some continuations

Recently I have found myself reading books that are entries in long-standing series. On one level this bothers me because it suggests that a) there is nothing 'new' out there worth reading or b) I don't know what new books I should be reading. In either case, I'm not very happy. But I have been reading some good stuff recently. Here's a run-down:

A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire:

The third book in the Wicked series chronicles the life of the cowardly lion, named in this book at least Burr. Maguire has written a fascinating character in Burr. He is a lonely, ashamed soul seeking redemption in all the wrong places and in all the wrong ways. He is America before we found ourselves and voted for the symbol of Obama. He is materialistic and opportunistic because he thinks that is how to get fame (as my students would put it). He is lost and empty because nothing he does provides joy or solace, and the book is a brilliant examination of his psycho-social development to the point where he sees himself truly for the first time. This book is more complete than the middle entry in the series - Son of a Witch - because Burr is more fully realized than Nor, the son of Elphaba. (Ironic isn't it, and intentionally so, that the Lion is the most fully realized character since Elphaba.) The tortuous route to self discovery made by Burr is paralleled by another character, of Maguire's own devising, called Yackle, who has floated mysteriously throughout the other books in the series. Her presence bothered me immensely in Wicked because it was completely indecipherable; here she comes through in a most winning way and her own story makes me want to go back and read Wicked again just so I can see what she was really all about. Good writing that.

Rubicon by Steven Saylor:

Yes, I am a lonely man looking for prostitute fiction written about ancient Rome. This series is the high class hooker. The Falco books by Lindsey Davis are the joyful BJ or handjob or backseat quickie, but Saylor writes about the overnight stay at the Mustang Ranch where one's needs are really met. I say all that mostly so you will pick up the other books in the series which are all quite good. This one, however, is average. Gordianus, our delightfully aging protagonist, makes some ethical leaps in the book that are inconsistent with his character as it has been built in the previous books. It's still a good read, and it takes up during a period about which we know the most historically. But I think Saylor did a better job writing about the more obscure historical developments in Rome - dealing with Sulla and Crassus and the notable poet Catallus. This one features Ceasar and Pompey, two of the giants of Antiquity, and Gordianus really has no reason to be involved with them. And that of course is my dilemma with the book. But it's a rollicking good adventure nonetheless.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King:

I have never before read King, and I may never again. King's ideas are quite original, even when he's riffing off of Robert Browning, which he is in this book. But his prose is so tromping and his situations so blah. I will continue to read the Dark Tower series because I'm intrigued to see where King goes, and Roland his protagonist is well-written primarily because he's written as the slightly less intellectual fanatic. He tends to have notions rather than ideas, and he understands that things will change without actually being able to predict those changes. He is more like you and I than most epic heroes. But I'm never quite sure why he finds himself in half the situations that he does. What's the point, big Stephen? I'm still trying to find out.