inlibrisveritas
Written on Jan 22, 2015
Alias Hook takes us in Neverland and shows us a side of it as we’ve never seen before. The land of eternal childhood and whimsy is far from being the innocent place we dream it to be, and the reality of the place is rather haunting. I don’t want to say too much because some of it is better if you go into it blind, part of the fun is in the revelations. We get to see Captain James Hook in a new light. We know his past and how he came to be in Neverland, and why he stays. I loved all of the background story and seeing how Hook changes as a person the longer he stays in Neverland. We are even treated to a nice touch of romance that really tugged at my heartstrings and made the story even even better.
I adore James and his new companion Stella. James is well spoken and well mannered, but retains the ability to charm and manipulate his way out of trouble. He’s quick witted and a bit tortured. Combined him with Stella’s sharp tongue and brilliant mind, and you have two main characters worth falling in love with. I simply couldn’t get enough of James, and was sad when the book finally came to a satisfying end.
Ralph Lister is an excellent narrator and really brought James and the other characters to life. I loved the voices he chose for James and Peter, and combined with the excellent writing it made for a really absorbing listen.
If you enjoy Peter Pan and retellings then this one is worth checking out. The summary says that it’s great for fans of Gregory Maguire and I wholehearted agree. It has a similar feel to books like Wicked and Mirror, Mirror…though the writing is much easy to get lost in.