Title: Peter and Max – A Fables Novel

Author: Bill Willingham (writer) / Steve Leialoha (illustrator)

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Vertigo
Publication Date: October 2009
Hardcover: 400 pages

This story stars Peter Piper and his incorrigible brother Max in a tale about jealousy, betrayal and revenge. Set in two distinct time periods, prepare to travel back to medieval times and learn the tragic back-story of the Piper family, a medieval-era family of traveling minstrels. Then, jump into the present to follow a tale of espionage as Peter Piper slowly hunts down his evil brother for a heinous crime, pitting Peter’s talents as a master thief against Max’s dark magical powers.

Based on the long-running and award-winning comic book series FABLES, PETER AND MAX is its own tale. Readers don’t have to be familiar with the comics to fully enjoy and understand this book.

Stand alone or series: This is a stand alone novel which is part of the Fables’ comics universe.

How did we get this book: Bought

Why did we get this book: Because we absolutely ADORE Fables.

Review:

First Thoughts and Impressions:

Ana: Ah, Fables. How I love thee. I have to thank my esteemed Smuggler half for introducing me to the comics, because they are absolutely brilliant. I love fairytale retellings anyway, but Bill Willingham goes a bit further than that by not only retelling but reimagining and spinning the tales by making them his own. Peter and Max is another example of this and in spite of a few caveats, I really loved reading it.

Thea: It should probably come as no surprise that I am also a huge Fables fan – even with the slight dropoff after defeating The Adversary, this is STILL one of the finest monthly comics out there. So, when we learned that a strictly prose – well, dominantly prose – novel was coming out set in the Fables universe, of course Ana and I scooped up Peter and Max with alacrity (although we were somewhat slower in actually getting it reviewed). And, I am delighted to say that in the realm of prose fiction, Bill Willingham still manages to kick ass. Though there are a few uneven sections (probably better told with the graphic combination of art and writing), Peter and Max delivers, and is as darkly enchanting as its comic-form sibling.

On the Plot:

Ana: Peter and Max tells the story of two siblings, Peter and Max Piper, sons of a travelling family of minstrels and it alternates between past and present narrating how the two eventually become enemies. In present day, Peter and his wife Bo Peep are residents of Fabletown, living their quiet lives apart from the rest of the Fables due to Bo’s condition (a terrible spell who crippled her legs) when one day, Peter is informed that his evil brother Max has surfaced in the world and he sets out to find and finally face him off.

In the past, back in the homelands, we see Peter and Max’s childhood traveling around and playing with their mother and father, and their friendship with the Peep family, especially the link between young Peter and their youngest daughter Bo who vows to marry Peter one day. Peter is the gifted younger brother who inherits Frost, a magical flute and a family heirloom which Max fully expected to have for himself. The petty jealousy and sibling rivalry spirals out of control after the Adversary’s invasion of the homelands when the Pipers and the Peeps flee through the Black Forest where they are all separated. Max ends up with a pipe of his own and eventually becomes the infamous Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Plot-wise, Peter and Max is genius. It combines two children’s nursery rhymes, Peter Piper’s (who does eat pickled peppers) and Bo Peep’s (who does lose her sheep) with the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin flawlessly and brilliantly. The back and forth between past and present is done really well, and it builds up tension perfectly until the final showdown (although that face off is slightly anticlimactic in its execution). The details that Bill Willingham infuses the story with are also very clever from the fairytale romance between Bo and Peter, other characters appearances such as Frau Totenkinder’s or the fact that Frost’s has the ability to avert danger but can that only be used three times in its owner’s life. It is all very fairytale-ish both in writing and in format reminding me of old tales but of the very dark variety.

I cannot fault the plot of this book, I was enraptured by it and devoured the book in one sitting.

Thea: I have to wholeheartedly agree with Ana. Part of the sheer brilliance of the Fables series is in the ways that Bill Willingham finds to integrate familiar nursery rhyme fables into his dark, epic saga. This has become a popular trope as of late – what with Urban Fantasists, Paranormal Romanticists, etc taking iconic mythological figures and plopping them into modern times – but Bill Willingham’s take on fables, living amongst Mundys, fighting against a truly terrifying foe, and (most dangerously and importantly of all) trying to coexist with each other, is a class above the rest. In Peter and Max, Willingham takes a few lesser nursery rhymes – Bo Peep, Peter Piper, and the Pied Piper of Hamelin – and twists a heartwrenching story of sibling rivalry, betrayal, love, and magic across centuries.

Since Ana’s already covered the basics, I will just add a few specific points of interest. I loved the integration of these three fables together – how Bo really loses her sheep (it’s not pretty), how Peter eats the pickled peppers (and also hides his wife in a pumpkin shell later), and how most delightfully depraved of all, the Pied Piper Max leads the rats and children out of Hamelin for his own dark purposes. More than the simple nursery rhymes, however, Mr. Willingham also creates a backstory that fuels Max and Peter’s rivalry in the form of Frost, a magical pipe from a slain foe, that is both a magical gift and a curse for all the Piper family members that wield it. There’s a war story in the background, a court of thieves and assassins, another magical flute named Fire, and a background of bloody revenge. (I don’t want to get into too many specifics, lest I spoil some of the story’s reveals!)

As a reader of the comics, I think the thing that impressed me most about Peter and Max, however, was a different side to some of our favorite “heroic” fables. Since all fables were granted general amnesty for past villainous acts once they sign the Fabletown charter, we’ve seen all of these characters work together toward a common goal. Bigby Wolf is seen as a hero, as is Frau Totenkinder and assorted other reformed villains…but in Peter and Max, we see how truly terrible some of these characters were back in the homeland. And…it’s a pretty cool, sobering contrast.

Finally, I think we should at least address Steve Leialoha’s artwork – which is kind of in the style of Dave McKean’s work in Coraline (the book, not P. Craig Russell’s graphic novel adaptation) and The Graveyard Book. What can I say except, bravo? Although I think I prefer Mark Buckingham’s representations ever-so-slightly, Leialoha’s work is gorgeous and fitting for Peter and Max – slightly disney-cartoonish, but with a darker, ink-heavy edge.

On the Characters:

Ana: Now, this is where I take a step back to say that as much as I loved the plot of the novel, something was missing. Whereas plot and setting are brilliantly done in a very clever way, the author never really fully, explores the characters in depth. Let’s face it, the original takes are basically short narratives, that TELL rather than SHOW a story. I love them, of course, growing up as I did, listening to grandpa reading them to. The reason is why retellings speak to me in such a wonderful way is because most of the retellings I have read explore and take character’s motivation further, deeper than the originals. It is a great opportunity for authors to play with themes and stories and sometimes make them even better.

Yes, a Retelling but really, for it to work it should also be a Re-showing and I feel that Bill Willingham passed on this opportunity here. For example, Max’s turn from troubled teenage to EVIIIIIIL Villain, quite jarringly, happened without cause in the space of a few lines. Similarly in the grand finale, there was nothing from an emotional point of view to make it grander and more impacting. Also, once the families are separated, peter becomes a thief and basically forgets about his mother for example. What in the world happened to her?

That is not to say that some of the characters don’t have depth – I particularly liked Bo, for example, becoming an assassin (you have to read it) and how she uses her condition to try and dissuade Peter from going after his brother. It is ugly and it is dark but also very human, I though (which is strange to say, since these characters are not really human).

Thea: I’m a little torn here too. I have to agree with Ana in that Max’s transformation from petty jealousy to EVIL MONSTER was a bit abrupt (this takes place over approximately a paragraph of text) – reminding me of the somewhat anticlimactic reveal of Anakin crossing over to embrace the Dark Side in Revenge of the Sith. I would have loved it if the transformation was more subtle, told over a longer time period. This was the one time that I felt Mr. Willingham’s writing was limited by its lack of supporting art to help tell the story. Whereas this shorter time frame could have been more convincing with the incredibly gifted Steve Leialoha completing full panels to accompany the story, instead it felt slightly jarring and unbelievable in the brevity and totality of Max’s transformation.

The other quibble I have with regards to characterization concerns Peter himself – who is a tad bit Too Good. You know what I mean? He’s a loving younger brother, a patient husband, the best flute player in all of the land, etc, etc. In contrast, Bo -with her very human manipulations, as Ana mentions – feels much more real and concrete a character.

But then…there’s also Max. Abrupt transformation aside, Max is pretty damn awesome, and his corruption basically makes the book. One of my favorite scenes is when Max stumbles across an elderly couple in the woods and forces them to do his bidding. All the while, Max’s pettiness and sense of over-importance characterizes his narrative, and later when he has to rely only on himself…well, it’s great stuff. I loved it, plain and simple.

Final Thoughts, Observation and Rating:

Ana: I really enjoyed, heck, I can say that I did love Peter and Max but I feel that I could have adored it. In comics format, the story might have worked splendidly because you would have the aid of the images to convey more feeling but this first foray into prose format was missing that extra awesomesauce to make it a Keeper.

Thea: While I agree with Ana, and I do think that certain parts of the story in particular could have benefited from full-fledged accompanying artwork, for the vast majority of the book Peter and Max stands strong on its own. Mr. Willingham’s storytelling abilities are in top form here, and this is a book that should be devoured by any Fables fan or newbie alike.*

*On a continuity note, this book fits in shortly before Fabletown’s attack on The Adversary – and Peter and Bo both play a role in the war by the end of the book. You’ll see.

Notable Quotes/Parts:

For most of his long years Peter Piper wanted
nothing more than to live a life of peace and safety in some
remote cozy cottage, married to his childhood sweetheart,
who grew into the only woman he could ever love. Which is pretty
much what happened. But there were complications along the way,
as there often are, because few love stories are allowed to be just that
and nothing else.

(…)

Our tale, the one that couldn’t quite remain a simple love story,
begins then in Fabletown and almost immediately moves up to the
Farm. It happens because a witch learned something that she told to
a beast, who phoned a wolf, who in turn called his wife’s twin
sister, who never was a princess but perhaps should have been.

And here are two samples of Steve Leialoha’s art (by the way, how great is that name – Lei + Aloha? Someone likes Hawaii!):

Rating:

Ana: 7 – Very Good

Thea: 7 -Very Good

Reading Next: Fat Vampire by Adam Rex

Happy Sunday, everyone! If you’re in the US, hope you’re enjoying the long weekend (with barbecues and beers and fireworks, etc).

Demon Blood Giveaway Winners:

The two lucky winners of Meljean Brook’s latest are:

Congratulations! Now, you know the drill. Send us an email (contact AT the book smugglers DOT com) with your snail mail address, and we will get your winnings out to you as soon as possible.

Whitewashing: It. Just. Won’t. END.

The blogosphere is abuzz as, once again, publishers are Doing It Wrong. This time, the victim is Cindy Pon’s Silver Phoenix – a YA fantasy novel set in medieval China, featuring Chinese protagonists (I reviewed the book earlier this year, and although I wasn’t enamored with the story or the writing, the treatment of the cover is a whole different can of worms. Here’s the original – beautiful – hardcover:

And here are the new covers:

The Powers That Be have deemed Silver Phoenix’s lack of sales success to its cover, and have refitted those covers to resemble something a little more…homogeneous.

These new, teen paranormal stylized covers (the half face! the dark lighting with a glowy random photoshopped object!) certainly fit the current look for uninspired YA art:

But that’s not really the point either. The thing that really bothers us is the underlying message this cover change represents. The message is that the first cover was too specific (Bullshit Translation: TOO ASIAN), and didn’t appeal to a broad enough audience (Bullshit Translation: White people).* In order to rectify that and to boost sales, The Powers That Be have created new covers with more familiar art, with models whose ethnicity cannot be determined. Because there are no tell-tale slanted eyes, broad noses or high cheekbones, these models could be Chinese. They also could be Caucasian.** And this, in Bullshitese, means that a “mainstream audience” will feel more comfortable buying this book.

This sort of assumption-making really, fucking rankles.

Many other bloggers have written incredibly passionate, eloquent posts about the debacle, and we highly recommend you check them out:

Inkstone’s “I Guess I Still Have A Post In Me – Phoenix Rising: go all out or just don’t go
Ari of Reading In Color, “Guess What This Post Is About?”
Bookshop’s “I don’t want to be this person. Dear Publishing Industry, stop FORCING me to be this person.”
The Rejectionist’s “Insert Animated .gif of The Rejectionist Jumping Up And Down And Screaming” (with quite possibly the best cap to illustrate the complete and utter FRUSTRATION this new cover fiasco causes)
__________
*Never mind the fact that poor sales figures might have something to do with buyers (not readers, mind you!) not stocking Silver Phoenix in Borders or in very few Barnes & Nobles – meaning customers have incredibly limited opportunity to browse and buy this book in stores. Nope. The obvious problem MUST be its alienating (ASIAN!) cover. Maybe this is a case of a publisher trying to get around the idiotic bias of one or two retail buyers. Regardless, there is something clearly very, very wrong with this system, and needs to be addressed.

**I cannot write this post without at least addressing the hideousness of the two covers, aesthetically. On the cover for Phoenix Rising, don’t the arms look like they belong to someone else? And why the hell would Ai Ling be wearing a sparkly halter dress?! Never mind the whole cut and pasted magic knife (snort) or the model’s light brown hair or suspiciously Caucasian features. I’m not even GOING there with the Secret of the Ooze green medallion on the new cover for Silver Phoenix. It looks like a radioactive booger. Or…is that SLIMER? Ectoplasmic residue?

A Teaser…

Guess what?

Young Adult Appreciation Month (part deux). It’s coming.

This Week on The Book Smugglers:

On Monday, Ana reviews Bonds of Justice, the newest psy-changeling novel from Nalini Singh – there will also be an opportunity to win two copies of the book.

Tuesday, Thea reviews I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells, the first of a planned Dexter-esque series.

Wednesday, Ana reviews classic science fiction novel Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock…

And on Thursday, Thea reviews Kraken by China Mieville (at long last!).

Closing out the week, we give you a joint review of Peter and Max by Bill Willingham – an illustrated standalone novel set in his Fables universe.

That’s it for now. Until tomorrow, we remain…

For the past few months, we have been including in our weekly stash an “On our Radar” section for books that have caught our eye and attention; books we heard of via other bloggers, directly from publishers, and/or from our regular incursions into the Amazon jungle. This is how the Smugglers’ Radar was born and because there are far too many books that we want than we can possibly buy or review (what else is new?) we thought we could make it into a weekly feature on its own – this way YOU can tell us which books you have on your radar as well!

On Ana’s Radar:

After reading Rosemary and Rue by Seannan McGuire , I realised I wanted to read more UF. I saw this series by Adrian Phoenix and it looks good – anyone has read it?

Karen Mahoney has been raving about Nina Kiriki Hoffman and I can’t wait to give this author a try. I have this one:

Gypsum LaZelle is a misfit in a family of spellcasters-she possesses no magical ability whatsoever. Until the day when she becomes gravely ill, and discovers that her Transition has occurred at last, bestowing upon her a strange and frightening power.

And of course, a couple of YA books:

Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed.

But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets.

The one who saved me…and the one who cursed me.

So begins the journal of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore War throp, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a gruesome find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet.

Critically acclaimed author Rick Yancey has written a gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does a man become the very thing he hunts?

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.

In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers. Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.

On Thea’s Radar:

Ditto to Ana regarding Adrian Phoenix’s books, as well as The Monstrumologist!

From Libba Bray, author of the bestselling Gemma Doyle books (of which I’ve only read and loved A Great and Terrible Beauty – I know! I know, I need to finish the series already) has a new novel out, called Going Bovine. And I’ve bought it, and it’s sitting, staring at me on my TBR pile.

Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

I’m a huge Fables fan, and it’s one of the few comics I shell out for monthly. And, author Bill Willingham has a standalone prose novel in the Fables universe coming out this month…

A new stand-alone FABLES NOVEL from award-winning and wildly acclaimed author, Bill Willingham.

This story stars Peter Piper and his incorrigible brother Max in a tale about jealousy, betrayal and revenge. Set in two distinct time periods, prepare to travel back to medieval times and learn the tragic back-story of the Piper family, a medieval-era family of traveling minstrels. Then, jump into the present to follow a tale of espionage as Peter Piper slowly hunts down his evil brother for a heinous crime, pitting Peter’s talents as a master thief against Max’s dark magical powers.

Based on the long-running and award-winning comic book series FABLES, PETER AND MAX is its own tale. Readers don’t have to be familiar with the comics to fully enjoy and understand this book.

Then there’s a completely new author who I’ve been meaning to try (ever since reading some fabulous reviews for her Dreamdark books), and she has a new book coming out called Lips Touch. LOVE the cover. Sounds a little more frilly and romancy than I’m used to, but I’m willing to give it a shot…

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers’ souls:

Goblin Fruit: In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today’s savvy girls?

Spicy Little Curses: A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.

Hatchling: Six days before Esme’s fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

And this next one has my name all over it:

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

And finally, I really, really need to buy this immediately:

The long-awaited new novel from Margaret Atwood. The Year of the Flood is a dystopic masterpiece and a testament to her visionary power.

The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability. Adam One, the kindly leader of the God’s Gardeners—a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, as well as the preservation of all plant and animal life—has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have survived: Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, a God’s Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa where many of the treatments are edible.

Have others survived? Ren’s bioartist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers, survivors of the mutual-elimination Painball prison? Not to mention the shadowy, corrupt policing force of the ruling powers . . .

Meanwhile, gene-spliced life forms are proliferating: the lion/lamb blends, the Mo’hair sheep with human hair, the pigs with human brain tissue. As Adam One and his intrepid hemp-clad band make their way through this strange new world, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move. They can’t stay locked away . . .

By turns dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and uneasily hilarious, The Year of the Flood is Atwood at her most brilliant and inventive.

And that’s it from us today! Let us know what books you’ve got on your radars!