Review: The Child Thief: A Novel
In The Child Thief: A Novel, Brom, perhaps best known for his work as an artist for role-playing games and collectible card games (Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering), retells the story of Peter Pan with a dark and modern twist. Recycling a classic fairy tale with an updated perspective is certainly nothing new. Most Disney films are a rehash of something else, whether it be a fairy tale or one of Shakespeare’s plays. Gregory McGuire’s Wicked is a fantastic revisionist exploration of the original Wizard of Oz. Robin McKinley’s Beauty is a noteworthy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, while Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series gives a slightly more adult twist to the classic tale (described by Playboy as “fashionably pornographic”). Peter Pan has been tackled by a wide range of authors, from the fantasy author Terry Brooks to the comedic columnist Dave Barry to the comic writer Peter David. So what does Gerald Brom bring to the table to make this Peter Pan new and exciting?
Brom decided to travel down the grim and grimy route, telling a version of the classic tale that is deliberately dark and twisted (his justification being a line from the original story by James Barrie: “when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out”). How dark? On the second page, a little girl is molested by her father. Nick, who shares double duty with Peter as the novel’s protagonist, is on the run from drug dealers who literally branded him as a “narc.” Peter, in his quest to recruit new children for his merry band, is perfectly willing to slit the throats of whomever gets in his way. Violence and death are plentiful and brutal, with virtually no character safe from a messy ending, including the Devils, the children that make up Peter’s band. These same children are graphically tortured and murdered at the hands of religious zealots. Clearly, even though this is the story of Peter Pan, this novel is intended only for a mature audience so think very carefully before putting this novel in the hands of a younger reader.
The product’s design is of a very high quality and the hardcover will look great sitting on your bookshelf. The outside of the book is lovely, with a dramatic book jacket cover and a brilliant red underneath. Opening the cover, a gorgeous black and white drawing introduces each chapter, and a small collection of Brom’s paintings depicts all of the major players in Avalon (the name for Peter’s land, drawn from Arthurian legend instead of Barrie’s more familiar Never Never Land). Brom’s art vividly illustrates the world of Avalon and the characters that populate it; however, in a novel of almost 500 pages, a bit more art would have been a nice treat, as Brom’s illustrations are the strongest point of The Child Thief.
As for the story itself, Peter is fighting a war to defend his adopted homeland and Brom introduces a variety of interesting characters to make up the three opposing factions in Peter’s battle: the hodgepodge of bloodthirsty children who form the Devils (some of them having been rescued/kidnapped as long ago as the American Civil War), the Flesheaters, a gruesomely transformed band of Puritans and sailors who have invaded Avalon, and the original inhabitants, a collection of monsters and fairies, loosely led by the “Lady” and her twisted sister, the “Witch.” The cast of characters is impressively large, at least several dozen, and some of them are truly fascinating. Unfortunately, if you start thinking someone is interesting and you’re hoping to delve deeper into their character, chances are Brom is going to kill that person. Violently. Done well, the death of a beloved character can be a painful and shocking moment, but Brom goes overboard, ludicrously so, leaving a meager handful of people alive by the end of the story, and the boring ones at that.
The story is a mash-up of various mythologies, drawing from Arthurian legend, Celtic folklore, and the familiar tale of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up. Unfortunately, Brom’s writing is not strong enough to mix all of these influences convincingly: the world feels clumsily cobbled together, and the origin story of Peter is pedestrian rather than mysterious. The narrative jerks back and forth, with the action continually lurching from start to stop. Late in the novel, the whole population of Avalon finds themselves fighting their unending war on the streets of modern New York, which is entertaining, but after four hundred pages, this excitement is just too little, too late; most of the characters you might have cared about are dead by that point, anyway.
Plot: 6.5
Characters: 8
Action: 6
Writing: 5
Art: 9.5
Overall (not an average): 6/10