I have eagerly been awaiting this book since Jim Hensen Productions announced the Author Quest contest about two years ago. "The Dark Crystal" was one of my favorite movies as a kid, still is. I love Jim Hensen's and Brian Froud's artistry. I will forever be grateful to Jim Hensen for introducing me to Brian Froud.So when I won the ARC from Goodreads I was overjoyed, especially since the winner of the contest was local author J.M. Lee and a local bookstore, Red Balloon Books, would be having a book launch party. I'm always happy to support local artists and independent stores. I'm also a giant book nerd and love meeting authors I've read.
I was very excited that the cover was done by Froud, and I was briefly
disappointed that he didn't do the interior illustrations as well. Until
Friday, I had only seen the placeholder art for the book. In fact, the
first thing I did when I bought my official copy was to compare the art
in the ARC with the polished art in the finished edition. The
placeholder art showed me that I wouldn't be disappointed in Cory Godbey's artwork, it definitely captures the spirit and whimsy of the world originally created by Froud and Hensen.This is J.M. Lee's first novel. (I think it was his first public reading of his work as well. He did a great job, but you could tell he was very excited and nervous. I hope his parents being there didn't make him more nervous.) It's always a bit nerve racking as a reader - probably as an author too - to enter into a much loved universe when there has been a change in management, particularly when that management doesn't have any prior documented experience. I have to say that I wasn't let down by the book. It definitely had all the heart of the original film.
Our protagonist is a young, strong-willed Gelfling girl, Naia, of the Sog tribe. Her people live in the swamp and she is desperate to see more of the world, like her twin brother, Gurjin. However, this isn't possible as she must train to replace her mother as the leader of the tribe. Her adventure begins when she spots a stranger while she is out hunting. She then has the opportunity to leave the swamp to find out what happened to her brother, who has gone missing from his duties as a guard at the Crystal Castle.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I hope that if finds an audience with to today's young adult readers and helps them discover Jim Hensen's lesser known works (which I think were some of his best). I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of the series.
J.M thanks for being so gracious in sharing with us a peek inside Froud's design notes and for signing both my copies of the book.
Happy reading!
