Review: E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core

[terresdebrume]

E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core by William Joyce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pitch, the Nightmare King, and his Fearlings had been soundly driven back by Nicholas St. North and company in the first Guardians’ adventure. But now Pitch has disappeared completely—and out of sight does NOT make for out of mind. It seems certain that he’s plotting a particularly nefarious revenge, and the Guardians suspect he might have gone underground. But how can they find him there?
Enter E. Aster Bunnymund, the only emissary of the fabled brotherhood of the Pookas—the league of philosophical warrior rabbits of imposing intellect and size. Highly skilled in martial arts (many of which he invented himself), Bunnymund is brilliant, logical, and a tunnel-digger extraordinaire. If the Guardians need paths near the Earth’s core, he’s their Pooka. He’s also armed with magnificent weapons of an oval-sort, and might just be able to help in the quest for the second piece of the Moonclipper.
This second book in The Guardians series is about much more than fixing a few rotten eggs—it brings the Guardians one step closer to defeating Pitch!

As you may or may not know or remember, the main reason I decided to read this book series was the Dreamworks movie it inspire: Rise of the Guardians. Bunny was my favorite character from said movie—I liked the idea of the fluffy Easter Bunny as a burly, vaguely Wolverine-esque character (and yes, the fact that ROTG was made after Hugh Jackman’s rise to fame most likely helped produce the inspiration for it) so I was quite curious to know how he would be presented in this book. I was…surprised, really, to discover how much change he went through while going from book to film (to be fair, seeing as I suspect Nightlight to be Jack, I would say Bunny isn’t the only one) though the specific discussion of those will have to wait for the ROTG review I’m planning to do once I finish reading the books.

In this book, Ombric (the protector of Santoff Claussen), Katherine and Nicholas St. North, still trying to defeat Pitch the Nightmare King, are also aiming to reunite the relics left on Earth by the Man in the Moon, for which they need to recruit Bunny’s help. Bunny, who is so powerful he can travel in time and re-shape the earth (from egg-shaped to round) but who somehow…did not act to stop Pitch. As is, sadly, usual in the fantasy genre.
Honestly, the more time goes on, the more of a problem I have with this attitude and the way it is framed. More and more, in fantasy, I find myself noticing figures of power who could have stopped tragic events from happening and who did nothing, a lack of action that directly allowed people to die (in most cases) and it’s somehow never questioned. No one, in this book, demands any kind of justification for Bunny’s lack of action which, within the context of the story, was completely irresponsible. I don’t think I’d be quite so annoyed at the trope, really, if the heroes were at least allowed to be angry…but they never are.
I suppose it’s due to the fact that no one wants to teach children to be “real” rebels—they can be heroes if they want but only within the margins of what adults are willing to allow—but I find it sad, because it also teaches them not to question when figures of authority (in this case, Bunny, but also the Lunar Llamas or, you know, the man in the moon) fail to live up to their responsibilities?

Another problem I have, beyond the aforementioned one, is the way Katerine’s evolution is handled. While Nick St North (aka, the future Santa), Ombric and Bunny (all grown men) are allowed to grow more confident, E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core sends Katerine (the children’s proxy) onto a path of doubting herself and, quite clearly, connecting her with Pitch, the literal Bogeyman of the story.
But Fanfan, some will say, self-doubt is a part of growing up, too! and yes, that’s true. I still find it grating that the only character who goes through that is the only girl allowed to be in the story, you know? Because little girls deserve to see models of confident heroines who take no crap, too, and this isn’t what they’ll be getting here.

Despite these flaws, though, I did still like this book. The worldbuilding continues to be charming, with lovely illustrations to support it, and the general idea that children must be protected is still overall present in the work (within the limits I discussed above) so, so far, I would still recommend the series. I just hope that the next book, which features the arrival of Toothiana in the series, will do better by its female characters.