Book Review
The Child Thief
Author: Brom
Release Date: 27.08.2010
Genre: Dark fantasy
Special Features: A map, illustrations in colour, black and white, Author's Note
"Wickedly poetic, The Child Thief makes me want to believe." - Kim Harrison
"A gruesome and darkly fantastical twist on a classic tale. Brom injects pure horror into fantasy." - Holly Black, NY Times
"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 tands on its own as a dark, twisted adventure." - Christopher Golden
The Author:
Gerald Brom, born March 9, in 1965 in Albany, Georgia is an American fantasy artist and illustrator. He is known for his artworks in novels (e.g. R.A. Salvatore, Michael Moorcock), roleplaying (e.g.TSR, WOTC), comics (e.g. DC,, Dark Horse), Games (e.g. Diablo 2&3, Dungeons & Dragons) and films (e.g. Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Van Helsing). Brom then decided to write books on his own with some of his drawings in it. His books always have a dark and frightening atmosphere.
The Book "The Child Thief":
"If the girl could only have spoken to the other boys and girls, the ones that had followed the golden-eyed boy before her, she would have known that there is always something left to lose."
The novel starts with a prologue of only three and a half pages and yet creates such a dark and mysterious atmosphere that you only want to continue reading.
At the beginning of the book you can not possibly imagine where the story could lead to.
"The Child Thief" is about an immortal boy, called Peter, who "collects" children to fight for his war. He takes them to a promised land where they never grow up and live a magical life. But they have to fight against evil beings that want to destroy the magic that keeps them from aging.
The main protagonists:
Nick:
A 14-year-old boy from New York City who would have been killed by some drug dealers had Peter not saved him.
He follows Peter to Avalon and joins the "Devils" in their horrific battle against the "Flesh Eaters", but soon realizes what is really going on.
Peter:
An immortal boy form the magical island of Avalon who leads a group of bloodthirsty children, the "Devils" and who does everything he has to do to save Avalon and its magic.
His dark past is to be revealed throughout the book.
"Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief – and like all boys, he loves to play games, though his games offen end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is not Neverland." (Peter as described on the cover of the book)
The main antagonists:
The Reverend:
A "Flesh Eater" that once was a preacher.
He led his community to Avalon and to insanity because of his belief that magic is evil and has to be extinguished.
The Captain:
Once a settler and the captain of a pirate crew that helped the other settlers on their search for a new home.
He is now fighting against the "Devils" and Peter's archenemy.
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Ulfger: Introduced late in the book. A mysterious character who is the most powerful of all of Peter's enemies.
The Land of Avalon:
An island that once was a lush, enchanted paradise full of magic and magical creatures, now gray and imparadised by the "Flesh Eaters".
Avalon is protected by The Lady.
The Lady:
A mystical white woman full of kindness and love.
Protects Avalon with her magic.
The "Devils":
A group of bloodthirsty children who would even sacrifice their lives to save Avalon and The Lady from the "Flesh Eaters".
The "Devils" don't age just like Peter who is their leader.
Every child was once "stolen" from their world and freed from their age by Peter, but they admire him like he was their Messiah.(See the bookcover where Peter is shown in the "Jesus pose")
The "Flesh Eaters":
Evil creatures that destroy Avalon and its magic.
Once christian settlers on their search for a home in which they can practice their beliefs.
Turned evil by the affection of the magic on human beings and by the Reverend, who led them to insanity and to the belief that everything that contains magic is evil.
Similarities to "Peter Pan":
The plot reminds of Peter Pan, where an immortal, never-aging boy called Peter takes children to the Neverland, in which they never grow up and have to stand against Captain Hook and his crew. The author Brom intended that similarity because he was fascinated by the original story of James Barrie's Peter Pan.
The original Peter Pan was not like you know him from those children's books, he was bloodthirsty, dangerous and cruel what the following quote from the original Peter Pan approves:
"The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out; but at this time there were six of them, counting the twins as two." So Peter gets rid of those children who grow up.
But not only that is a point where the original story of Peter Pan is depicted as cruel: Children are taught to kill adults without any conscience or remorse and enjoy that.
These are the thoughts Brom used to create "The Child Thief", in which he did not want to only retell Peter Pan, but to create his own Peter and to place special emphasis on the violence and cruelty behind the story of Peter Pan. Brom created a horror version of Peter Pan.
Brom also uses a lot of referrences to folklores, mythologies and sagas.
Conclusion:
There are many brutal scenes in "The Child Thief", so I would recommend that book only to those who like horror, bloody, brutal and somehow disgusting books. All in all "The Child Thief" is a greatly written book with a compelling plot and a lot of those "goosebump moments". You often have to stop reading to remind yourself that the "Devils" are still children which intensifies the dread of the whole book.
I personally liked the idea of a children's story retold as a "nightmare story" and the fact that there is no happy ending as you may expect it.
