Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Peter and his lost boys are back in another rollicking adventure.  Mollusk Island has been attacked by a brutal band of warriors determined to vanquish the Mollusks and seize their treasures.  At the same time in the far away land of Rundoon, the Star Catchers are also under attack. 

Somehow Lord Ombra has pulled himself together and he is holding nothing back in his assault on all that is light and good. 

Molly, Lord Aster's daughter, and her neighbour George Darling, get themselves in all sorts of trouble, though in their defence, they are only trying to help.  In this third installment of the series, George finally shows that he has what it takes to become a good man.  Up until now, he mostly whined about Peter and Molly liking each other.  Now he shows his strength of character and his surprising intellectual skills at helping Molly out of her predicaments.

Any child reading this story would be excited by the presence of King Zarboff's gigantic snake Kundalini.  This snake is so huge that the King feeds him any person that displeases him.

While this is a great book to read with your child, there is enough action and detailed characters to keep adults interested.

I listened to the unabridged Brilliance Audio Book version that was read by Jim Dale.  Once again, Mr. Dale did a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life.  He has developed such appropriate voices for each of the many characters that it is hard to believe that he was not working with a full staff, rather than just himself.  10 hours 15 minutes.

There is a detailed Disney site for the Peter and the Starcatchers series.

 

Peter and the Starcatchers series:

1. Peter and the Starcatchers
2. Peter and the Shadow Thieves
3. Peter and the Secrets of Rundoon
4. Peter and the Sword of Mercy

Thank-you to Brilliance Audio for the use of the cover image.

Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

This is the follow-up to the popular kids novel 'Peter and the Star Catchers'.  I listened to it on an audio book.

Peter and the lost boys have been on Mollusk Island when a boat of pirates lands.  They are lead by a shadowy figure known as Lord Ombra.  He is one scary guy who is able to capture peoples' shadows, which gives him control over them.  Peter learns that Lord Ombra is searching for Star Stuff and that he is going to travel to London to find Lord Aster.  Peter is most concerned about his friend Molly, Lord Aster's daughter.  He sets out to fly to London along with his ever present companion Tinker Bell.

I enjoyed this story as much as I did the first book in the series, which now extends to four books. (Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, Peter and the Sword of Mercy)  Partly it is due to the wonderful voices employed by reader Jim Dale.  Having now listen to at least 2 audio books he has read, I would not hesitate to select an audio book solely on the basis that he is the reader.

I have two favourite episodes in this book.  The first is when Peter is in the Post Office in London and he is trying to send a letter to Lord Aster.  If he weren't already drinking, he would have driven the postal clerk to taking up drinking.  I had to listen to that part several times.  The secone happens shortly afterward when Peter loses site of the Letter Carrier and is rescued from the nasty Trotter and the man.  The rescuer is none other than a neighbour of Lord Aster named James Barrie.  Mr. Barrie gives Peter directions to Lord Asters: follow the path to the second path and turn right. (had to paraphrase this).  hmm, reminds me of something an author named J.M. Barrie wrote...

I am left wondering whether Lord Ombra is an octopus that encountered a large amount of star stuff?  At one point Molly describes his method of movement "like ink flowing".

I look forward to the third installment of this fun adaptation of the story of Peter Pan.

To read my reviews of other Peter Pan books, click the label below this post or the one in the left hand side bar.

Thanks to Chapter.ca where I borrowed the cover photo.

The Child Thief by Brom

This is essentially a modern day telling of the tale of 'Peter Pan'. In some ways it is similar to J.M. Barrie's original in that Peter lives on a mysterious, hidden island with 'lost' children and he is fighting the 'pirates' though in this case they are early settlers destined for the New World who happen upon the island. In other ways it is quite different: there are both boys and girls, no mother, and other legends and mythical characters are included (standing stones, Arthurian legend).

The story starts on the mean streets of New York where young Nick has stolen the drugs from the thug that lives in his house. He has been caught by friends of the thug and they are about to beat him to death when Peter shows up and 'removes' the threats to Nick. He manages to gain Nick's trust, which is essential, and offers to take him to a better place to live. What child living in such horrid circumstances would say no? So off they go to Avalon (not NeverNever Land).

This starts a new and very dark version of Peter Pan. Peter himself is over 1400 years old and has been stealing children for much of that time. In the beginning he did take them to a better home, but as time progresses the scourge grows and Avalon decays. I found this New World scourge fascinating. It made me think of 'Lord of the Flies' where the society of the boys on the island deteriorated very quickly with no adults to keep them in order. In this case, the scourge has had several centuries to decay and pervert their original nature and intent.

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I am still torn by the character of Peter. He does remove the children from lives that have become a terror, but he isn't totally honest with them about where they are going. He doesn't lie to them, but he tells them only the smallest amount of the truth. Sort of an 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' kind of existence. He even admits that its been getting harder to find children who can survive and reach the hideaway on the island and that he has started to forget some of the kids. He should at least remember the children who's lives have been lost at his behest. At the point we met Peter, all that matters to him is his precious Queen and he is willing to risk any number of children to save her. Pretty cold hearted.

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Even with my love/hate feelings for Peter, I really enjoyed this story. I like when there were similarities with the original, Peter crowing in the morning in the hide out, and I also liked the differences such as the Elven blade Maldiriel that Peter gives to Nick.

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I would not recommend reading this to your young children, rather keep it for yourself after they have gone to bed, but maybe put on an extra light in the hallway when you turn in for the night.

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ps, This is the first adult novel I have read in a long time to have such wonderful illustrations at the beginnings of chapters. I highly recommend that you read the author's notes at the end of the book. I found them rather illuminating; they removed my Disney blinders from the character of Peter Pan.

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If you want to read my reviews of other 'Peter Pan' inspired books, click the Peter Pan label below this post. I have several more such books queued up to read.

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Be sure to visit the author's interesting website: Brom

Thanks to HarperCollins for sending me this review copy.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan has long ago gone through the 'Disneyfication' process and few people I know have read the original version of this story. I have been trying to find a version that has not been rework and don't know if I have yet succeeded.

I found both the copies shown at my local library. The first is a 1950 version from Charles Scribner's Sons. This is the one that my husband and I both chose to read. He also compared a number of pages between both books and found they were the same.

You could read this book very quickly and lightly and decide that its an enchanting story of a flying boy who is in need of a mother. He finds a girl sitting at her open nursery window and convinces her and her brothers to return to Neverland with him. Oh how sweet.

You could read a little deeper and find that all is not so bright an cheery. Peter can be very ruthless. When the children are first flying to Neverland, its a very long flight and occasionally John, Michael and Wendy would fall asleep and then they would drop toward the ocean. Peter would wait till the very last moment to save them.

Peter seems to like to have others around so he can boast to them, but I question whether he cares about them. This quote from page 68 says 'no'.

"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;"

By saying 'thins them out' I suspect that means 'kills them'. There is more killing. In the final battle, in order to keep secret that he has boarded Hook's ship, Peter kills the quarter master Ed Teynte and then refers to the body as carrion. Teynte hadn't attacked him. Peter doesn't exhibit 'good form' when he sneakily kills Hook by kicking him overboard when he is standing on the bulwark instead of engaging him in a fair sword battle.

There is one passage near the end of the book where Peter has returned to Wendy after she has been home with her family for a year. She is looking forward to talking about old times, including Captain Hook.

" 'Who is Captian Hook?' he asked with interest when she spoke of the arch enemy.

'Don't you remember,' she asked, amazed, 'how you killed him and saved all our lives?'

'I forget them after I kill them,' he replied carelessly. "

Having been raised on Walt Disney versions of this story I didn't know about this blood thirsty side of Peter Pan. Interesting. I will be looking for an even earlier edition of this book to read and check for changes in the text.

One question did come to mind regarding Princess Tiger Lily. I had to wonder whether she was fashioned after Mohawk author/poet Pauline Johnson? She had toured England a number of times before Mr. Barrie penned this book. I wonder if perhaps he had viewed one of her orations where she was garbed in her 'Indian' dress and he was inspired to include her as a character?

I will be continuing with my quest to read and review other Peter Pan inspired stories.

Other Peter Pan inspired books that I have reviewed:

Peter Pan: A step up Classic by J.M. Barrie adapted by Cathy East Dubowski

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barrie and Ridley Pearson

Peter Pan: A Step-up Classic by J.M. Barrie adapted by Cathy East Dubowski

This is a really short version of J.M. Barrie's original. It is very easy reading and aimed at reading level grade 2.5.

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to achieve this huge amounts of story have been left out. I found that it doesn't flow very well. Tends to jump from point to point and even i was confused as to where I was in the story.

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While a child might find this acceptable, it drove me nuts. I can't recommend this book.

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If you want a Peter Pan book to read, check my review of 'Peter Pan and the Star Catchers' by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.

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I have finally found a copy of what appears to be an un-abridged version of 'Peter Pan' and look forward to reviewing that in the near future. In the next few days I plan to post my review of 'The Child Thief'' by Brom, a different Peter type adventure.

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Suggestions welcome of any other Peter Pan based stories. I do intend to find of copy of 'Peter Pan's Neverworld' by Peter Von Brown.

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

I was totally enchanted by this audio book that describes how Peter Pan and the Lost Boys came about. It is full of wondrous magic, pirates, a giant crocodile and even the fairy dust that makes Peter fly.

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My daughter insisted that I listen to this book. Her teacher read it to her at school a few years ago and held her class in rapt attention. I am so glad I finally listened to her.

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I am not going to tell you anything that happens in the book as I don't want to spoil a thing for you.

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If you are looking for a book to read to your child or if you want to relive a magical part of your childhood, make this the next one on your list. I can't wait to start listening to 'Peter and the Shadow Thieves'.

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If you would like to explore this version of Neverland further, then visit the 'Peter and the Starcatchers' website.

Thanks to Chapters.ca for the use of the cover photo.