Dog Boy is the story of a young, abandoned boy who gets taken in by a family of feral dogs living in the backstreets of Moscow. Everything in this book is vibrant, with a dark melody that sings from the pages, while maintaining a gritty realism that sucks you into Romochka's world through scent, sound and sight, following him through the years he spends with the dogs in a way that shows the brutal mercy of survival in an undomesticated state. The human characters are sympathetic, and the story's climax leaves a shock that will keep you thinking for some time.
For any fans of Labyrinth or Brian Froud's work, this is a wonderful thing to have. The pages are filled with Froud's sketches, some of which are reconisable from the film, and many more which are unfamiliar. These sketches are accompanied by humourous and descriptive stories, detailing the world of the Labyrinth in far more depth than the film. There are also several full colour prints of scenes and characters from Labyrinth, and great fun can be had looking at them, for the sheer quality of the art as well as for the way you never seem to have seen the entire picture. Definitely a must.
All in all, not a bad read, certainly not the most captivating book ever written - all the descriptions of clothes labels go WAY over my head. My main problem with the series is the lack of research de la Cruz seems to put in - as a latin scholar myself, I can tell you most of the latin phrases she uses are in the wrong case, she uses verbs where nouns should be, and it gets VERY annoying. Also, the name given to a half-blood between a human and an angel is NEPHILIM. I'm sorry, but she's going to have to do better next time
