A review by gatun
Captain James Hook and the Siege of Neverland by Jeremiah Kleckner, Jeremy Marshall

4.0

Captain James Hook and the Siege of Neverland begins where the previous book Captain James Hook and the Curse of Peter Pan ended. In his quest for vengeance, Hook follows Peter Pan back to Neverland. This is not the Neverland of Disney or your childhood games (unless you had a spectacularly dark imagination as a child). This Neverland has a sun that rises and sets without rhyme or reason, making time keeping impossible. It is also like a black hole, catching lost characters from myths, one being the Green Knight from King Arthur.

It really would be necessary to read the first book before reading this one. The reason for Hook’s vendetta against Peter Pan is an important pillar of the story so much so that it makes reading the first one mandatory. One of the most fascinating points of the book was the reveal on Peter’s origin. I did not see it coming at all. Great plotting by the authors to develop the story without tipping their hand.

The only reason I did not rate the book a 5 star as I did the first one is what it lacked. I originally started the first book as an audiobook narrated by David Stifel. In my review of the first book I stated, “This is one situation where the audiobook brings a whole new dimension to a book. The narration adds precious gold and silver threads to the tapestry of the narration.” I missed that extra dimension without Mr. Stifel’s voice. I am hoping it will be available soon with Mr. Stifel continuing as the superb voice of Captain James Hook.