LitPick Review
The Wand in the Word by Leonard S. Marcus is a very informative book about thirteen writers of fantasy. Marcus' book takes an inside look at fantasy author's life such as Jane Yolen, Lloyd Alexander, Tamora Pierce, and more. Each section of each author includes an introduction by Marcus about what he thinks of them, an interview with the author, and a page of a draft the author has written. Each section is about fifteen pages long. In the interviews the author talks about what their childhood was like, when and why the author started writing, and why the author loves to write.
Opinion:
Overall, I found The Wand in the Word rather dull. The title and cover are deceiving. I thought it was going to be a fantasy book, because the cover had lots of mythical creatures. Also the title said in very small letters'Conversations With Writers of Fantasy,' so I had no idea that it was a collection of biographies until I started to read the book. It did give lots of information about the authors, but it wasn't written in a way that was interesting to the reader.