The True Story of Willow Ufgood
by Dana Smith
rating=9:
I just finished this first book of the writing team of George Lucas
and Chris Claremont - the names alone tell you that these men
know how to tell a story! Having reshaped their individual fields,
they've combined to tackle the literary side of storytelling, with
mixed success. I had enjoyed the movie (and the book), but had
alway realized that there had to be more - the movie was uneven,
and the book was, sadly, a mediocre adaptation which merely
hinted at the possibilities in the story. Then when I came upon this
novel and scanned the first few pages, I realized that here was that
rare event, a "sequel" that outdoes the original. Now, there have
been and will be many small-minded folk who won't take the time to
finish this book or try to understand it's meaning because they will
pretend to feel betrayed by the loss of some characters from the
original. They'll even claim that Willow has been too altered to
consider this a sequel. It's true that Willow has changed, Elora
Danan has grown up (though not necessarily well), and other friends
are here only in passing. But the "backstory" here is so
well-developed that these changes make sense. This is a
grand-scale telling of the fulfillment and distortion of prophecy, of
the break-down and rebuilding of all the worlds and of each of the
characters. Lucas and Claremont clearly love these characters, and
even when "bad things happen to good characters," there's an
undeniable sense of true and hopeful affection. The writing is clear
and engaging, whether the scene is one of the several sorcerous
battles or the tantrum of a spoiled child. If this genre is appealing to
you, you should read this book: Lucas and Claremont want to share
their gift of story with YOU!
Smith, Dana. "The True Story of Willow Ufgood." *Amazon.com*. (10 April
1997): n. pag. Online. Internet. 4 Sept. 1997.
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