Racso and the Rats of NIMH Book

Jane Leslie Conly is the daughter of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH author Robert C. O'Brien and wrote Racso and the Rats of NIMH and R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH following his death. Whatever the professional or personal reasons may be for having turned Mrs. Frisby... into a series, I wish it had been left as a standalone. Conly lacks O'Brien's narrative skill, subtlety, and originality. The characters we meet in the first book, including Nicodemus, Justin, and even Mrs. Frisby herself, think and behave in inconsistent ways, and the new characters are obnoxious and do not demonstrate significant growth. At one point Nicodemus gets so angry with Racso he grabs and dangles him above the ground until it's apparent Racso has learned his lesson. It was in no way Nicodemus from the first book. I don't even know what to make of the manner in which Jeremy the crow is depicted; it felt disrespectful and cheap. The plot is mediocre at best and involves weak echoes of crises from the first book, as well as changing events from the first book that should have been left alone. It's also obvious, partially due to this book's wearying preoccupation with computers, that while Racso's story takes place only 3 or so years after the end of Mrs. Frisby..., there was actually a gap of a couple decades between their publications.

My greatest criticisms of Racso..., however, are the misogyny and casual racism. While I was annoyed by the sexism in the first book, the story is still extremely enjoyable and allows for productive conversations regarding paternalism, deceit, and dignity. In Racso... there are significantly more girl/woman characters than in the original story, but they're lazy stereotypes (and incessantly mansplained): Isabella is compulsively flirtatious and ruled by emotions, Bertha is shrewish, Elvira is the stoic professional, Sally panics unless there's a man present to be her ballast, Mrs. Frisby is frightened at everything and can't make a decision by herself. Toxic, heteronormative romantic conquest is a frequent theme, and many times Racso decides to be decent to another rat simply because, well, she is an attractive rat after all! Several times throughout the book Racso refers to the film The Last of the Mohicans as his source for learning "Indian" skills and makes multiple inappropriate comments essentially labeling Indigenous groups exotic relics.

This book contains none of O'Brien's timeless storytelling and I can't recommend it. Do yourself a favor: read Mrs. Frisby... and just pretend this book doesn't exist.