The Child Thief A Novel Author:Brom In the vein of Gregory Maguire's bestselling works, the award-winning artist Brom takes us on a haunting look at the true world of Peter Pan, in his first full-length novel. From modern day New York to the dying land of Faerie, "The Child Thief" reveals the world of Peter Pan through the eyes of an insecure runaway who is seduced by Peter's char... more »m. But any dreams of a fairy wonderland are quickly replaced by the reality of life and death survival as Peter's recruits are forced into a lethal battle in which the line between good and evil is blurred.« less
I absolutely loved this dark retelling of the classic Peter Pan fairy tale. It's a clever mix of King Arthur's Avalon and Lady of the Lake myths interspersed with the mythical land of Faerie. This mythical land sits parallel to NYC and the actions slips back and forth between the two places with a whole cast of creatures including centaurs, elves, trolls, faeries, and of course humans. Avalon is divided in war and Peter is the leader of a group of kids "stolen" off the streets of New York and Boston to be warriors in the war against the flesh-eaters. Peter convinces the lost, beaten or abused runaways to follow him to another world where things will be better for them. What Peter doesn't tell them is that Avalon is at war and they will be the warriors defending the Lady.
I read this in two sittings...granted each sitting was about 5-6 hours. It truly is unputdownable. I couldn't wait to see what Peter and the Devils were going to do next. The book is very dark, violent and bloody as there was always someone or something trying to kill them.
For those of you easily offended by cursing, you might want to skip this book. All the "Devils" are young teenagers with potty mouths. It doesn't bother me but I know some people are put off by this.
I saw a flyer on this book right before it came out. Once I read about it, I knew I had to get it. I hinted around and before long I received it for my birthday. I had to wait to finish my other book but as soon as I did I jumped on this one. Before you know it, I was finished. I enjoyed every bit of this book. It is a dark tale of Peter Pan and how he came to be. It takes place both in our world and in the land of Avalon. Peter sets out to find children to take back to Avalon. He doesn't pick just any kid, he picks ones that are sad, mistreated, abused, in trouble... ones that he knows will want to go back to Avalon with him. The path to Avalon is rough. You must prove yourself in many ways in order to survive and pass the test to become part of the pack. Peter has a reason for bringing the children to Avalon. A dark selfish reason but you'll have to read the book to find that out. The book also has flashbacks that explain how Peter came to be. I enjoyed this part and it made me feel sad for Peter and understand how he is what he is.
A Child Thief kept moving and never slowed down. I could barely keep my nose out of it. The drawings were awesome and the story line perfect. I would have to say, like other reviewers, that this book does contain a lot of violence, swearing and some child abuse. If this kind of stuff bothers you, then stay away from this book. If not, then I highly recommend this one!
This is a more mythologically accurate version of Peter Pan. If you want something dark and wonderful this is your book. I couldn't put it down. The opening sucks you in and it just doesn't stop until you've finished the book. Make sure to read the author's comments after the book!!
I recently finished reading 'The Child Thief' by Brom, and I have to say, this is the best book that I've read in the past ten to fifteen years. I read about five to seven books a week, so this is saying a lot. I would buy just about any book that Brom puts out, just to see the accompanying artwork. Brom is a master of dark fantasy art. His previous books, 'The Devil's Rose' and 'The Plucker' showcased his great writing for the first time, along with the amazing art. I'm lucky enough to own two of his amazing art books, 'Offerings and 'Darkwerks:The Art of Brom'. He has also done a lot of work for book covers and games, such as 'Diablo'. 'The Child Thief' brings his writing to an entirely new level. This is a new retelling of Peter Pan, dark and gritty, as never told before. Most people equate their memories of Peter Pan with plays they went to as a child, with Peter flying back and forth on wires, singing songs and making jokes. Few people that I know have actually read the original 'Peter Pan' by J.M.Barrie. If they had, they would know that the real tale is a tad dark itself. Peter is a character that takes children from their homes, brings them to an enchanted island, and teaches them to engage in bloody warfare. The battles are realistic, and bloody. These children die, often at the hands of Captain Hook and his crew. There are a few very detailed scenes of guts hanging from the Captain's infamous hook, and other slow deaths. What made it so different was the magic, the bits of whimsy contained. 'The Child Thief' does a wicked retelling, without any of the glitter or cotton candy to make things look happy or sweet. The Peter here takes children who have been abused or neglected. You get to know the stories of some of these children, and what made them come to love Peter so much, and become one of his 'Devils'. In a country with only 25,000 caseworkers to investigate over 2 million reported cases of abuse every year, these stories are realistic, and make you cringe.
Peter lives in Avalon, with a host of elves, the dreaded Captain, the hated and vengeful Ulfger, a witch that may or may not be evil and her three daughters, and a host of other foreboding and dangerous creatures and characters. Avalon is dying, and Peter needs an army of children to save it. Unfortunately not all of these children know what they are getting into, and not all of them will make it out alive. This is an amazing Fantasy/Horror novel, with outstanding artwork included. I'd recommend this to anyone, but you might want to think twice before reading this one out loud to the little kiddies.
This is the best book I have ever read. Hands down, the creativity, the ambiguous morality, the action, the real world involved with this mystery world. Great book! Looking forward to other works by Brom.
