The Wikkeling

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Interesting, but... submitted by rrussell on April 26, 2012, 3:34pm I picked this book up based on its cover, and the intriguing inset faux-old-fashioned bestiary pages.

It was interesting enough to hold my attention, but at the end I was really left wondering what, exactly, I'd just read. It seemed to be one part warning against technological progress, one part social satire, one part fable about acceptance of others, and one part creepy stalking horror story. Ultimately I put it down just confused.

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the comments the author makes about our current tendencies toward over-protectiveness, and got a big kick out of the difference in the ways different families interacted based on their... well... their place in the society, for lack of a better term. (It's not a socioeconomic thing, though. it's more a location thing.. sort of. Also belief systems... one of the nuances that are hard to nail down about the book, really.) The introduction and development of the Wikkeling itself was VERY well done, coming from my point of view as a classic horror story and film buff. The "characterization" of the this creature was excellent as well, making it increasingly menacing and mysterious whenever it appeared.

When the bestiary (a portion of which is embedded in the book itself) is discovered, I was intrigued - what other obscure critters might they find in their attics?

When the story reveals that the Wikkeling just might be a bigger entity than originally thought, I was thoroughly entranced - the kids have surely stumbled across something great!

But the actual reveal of the monster and its origin was ultimately glossed over and and (I felt) almost ignored. It's as though the author wanted to write a story about a scary critter and felt that it needed some sort of back story, tacked one on halfheartedly and moved past it as if embarrassed. It raised more questions than it answered and at that point the book became a chase scene.

The ending, while fast-paced and tense in the popular modern style (I can almost picture camera cuts and edits) was difficult to follow, and I really had no idea what the creature was trying to do - it is by all accounts ineffective, but we are to somehow believe that it's still a threat until the Deus Ex Machina climax. And as I alluded to above, after all is said and done, I'm left scratching my head about what the point of the book was.

In short - the author has some EXCELLENT moments, makes some excellent (and laugh-out loud) points, and has an engaging and entertaining style. The characters are delightful and I really came to feel for the downtrodden status of non-standard kids being forced into a standardized school. Character growth and the titular beastie are all very well fleshed out - until it all seems to fall apart in the last act.

I might read it again, if only to see if I'm missing something that should be obvious.

And I'm not sorry I read it once, especially for a book I knew nothing about when I picked it up.

But will it go on my 'classics' shelf?

Not so much.