Melissa (BradburysMistress) - , reviewed on 11/8/2009

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.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details