From: Beth Wright <bethlibrarian>
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 10:58:16 -0800 (PST)

I, too, found the slower pace of later sections of Book of the Lion unexpected, especially after the chase scene and hand amputation at the beginning. Since I thought the writer was very much in control of the book, I finally had to conclude he did this on purpose: because a lot of war is sitting around, isn't it? Waiting for things to happen? Boredom interspersed with terror? I'm still not sure this is one of the five best books of the year, but the pacing, as well as the lack of closure at the end, seem appropriate to the subject.

While we're on the subject of hands...by the time I read Book of the Lion, after reading The Queen of Attolia and Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament, I was referring to 2000 as "the year of the severed hand." Anyone else think this was a publishing trend?

Beth Wright Fletcher Free Library Burlington, Vermont

__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online! http://photos.yahoo.com/
Received on Wed 10 Jan 2001 12:58:16 PM CST