The Child Thief: A Novel [Hardcover]

Brom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2009

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 charm. 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chesley-winning illustrator Brom (The Plucker) weaves together gloomy prose and horrifying adventures in this macabre fairy tale inspired by J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. Born of faerie blood, Peter hunts abandoned children, runaways and the hopeless, recruiting for his Devils in Avalon and promising them a place where you never have to grow up. He conveniently fails to mention that Avalon's monsters are very real, and the Devils must practice their war games or risk being tortured to death, eaten or worse. While early chapters are promising, this gothic fantasy stumbles on its own darkness. The devilishly amusing flashbacks to Peter's origins don't make up for the heavy-handed bloodshed, rampant violence and two-dimensional characters. It's all fiendish monsters and desperate battles in this twisted, dark Neverland; the Disney Peter's mirth and good humor are nowhere to be found. (Sept.)
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Review

” [A] fascinating work of dark epic fantasy that blends elements of the Peter Pan story with characters from Celtic and Norse mythologies.” (Tulsa World )

“Ancient magics combine with feral logic to culminate in Brom’s The Child Thief. A retelling of Peter Pan spanning America’s earliest, magically rich beginnings to today’s bare whispers of belief. Wickedly poetic, The Child Thief makes me want to believe.” (Kim Harrison )

“Beautiful and authentically dark.” (Sci-Fi )

“A gruesome and darkly fantastical twist on a classic tale. Brom injects pure horror into fantasy.” (Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of Ironside and The Spiderwick Chronicles )

“Brom has always been an artist who gave us his nightmares fully realized, but with THE CHILD THIEF, he paints in words. A wonderfully nasty Peter Pan reboot that stands on its own as a dark, twisted adventure.” (Christopher Golden )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager (August 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061671339
• ISBN-13: 978-0061671333
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #644,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Dark, Incredibly Compelling, July 28, 2009

By 

Ana Mardoll (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Child Thief: A Novel (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

The Child Thief / 978-0-061-67133-3

I usually save the 'parental warnings' in my reviews until the end, but "The Child Thief", as compelling and fascinating as it is, nonetheless requires some upfront warnings. If you are thinking of buying this novel for a child, perhaps on the grounds that it is a Peter Pan story and therefore child-friendly, be warned that this is an incredibly dark and violent novel. I'm not exaggerating when I say that nine out of every ten pages contains a depiction of rape, child molestation, violence, murder, torture, or several instances of the F-word. I certainly wouldn't say that no child or teenager on earth would be able to appreciate this novel, but I do strongly advise that you read this book yourself, beforehand, to determine whether this level of violence will be disturbing to the intended recipient.

With that out of the way, let me say that I am quick to condemn books that rely on violence, sex, and profanity in an attempt to divert the reader's attention from the fact that there is no actual plot. "The Child Thief" is not one such novel - every incidence of violence within this novel acts in service to the plot, and the end result is an incredibly compelling story that is both a re-imagining of the classic Peter Pan tale, but also remarkably true to the original in many of the details (lest we forget that Barrie's version contained quite a bit of death and murder behind the scenes).

"The Child Thief" is already being compared to novels like Maguire's Wicked, but the comparison is somewhat flimsy to my mind. Where Maguire took an evil character and re-imagined her as good (or at least 'misunderstood'), Brom has taken a traditionally good character and re-imagined him not as 'evil', but rather as 'complex'. Although Peter Pan is still an enigmatic mystery, as always, Brom has brought a humanity and complexity to the character that will haunt any reader.

Brom has taken the premise that Peter Pan steals children away to Neverland and has expanded the concept to fit within our dark reality. Here, Peter Pan does not steal away babies who fall out of their prams - he steals away children who are victims of abuse, neglect, molestation, and all the other such evils of our world that children should never have to endure. But the Neverland that Peter promises to lead these victimized children to is not an escape in the classic sense - it is supremely dangerous, and no longer in the exciting "but-we-always-escape-in-the-end" kind of danger that the Disneyesque Neverland fostered. The neglected children (here "Devils" instead of "Lost Boys", since girls are just as welcome here) are given a family and an emotionally safe haven, but every moment of their days are spent in training, in the hopes that once they leave the confines of their home they will not die immediately in this hostile world.

Along with the native monsters of Neverland, the pirates and the Captain are here, transformed by the magic of Neverland into monstrous perversions of humanity, yet Brom does not merely rely on a good-versus-evil trite tale, and here is what sets "The Child Thief" apart from the usual "re-imagining a classic character" stories. Every person and entity in "The Child Thief" is a complex character, full of good and evil impulses. The pirates capture, torture, and murder the lost children, yes, but they genuinely do not wish to be in Neverland and hope that their efforts will lead them to an escape of some kind. Peter does rescue lost and frightened children, and most of them are abjectly grateful for it, but he is recruiting children with lies and trickery to serve as cannon fodder for a war that has waged hundreds of years. There is no doubt that Peter loves the children he recruits, yet his love for them does not stop him from using them until their deaths.

Brom has woven a masterful tale here, with both the real world and the Neverland/Albion world realistically rendered, with both the good and the bad. There is not a single character in this novel which could be described as flat or two-dimensional; even the most minor and ancillary characters are vivid, complex, and contain their own unique mix of perspectives and motivations. I would label "The Child Thief" as a masterpiece for this careful characterization alone, but it is worth repeating, again, that this novel is probably the definition of a morally ambiguous novel and I don't think everyone will derive the same enjoyment out of it. For that reason, if I had to compare "The Child Thief" to another contemporary novel, I would compare it to Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy, for I was equally entranced with Pullman's ability to bring moral complexity to his fictional universe, and with his ability to humanize two child-murdering villains as nevertheless loving parents, in spite of their monstrous evil.

In summary, I would deeply recommend "The Child Thief" to anyone who enjoys morally ambiguous tales with complex, three-dimensional characters. If you won't be offended by the incredibly violent and profane nature of the writing, and if you won't be upset by the characterization of a beloved childhood story character as something much less perfect and much more human, then "The Child Thief" is definitely worth looking into.

NOTE: This review is based on a free Advance Review Copy of this book provided through Amazon Vine.

~ Ana Mardoll

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece, July 28, 2009

By 

Dragon Quill "DQ" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Child Thief: A Novel (Hardcover)

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The Child Thief is brilliant. It's a dark and artistic masterpiece. Not for the faint of heart, or for anyone looking for something to "kill a few hours." While it does not appear long, it is deep, and the subject matter is not exactly something you can blaze through in a day.

That's not to say, however, that the writing is thick. Actually, the prose is clear, effective, and fresh. It's powerful, compelling, and gorgeous too, in its own way. It's rare that I stop to reread and savor a passage again--my idea of poetry is the blunt, short, Stephen Crane sort--but I did. Brom, the author and illustrator, can truly write.

He can also truly tell a story. It's not his story, no. This is the story of Peter Pan, brought back from the damage done by one "too many Disney films and peanut butter commercials," as Brom states in his afterword. It's Barrie's classic masterpiece given a new chance to live.

Neverland is Avalon (yes, Arthurian legend lovers, you read that right). The Lost Boys are the Devils. Peter Pan is just Peter...well, Peter the Child Thief. He is the title character of the novel; the novel is undoubtedly about him. And in fact, the characterization Brom brings to Peter is perhaps what makes this novel as brilliant as it is... the depth comes from the understanding the reader gains of Peter's past, fears, desires, motives. It's truly an artistic look at one of the most beloved literary characters.

Also among the novel's many strengths is Brom's understanding of children and the magic in both Avalon and the `real world.' His understanding and portrayal of relationships, of emotion and pain, of love--it's something deeply poetic, extremely artistic.

And so again, that is what this novel is: an artistic masterpiece, which shouldn't be so surprising, given the author's background in nothing other than art. Yet, even so, as another reviewer stated before me, it isn't for everyone. It's for a niche of people. While we the niche can hope that everyone will see this novel the same way we do, it's unlikely.
Thus, some warnings:

1. If cussing and swearing bothers you, don't even bother reading this book. It's not overdone--if it were overdone, I wouldn't have liked the book as much, but there is a surprising number of F-bombs cropping up most likely on every page.

2. This book is NOT for children, even though most of the characters are.

3. While the comparison to Gregory MacQuire (Wicked, Mirror Mirror) is completely off base in my estimation, because MacQuire's retellings are disgusting rather than artistic, this book does deal with topics such as rape and incest. Nothing is ever shown, but most of the children are victims of all sorts of abuse. Again, not for the faint of heart or for kids.

4. If you are a commercial fiction person, used to all fantasy being of the commercial realm, the more a-traditional plot line and the lack of a clear villain and clear hero might be a bit annoying. This novel is all gray shades, baby.

There are other reasons I could probably list why you wouldn't like this novel, but listing them would be a waste of both your time and mine. It would also be a disgrace to this masterpiece of a work. It was an honor and pleasure to read.

I was completely, thoroughly, and entirely impressed with The Child Thief. It deserves every point of its five stars, and any award that may come its way, as they definitely should.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Start, Lacking Latter Half, November 16, 2009

By 

R. C. Bowman (Elyllon) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Child Thief: A Novel (Hardcover)

"The Child Thief" is a quite well-written, original take on the Peter Pan story. The illustrations are an excellent complement to the story. It's very, very dark; anybody lookin for a happy ending will not enjoy this book.

14-year-old Nick lives with his mother and grandmother, who are boarding a vicious drug-dealer. None of the three want him there, but he's dangerous enough that they're all too frightened; besides, without the money they get from this boarder, they're all screwed.

Nick bears the brunt of the wrath of every adult in the household. He is frightened, angry, resentful, confused, and ultimately very sad. He's in constant danger and he has no future, and he knows both these things.

So, one fateful night when an odd boy named Peter saves his life, Nick decides to go along with it.

Peter tells wild stories; Nick believes none of them, until he quite suddenly finds himself traipsing through haunted mist. He almost dies a second time, but survives to find himself in a bizarre, destroyed Never-Never-Land known as Avalon, where the Lost Boys are the forgotten, abused, angry, and desperate. Peter rightfully chooses these children because they are the only ones willing to die in his mad campaign; also, this is the only place where, even if they die, even if they're tortured, even if the battle is hopeless, they have power. For the first time in their lives, these children have something to fight for, something they can change, something that empowers them; Brom makes it very clear just how important even a modicum of power is for abused children.

Captain Hook is a trapped man; the pirates are misguided souls just trying to get home. Peter himself is more evil than any of the traditional villains, willing to sacrifice countless young lives to achieve his own ends.

The book starts off wonderfully, but as it goes on, it lags; the climax, with witches and pirates and lost children and police battling it out, reads at times like a comedy, at others like a juvenile attempt at a fight scene. Brom seems to have lost, not momemtum, but creativity; I was very disappointed with the latter fourth of the book.It was all-too-typical fantasy fare: drawn-out, tedious magical conferences, defiance of the powers that be, bad guys who murder and torture in the name of God, fulfillment of a stereotypical quest, and a final confusing rumpus with all the bad guys and all the good guys, including the lost boys, the pirates, the typical voluptuos sorceress, and human forces all fighting in a drawn-out, much-too-long scene.

The ending, also, is a letdown; it's not that it was an unhappy, tragic ending; it was just that it was done too abruptly, too emotionlessly, and with no real reason. The story doesn't count on this event. There was no reason for a certain character to die; in fact, the revenge at the end would have been a thousand times sweeter if he had lived.


"The Child Thief" is probably worth a read to most people, but be warned: it is much darker than one might expect; it is not for children, despite the youth of the protagonist; and, though it begins beautifully and is more or less compelling throughout, the writing falls very flat, and the story's climax was unsatisfying.