by a Roamer, and the one sympathetic character associated with them was a Gallican captive. Besides producing flat writing (admittedly something of a problem with most of the villains), it encourages readers to believe racist stereotypes circulated about the Romani, who are actively marginalized in the real world.
Secondly, while I understand the distress caused by Tug's inevitable retirement, the solution is not to create a Tug-clone and pretend they're the same person. It's disrespectful to both Tugs, by taking away their uniqueness of character that real horses would actually have. It's like if someone pretended Harry Potter was James Potter - it's okay to acknowledge similarity and to start out with a bond from the shared heritage, but it's not okay to transfer the identity of the elder to the younger.
Thirdly, the dog died. Specifically, the wolf. Flanagan took the time to make the wolf a sympathetic character, outlining his struggle for survival, and then killed him. No one wants to see a sympathetic dog die. This isn't a real complaint, unlike the first two, but I'm personally offended in a not-very-sincere way.