The Child Thief: A Novel

Brom

Aug 2009 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

The acclaimed artist Brom brilliantly displays his multiple extraordinary talents in The Child Thief—a spellbinding re-imagining of the beloved Peter Pan story that carries readers through the perilous mist separating our world from the realm of Faerie. As Gregory Maguire did with his New York Times bestselling Wicked novels, Brom takes a classic children’s tale and turns it inside-out, painting a Neverland that, like Maguire’s Oz, is darker, richer, more complex than innocent world J.M. Barrie originally conceived. An ingeniously executed literary feat, illustrated with Brom’s sumptuous artwork, The Child Thief is contemporary fantasy at its finest—casting Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, even Captain Hook and his crew in a breathtaking new light.

Ratings and reviews

while it was a great read, i do feel this book coulda/shoulda been longer. the plotholes sorta worked out. im conflicted. solid wordplay and descriptions. the end felt rather rushed. not that i saw the ending beforehand, just that the content of the final ending left me with some concern about a whirlwind of concepts that had been brought up in the book. hey brom, could you do us fans a favor and make a series and or sequel or somethin? your wordcraft is amazing and i need more.

The Child Thief depicts my favorite version of Peter Pan: an immortal, wild, violent boy who struggles with his conscience even as he lures children out of the world of humankind and into the world of magic. This story is dark, full of graphic violence and some allusions to rape, and it explores what life would really be like living with the Lost Boys, fighting and killing—and being killed—by "pirates" over a span of decades, or even centuries. This is not a story for children, but for the fantasy-loving adults who grew up wondering what it would really be like to fly away to Neverland with a magical boy and his sword.

I liked this book. I kept reading it, even though it wasn't like anything I had read before and I didn't love it. I can see why many people rave about this book; if you are into fantasy fiction or mysticism of any kind, you would probably enjoy this. I liked it, but thought it was a little long and totally weird. It also was a little shallow, but I suppose it is about a demon child thief, so it can't get too deep. I still can't wrap my head around what I read. At any rate, it is violent, which made it exciting to read.

About the author

Over the past few decades, Brom has lent his distinctive vision to all facets of the creative industries, from novels and games to comics and film. He is the author of The Child Thief and the award-winning illustrated horror novels The Plucker and The Devil's Rose. Brom is currently kept in a dank cellar somewhere just outside of Seattle.