Guillermo Del Toro: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: Blackwood's Guide to Dangerous Fairies [Hardcover]

Guillermo del Toro (Author), Christopher Golden (Author), Troy Nixey (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: July 19, 2011

An illustrated novel that dives into the world of the 2010 Miramax film “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark.” The movie is a PG-13 thriller written and produced by Guillermo del Toro, starring Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes, about a young girl sent to live with her father and his girlfriend. They move into a historic New England house, which is secretly inhabited by a brood of small creatures. These creatures seem at first to be playful figments of his daughter’s imagination, but quickly turn into a deadly threat.

The book, co-written by Guillermo Del Toro and Christopher Golden, takes place a hundred years before the movie begins. It chronicles the travels and adventures of a young nature scientist who begins to understand there’s more to the world than science understands.

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Golden is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) The Map of Moments. He has also written books for teens and young adults, including Poison Ink, Soulless, and the thriller series Body of Evidence, honored by the New York Public Library and chosen as one of YALSA's Best Books for Young Readers.

Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in fourteen languages in countries around the world.





Troy Nixey grew up on the prairies of Canada and used the long winters to his advantage, writing and drawing as much as possible. A natural storyteller and artist Nixey focused his artistic efforts in the field of comic books beginning in 1990. For sixteen years Nixey worked on a wide range of highly visible properties (Batman, The Simpsons, X-Men, The Matrix comics), but it is his more personal work that has garnered Troy his reputation as a unique creator (Trout, Bacon, Jenny Finn).



Troy Nixey has brought his distinct brand of art and storytelling to illustrate stories for some of the most notable creators in comic; They include Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy), Neil Gaiman (award winning novelist and screenwriter) and Andrew Cosby (creator and producer of the TV series Eureka).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (July 19, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 142313401X
• ISBN-13: 978-1423134015
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.1 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #575,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Creepy Fairy Story for Adults July 23, 2011

By Michael Husk

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a great book about a naturalist who discovers a darker world hidden in the shadows of nature. If you loved fairy tales when you were a kid, and want a darker, grown-up version, this book is for you. The book itself goes back and forth between the journal entries of the naturalist discovering the world of dangerous fairies, and his drawings and descriptions of these malevolent creatures. Del Toro's mark is evident, as the writing is surreal and almost cinematic. I am looking forward to the accompanying film!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice tie in to the movie August 28, 2011

By Lee White

Format:Hardcover

I read the book a few weeks ago and saw the movie today. The first few minutes of the movie wrap up the ending of the book. I found they compliment each other very well as the book did a good job of giving you the backstory for the events of the film. Taken together I was very impressed, but the book was good on its own.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book! February 11, 2012

By Amanda J. Knapp

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book after watching and loving the movie. As a fan of the film, it's pretty cool to be able to have "Blackwood's journal" documenting all of the things he saw/found... HOWEVER, even with having never seen the film I would still love this book and recommend it to anybody who's a fan of anything on the more unique side.

There are journal entries, but there is also gorgeous artwork of the creatures throughout the book. In addition to the pictures, there is quite a good chunk of the book dedicated to describing the creatures in a more informative/official manner, rather than a descriptive journal entry.

Overall it's a great book with a nice mixture of journal, novel, and artwork that ties very well into the movie, but is also great as a standalone book. I would highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining read. November 15, 2011

By Solomon Kane

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Even if it were not general knowledge, this book shows that GDT is a fan of such masters as Lovecraft, Blackwood and Machen. Indeed, I think of this as almost a modern update of one of the greatest horror tales of all time- Arthur Machen's "Novel of the Black Seal" (from "The 3 Imposters"). The theme is similar, and the ending (which is a perfect prologue to the film) is suitably ambiguous.
As in Machen's story, it tells the tale of a scholar who delves too deeply into the shadowy world of the "hidden people". Yes, it lacks the beauty and brooding menace of "Black Seal", but that is probably okay, since Machen's prose can be a bit cumbersome for many modern readers.
A good shivery read here... the tale itself is not too long and is a relatively subtle excercise in mounting dread. As a bonus, the "guide" excerpts are fascinating, as they document a lot of actual folklore from around the world. To top it off, the illustrations are excellent. Highly recommended.
Finally, I may have enjoyed this more than others because from the time I was a small child, I've always found the idea of "Tooth Fairies", "The Sandman", etc. to be very disquieting concepts, no matter how hard the adult world tried to sugarcoat them!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, complex, and beautiful piece of theatrical property! :) September 11, 2011

By Kyle R. Hudson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really can't say enough good about del Toro. Ultimately, he's not a director OR writer: he's a devoted fan--a fan of strange and dark fiction; H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers, Walter de la Mare, Lord Dunsany, M.R. James, Arthur Machen, Gustav Meyrink, Edgar Allen Poe, M.P. Shiel, Clark Ashton Smith--who is lucky enough to be in a position to put the stories he loves onto the big screen, because most people in his position wouldn't, 'cause they have no taste. Further, he's taken one of the greatest tales of supernatural horror ever penned for celluloid (Don't Be Afraid of the Dark), and not only A) improved it, but also B) created an unbelievably complex and wondrously dark piece of theatrical property for it, AND released it to the public for their enjoyment!

If you are a fan of supernatural horror like del Toro is, you'll love this contribution to it. :)

Postscript: Apparently, the reviewer named 'SWitch1' is unaware that this book is fictional non-fiction, based on the character from del Toro's remake; a character whose life and sanity have been torn apart by one 'species' of fairy. Having discovered (quite brutally) that fairies are in fact real, Blackwood becomes obsessed with them and makes it his purpose in life to find out the truth about what he refers to as 'the Otherworld'.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I was scared to look under my bed for my shoes... August 15, 2011

By Ashley Lewis

Format:Hardcover

When i saw the book i scoffed at it thinking it was what the movie was based on but when i realized it was more of a dairy i jumped on it. what i like about del toro is that the fear is subtle and subconscious not in your face like todays horror. this book is interesting because the main character Emerson Blackwood is a scientist trying to understand the supernatural. the only reason i'm rated this four stars instead of five is because the book kind of leaves the reader hanging, but otherwise I would encourage you to buy this book. : )

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book! December 30, 2012

By K. Davis

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is beautiful - the descriptions don't do it justice - filled with beautiful, intricate drawings and illustrations. The quality of the production of this book is amazing. I gave this as a gift (from someone's amazon.com wishlist) and they loved it.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not at its best on a Kindle June 22, 2012

By Bibliophage

Format:Hardcover

A book that would be better read as a hard copy. This book didn't grab me.

Given the diary style narrative interspersed with the reference catalogue of fairy research, I think I would prefer a hard copy where you could flip through and have a better display of graphics ... the book lends itself to being visual and this was lost on the Kindle.

In the end, I skimmed the catalogue sections and just read the diary extracts. The catalogue covered the research into fairy gentry across the world, much of which I was already familiar with, ie folklore. (And besides ... where were all the nice little fairies???).

The narrative was about the researchers obsession which all came to no good and a grisly end. And it was only the thin mortar between the bricks. Ho Hum as a read but could have been good as a coffee table style illustrated book.