TITLE: Sir MacHinery - The book with everything
GENRE: Book Review
REVIEWED BY: AN

Sir MacHinery has: a little robot, Merlin, a physicist, a Scottish constable, King Arthur returned, dwarves and brownies, grenades, Urlug and evil demons plotting to take over the world, the Sword of Power, a WWII Sergeant Major, the Loch Ness Monster and a good witch and her cat, and two armies of ghosties, and a dragon.  All this in 155 fifth-grade-appropriate pages?  What a deal! 
Tom McGowen’s Sir MacHinery is a little known gem in children’s literature.  The motley band of heroes work wrestle with temptation and use their diverse talents to defeat a great evil threatening the world.  Each character has unexpected gifts, and they need everyone’s gifts along their quest.  “What is the difference between science and magic?” is a perennial question of the book – without, however, a satisfactory answer.   
Some readers will find the books’ use of magic problematic.  Merlin and Maggie MacMurdoch’s good magic has trappings of the occult.  Nor is good magic linked to a good spiritual power (devotion or art, for example), but is only power used well. 
On the other hand, Sir MacHinery is told well.   McGowen draws likable and diverse characters who give good example by dedication to the common good, bravery, and cooperation.  Some succumb to temptation and abandon their quest, while others remain faithful until the tales surprising conclusion.  A reader thus asks, “What temptations am I weakest against?” and resolves more fervently to be faithful in the test.  McGowen also has a delightful ability to play with stock elements of children’s fantasy, including the obligatory End of All Magic which restores the world to normalcy. 
In summary, readers who enjoy fantasy stories will find Sir MacHinery a short, delightful treasure.

posted by: crossman at 19:48 | link | comments |
catholic blog review