Fiction Friday (26)

Last month I happened to be Austin, Texas on the day that the third book in the Middle Grade series Wildwood came out, and by good luck, Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis were making an in-store appearance at a local independent shop. Having been a long time fan of Colin's band The Decemberists, I eagerly read the first two wonderful books in the series and couldn't wait for the new one which would wrap up the first saga in this peculiar world. I finally finished reading it this morning and it was a fantastic piece of storytelling.

Wildwood Imperium by Colin Meloy
(Harper, 2014)

The third book in the Wildwood series is arguably the best of the three, which is saying a lot considering the first two were near flawless. But in this concluding chapter of the story that began three years ago with the first novel, Colin Meloy truly hits his stride, cementing himself as one of the finest storytellers of his generation.

The story opens with the main characters scattered throughout the various locations in the city of Portland and sections Impassable Wilderness where they each had been left at the end of Under Wildwood. Several months have passed, and many changes have taken place within the province of South Wood following the revolution orchestrated by Prue and Curtis in the first novel. Though things seem to have returned to a sense of normality, disruptive forces are at work under the surface, and once again the children are tasked with setting things right.

Several story lines are at work in this novel, from the battle in the Industrial Wastes and Prue's quest to find the other Maker in order to fulfill the Council Tree's prophecy, to Curtis's search for the Missing bandits and the return of the Dowager Governess trying to complete her dastardly plan from the first novel. Needless to say, there is a lot of story happening in these 580+ pages, and somehow all of them manage to be perfectly paced and woven together to deliver a unforgettable climax and remarkably executed conclusion to the entire saga.

These books are destined to become classics, read for generations.

Wildwood Imperium

I was in Austin, Texas this past week, and while I was there Wildwood Imperium, the third novel in the Colin Meloy series, was released. By chance, I stumbled into BookPeople, one of the best independent book stores in the nation. It turned out that Colin and Carson Ellis, his wife and the illustrator of the books, were going to do a book signing two days later and I instantly made plans to attend.

I read first two books in the series last year, Wildwood and Under Wildwood, and was blown away. I've long been a fan of Colin Meloy's band The Decemberists and the narrative scope of his songs, but I was still mesmorized by his writing ability. I told him as much at the signing and he seemed flattered. 

The entire event was a joy. The couple told an entertaining story of how the books came to be, and how their entire lives seemed to be leading towards the creation. It reinforced what I've always preached, that a story doesn't just come out of nowhere, but develops over time, growing within your imagination as you puzzle it out. 

As an author who has done my fair share of book signings, I'm always a little unsure of how it is to be on the other end. You sometimes forget the excitement that those who come to them might feel, so it's good to attend a few every now and then and be reminded of what a treat these events can be.

By the way, if you're in Austin, stop by the store. It's an amazing place, and there are also signed copies of my book Life is But a Dream now on the shelves. A full review of Wildwood Imperium to come after I finish reading Hallow City.

Fiction Friday (Wildwood Edition II)

A few months ago, I finally took a trip into Colin Meloy's Wildwood and was more than just a blown away. Days after finishing the last page, I found myself making a trip to the book store to pick up Book 2 and dove right in shortly after that. The second book is another hefty 550+ pages, yet it still flew by. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, this story has been instrumental in getting me to pull out an old middle grade manuscript of mine and work on it. For a writer, those are the best books, the ones that inspire with their greatness without intimidating you into silence.

Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy
(HarperCollins 2012)

Picking up several months after Wildwood left off, we find Prue restless in her return to normal life outside the Impassable Wilderness while Curtis is excelling in his bandit training, unaware of the troubles he's caused for the family he left behind. When his parents head off to search for him, they have no choice but to leave his two sisters in the Unthank Home for orphans, setting off a series of hardships for them that could have come straight out of a Roald Dahl novel.

But all is not well in the The Wood either as a group of cunning shape-shifting assassins have sought out all those responsible for the recent Bicycle Coup. It isn't long before they track down Prue, forcing her to return to The Wood for her own safety. She soon discovers that her work there is far from done. Her ability to communicate with the plants strengthens and they reveal to her a new mission to bring unity to the divided land. In order to do that, her and Curtis must venture into the sprawling caves that exist under Wildwood.

Meanwhile, Elsie and Rachel, Curtis's two unfortunate sisters, learn that the Unthank Home isn't an orphanage at all, but rather a place where the heartless industrialist, Mr. Unthank, uses the children to work the machines in his factory. But his true agenda is the conquest of The Wood, and he uses the children in his experiments to pass through the Periphery Bind designed to keep intruders out.

Over the course of this epic tale, the various stories weave together, revealing a larger plot and highlighting the difficulties Prue and Curtis must face if they are ever to save the place they've grown to love. Once again, Colin Meloy shows off his storytelling skills, building and revealing key elements at pitch perfect pace. He's created the kind of fictional world that once you enter, you never want to leave. Even at its massive length, it seems to go by too quickly and I found myself reading slower in order to avoid getting to the end. The fact that the story leaves off suddenly, only made it worse. Waiting for the third book in order to know the conclusion is going to be blissful torture.