The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Louis Sachar is the author of Holes. Holes is probably one of the favorite read alouds we did as a family. If you ask my kids what their favorites are, they won’t think of Holes off the top of their heads. If you say, what about holes to them, they will gush with enthusiasm. That is the kind of author Louis Sachar is. He just sticks with you inside.

The Magician of the Tiger Castle is a fantasy novel for adults, but there is nothing here that is terribly graphic. The Magician is a somewhat washed up court magician during the renaissance. The only person who believes in him is the princess, but she is set to marry a neighboring prince. Unfortunately, she has fallen in love with a scribe. The Magician is tasked with solving the problem by both the king and the princess.

The Good – A really quick and fun read. Sachar brings that slightly wacky feeling where you know this couldn’t possibly happen, but maybe it did. The story is clever and has just enough heartbreak to make you sympathetic to the Magician.

The Bad – The Magician is a sometimes unlikeable character. His actions are often done out of cowardice, with a lot of careful manipulation. He is very clever. He is the only character that is given a great deal of depth, which I think is intentional but left me wanting more from the others. The tigers were not even a subplot, which was a bit disappointing.

The Ugly – There are a few no goes for kids in here, depending on your tolerance level. The characters all go to a brothel type of establishment, and while nothing is said outright, there is a lot of innuendo and discussion of attire on the women. Also, there is a scene where they are tossing back and forth comments with some soldiers that gets rather racy. It discusses the abilities of the prince and princess to perform their wedding night duties.

On the story side, I can’t say there was anything too ugly. I imagine that the story will hit me fully in a day or two, that is just the way this author works on me. If that happens, I may come back and amend!!