A (COWARDLY?) Lion Among Men | Wicked Book 3 Review and Summary | Deep Themes and Deep Thoughts

episode

Besties and the Books Podcast not yet transcribed

▲ 0

Transcript

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet Upvotes decide what gets transcribed next — 0 so far. Sign in to upvote

More from Besties and the Books Podcast

Ep 126 The Gods Will Sing Our Song by Autumn Krause and The Importance of Historical Romantasy | Book Review + Deep Dive 1h 21m · 08 Sep 2026

All episodes from Besties and the Books Podcast →

Report any issue

Source

Recorded14 Nov 2025

Publisherfeeds.buzzsprout.com

Handlerec:10876280

Show notes

Send us a textToday we continue our coverage of the Wicked 5-book universe by Gregory Maguire with book three: A Lion Among Men, the only book in the series primarily told through the point of view and perspective of an Animal. The “Wicked Years” move forward with spinoff stories covering all the major players in the political upheaval of Oz, and we’re diving into the “real” story of “the cowardly lion.”Check out our kickoff “Are Books Political" episode all about why books and reading are inherently political and why it’s not only important to acknowledge this, but to read our favorite books through this lens. We concluded during our subsequent deep dive of Wicked (book one) and Son of a Witch (book 2) that Maguire intentionally uses the fantastical to expertly critique issues like authoritarianism, colonialism, and racism, just to name a few.In this episode we dive into book three: A Lion Among Men, released thirteen years after Wicked, which follows the life of Sir Brrr, disenfranchised Animal, Oz Sycophant, Dorothy companion, and ultimately a friend to the rebel cause as he grapples with what it means to contain all of these different identities in the politically broken landscape of Oz. Who were our favorite and least favorite characters and plot points? Was this book what we expected? Do we think these books can be separated from politics just because they’re fantasy? What philosophical questions are posed? And what literary devices does Maguire use to critique things like the use of propaganda by governments to sway public opinion and the subsequent construction of “history?”Fantasy stories can be so much more than surface level storytelling, and often are. We’re here to discover why! Listen on for our reviews of book three, our deep dive reactions with five sentence summary, and fun facts about the book that started the Wicked phenomena! Don't be shy, subscribe! New Podcasts every Tuesday!! (And sometimes Friday!…)Shop our Merch line | https://besties-and-the-books-shop.fourthwall.comCheck out these author interviews? ⬇️Check the official Author Interview with Lindsay Straube of Split or Swallow! Now a Barnes & Noble & Amazon best seller titled: Kiss of the Basilisk! https://youtu.be/fknhocSNIKM____Shop bookish apparel worn in this episode!Ashley is wearing: “HER SISTER WAS A PRINCESS” Wizard of Oz Meme T-shirt from Trendy Street Couture | * https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTH3MFMVbH1q2-YiF15/ Liz is wearing: Sanderson’s Sister tee shirt from Etsy | * https://go.magik.ly/ml/3b0rw/And a Besties and the Books Exclusive Beanie (DM us to be added to drop list)Any link with an * is an affiliate link through the service Magic Links and is eligible for a commission to us with no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping support our podcast!Support the showYouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Podcast Platforms@BestiesandtheBooksPodcast Besties and the Book Club on Fable!https://fable.co/bestiesandthebookclub-474863489358Liz Instagram | TikTok@TheRealLifeVeganWife AshleyInstagram | TikTok@AshleyEllix

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.