Title: Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, Peter and the Sword of Mercy
Authors: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Genre: Literary re-hash/fantasy
Rating: 3-4 stars
This is another series I've only made it halfway through. Dave Barry is an excellent humor writer, and I've heard Ridley Pearson writes a lot of Disney-themed stuff--but Barry's name is what really sold me on this.
It's a prequel series to Peter Ban, basically. It explains where Peter came from, where he got his powers, why he has problems with his shadow, why Captain Hook was after him in the first place, and so on. Funny thing is, it's riddled with inconsistencies when compared to J.M. Barrie's original (you can see a complete list here) but I imagine I'd only be bothered by that if I remembered all the details of Barrie's Peter Pan.
The first book (Starcatchers) was loads of fun. Barry and Pearson wrote a very fast-paced novel, and they're not afraid to make it hard on their characters. The second book wasn't as fast and was a lot more trying for Peter and Tinker Bell. Not without reason, of course, but it just wasn't as fun. I haven't read the third one, and the fourth one just came out.
The first three are available in paperback. I'd recommend checking them out and seeing what you think. They read pretty quick, and Jim Dale does the audio version (he does Harry Potter too).
I read this series last year, but have yet to read the 4th one (since it just came out). I think I've seen it in my bookstore. I liked all the books a lot. I thought they were comparable to the Pendragon series or something.
ReplyDeleteCool that Jim Dale does the audio!
Hey, isn't it funny that Dave Barry and James Barrie almost have the same last name? ^_~
The fact that there ARE inconsistencies completely negates them for me. Respect the original author, please? It's like that never bothered to read Barrie's original stories.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this Peter Pan tale - it's based on Barrie's own idea for more adventure.
http://www.peterpansneverworld.com/
BELIEVE!
I've heard a lot about this series recently. I think I'll read them with my kids soon. Maybe they'll get them for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteSure they didn't respect the original author. I acknowledged that. They still told a good story. Stop complaining, this is a no-whine zone.
ReplyDelete