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Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often 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.
Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose?
There is always more to lose.
Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children.
There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.
The Child Thief
A Novel
Chapter One
Child Thief
In a small corner of Prospect Park, in the borough of Brooklyn, New York, a thief lay hidden in the trees. This thief wasn't searching for an unattended purse, cell phone, or camera. This thief was looking for a child.
In the dusk of that early-autumn day, the child thief peered out from the shadows and falling leaves to watch the children play. The children scaled the giant green turtle, slid down the bright yellow slide, laughed, yelled, teased, and chased one another round and round. But the child thief wasn't interested in these happy faces. He wasn't looking to steal just any child. He was particular. He was looking for the sad face, the loner... a lost child. And the older the better, preferably a child of thirteen or fourteen, for older children were stronger, had better stamina, tended to stay alive longer.
The thief knew Mother Luck had smiled on him with the girl. She'd been a good catch, too bad about her father. He smiled, remembering the funny face the man had made as the knife slipped into his chest. But where was Mother Luck now? He'd been hunting for two days. Nothing. He'd come close with a boy last night, but close wasn't good enough. Grimacing, the thief reminded himself that he had to take it slow, had to make friends with them first, gain their trust, because you couldn't steal a child without their trust.
Maybe Mother Luck would be with him tonight. The child thief had found city parks to be good hunting grounds. Strays and runaways often camped among the bushes and used the public restrooms to wash, and they were always looking for friends.
As the sun slid slowly behind the cityscape, the shadows crept in—and so did the thief, biding his time, waiting for the falling darkness to sort the children out.
Nick darted into the warehouse entryway, pressed himself flat against the steel door, his breath coming hard and fast. He leaned his cheek against the cold metal and squeezed his eyes shut. "Fuck," he said. "I'm screwed. So screwed." At fourteen, Nick was slender and a bit small for his age. Dark, choppy bangs spilled across his narrow face, emphasizing his pallid complexion. He needed a haircut, but of late his hair was the last thing on his mind.
Nick dropped his pack to the ground, pushed his bangs from his eyes, and carefully rolled up one sleeve of his black denim jacket. He glanced at the burns running along the inside of his forearm and winced. The angry red marks crisscrossing his flesh crudely formed the letter N.
He tried to put the nightmare out of his mind, but it came back to him in heated flashes: the men pinning him to the floor—the floor of his own kitchen. The sour, rancid taste of the dish sponge being crammed into his mouth. Marko, big, thick-necked Marko, with his beastly grin, smirking while he heated the coat hanger against the burner. The wire smoking then turning red then... the pain... red-hot searing pain. God, the smell, but worse, the sound, he'd never forget the sound of his own flesh sizzling. Trying to scream, only to gag and choke on that gritty, soggy sponge while they laughed. Marko right in his face, Marko with his long, straggly chin hairs and bulging, bloodshot eyes. "Wanna know what the N stands for?" he'd spat. "Huh, do you fuckhole? It's for Narc. You ever say anything to anybody again and I'm gonna burn the whole fucking word into your tongue. You got that you little prick?"
Nick opened his eyes. "Need to keep moving." He snatched up his pack and unzipped the top. Inside the pack were some chips, bread, a jar of peanut butter, a pocket knife, two cans of soda, a blue rabbit's foot on a leather cord, and about thirty thousand dollars' worth of methamphetamines.
He dug through the hundreds of small clear plastic bags until he found the blue rabbit's foot. The rabbit's foot had been a gift from his dad, the only thing Nick had left of him now. He kissed it, then slipped it around his neck. He needed all the luck he could come by today.
He leaned out from the entryway, glancing quickly up and down the busy avenue, keeping an eye out for a beat-up green van. He'd hoped for some congestion to slow the traffic down, help him make it to the subway alive, but currently the traffic chugged steadily along. The day waned and soon the van would be just one more pair of gleaming headlights in the night.
Nick slung the pack over his shoulder and ducked out onto the sidewalk, weaving his way between the thin trail of pedestrians as he jogged rapidly up the block. There was a bite to the wind and -people had their collars up and their eyes down. Nick pulled up his own collar, skirted around a cluster of elderly men and women lined up in front of an Italian restaurant, and tried to lose himself among the thin stream of returning commuters.
You fucked up Nicky boy, he thought. Fucked up big. Yet part of him was glad, would do about anything to see the faces of those sons-of-bitches when they found their stash gone. It would be a long time before Marko was back in business.
A horn blew behind him. Nick jumped and spun—heart in his throat. But there was no green van, just someone double-parked. He caught sight of the trees and felt a flood of relief. Prospect Park was just a block away. He'd be hard to spot in the trees. He could cut across the park and come out at the subway station. Nick took off in a run.
The Child ThiefThe Child Thief / 978-0-061-67133-3 I usually save the 'parental warnings' in my reviews until the end, but "The Child Thief", as compelling and fascinating as it is, nonetheless requires some upfront warnings. If you are thinking of buying this novel for a child, perhaps on the grounds that it is a Peter Pan story and therefore child-friendly, be warned that this is an incredibly dark and violent novel. I'm not exaggerating when I say that nine out of every ten pages contains a depiction of rape, child molestation, violence, murder, torture, or several instances of the F-word. I certainly wouldn't say that no child or teenager on earth would be able to appreciate this novel, but I do strongly advise that you read this book yourself, beforehand, to determine whether this level of violence will be disturbing to the intended recipient. With that out of the way, let me say that I am quick to condemn books that rely on violence, sex, and profanity in an attempt to divert the reader's attention from the fact that there is no actual plot. "The Child Thief" is not one such novel - every incidence of violence within this novel acts in service to the plot, and the end result is an incredibly compelling story that is both a re-imagining of the classic Peter Pan tale, but also remarkably true to the original in many of the details (lest we forget that Barrie's version contained quite a bit of death and murder behind the scenes). Brom has taken the premise that Peter Pan steals children away to Neverland and has expanded the concept to fit within our dark reality. Here, Peter Pan does not steal away babies who fall out of their prams - he steals away children who are victims of abuse, neglect, molestation, and all the other such evils of our world that children should never have to endure. But the Neverland that Peter promises to lead these victimized children to is not an escape in the classic sense - it is supremely dangerous, and no longer in the exciting "but-we-always-escape-in-the-end" kind of danger that the Disneyesque Neverland fostered. The neglected children are given a family and an emotionally safe haven, but every moment of their days are spent in training, in the hopes that once they leave the confines of their home they will not die immediately in this hostile world. Brom has woven a masterful tale here, with both the real world and the Neverland/Albion world realistically rendered, with both the good and the bad. There is not a single character in this novel which could be described as flat or two-dimensional; even the most minor and ancillary characters are vivid, complex, and contain their own unique mix of perspectives and motivations. I would deeply recommend "The Child Thief" to anyone who enjoys morally ambiguous tales with complex, three-dimensional characters. If you won't be offended by the incredibly violent and profane nature of the writing, and if you won't be upset by the characterization of a beloved childhood story character as something much less perfect and much more human, then "The Child Thief" is definitely worth looking into. ~ Ana Mardoll
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MercedesMud
Posted January 2, 2011
This book is dark, bloody, and nothing like Disney. Did I mention it's also great?! Peter finds the unwanted kids, kids with horrible pasts that need a new life, he takes them home to Avalon. There they join the Devils and are trained as warriors. Little do the kids know they are going to be sent to war with the flesheaters, that's the whole reason Peter brings them home to his strange land.
You'll meet several characters you will love, but as this is a dark novel don't expect them to survive the entire story. There isn't really a bad guy in this book, as everyone in it has some dark history. Excellent book and worth the read, and the art is snazzy too
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.There are some books that are instant classics this is one of them. It is a version of Peter Pan that I found unable to put down. Some books you have to get through the first couple of chapters to get into it. I have to say this book had me hooked from the first chapter. I felt like I was in one of Brom's paintings.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Cephius
Posted December 27, 2009
I loved this book. A very original look at Peter Pan and faeries. There is content of an adult and violent nature so I would recommend parental guidance.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Child Theif is probably the best book i have ever read. It was genious and thought provoking the whole way through. Beginning to end the dark portrayol of Peter kept me on the edge of my seat. I would never have thought to put such a well loved character into that context but it worked perfectly. Neverland is like nothing we could have imagined and more. I highly reccomend you read this book, all my friends are begging to borrow it and every single one of them has turned the last page to find that they loved it and wanted more of it! I don't reccomend this book for children though, it does get very violent and gruesome.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Zombielover
Posted November 12, 2009
I Also Recommend:
Lots of action and drama. I would recomend it to anyone with a dark imagination. One of my new favorite books :)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is not only one of the longest books I've read recently, but also one of the most anticipated. I was lusting after this book and really did my best to get my hands on an ARC, but had to settle for borrowing it from the library. Was worried that it might let me down as I was looking forward to it so much, but am happy to report that it was just as good as described! So good that I'm going to buy my own copy, which I rarely do with library reads.
The Child Thief is Peter, a wild child who found refuge on the mythical island of Avalon. Found it interesting that Brom combined the Peter Pan myth with Arthurian legend. Variations of the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, and The Lady of the Lake show up, but in a much darker format. Pretty sure that this book is destined to become a classic, as the story is just that good! Brom is an extremely talented storyteller as well as being a gifted artist.
During this story, we learn Peter's history as well as follow his struggle to "save" lost children. We also join him on his quest to serve his Lady, try to save Avalon, and defeat Avalon's enemies. Any more details would probably contain spoilers, so I'll leave it at this: Read this book and you will not be disappointed! Gave it a 5 out of 5, as I found the book totally captivating! Go! Now! Get yourself a copy!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Nictann
Posted December 27, 2011
I am constantly looking for a great book only to be disappointed all too often BUT this book was captivatingly BRILLIANT!! Peter was such a loving, twisted, tortured soul, I fell in love with him instantly. If you're thinking of reading, read the authors note at the end, Brom has a beautifully real outlook on the story told by J.M. Barrie. Perfect. Every word written has a reason to be, I'm simply sad it's already over lol. This is a book that I crave to discuss.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.i got this book on a whim and can i tell you i automaticly fell in love with it. the characters were well developed and the plot was awesome. i love how he stuck to the structure of the originial story while still putting so much of himself into it. this will always be one of my favorites.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 17, 2011
I own all of his fantasy art books plus the first two books and they blew me away! Brom its awesome and fantastic!!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 16, 2011
Wonderful story. Imaginative. Interesting. A favorite.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is Peter Pan like I have never imagined it. The Child Thief is one of the most disturbing, violent, and frightening fairy tale re-imaginings I've ever read. It reminds me of the more grim versions of "Grimm's Fairy Tales" That being said, I was absolutely enthralled, I couldn't put it down. There were some times when I had to walk away from it for a bit, but I'm a bit squeamish when it comes to even a hint of gore. There were also some situations that were uncomfortable to read about such as child abuse, torture, and molestation. However, these things do happen and the way they were used in the story was fitting.
Peter finds his "lost boys" among the forgotten children, the runaways, the abused and neglected. He offers them a chance at a different kind of life in a magical world where they never have to grow up and each day is a new adventure. He does warn them that there are also monsters. With his golden eyes and infectious smile, Peter finds it easy to win over these mistreated kids and he creates his own clan in mist shrouded Avalon, his refuge from the cruelties he, himself, experienced in the human world.
Brom paints a vivid world of dying beauty and frightening violence. I love the images he creates of the fairies, pixies, elves, and even the more dangerous creatures that lurk in the swamps. One thing that this author has done incredibly well is blur the line between good and evil. I found myself, several times, feeling sympathy for a character I hated just a couple pages before.
Ultimately I feel that this is a extraordinary story, one that fans of dark fantasy will certainly want on their shelves. The characters, the world, the plot were all written so flawlessly that I easily lost myself in the pages. I would highly recommend The Child Thief and want to thank the person who recommended it to me.
ak_stonebarger
Posted September 2, 2011
Prior to reading Brom's riveting 2009 novel 'The Child Thief,' my only experience with the Peter Pan legend was the repeated viewing of Disney's 1953 classic animated film and Steven Spielberg's 1991 action-adventure 'Hook.' Brom's gripping re-imagination of J.M. Barrie's boy who refused to grow up is, to say the least, not quite as wholesome. Brom's charismatic Peter recruits young runaways and abused children to help save his mystical home from enemies sucking the life and magic out of it. Neverland is the island of Avalon, the Lost Boys are a gang called the Devils, and Captain Hook and his pirates are the "Flesh Eaters," evangelical British refugees who have been marooned on Avalon for centuries.
As an artist, Gerald Brom--who goes by his surname--has contributed to movie conceptual art, role-playing games, comic books, video games, novels, and computer games. In his novels, Brom continues to exhibit his flair for dark fantasy in both the subject matter of his stories and in his original illustrations. 'The Child Thief' includes an eight-page insert of glossy character portraits as well as black-and-white sketches for each of the twenty-six chapters. With these, Brom gives another layer to the world he has created. Characters stand as warriors, both noble and proud, while shadows emphasize an underpinning of malevolence.
As a writer, Brom effectively creates a fantastical world closely linked to our own. Multiple points of view contribute to the full picture painted by a twisted vision and haunting descriptions. He has considered every detail of a deteriorating Avalon separated from the hustle of New York City by "the Mist" controlled by the keeper of Avalon's magic, Lady Modron. The children in Peter's band of ruffians carry the emotional and physical scars of terrible abuse but also the fiery spirit of youth. Their bonds are believable, as is their loyalty to the boy who saved them.
Peter's Devils are willing to die for him and frequently do, despite extensive training. Their battles are intense and bloody. The violence level is probably most comparable to William Golding's celebrated 'Lord of the Flies' or Suzanne Collins's recent best-selling 'The Hunger Games.' The most notable difference, though, is that while Golding and Collins really only show kid-on-kid violence, Brom also shows adult-on-kid violence. The children are ruthless, savage warriors when they fight, and the Flesh Eaters show no mercy. In addition, the adults believe that the children are possessed by real demons, so they make brutal attempts to exorcise them. These scenes are not for the faint-hearted.
Some graphic violence may make 'The Child Thief' an inappropriate bedtime story for small children, but fantasy fans will find plenty to enjoy here. The characters jump off the page, the images are vivid, and the story is engaging. Brom creates high stakes for the world of magic, and in the process presents a worthy addition to the myth of Peter Pan.
does anyone know if the EBOOK form has the illustrations?! i want this but will buy the paperback instead if the ebook is missing the illustrations. out of two books i bought for my nook water for elephants did not include the illustrations that the book version had but peculiar childen of miss perguine did include them and i want to have the illustrations!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.LycanLover7
Posted August 8, 2011
This book was disturbing in the best of sense. This takes Peter Pan to a whole new level. Not a book for the Disney lovers. You MUST get this!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.9098273
Posted August 4, 2011
What a wonderful novel. Not the typical peter pan story but really worth reading
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.AdamGis
Posted May 29, 2011
I tore through this fairly thick book (almost 500 pages) in about 3 days. We all know the Disney story of Peter Pan, and some of us know the original Barrie story. This book turns Disney on it's ear. This story is DARK, GOTHIC, GORY, EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND BEAUTIFUL. The characters, the atmosphere of the story and the dark quality of the authors writing style will be sure to entice anyone who is a fan of dark, gothic, imaginative storytelling. I'm looking forward to reading Brom's other 2 novels.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
7716869
Posted May 17, 2011
This really needs a sequel. It's definently movie material. Brom, you need to make a follow up with this. Don't leave us hanging! The ending was'nt exactly 100% conclusive.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.one my favorite books. i love reading a book and feel like im there with them, and i loved how this story played out .
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.bookwormbookreview
Posted December 19, 2010
Amazing!! From start to finish this book captivated me. The characters were detailed, rich and believable. Neverland/Avalon has been given a fresh coat of paint. Touching, brutal, visual and so much more. Peter is so much more alive in my mind now. Brom has given him a past, present and future.
When I read the back of the book jacket I thought, it sounds good I will give it a try. After reading the first page, there was no more trying this book screamed to be finished. At no point in time during reading did the pages turn in a sluggish manner. All the characters had depth and emotion.
Peter travels the Mist to NY where he takes troubled and the abused kids back home with him and trains them to defend the land and its magic. He fights with them as they work towards removing the blight that has come to Avalon each sharing glimpse of the life they left. Peters own reflection on his troubled childhood and the path that leads him to recruiting children is a tale of pain, happiness and naivety that everyone can relate to.
Brom puts a twist on the Pilgrims arrival to the New World, revealing that the Native American Indians were not the only ones to be slaughtered in the pursuit of Puritan goals of greed and believed religious superiority. Ignorance and prejudice rears its ugly head in America and Avalon forcing Peter to take the best and worst of both worlds in hopes of insuring the survival of everyone he loves.
Overview
Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often 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.
Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow...