The Child Thief by Brom

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The Child Thief by Brom



              Nick didn’t have any hope of getting away this time. The guys sent by Marko were all too willing to bring him back to the house and be praised for not only bringing the boy alive, but for also bringing the thousands of dollars’ worth of drugs back to the house too. Luckily for Nick, Peter was on the lookout for runaways and had been watching everything unfold. He wanted Nick and he knew saving his life would help Nick trust him. So he killed the guys, setting Nick free. With nowhere else to go, Nick followed Peter to a place where there were no grownups and he would be with other boys just like him. He would have to follow Peter into the mist willingly if he wanted to begin anew. Nick had nothing and no one to go home to so he followed Peter into the Mist and into a world unlike anything he had ever experience before.
                The Child Thief was not at all what I was expecting. When I first heard about this book I knew I would have to read it eventually. A dark and twisted tale about Peter Pan, of course I’m in. I knew I would first have to read the original Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. If I was going to do this, then it would be done right. So I did. I read Peter Pan and loved it but I kept my eyes out for all of the references to a more sinister side of Peter and there were quite a few that gave me pause. With this in depth look of one of my favorite characters I began The Child Thief. This was an amazing fantasy novel that takes a character that everyone is familiar with and exploits its dark and horrifying core. There is no Neverland. Instead there is Avalon and one can only get there through navigating through the Mist. If you can survive that then you’ve entered the mystical world of Avalon. Here’s the catch though: Avalon is dying and Peter is basically taking hopeless youths and bringing them to help him fight in this war that Avalon is losing against the Flesh Eaters. Peter is a master manipulator and Nick is just one of the many kids over hundreds of years who have crossed into the Mist. Unlike Nick they all worship Peter, while Nick can’t believe what he has gotten himself into. Peter kidnapped him and led him to Avalon under false pretenses. Now what is Nick supposed to do? He needs to find his way back to the Mist and back to New York but he needs Peter’s help to do that. Peter isn’t willing to see any of the kids go.          

                This novel was extremely hypnotic. From the moment I started reading I knew that I would fall into this book and not be able to find my way out. Brom created an extremely complex and developed world with an entire history of shattered peace and fighting. There are Gods, men, monsters, spirits, discoveries, Christianity and bloodshed. There is also a history lesson that I wasn’t expecting about Peter and how he came to be the boy that he remains. This novel was intense, unpredictable, gripping and beautifully written. The characters were so well developed and fully imagined. Brom, who is an illustrator as well, created the artwork throughout the novel that is extremely beautiful and added to the overall presence of the world. I was captivated by this story the entire time. I give this novel 5 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend this to any fantasy novel fans or anyone slightly interested in reading a twisted version of Peter Pan. This book was over 400 pages of amazing storytelling.

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