The Dark-Hunter Companion

by Clare MacGregor

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunters books draw readers into a world of hunters whose duty it is to protect the human race from supernatural forces that would harm them both in the waking world and in their dreams. Each group of hunters has strict rules they must live by. These rules not only dictate their interactions with humans, but interactions with each other. Because there are so many factions in the world of the Dark-Hunters, readers might easily find it difficult to keep the relationships between the various Hunter factions, the Demons and Gods clear in their head. The Dark-Hunter Companion by Sherrrilyn Kenyon is a companion book for the Dark-Hunter, Dream-Hunter, and Were-Hunter series’ is written as an instruction book for a new Dark-Hunter. In the book each subdivision of Hunters has their own chapter. The first chapter is made up of the dos and don’ts of the Dark-Hunters’ world. Included in each chapter has a “directory” for the Hunters of that subgroup. The “directory” also notes which books in the series feature certain characters. In the Were-Hunters’ chapter includes descriptions of and menus from the Were-Hunters favorite hang outs. Some of the restaurants/clubs sound so amazing readers will wish they were real places. Each chapter explains the origin of each group of Hunters. If readers are familiar with mythology (particularly Greek) the easiest characters to remember will be the Gods and Goddesses. The Dark-Hunter Companion includes deleted scenes from some of the Dark-Hunter novels and an interview with Sherrilyn Kenyon.
The Dark Hunter Companion is a wonderful book to have on hand when reading the Dark- Hunter, Dream-Hunter, and Were-Hunter series to use as quick reference.

Two Essays on The Wizard of Oz

by Courtney Hilden

Salman Rushdie, the author of books such as The Satanic Verses, writes about The Wizard of Oz, the movie that everyone loves in two short essays "A Short Text About Magic" and "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers" in a short book called, naturally, The Wizard of Oz.
"A Short Text About Magic" explores the world of The Wizard of Oz comparing it, interestingly enough, with Bollywood films, with Rushdie, an Indian native, is familiar with.
Rushdie also gives the audience some fine trivia as part of his essay. He discusses the differences between the movie and book, including the ruby slippers originally being silver shoes. He discusses the story of the actors and actresses who played the Munchkins. He even tells the audience about how the tornado that transports Dorothy to Oz was made. (Muslin stiffened with wire, naturally.) The one detail he wishes the movie hadn't changed was the realism of Oz itself, explaining that within the original book, there was no question that Oz was a real place, but in the movie, it is simply make-believe. Rushdie believes this introduces "bad faith" into the audience, and is a pity that it did so. Rushdie here ignores the way most viewers construct the film: they ignore the suggestion it was all a dream and see it as a place that exists beyond what most humans can see, like other mythical places in modern literature, notably Hogwarts or Alice's Wonderland.
Rushdie also explores the women of the film, concentrating much of his time comparing the witches of the story. He notes that the Witch of the East (the one who dies in the beginning of the movie) was probably not much of a despot, since the streets were clean and homes well taken care of and that she didn't rely on soldiers of any kind to keep her world safe.
"At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers" is less an essay in the traditional sense and more a (possibly fictional) exploration of what the ruby slippers mean to an unnamed narrator. Rushdie is famously part of the magical realism movement within fiction, and this story/essay/whatever is not different, moving through with a dreamlike pace and tone. There are lots of details, but they feel random, as if plucked from a generator.
Both pieces feel strangely nice together in this tiny little package. It was a dream reading both of these essays, and both complement and contain the magic of their subject.