In something Sam shared recently, I heard him say that he thinks his writing in Jack Zulu and the Girl with the Golden Wings is some of the best writing he has ever done. He might be right. More importantly, I think his writing in this book is some of the most important writing he has done. Or at least that I have had the privilege of reading. Jack Zulu and the Girl with the Golden Wings is an interesting continuation of the Jack Zulu story. But what grabbed me about this book is something I rarely see in books today. I will explain more about that later on in this review. 

I am delighted by the Jack Zulu story that father-son team Sam and Josiah Smith are building. I loved the first book! You can read my review of that, here. Diane and I had the joy of chatting with them on the podcast. You can listen to that here. Everything I appreciated about the first book is present in this one too. This is a great follow-up and left me wanting more! 

Normally, I am very careful about spoilers. In this review, I am assuming that you have already read Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key or that you do not mind spoilers. 

“The streets of the strange city were lined like an old parade of champions he had seen on TV for sports teams. The elven citizens cheered and sang as Michelle came into sight. People hung over balconies, waving madly and tossing flowers in the road. Rhythmic music boomed out as they crossed the threshold of the city. The buildings seemed fashioned to imitate the natural landscape, with translucent towers and purple and orange-hued stone all over, decorated with streamers and flags.” 

I love the imagery in this story. The world-building is great and the descriptions are so vivid. I enjoy watching the story as visual scenes appear in my mind. 

In this sequel to Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key, there is a lot that our friends need to do after the fallout of the first book. Michelle and Jack are balancing their lives in two realities as well as their growing affection for each other. Benny is maturing as a character and finding his way. The story continues to be a blend of fantasy and just good old-fashioned storytelling with lots of action and great drama. It is fast-paced and fun to read. 

“‘I should not worry about the rite, Steve,’ Wheeler said. ‘It is important she honors their customs, but there is nothing in them to conflict with her faith.’”

I like this. A lot. Sam and Josiah have been very careful to make it clear that Jack, Benny, and Michelle, and their families are all church-going Christians. In the fantasy genre, this begs the question: if they are Christians, and they are traveling to other worlds, what does that do to their faith? This book makes it plain that just because there may be more worlds than we know does not mean that there are other “truths” that would conflict with Truth. I appreciated that intellectual and spiritual honesty. 

Now, the thing I think is particularly special about this book I cannot explain without some small spoilers. If you are averse to spoilers of any kind, let me just tell you that in this story we find out how Rueben Zulu died. And the thing that Sam does with that is so important and so rare. Steve teaches Jack how to be a man. 

****SPOILERS*****

First, we have Jack’s mom preparing her son to go to war:

“‘Don’t make me any promises, son. Let your yes be your yes, and only when you can be sure . . . I release you to do what’s right. I give you to God . . . Always know that you are loved,’ she said. ‘Be what you’re called to be. I think that Rancast believes he needs to be more than a man, but he’s wrong. A man’s what God made you to be, son. So be that, and be the best one you can be.’” 

Then:

“Steve demonstrated the finer points of safely operating such a dangerous weapon and how to use it well when the worst happened and you were forced to shoot in order to save lives. Jack did well, learning to hold his gun firmly but with enough of a relaxed  hand to stay steady and fire straight.”

And:

“Steve sat up, and his voice was edged with anger. ‘That’s not an option in chess, Jack. And it’s not an option in life. Not to act is to act. The world doesn’t need more lousy passive men. You’ve got to do if you want to be a man. Make your best move, and live or die by it . . . No matter what – even if you’re just a pawn – you always protect your queen.’” 

Steve speaks to Jack as only a good father could. The voice of fatherly wisdom and instruction is something that is rarely done or done well in stories today. Steve is a relatively complex character with a complicated role to play. He was Jack’s dad’s best friend, and he is alive because Jack’s father isn’t. But more than that, he is alive because Jack’s dad died protecting Steve’s daughter Michelle. And it is very clear that Jack is in love with Michelle, and Steve isn’t sure he is ready to love Jack in that way yet. 

Steve beautifully communicates his father-like love for Jack while also openly acknowledging that his absolute priority is the safety of his daughter. He makes it clear that Jack needs to learn to take care of himself because Steve is going to be taking care of Michelle. And, if Jack wants to take care of Michelle, he is going to do it in tandem with Steve. 

“Jack kicked a small stone ahead. ‘I don’t know how a guy’s supposed to be in the world. He holds back, and he’s wrong. He acts, and he is wrong. He’s too strong? Bad. He’s too weak? Bad.’

Steve shrugged, leading them up a winding road. ‘It’s a conundrum. We gotta somehow stay the right kind of patient and the right kind of active. We gotta be slow to speak but speak up when it’s right to . . . It seems like a lot of life is what we do with our pain. See, I admire them. The Marinos could have quit. But they kept going. Kept working and stayed together. That didn’t involve any weapons or violent battles, but it’s braver than people might think.’” 

These books just keep getting better!  Check out all of our SD Smith things, here.