Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You must read this book!, 16 Mar 2006
By A Customer
This book is clever, exciting, well-written and completely entrancing from the first page to the last. Great characterisation, fantastic characters and creatures and a brilliant plot.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Setting Up the Peter Pan Legend, 5 Nov 2009
Peter is an orphan living in the late 1800's in London. One day, he and four friends are put on a ship heading for a strange country. When they arrive, they are to serve an unpleasant king, a king who executes all those who displease him. And the voyage there will be unpleasant with gross "food" and cramped quarters.
On the ship, Peter meets Molly, a girl about his own age. She is hiding a secret involving a giant chest that was brought on board at the last moment. A chest that has attracted the attention of the dread pirate Black Stache. What is the secret of the chest? Can the children protect it from those seeking it?
With as much as I love Peter Pan, I've been meaning to get to this book for a while now. Obviously, I should have gotten to it sooner because I really enjoyed it. The action moved quickly from one exciting event to another. The pages just flew by, making the large book seem shorter than it is. The authors use multiple view points to fully tell the story. Most of the time it works, but it does get a bit annoying in the final quarter. We switch points of view too much.
Since this is a prequel to the Peter Pan legend, I got a kick seeing how many of the familiar elements fall into place. Honestly, if they hadn't written any more books, we could easily stop here. Everything is in place. I especially liked Peter's character. I must admit I am most familiar with the Disney movie version, where the character is a bit arrogant and self absorbed. Here, he is a conscientious, caring boy. I like this characterization much more.
Those looking for a fantasy adventure need look no further than this exciting book. I will definitely be buying the rest in the series and reading them soon.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, 15 Oct 2006
It's always interesting, at least to me, to read a book that is the retelling of a beloved childhood tale. Whether it be a retold fairy tale such as Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, or a classic such as Peter Pan, these new spins on old stories usually fall into one of two categories--terribly bad remakes, or truly amazing, imaginative stories with new twists. Thankfully, authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have turned PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS into the latter.
In this rendering, Peter is an orphan about the ship Never Land. He's become the leader of sorts to the other young orphans who have been sold into slavery to King Zarboff the Third, evil ruler of Rundoon. Not long after Peter and his boys board the boat, he meets Molly Aster. The fourteen-year old daughter of the new Ambassador of Rundoon is unlike any other girl Peter has ever met. Actually, the only other girl he remembers seeing in a very long time was the daughter of the Headmaster of St. Norbert's Home for Wayward Boys.
Peter's increasing infatuation with Molly is challenged when she lets him in on a secret--she is an apprentice Starcatcher, one who guards the magical starstuff from the Others who would use it to do harm. Starstuff is magic that, when it falls to Earth, it brings about increased intelligence, happiness, and even the ability to fly. Although Peter is, at first, quite skeptical of Molly and her Starcatcher business, he soon learns that she's being nothing but truthful.
Add to the story the dreaded Pirate Black Stache and the evil pirate crew of the ship the Sea Devil, and you have an interesting story. Throw in the a shipwreck, a missing cargo of starstuff, mermaids, a flying crocodile, and island dwellers that just may be cannibals, and the story goes from interesting to amazing. This is a remarkable retelling, or possibly even a prequel, to the well known story of Peter Pan. Kudos to both Mr. Barry and Mr. Pearson for a highly entertaining and thoroughly engrossing read!
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