Peter Pan couldn't get any darker than this--definitely NOT for the kiddies and no way is this a YA. The Child Thief also straddles the line between Fantasy and Horror, but remains mainly in Fantasy.

This book pulls you in with the 1st chapter. I was so horrified by it in the sample I downloaded to my Kindle that of course, I immediately went to purchase; I didn't even bother to read the rest of the sample.

There was little in this book that I anticipated before hand, unfortunately, what I did anticipate were large plot elements. While this didn't take away any enjoyment of the book for me, it might for some. Other elements were totally surprises. This is not a good guys against bad guys book although when bad, the bad guys are baad. And the good guys are never just good.

At every crossroads, be assured that the author took the opportunity to take turns down the dark road. If I had to think about that prior to reading, I would guess that it would make for a depressing book. And while some parts of the book are depressing, there was always a tiny thread of hope; after all, we were in the mind of Peter Pan. And whatever else that he is, he is the eternal child.



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4.5 stars. Video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAZr1hlyMxQ ( )

The unnecessary gore and violence could be overlooked if the characters were more consistent. ( )

The blurbs about The Child Thief describe it as a dark re-imagining of the classic children’s tale of Peter Pan. This is true as far as it goes, but distinctly understated. Brom’s version dials the Dark up to eleven. He takes the story of Peter the Puer Aeternus, adds the Fae and a great deal of Celtic mythology, a group of puritan settlers turned monster, and throws in a large glug of Lord of the Flies and cooks it all up into an entertainingly nightmarish story, ably accented by his artwork.

I like dark re-imaginings of fairy tales and such, and enjoyed this one. But I found I had to consume it slowly, in rather small bites. ( )

I haven't read the original Peter Pan, but there didn't seem to be many links to the movies/cartoons I've seen other than Peter and a group of kids who never age. There was a Captain, but he really didn't come off as Captain Hook, and there was no Tinkerbell, though there were fairies that were kind of in the background.

It was a bit too long for what it was, but it was a cool story. A mix of modern times and medieval folklore. It was dark, as you would expect from Brom, and there's some great art in the book (if you're reading the dead tree version instead of listening to it). ( )