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Down the Mysterly River
Down the Mysterly River is the children's book debut of Bill Willingham, the creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel series Fables. Complete with illustrations by Fables artist Mark Buckingham, it is a spirited, highly original tale of adventure, suspense, and everlasting friendship.
Max 'the Wolf' is a top notch Boy Scout, an expert at orienteering and a master of being prepared. So it is a little odd that he suddenly finds himself, with no recollection of his immediate past, lost in an unfamiliar wood. Even odder still, he encounters a badger named Banderbrock, a black bear named Walden, and McTavish the Monster (who might also be an old barn cat) - all of whom talk - and who are as clueless as Max.
Before long, Max and his friends are on the run from a relentless group of hunters and their deadly hounds. Armed with powerful blue swords and known as the Blue Cutters, these hunters capture and change the very essence of their prey. For what purpose, Max can't guess. But unless he can solve the mystery of the strange forested world he's landed in, Max may find himself and his friends changed beyond recognition, lost in a lost world...
Max 'the Wolf' is a top notch Boy Scout, an expert at orienteering and a master of being prepared. So it is a little odd that he suddenly finds himself, with no recollection of his immediate past, lost in an unfamiliar wood. Even odder still, he encounters a badger named Banderbrock, a black bear named Walden, and McTavish the Monster (who might also be an old barn cat) - all of whom talk - and who are as clueless as Max.
Before long, Max and his friends are on the run from a relentless group of hunters and their deadly hounds. Armed with powerful blue swords and known as the Blue Cutters, these hunters capture and change the very essence of their prey. For what purpose, Max can't guess. But unless he can solve the mystery of the strange forested world he's landed in, Max may find himself and his friends changed beyond recognition, lost in a lost world...
333 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2011
47 people are currently reading
2252 people want to read
About the author
Bill Willingham
993 books2,818 followersIn the late 1970s to early 1980s he drew fantasy ink pictures for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert game rulebooks. He first gained attention for his 1980s comic book series Elementals published by Comico, which he both wrote and drew. However, for reasons unknown, the series had trouble maintaining an original schedule, and Willingham's position in the industry remained spotty for many years. He contributed stories to Green Lantern and started his own independent, black-and-white comics series Coventry which lasted only 3 issues. He also produced the pornographic series Ironwood for Eros Comix.
In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables
In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
October 23, 2019
This was a very enjoyable surprise.
I began reading not sure of what to expect but I liked it right away and also very much enjoyed the ending. I read this as a part of a book club selection and like so many books in this category I would likely have never read otherwise. And, pleasantly, like so many of the books selected my fellow book club members, I was pleased and thoroughly enjoyed reading Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham.
A strong influence of Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein and Philip Jose Farmer is evident, but this is a fine work all by itself; this author having crafted a very original tale. Probably intended for young adults, I would recommend for older young adults and mature readers with a love of juvenile stories, but this may be too violent for younger readers.
I am also happy to be introduced to author Bill Willingham as I now know that he has written a great many graphic novels and I intend to read more of his work. All in all a very good read.
I began reading not sure of what to expect but I liked it right away and also very much enjoyed the ending. I read this as a part of a book club selection and like so many books in this category I would likely have never read otherwise. And, pleasantly, like so many of the books selected my fellow book club members, I was pleased and thoroughly enjoyed reading Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham.
A strong influence of Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein and Philip Jose Farmer is evident, but this is a fine work all by itself; this author having crafted a very original tale. Probably intended for young adults, I would recommend for older young adults and mature readers with a love of juvenile stories, but this may be too violent for younger readers.
I am also happy to be introduced to author Bill Willingham as I now know that he has written a great many graphic novels and I intend to read more of his work. All in all a very good read.
July 10, 2014
Sometimes book labeling really frustrates me, and this is definitely one of those cases. This book is listed as a children's book -- not even as a young adult book -- but it is so much deeper than, for example, a Lemony Snicket children's book. Although it's an easy read that can and should be enjoyed by children, it can be enjoyed on an entirely different level by adults (I can't say more without revealing the big mystery of the book). I'm glad I ignored the children's book label and picked up a copy. After all, you can never have too many stories with a motley band such as this one -- a Boy Scout, a warrior badger, a bear sheriff, and a cat named McTavish the Monster.
December 12, 2012
I admit, I got turned off right after the dedication, where Willingham gives a surprisingly vehement endorsement of the Boy Scouts of America. It's worded just carefully enough to support plausible deniability of it being interpreted as “never mind the liberals, boys, you go on and exclude gay people all you want.” Which, of course, led to a brief foray into researching Willingham’s politics, and that's exactly the sort of dangerous nonsense that forever ruined Orson Scott Card’s work for me. Since I enjoyed reading Willingham’s Fables comic so much, though, I let all of that go and successfully called upon my librarian superpower of bias-free reading. I ended up being a little unimpressed, personally, but I think this would be perfect for middle-grade readers.
This is a fairly standard adventure tale, with a couple of added perks: it has a nicely crafted fantasy element, and a metafictional twist that felt a bit clumsy but is still extremely clever. The talking animals are by far the best characters; I’d read an entire book about McTavish. Once I was able to dismiss the ham-fisted political overtones in the villains, I found them chilling and fascinating. The story is put together well, and the ending is extraordinarily moving and satisfying. Things get surprisingly violent during the action scenes, considering the juvenile and light-hearted tone of the rest of the book, but Willingham obviously does this on purpose. After all, the whole point of the story is the resourcefulness of a determined boy in the face of the unknown, and the spiritual dangers of Bowdlerizing. Besides, what is a good adventure yarn without some blood, guts, and danger?
But that leads in to the biggest problem I had with the book, which is Willingham’s tendency to over-explain. He trusts his young readers with the content and the message, but he doesn’t seem to trust that they will pick up the subtext, and thus he places unnecessary elaboration all over the narration. Besides being thematically inconsistent, it tends to bone the pace of the book. The story is solid and exciting, and the writing level is simple and perfectly age-appropriate, so I wish the telling was slimmed down a little bit in favor of the showing.
Overall, though, this was a quick, fun read. It’s a sure bet for kids and younger teens who like mystery and fantasy, especially if they’ve already got a taste for anthropomorphic animal heroes.
This is a fairly standard adventure tale, with a couple of added perks: it has a nicely crafted fantasy element, and a metafictional twist that felt a bit clumsy but is still extremely clever. The talking animals are by far the best characters; I’d read an entire book about McTavish. Once I was able to dismiss the ham-fisted political overtones in the villains, I found them chilling and fascinating. The story is put together well, and the ending is extraordinarily moving and satisfying. Things get surprisingly violent during the action scenes, considering the juvenile and light-hearted tone of the rest of the book, but Willingham obviously does this on purpose. After all, the whole point of the story is the resourcefulness of a determined boy in the face of the unknown, and the spiritual dangers of Bowdlerizing. Besides, what is a good adventure yarn without some blood, guts, and danger?
But that leads in to the biggest problem I had with the book, which is Willingham’s tendency to over-explain. He trusts his young readers with the content and the message, but he doesn’t seem to trust that they will pick up the subtext, and thus he places unnecessary elaboration all over the narration. Besides being thematically inconsistent, it tends to bone the pace of the book. The story is solid and exciting, and the writing level is simple and perfectly age-appropriate, so I wish the telling was slimmed down a little bit in favor of the showing.
Overall, though, this was a quick, fun read. It’s a sure bet for kids and younger teens who like mystery and fantasy, especially if they’ve already got a taste for anthropomorphic animal heroes.
September 9, 2016
This book surprised me more than once. I thought it was going to be sort of a sweet story with light fantasy, but it wasn't. I loved it pretty much right away. But, unfortunately the ending really disappointed me. Took it down from at least four stars to more like 2.5-3. The problem with the ending was both the message and its delivery. So the bad guys are just failed writers who are jealous of you? Really? Working out some issues, there, huh? And Max meeting the wise old wizard who just explains everything to him - not a very polished way to end a story that was well written up to that point. Sigh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2011
Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2011/08/j...
REVIEW
First Impressions:
Ana: Bill Willingham is the writer of the comic book series Fables which has been going strong for years and although I have not read every single volume of the comics, I did read quite a few and enjoyed what I read a great lot. When I learned about Down The Mysterly River which is his first incursion into MG writing, it was all I could do not to drool all over myself. Needless to say, expectations were high and in truth, for the most part, they were met. The ending was not quite au par with the rest of the book but overall Down the Mysterly River is a solid old-fashioned adventure for kids and adults.
Thea: Of all the monthlies that I have read in the past, Fables (and Jack of Fables) has emerged as the only series that I keep up with on a regular, consistent basis. I love Bill Willingham's knack for writing, his effortless worldbuilding, and his kickass characters (including strong heroines that are made of awesomesauce). His talent extends beyond the visual medium of comics, as both Ana and I loved Peter and Max , Mr. Willingham's Fables prose novel. Thus, I was similarly ecstatic (and drooly) when I learned of Down the Mysterly River and that the illustrious Bill Willingham would be signing at BEA. And, I have to concur with Ana - for the most part, Down the Mysterly River does not disappoint. Chock full of adventure and mystery, with unlikely friendships forged and enemies made, Down the Mysterly River is a lovely stand alone novel. I do have to agree with Ana that the ending was disappointing in the extreme for me, but sometimes it's not about the ending - I enjoyed the journey with these characters so much that a shoddy explanation doesn't outweigh my enjoyment. (This is totally like the tumultuous years with LOST, or Stephen King's Dark Tower books, when I think about it.)
On the Plot:
Ana: Max ‘the Wolf’ finds himself walking alone in the middle of a forest with no memory of how he came to be there. Since he is wearing his Boy Scout uniform, he easily assumes – given his proclivity to solve mysteries – he had been on a scouting trip and got somehow separated from his group.
When he comes across equally amnesiac talking animals - first a warrior-badger called Banderbrock and then MacTavish the Monster, a barn cat with megalomaniac tendencies - he realises he might need to revise his theory as he must be either dreaming or dead. But before he can get to the bottom of this mystery, they come under attack by a group of Cutters, out to get any new arrivals and cut away and re-shape their personalities according to their credo, by using their fantastic Blue Swords.
The ragtag band needs to stick together if they have any chance of survival and along with Walden, an affable bear, they must go down The Mysterly River to find the answers they seek.
(Down the Mysterly River was first published back in 2001 and is now being re-released after some reworking and with new illustrations by Fables artist Mark Buckingham. Although it is not clear the extent of the changes, as far as we are aware, this is the same book.)
Down the Mysterly River opens really well, with one of my favourite tropes: with the hero suffering loss of memory, trying to figure out what in the world is happening to him. Mind you, this is a favourite trope not because of the memory loss per se but because of how that affects the narrative by making Max the Wolf’s point of view unreliable – and that is one of my favourite types of narrative. We are never quite sure as to which extent we can rely on Max’s knowledge of the world and that is definitely part of the fun of this story, at least it was for me.
Beyond that, this book is a wonderful mixture of old-fashioned adventure and mystery, with a group of reluctant allies getting to together to fight in a united front against a common enemy. It has cool action sequences, amazing scenes between the characters, moments that are sad, moments that are hilarious and for about 2/3 of the book, this was well on its way to be comes a favourite of 2011. It was almost magical.
But then there came the final act. And then I learned what was really going on. And do you know how the unreliable narrative is one of my favourite types of narratives? Well, the revelations in the end of the book transform this book into one of my least favourite types of story. I won’t spoil as this is definitely a matter of personal preference. However, personal preferences aside, there is the matter of HOW the ending came about.
All of a sudden, in its final pages, the book became less of a story and more of a pamphlet when for about 30 pages or so there comes one very long-winded , info-dumpy, speech when all the mysteries were explained to Max by another character they meet. It substituted magic with something else which I would call…preaching. This had a completely different tone from the rest of the book. The ending felt far too rushed, it felt too much like a cop-out and although it didn’t really ruin the entire book for me, it certainly adds to this overall feeling of dissatisfaction. Just to reiterate the dissatisfaction doesn't stem from the actual content of ending (which granted, I wasn't crazy about) but because of how it was info-dumped in the story.
It just....didn't sit well with me at all.
Thea: Down the Mysterly River begins with an intriguing premise - a boy named Max the Wolf (although he's not a real wolf, as everyone points out) befriends the fierce warrior badger Banderbrock, and together try to solve the mystery of their lost memories and strange new environment whilst evading deadly pursuers.[1. I now realize that this is the exact same setup for one of my favorite movies of 2010, Predators. But you know, middle grade style.] Along the way they meet McTavish, a smarmy and confident feral cat, and Walden the Bear, as they try to evade a vicious group of hunters called The Cutters, who follow the group in relentless pursuit with their wickedly sharp and cruel blue blades. Right off the bat, Down the Mysterly River is a blend of all the things I love in a story: a friendship between a band of unlikely characters, a mystery, and a dangerous adventure and pursuit. Top this off with Bill Willingham's storytelling panache, with deceptively simple, straightforward prose, and I am one very happy reader. Take, for example, this small section describing how the Mysterly River got its name amongst the traveling friends:
But beyond the mechanics, I also loved the conceptualization of this strange new world to which our heroes have been transported, and I was on my toes with the mystery of the Cutters, who they are and what they wanted from our band of friends.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with Ana in that when we finally learn exactly who the Cutters are and why Max and friends are in the Heroes Wood, the overall explanation is decidedly disappointing. While I'm sure that people will disagree with the actual concept behind the book and the effectiveness of that explanation for everything (this comes down to personal preference, as Ana says), I have to agree that the manner in which the book's ending is explained to the characters is info-dumpy and frustrating. There's a great Wizard of Oz type of vibe, but it quickly devolves into more of Neo talking to The Architect and getting point-blank answers a la The Matrix Reloaded. That said, while the big reveal twist ending just didn't work for me, that is not enough to diminish the awesomeness that is the majority of this otherwise fantastic story.[2. I should also note that this criticism of the ending does not apply to the epilogue, which I think is pitch perfect and a beautiful way to end this story.]
On the Characters:
Ana: Lovable: here is one word I hardly ever use when writing a review but the characters in this book were so lovable I can hardly think of a better word. Max the Wolf was at that defining moment: not really a boy, not yet a man and as such his arc involved trying to navigate those waters – especially when dealing with the consequences of life and death decisions which he had to make on his own, as he was after all, the brains of this operation. Mature, steadfast, loyal, Max was perhaps too good to be true but incredibly sympathetic and well, lovable. I couldn’t resist him. As I couldn’t resist McTavish the Monster who was by far, my favourite character of the bunch. He has this attitude, this temper that is just like…well, so feline. He cracked me up so up.
As for the villains, the Cutters, it wasn’t really clear to me why they felt they needed to do all this cutting beyond “there are people in the world that can’t accept differences” and some of the characters sounded as though they could be great villains but their point of view was not truly explored in depth. However the mere threat of what they could do to a person/character was suitably terrifying: just to imagine Max the Wolf losing all of what made him such a great boy-hero gave me the heebie jeebies – so I guess in that sense, the villains served their purpose.
My main complaint about the characters is just an overall note to say that there is a distinct lack of female characters in this story especially on the heroes’ side. Bummer.
Thea: Lovable is a perfect adjective to describe the ragtag group of heroes in this tale, from the perceptive Max to the good-natured Walden. Max is very much the noble boy-detective and the quintessential boy scout, ready to help his friends and brave enough to take on the Cutters and do some very hard things when the time calls for it. My personal favorites were both Banderbrock and McTavish - Banderbrock for his fierceness, and McTavish for the comic relief (though he is quite the fighter as well).
On the Cutters end, I do wish these characters could have been given more personal/individual motivation. We meet one cutter in particular that is very interesting - Lady Diana, one of the most skilled Cutters, hot on the trail of the group - but while her dedication is fascinating, I never really felt the underlying motivation that propelled her or her ilk. And, even with the final explanation given at the end of the story, I just couldn't buy into it. I do like the concept of the cutters and their wicked blades - but I wish there was just a bit more to flesh these characters out.
Final Thoughts, Observations & Rating:
Ana: Down the Mysterly River uncannily managed to combine in one single book both one of my favourite AND one of my least-liked tropes. Overall, this is a solid story that I enjoyed reading for the most part.
Thea: Regardless of how I feel about the ending (and yes, I agree with Ana that it is one of my least favorite tropes in terms of story explanation and mystery solving), I loved the journey of Down the Mysterly River. Recommended for all.
Notable Quotes/Parts:
Rating:
Ana: 6 - Good, recommended with reservations
Thea: 6 - Good, recommended with reservations (though tipping towards a 7)
REVIEW
First Impressions:
Ana: Bill Willingham is the writer of the comic book series Fables which has been going strong for years and although I have not read every single volume of the comics, I did read quite a few and enjoyed what I read a great lot. When I learned about Down The Mysterly River which is his first incursion into MG writing, it was all I could do not to drool all over myself. Needless to say, expectations were high and in truth, for the most part, they were met. The ending was not quite au par with the rest of the book but overall Down the Mysterly River is a solid old-fashioned adventure for kids and adults.
Thea: Of all the monthlies that I have read in the past, Fables (and Jack of Fables) has emerged as the only series that I keep up with on a regular, consistent basis. I love Bill Willingham's knack for writing, his effortless worldbuilding, and his kickass characters (including strong heroines that are made of awesomesauce). His talent extends beyond the visual medium of comics, as both Ana and I loved Peter and Max , Mr. Willingham's Fables prose novel. Thus, I was similarly ecstatic (and drooly) when I learned of Down the Mysterly River and that the illustrious Bill Willingham would be signing at BEA. And, I have to concur with Ana - for the most part, Down the Mysterly River does not disappoint. Chock full of adventure and mystery, with unlikely friendships forged and enemies made, Down the Mysterly River is a lovely stand alone novel. I do have to agree with Ana that the ending was disappointing in the extreme for me, but sometimes it's not about the ending - I enjoyed the journey with these characters so much that a shoddy explanation doesn't outweigh my enjoyment. (This is totally like the tumultuous years with LOST, or Stephen King's Dark Tower books, when I think about it.)
On the Plot:
Ana: Max ‘the Wolf’ finds himself walking alone in the middle of a forest with no memory of how he came to be there. Since he is wearing his Boy Scout uniform, he easily assumes – given his proclivity to solve mysteries – he had been on a scouting trip and got somehow separated from his group.
When he comes across equally amnesiac talking animals - first a warrior-badger called Banderbrock and then MacTavish the Monster, a barn cat with megalomaniac tendencies - he realises he might need to revise his theory as he must be either dreaming or dead. But before he can get to the bottom of this mystery, they come under attack by a group of Cutters, out to get any new arrivals and cut away and re-shape their personalities according to their credo, by using their fantastic Blue Swords.
The ragtag band needs to stick together if they have any chance of survival and along with Walden, an affable bear, they must go down The Mysterly River to find the answers they seek.
(Down the Mysterly River was first published back in 2001 and is now being re-released after some reworking and with new illustrations by Fables artist Mark Buckingham. Although it is not clear the extent of the changes, as far as we are aware, this is the same book.)
Down the Mysterly River opens really well, with one of my favourite tropes: with the hero suffering loss of memory, trying to figure out what in the world is happening to him. Mind you, this is a favourite trope not because of the memory loss per se but because of how that affects the narrative by making Max the Wolf’s point of view unreliable – and that is one of my favourite types of narrative. We are never quite sure as to which extent we can rely on Max’s knowledge of the world and that is definitely part of the fun of this story, at least it was for me.
Beyond that, this book is a wonderful mixture of old-fashioned adventure and mystery, with a group of reluctant allies getting to together to fight in a united front against a common enemy. It has cool action sequences, amazing scenes between the characters, moments that are sad, moments that are hilarious and for about 2/3 of the book, this was well on its way to be comes a favourite of 2011. It was almost magical.
But then there came the final act. And then I learned what was really going on. And do you know how the unreliable narrative is one of my favourite types of narratives? Well, the revelations in the end of the book transform this book into one of my least favourite types of story. I won’t spoil as this is definitely a matter of personal preference. However, personal preferences aside, there is the matter of HOW the ending came about.
All of a sudden, in its final pages, the book became less of a story and more of a pamphlet when for about 30 pages or so there comes one very long-winded , info-dumpy, speech when all the mysteries were explained to Max by another character they meet. It substituted magic with something else which I would call…preaching. This had a completely different tone from the rest of the book. The ending felt far too rushed, it felt too much like a cop-out and although it didn’t really ruin the entire book for me, it certainly adds to this overall feeling of dissatisfaction. Just to reiterate the dissatisfaction doesn't stem from the actual content of ending (which granted, I wasn't crazy about) but because of how it was info-dumped in the story.
It just....didn't sit well with me at all.
Thea: Down the Mysterly River begins with an intriguing premise - a boy named Max the Wolf (although he's not a real wolf, as everyone points out) befriends the fierce warrior badger Banderbrock, and together try to solve the mystery of their lost memories and strange new environment whilst evading deadly pursuers.[1. I now realize that this is the exact same setup for one of my favorite movies of 2010, Predators. But you know, middle grade style.] Along the way they meet McTavish, a smarmy and confident feral cat, and Walden the Bear, as they try to evade a vicious group of hunters called The Cutters, who follow the group in relentless pursuit with their wickedly sharp and cruel blue blades. Right off the bat, Down the Mysterly River is a blend of all the things I love in a story: a friendship between a band of unlikely characters, a mystery, and a dangerous adventure and pursuit. Top this off with Bill Willingham's storytelling panache, with deceptively simple, straightforward prose, and I am one very happy reader. Take, for example, this small section describing how the Mysterly River got its name amongst the traveling friends:
"A river that big has to have a name," Max said, looking at McTavish.
"So?" McTavish said.
"Well, you've been here the longest. Did you happen to hear if it was called anything? Or more important, if it leads to anywhere civilized?"
"It's a mysterly to me," McTavish said.
"Mysterly?" Banderbrock said.
"Yes," McTavish said."As in something unknown, or mysterlious. What's so funny all of a sudden with you two?"
But beyond the mechanics, I also loved the conceptualization of this strange new world to which our heroes have been transported, and I was on my toes with the mystery of the Cutters, who they are and what they wanted from our band of friends.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with Ana in that when we finally learn exactly who the Cutters are and why Max and friends are in the Heroes Wood, the overall explanation is decidedly disappointing. While I'm sure that people will disagree with the actual concept behind the book and the effectiveness of that explanation for everything (this comes down to personal preference, as Ana says), I have to agree that the manner in which the book's ending is explained to the characters is info-dumpy and frustrating. There's a great Wizard of Oz type of vibe, but it quickly devolves into more of Neo talking to The Architect and getting point-blank answers a la The Matrix Reloaded. That said, while the big reveal twist ending just didn't work for me, that is not enough to diminish the awesomeness that is the majority of this otherwise fantastic story.[2. I should also note that this criticism of the ending does not apply to the epilogue, which I think is pitch perfect and a beautiful way to end this story.]
On the Characters:
Ana: Lovable: here is one word I hardly ever use when writing a review but the characters in this book were so lovable I can hardly think of a better word. Max the Wolf was at that defining moment: not really a boy, not yet a man and as such his arc involved trying to navigate those waters – especially when dealing with the consequences of life and death decisions which he had to make on his own, as he was after all, the brains of this operation. Mature, steadfast, loyal, Max was perhaps too good to be true but incredibly sympathetic and well, lovable. I couldn’t resist him. As I couldn’t resist McTavish the Monster who was by far, my favourite character of the bunch. He has this attitude, this temper that is just like…well, so feline. He cracked me up so up.
As for the villains, the Cutters, it wasn’t really clear to me why they felt they needed to do all this cutting beyond “there are people in the world that can’t accept differences” and some of the characters sounded as though they could be great villains but their point of view was not truly explored in depth. However the mere threat of what they could do to a person/character was suitably terrifying: just to imagine Max the Wolf losing all of what made him such a great boy-hero gave me the heebie jeebies – so I guess in that sense, the villains served their purpose.
My main complaint about the characters is just an overall note to say that there is a distinct lack of female characters in this story especially on the heroes’ side. Bummer.
Thea: Lovable is a perfect adjective to describe the ragtag group of heroes in this tale, from the perceptive Max to the good-natured Walden. Max is very much the noble boy-detective and the quintessential boy scout, ready to help his friends and brave enough to take on the Cutters and do some very hard things when the time calls for it. My personal favorites were both Banderbrock and McTavish - Banderbrock for his fierceness, and McTavish for the comic relief (though he is quite the fighter as well).
On the Cutters end, I do wish these characters could have been given more personal/individual motivation. We meet one cutter in particular that is very interesting - Lady Diana, one of the most skilled Cutters, hot on the trail of the group - but while her dedication is fascinating, I never really felt the underlying motivation that propelled her or her ilk. And, even with the final explanation given at the end of the story, I just couldn't buy into it. I do like the concept of the cutters and their wicked blades - but I wish there was just a bit more to flesh these characters out.
Final Thoughts, Observations & Rating:
Ana: Down the Mysterly River uncannily managed to combine in one single book both one of my favourite AND one of my least-liked tropes. Overall, this is a solid story that I enjoyed reading for the most part.
Thea: Regardless of how I feel about the ending (and yes, I agree with Ana that it is one of my least favorite tropes in terms of story explanation and mystery solving), I loved the journey of Down the Mysterly River. Recommended for all.
Notable Quotes/Parts:
"And how do we get down there with you?" McTavish asked. "Or is it just how you plan to escape, leaving us to fend for ourselves?"
"I'll ignore the implied insult for a moment," Max said, "because I'm sure we're the very friends you've ever had, and you don't know how it's supposed to work yet. You two can get down because I will already be there to catch you."
"That's your plan?" Banderbrock asked.
"Not a chance," McTavish said. "You'd miss, or drop me."
"No, I wouldn't," Max said.
"How can I be sure?" McTavish said.
"Because in this time, in this place, all we have is each other," Max said, "I'd never let you down, which is a statement with literal implications in this case."
"That's good enough for me," Bradenbrock said. "It has the added advantage of desperation."
Rating:
Ana: 6 - Good, recommended with reservations
Thea: 6 - Good, recommended with reservations (though tipping towards a 7)
April 24, 2023
3.75 stars
12-year old Max is a Boy Scout and is in a forest, but he has no idea how he got there. It’s not long before he meets up with a talking badger. Next comes along a talking feral cat, then a talking bear. How very odd! In trying to figure out what is going on here (Max considers himself a bit of a detective), Max and the others learn that they are being chased by people called the “Cutters”. The animals know that the Cutters cut critters into something different that isn’t themselves. The Cutters themselves think they are making the critters better with the cutting they do. In any case, Max and his three new friends need to run from the Cutters. They are making their way down the river to the Wizard’s sanctuary.
I liked this. I often am not a fan of fantasy (although I generally do better with children’s fantasy, as this is) and talking animals, this was cute, and I liked all the characters, including those talking animals. I gave it the extra ¼ star for the twist at the end. Max has mostly solved the mystery of where he came from, etc, but he learns more from the “wizard” and I thought that twist was very clever – I did love the twist!
12-year old Max is a Boy Scout and is in a forest, but he has no idea how he got there. It’s not long before he meets up with a talking badger. Next comes along a talking feral cat, then a talking bear. How very odd! In trying to figure out what is going on here (Max considers himself a bit of a detective), Max and the others learn that they are being chased by people called the “Cutters”. The animals know that the Cutters cut critters into something different that isn’t themselves. The Cutters themselves think they are making the critters better with the cutting they do. In any case, Max and his three new friends need to run from the Cutters. They are making their way down the river to the Wizard’s sanctuary.
I liked this. I often am not a fan of fantasy (although I generally do better with children’s fantasy, as this is) and talking animals, this was cute, and I liked all the characters, including those talking animals. I gave it the extra ¼ star for the twist at the end. Max has mostly solved the mystery of where he came from, etc, but he learns more from the “wizard” and I thought that twist was very clever – I did love the twist!
October 8, 2011
Fantasies for young readers are almost always a joy to read. I'm no sure what it is about such books. Maybe it's to do with the whimsical style -- of which Down the Mysterly River has plenty -- or the adventures -- ditto. Or maybe there's something else I haven't discovered yet. In any case, Willingham's children's fantasy, Down the Mysterly River, is an exciting adventure story with a wonderful mixture of fairy tale and detective mystery. Too bad I don't have kids to read this book to...
Expert boy scout Max "the Wolf" wakes up in a forest without any idea how he got there -- or any idea where "there" happens to be... Soon Max discovers that this forest is part of a new world, inside of which a group of violent hunters known as the Blue Cutters seek out new lives to trim and prune into their "proper forms." With his new (mysteriously talking) companions -- Banderbrock the warrior badger, Walden the less-than-spectacular-sheriff bear, and McTavish the monstrous
cat -- Max sets off on a journey to meet a mysterious wizard and discover why he and his companions have been whisked away to such dangerous world.
Down the Mysterly River channels a number of interesting genres. The most obvious is fantasy, which is an unavoidable fact both for the reader and for Max, who has to come to grips with the reality of the world around him. The second is the young detective story, which Willingham brings out through Max via a methodical set of steps of detection. These detective elements are interesting, though I have to admit that they sometimes felt forced. That is until you get to the big reveal, which immediately draws into focus Max as a character and the old-time-children's-story feel he evokes. The same thing can be said about the dialogue, which sometimes seemed too advanced or perfect for a character as young as Max; but once you realize what has been happening throughout the book, you start to understand why Willingham writes dialogue in the way that he does. To be perfectly honesty, young folks are probably not going to notice these issues. With or without the ending, however, the mixture of elements works, in part because it gives Max an enhanced sense of agency in a story that could reduce him to the victim trying to escape an evil that wants to kill him. Having Max attempt to discover "why" things are happening, to put it another way, makes for a story that does more for its reader than provide an extended chase.
That said, Willingham's plot and pacing is expertly crafted. The story moves at a good clip and the twists in the story are sure to amuse or shock readers (there are two major twists or revelations, plus a fair deal of minor ones; the ending, however, will blow your mind). Willingham makes a good effort to introduce the genre mixture and Max's character traits without damaging the flow of the adventure story; in many respects, he succeeds. One issue I had with the plot's construction, however, was Willingham's use of non-central POVs to show things the main characters couldn't see. These are fairly minor, and are perhaps more common in literature for young readers than I am I aware, but they can pull you out of the suspense. Regardless, the journey of the main characters is rarely disrupted, moving forward with an even dose of revelation and action.
Willingham also succeeds at constructing a cast of sympathetic (or terrifying) characters. Max is a clever young boy who refuses to let the situation get the best of him, but also a boy who has a strong sense of morality -- he's easy to sympathize with as a result. Banderbrock is a warrior with a soft heart who serves as a wonderful companion, and the interactions between the badger and McTavish -- which translate roughly to an animal kingdom version of "I'm tougher than you" -- are amusing. Walden, who is the only actual member of law enforcement in the group (though a bad one), is also lovable as a character, which seems perfect for a bear. And the more you learn about him and watch him try to adopt Max's detection skills, the more you love him. How can you fault a big, hug-able bear for being a less-than-stellar sheriff? Even the Blue Cutters, who are the story's villains, are interesting characters -- and it's because of them that I want to see more stories set in this world. They are pure villains, but there is a hint of complexity in Down the Mysterly River that I think Willingham needs to explore -- either through additional Max stories or via some other character. There's a lot left to be told about this world.
Overall, Down the Mysterly River is a fantastic book. The characters are amusing, the young detective storyline is compelling, and the fantastic elements are enjoyable and exciting. I had trouble putting this book down, in part because I wanted to know why Max ended up in the world and in part because the mixture of genres and the characters seemed to beckon me through the cover. Hopefully others will feel the same way.
Expert boy scout Max "the Wolf" wakes up in a forest without any idea how he got there -- or any idea where "there" happens to be... Soon Max discovers that this forest is part of a new world, inside of which a group of violent hunters known as the Blue Cutters seek out new lives to trim and prune into their "proper forms." With his new (mysteriously talking) companions -- Banderbrock the warrior badger, Walden the less-than-spectacular-sheriff bear, and McTavish the monstrous
cat -- Max sets off on a journey to meet a mysterious wizard and discover why he and his companions have been whisked away to such dangerous world.
Down the Mysterly River channels a number of interesting genres. The most obvious is fantasy, which is an unavoidable fact both for the reader and for Max, who has to come to grips with the reality of the world around him. The second is the young detective story, which Willingham brings out through Max via a methodical set of steps of detection. These detective elements are interesting, though I have to admit that they sometimes felt forced. That is until you get to the big reveal, which immediately draws into focus Max as a character and the old-time-children's-story feel he evokes. The same thing can be said about the dialogue, which sometimes seemed too advanced or perfect for a character as young as Max; but once you realize what has been happening throughout the book, you start to understand why Willingham writes dialogue in the way that he does. To be perfectly honesty, young folks are probably not going to notice these issues. With or without the ending, however, the mixture of elements works, in part because it gives Max an enhanced sense of agency in a story that could reduce him to the victim trying to escape an evil that wants to kill him. Having Max attempt to discover "why" things are happening, to put it another way, makes for a story that does more for its reader than provide an extended chase.
That said, Willingham's plot and pacing is expertly crafted. The story moves at a good clip and the twists in the story are sure to amuse or shock readers (there are two major twists or revelations, plus a fair deal of minor ones; the ending, however, will blow your mind). Willingham makes a good effort to introduce the genre mixture and Max's character traits without damaging the flow of the adventure story; in many respects, he succeeds. One issue I had with the plot's construction, however, was Willingham's use of non-central POVs to show things the main characters couldn't see. These are fairly minor, and are perhaps more common in literature for young readers than I am I aware, but they can pull you out of the suspense. Regardless, the journey of the main characters is rarely disrupted, moving forward with an even dose of revelation and action.
Willingham also succeeds at constructing a cast of sympathetic (or terrifying) characters. Max is a clever young boy who refuses to let the situation get the best of him, but also a boy who has a strong sense of morality -- he's easy to sympathize with as a result. Banderbrock is a warrior with a soft heart who serves as a wonderful companion, and the interactions between the badger and McTavish -- which translate roughly to an animal kingdom version of "I'm tougher than you" -- are amusing. Walden, who is the only actual member of law enforcement in the group (though a bad one), is also lovable as a character, which seems perfect for a bear. And the more you learn about him and watch him try to adopt Max's detection skills, the more you love him. How can you fault a big, hug-able bear for being a less-than-stellar sheriff? Even the Blue Cutters, who are the story's villains, are interesting characters -- and it's because of them that I want to see more stories set in this world. They are pure villains, but there is a hint of complexity in Down the Mysterly River that I think Willingham needs to explore -- either through additional Max stories or via some other character. There's a lot left to be told about this world.
Overall, Down the Mysterly River is a fantastic book. The characters are amusing, the young detective storyline is compelling, and the fantastic elements are enjoyable and exciting. I had trouble putting this book down, in part because I wanted to know why Max ended up in the world and in part because the mixture of genres and the characters seemed to beckon me through the cover. Hopefully others will feel the same way.
September 14, 2015
Every once in a while a story transports me to another world or emotion, and in this case it brought me back to feelings I got as a young reader, when I got caught up in a good tale that immersed in some fantasy. Silly, yes. Not serious enough, yes. But it is something I would expect from Willingham, and I do much enjoy his Fables universe; I fell easily into this adventure, even if I rather quickly surmised what was going on. There are things one could criticize. . .but why? This is a book to pick up just to enjoy. And I think most youngsters, even eight year olds on up, will enjoy, and older ones like myself can also relish. I would not be surprised if Willingham revisits this world in the future. So put down the serious stuff for a moment and float back to why most of us love books so much.
May 26, 2013
There were no new ideas in this book, and I found the moral near the end to be rather heavy-handed. The characters (literally)were well-drawn.
May 29, 2018
The adventure story of the book, itself, I would probably rate a 2-stars. It's pretty standard - a group of animals (including one young boy) find themselves in a strange situation, and are being chased by villains, so they have to stick together for mutual safety, become friends, and try to find their way to safety.
I generally liked the animal characters more than Max, who didn't come across as a realistic 12 year old boy. Then again, he is smarter than most people his age - as he outright tells his companions - and as we're told again at the end because he figured out the whole thing before it had to be explained to him... though, of course, that didn't stop the "wizard" from ending the story by explaining everything anyway.
So... no we're going to get into spoiler territory, so consider yourself forewarned:
The whole "mysterly" of the book comes about because Max and the animals find themselves in a strange wood, and they don't know how they got there. They also don't know, at first, why they can understand each other when normally they wouldn't be able to. They also don't know why they're being chased by the Blue Cutters, or who the Cutters are. Banderbrock, the badger, thinks they're in an afterlife, but Max isn't so sure.
So, the ending reveal makes it seem like Max is super clever for having figured it out, but I found it fairly obvious from at least halfway through the book, if not earlier.
Basically, the whole thing is a meta-lamentation. The "Wizards" in the book are creators - i.e. authors - who are the clever, lucky few who have the talent and ability to create new worlds and characters. The world that Max and Co find themselves in a sort of afterlife where characters go after their creators die, where they are able to live out the rest of their lives without authorial interference - because, you see, the worlds and characters that the "wizards" create are all real, though many authors don't realize it at the time.
The Blue Cutters, who are the villains who want to cut out parts of the characters to tame them and make them more amenable, are, of course, editors - referring to the blue pen often used by copy editors.
The whole book is basically an author's whining about how editors and critics and, like, everyone that's not an author is just jealous of their ability to actually create, and since they can't create they want to tame and make fashionable...
It's also a critique of society and politics, in that the Blue Cutters want to change the characters based on what's "fashionable" at the time. There's a bit earlier in the book where one of the Blue Cutters say how it's a shame that Max would need to be cut, since, in the past, he was just the kind of morally righteous and forthright character which would've been deemed a good, strong character... but now... now that "fashion" has changed and society has moved on and dare to not want characters to be drawn in broad, black/white strokes... now the Cutters must change Max, where once he would've been left alone.
Basically, in addition to a lament about how those evil editors and critics dare to question the genius of the creativity of the wizard, it's also a lament about the lack of moral certaintude of society.
It also, somewhat ironically, has a bit where he talks about people taking other people's characters and remolding them for current fashions - which sounds, frankly, a lot like a critique of fan-fiction and retellings and the like.
Now, this is ironic for 2 reasons - the first being that the characters in this book, Max and Co specifically, are "borrowed" from other stories. The second being that Willingham's popular comic, Fables, is doing the same thing - taking famous and popular fairy tale characters and using those characters in his own story, and changing them, as needed, to suit his own narrative.
Apparently this book predates Fables, but I have to say that the whole bit with him talking about the lack of creativity in taking other people's characters and modeling them into your own story for your own needs was just way too ironic - and not in a good way.
***
TLDR: The adventure story, itself, was fairly typical but not bad, and I'd give it 2 stars.
The fact that the meta aspect of the whole story is just an author whining about people who dare not appreciate the author's creativity and who either want to edit the characters, or the stories, or remodel old character to modern tastes was eye-rollingly annoying enough to drop the 2-stars to 1.5-stars dropped to 1.
I generally liked the animal characters more than Max, who didn't come across as a realistic 12 year old boy. Then again, he is smarter than most people his age - as he outright tells his companions - and as we're told again at the end because he figured out the whole thing before it had to be explained to him... though, of course, that didn't stop the "wizard" from ending the story by explaining everything anyway.
So... no we're going to get into spoiler territory, so consider yourself forewarned:
The whole "mysterly" of the book comes about because Max and the animals find themselves in a strange wood, and they don't know how they got there. They also don't know, at first, why they can understand each other when normally they wouldn't be able to. They also don't know why they're being chased by the Blue Cutters, or who the Cutters are. Banderbrock, the badger, thinks they're in an afterlife, but Max isn't so sure.
So, the ending reveal makes it seem like Max is super clever for having figured it out, but I found it fairly obvious from at least halfway through the book, if not earlier.
Basically, the whole thing is a meta-lamentation. The "Wizards" in the book are creators - i.e. authors - who are the clever, lucky few who have the talent and ability to create new worlds and characters. The world that Max and Co find themselves in a sort of afterlife where characters go after their creators die, where they are able to live out the rest of their lives without authorial interference - because, you see, the worlds and characters that the "wizards" create are all real, though many authors don't realize it at the time.
The Blue Cutters, who are the villains who want to cut out parts of the characters to tame them and make them more amenable, are, of course, editors - referring to the blue pen often used by copy editors.
The whole book is basically an author's whining about how editors and critics and, like, everyone that's not an author is just jealous of their ability to actually create, and since they can't create they want to tame and make fashionable...
It's also a critique of society and politics, in that the Blue Cutters want to change the characters based on what's "fashionable" at the time. There's a bit earlier in the book where one of the Blue Cutters say how it's a shame that Max would need to be cut, since, in the past, he was just the kind of morally righteous and forthright character which would've been deemed a good, strong character... but now... now that "fashion" has changed and society has moved on and dare to not want characters to be drawn in broad, black/white strokes... now the Cutters must change Max, where once he would've been left alone.
Basically, in addition to a lament about how those evil editors and critics dare to question the genius of the creativity of the wizard, it's also a lament about the lack of moral certaintude of society.
It also, somewhat ironically, has a bit where he talks about people taking other people's characters and remolding them for current fashions - which sounds, frankly, a lot like a critique of fan-fiction and retellings and the like.
Now, this is ironic for 2 reasons - the first being that the characters in this book, Max and Co specifically, are "borrowed" from other stories. The second being that Willingham's popular comic, Fables, is doing the same thing - taking famous and popular fairy tale characters and using those characters in his own story, and changing them, as needed, to suit his own narrative.
Apparently this book predates Fables, but I have to say that the whole bit with him talking about the lack of creativity in taking other people's characters and modeling them into your own story for your own needs was just way too ironic - and not in a good way.
***
TLDR: The adventure story, itself, was fairly typical but not bad, and I'd give it 2 stars.
The fact that the meta aspect of the whole story is just an author whining about people who dare not appreciate the author's creativity and who either want to edit the characters, or the stories, or remodel old character to modern tastes was eye-rollingly annoying enough to drop the 2-stars to 1.5-stars dropped to 1.
September 10, 2013
Buzzwords: Mystery, Adventure, Boys and talking animals, logic, the ethics of changing others,
Max the Wolf, Boy Scout and mystery-solver extraordinare, is in a strange new place, and has no idea how he got there. Then he meets Banderbrock the badger, McTavish the cat, and Walden the bear, all of whom speak and who are equally at sea as to how they’ve gotten to this place. And there are people coming after them with dogs and swords. People who know them by name….
I loved this book. The mystery was wonderful, as were the adventures – uncertain/tense enough to keep me turning pages, but smoothly-written and humorous enough for even nervous children to enjoy. This book also contained interesting commentary on heroism, stories, changing standards of ‘good,’ and the ethics of changing others. Lots of food for thought and discussion in here, and I think this might be a good pick for reluctant readers as well.
And isn’t this the real dichotomy that shapes how we treat children in our society (and people, in general, much of the time), how we teach them, make laws about them, etc: ”Freedom is risk. Safety requires control” (p. 303)?
About Max:
"Max the Wolf believed in too many wrong ideas, adhered to the wrong principles and codes, and had accomplished much in his life that was contrary to the current way things should be done. He was much too set in his ideas about right and wrong, and always deliberate in achieveing his goals. Today’s more enlightened dogma called for less intractable dogma and more openness to outside guidance…” (p. 66)
About the Blue Cutters:
"'They kill every one of us they catch?' Max said.
‘Worse than that,’ Prince Aspen said. ‘They cut out and kill what was true and original in their captievs, leaving a new and alien thing of their own design in its place.'" (p. 121)
Danger on the Mysterly River:
“Max was certain he was screaming out his fear at the top of his voice. But the only sound he could hear was the roaring of the savage river as it tried to kill him and his friends with perfect, undiluted indifference” (p. 245)
The solution to the mystery:
Max the Wolf, Boy Scout and mystery-solver extraordinare, is in a strange new place, and has no idea how he got there. Then he meets Banderbrock the badger, McTavish the cat, and Walden the bear, all of whom speak and who are equally at sea as to how they’ve gotten to this place. And there are people coming after them with dogs and swords. People who know them by name….
I loved this book. The mystery was wonderful, as were the adventures – uncertain/tense enough to keep me turning pages, but smoothly-written and humorous enough for even nervous children to enjoy. This book also contained interesting commentary on heroism, stories, changing standards of ‘good,’ and the ethics of changing others. Lots of food for thought and discussion in here, and I think this might be a good pick for reluctant readers as well.
And isn’t this the real dichotomy that shapes how we treat children in our society (and people, in general, much of the time), how we teach them, make laws about them, etc: ”Freedom is risk. Safety requires control” (p. 303)?
About Max:
"Max the Wolf believed in too many wrong ideas, adhered to the wrong principles and codes, and had accomplished much in his life that was contrary to the current way things should be done. He was much too set in his ideas about right and wrong, and always deliberate in achieveing his goals. Today’s more enlightened dogma called for less intractable dogma and more openness to outside guidance…” (p. 66)
About the Blue Cutters:
"'They kill every one of us they catch?' Max said.
‘Worse than that,’ Prince Aspen said. ‘They cut out and kill what was true and original in their captievs, leaving a new and alien thing of their own design in its place.'" (p. 121)
Danger on the Mysterly River:
“Max was certain he was screaming out his fear at the top of his voice. But the only sound he could hear was the roaring of the savage river as it tried to kill him and his friends with perfect, undiluted indifference” (p. 245)
The solution to the mystery:
August 13, 2011
Hi, my name is Cecelia, and I just fell in love with a book for 10 year-old boys. Hi, Cecelia. Wait, WHAT?! Yes, that's right. Bill Willingham's Down the Mysterly River has crazy powers of amazing. This book? Would have been my brothers' favorite thing on the planet when they were younger. I'm not even joking. It would have gone in the camouflage backpack right alongside the machete, walkie-talkies, and beef jerky. But it was published NOW, so I, city-dweller, older person and girl that I am, have unwittingly become its latest conquest. How did THAT happen?
Talking animals. A Boy Scout. An unfamiliar forest. I know what you're thinking, but NO, this is not some Narnian mash-up. Oh, that wasn't what you were thinking? Good. Because this story is all its own, and what that is, is wonderful. It's about a boy named Max the Wolf. He may be lost in unknown terrain, but he's resourceful, and he's an expert at woodcraft and solving mysteries. There's just one problem: Max isn't the only one in this forest. He finds that he and some newly-made friends are being hunted by a bunch of unsavory characters called the Blue Cutters, and their fight and flight towards safety make up the majority of the story.
What shall I say about the characters? Max is resourceful and strong and generally very good, but he's also just a boy, and so he has his minor shortcomings. One of his strengths is his cleverness. I do love clever middle grade characters (a la Max, and the crew from The Mysterious Benedict Society). They're just so wonderful! Max doesn't change over-much in during the course of the story, but he does come to several realizations that change his outlook on life. Of the other characters, I think McTavish was my favorite. He learns no shortage of lessons (most of them subconsciously), and in so doing influences his fellow travelers in ways they wouldn't have imagined possible.
Down the Mysterly River was witty, exciting, adventurous and even frightening in parts. Willingham's writing had a bit of the flavor of Mark Twain, and it felt like an perfect mix of a boy's outdoors guide and a rip-roaring adventure serial, crossed with your favorite childhood talking-animals story. I laughed while reading and loved it whole-heartedly. If it has a failing, it is that it will not appeal to girls as much as one would hope. There aren't any female main characters, and I think that's unfortunate. That lack didn't change my enjoyment of the book, but I can't know for sure if my childhood self would feel the same. In the end, I think it will be one of my best books of 2011.
Recommended for: brave explorers (and those who would be, if they had the chance), boys and tomboys of any age, lovers of fantasy, and anyone who compulsively read adventure-mysteries in their childhood and day-dreamed of starring in their own story and saving the world.
Talking animals. A Boy Scout. An unfamiliar forest. I know what you're thinking, but NO, this is not some Narnian mash-up. Oh, that wasn't what you were thinking? Good. Because this story is all its own, and what that is, is wonderful. It's about a boy named Max the Wolf. He may be lost in unknown terrain, but he's resourceful, and he's an expert at woodcraft and solving mysteries. There's just one problem: Max isn't the only one in this forest. He finds that he and some newly-made friends are being hunted by a bunch of unsavory characters called the Blue Cutters, and their fight and flight towards safety make up the majority of the story.
What shall I say about the characters? Max is resourceful and strong and generally very good, but he's also just a boy, and so he has his minor shortcomings. One of his strengths is his cleverness. I do love clever middle grade characters (a la Max, and the crew from The Mysterious Benedict Society). They're just so wonderful! Max doesn't change over-much in during the course of the story, but he does come to several realizations that change his outlook on life. Of the other characters, I think McTavish was my favorite. He learns no shortage of lessons (most of them subconsciously), and in so doing influences his fellow travelers in ways they wouldn't have imagined possible.
Down the Mysterly River was witty, exciting, adventurous and even frightening in parts. Willingham's writing had a bit of the flavor of Mark Twain, and it felt like an perfect mix of a boy's outdoors guide and a rip-roaring adventure serial, crossed with your favorite childhood talking-animals story. I laughed while reading and loved it whole-heartedly. If it has a failing, it is that it will not appeal to girls as much as one would hope. There aren't any female main characters, and I think that's unfortunate. That lack didn't change my enjoyment of the book, but I can't know for sure if my childhood self would feel the same. In the end, I think it will be one of my best books of 2011.
Recommended for: brave explorers (and those who would be, if they had the chance), boys and tomboys of any age, lovers of fantasy, and anyone who compulsively read adventure-mysteries in their childhood and day-dreamed of starring in their own story and saving the world.
February 21, 2014
This is an example of truly masterly world-building, and a story that, once it got its claws in me, held me fast until the end. It was a grand adventure, gripping and moving and transportive, and one that I'm glad I experienced.
However - and there is a however - this book had a few flaws that kept it from getting five stars from me. The opening was slow, confusing, and kind of alienating. An obscure opening can really pay off (once you hit that "ah-ha" moment of clarity), but the unveiling here was so gradual and delayed that getting over that initial confusion was more like getting over a hangover than waking from a dream. The dialogue was pretty stilted and unnatural, and the narrator's voice overall was sometimes needlessly wordy and complicated. I'd hesitate before recommending this book to a lot of kids. Now, for kids who are into this kind of story and can deal with a complicated text (think: Narnia), they will probably LOVE this book - especially bookish but adventurous boys (you know the type). I could very easily see this becoming some kids' very favorite book - but I definitely see most kids giving up and walking away.
But, again: adventure, story, world-building and characters were top-notch. As an adult reading kid lit, I absolutely adored it. As an adult recommending books to kids, I was left kind of lukewarm.
However - and there is a however - this book had a few flaws that kept it from getting five stars from me. The opening was slow, confusing, and kind of alienating. An obscure opening can really pay off (once you hit that "ah-ha" moment of clarity), but the unveiling here was so gradual and delayed that getting over that initial confusion was more like getting over a hangover than waking from a dream. The dialogue was pretty stilted and unnatural, and the narrator's voice overall was sometimes needlessly wordy and complicated. I'd hesitate before recommending this book to a lot of kids. Now, for kids who are into this kind of story and can deal with a complicated text (think: Narnia), they will probably LOVE this book - especially bookish but adventurous boys (you know the type). I could very easily see this becoming some kids' very favorite book - but I definitely see most kids giving up and walking away.
But, again: adventure, story, world-building and characters were top-notch. As an adult reading kid lit, I absolutely adored it. As an adult recommending books to kids, I was left kind of lukewarm.
October 2, 2011
Complete with lovely chapter header illustrations, "Down the Mysterly River" has the look and feel of a good old fashioned fairy-tale and it absolutely lives up to that first impression. Totally original, yet paying homage to classics like "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Incredible Journey", it has all the elements of a classic. With a boy lost in the forest, talking animals and an epic quest, there's loads of adventure. There are enough grizzly battles to satisfy tween readers and an ending which will please bibliophiles of all ages.
The characters of Max, McTavish, Banderbrock and Walden are endearing and have you rooting for them as they outwit and outrun their pursuers, the evil Blue Cutters. I'd say more about the plot and overall theme of this novel, but that, I fear, would be spoiling it for future readers.
This is one of those special tales just waiting to be read on a rainy Sunday morning under a heap of blankets, as I did....or better yet on a summer day under an aspen tree with its leaves quaking and rustling "like the excited whispering of a concert audience before a grand performance is about to begin".
The characters of Max, McTavish, Banderbrock and Walden are endearing and have you rooting for them as they outwit and outrun their pursuers, the evil Blue Cutters. I'd say more about the plot and overall theme of this novel, but that, I fear, would be spoiling it for future readers.
This is one of those special tales just waiting to be read on a rainy Sunday morning under a heap of blankets, as I did....or better yet on a summer day under an aspen tree with its leaves quaking and rustling "like the excited whispering of a concert audience before a grand performance is about to begin".
December 22, 2011
Short & Sweet:
I've always been a huge fan of Bill Willingham, and when I heard he was writing a middle grade novel, I could not help but pick it up as soon as I could. The plot is so intriguing. Max finds himself in a world that he does not know and has no idea why he is there. He meets up with some animals that can talk, which he takes in stride and then bands with them when they are attacked by hunters with blue swords that change the animals they cut into in a strange way. I loved the way this book ended, definitely open for more adventures, but also so much a way a fairy tale would end.
Final Verdict:
Definitely a read that any fan of fairy tales, adventure stories, or mysteries should read.
I've always been a huge fan of Bill Willingham, and when I heard he was writing a middle grade novel, I could not help but pick it up as soon as I could. The plot is so intriguing. Max finds himself in a world that he does not know and has no idea why he is there. He meets up with some animals that can talk, which he takes in stride and then bands with them when they are attacked by hunters with blue swords that change the animals they cut into in a strange way. I loved the way this book ended, definitely open for more adventures, but also so much a way a fairy tale would end.
Final Verdict:
Definitely a read that any fan of fairy tales, adventure stories, or mysteries should read.
March 13, 2015
Bill Willingham has been one of my favorite Comic book writers for years so I was very excited when a friend told me he had written a couple of actual books. Even though it is a young teens book this is an excellent read. Great characters that carry you along in the story, you will enjoy meeting each of them. This one of definitely one I will recommended around to friends. High recommended to all!
January 30, 2012
I am shocked at how much I loved this book in the end. It actually blew me away.
I enjoyed it from beginning to end, but in the last quarter, I grew to absolutely love it.
Suffice it to say: Well done, Mr. Willingham. I didn't see it coming, but I suspected something was up.
See my full review here: http://wp.me/pNegP-1dp
I enjoyed it from beginning to end, but in the last quarter, I grew to absolutely love it.
Suffice it to say: Well done, Mr. Willingham. I didn't see it coming, but I suspected something was up.
See my full review here: http://wp.me/pNegP-1dp
November 11, 2013
Really good! And a twist I totally didn't see coming that made it even more awesome! Highly recommend for kids, too!
January 30, 2016
It was a very intresting and adventerous book about a boy named Max who meet a badger,a cat and a bear.I would recommend this book to people who love reading about adventures!
October 5, 2011
NOTE: This review was first published on my blog at
The King of Elfland's 2nd Cousin
on October 4, 2011. If you enjoy this review, please come check out the rest of the blog!
I've been a fan of Bill Willingham's writing for years. His work on Vertigo's Fables: Legends in Exile series? Hands-down the best comic book writing out there. I've particularly appreciated the structure he brings to his sequential storytelling: sweeping, complex plots that more closely resemble epic fantasy than standard super-hero fare (most of which I can no longer stomach). Several months ago at BEA, I managed to snag a review copy of his new middle-grade fantasy novel Down the Mysterly River , which Tor Teen/Starscape just released a couple of weeks ago.
Down the Mysterly River follows the adventures of a young boy named Max who wakes up in the woods one day with no recollection of how he got there. Thankfully, Max is a Boy Scout and so is better prepared for such situations than I ever could be. As he tries to figure out where he is and how he got there, he makes friends with a talking badger, a tyrannical tom cat, and a friendly bear. All four of them are in the same situation, and together they must figure out what brought them to this place. But they must do so while fleeing from the Blue Cutters, a band of sword-swinging fanatics who want to re-create our heroes according to their own ideas of what makes people good. Obviously, Max and his friends are not particularly interested in being forcibly molded.
The book is generally structured as an adventure story, and blended with mystery. Our plucky band of heroes must sneak and fight their way free of the Blue Cutters while piecing together the mystery surrounding their appearance in this unfamiliar world. The book is written in omniscient third, but with a relatively narrow focus on Max. With his self-professed experience at detection, Max eagerly goes about solving the mystery and we are drawn into it in his wake. While Max may proceed with little fear, Willingham expertly uses ominous suggestions to raise tension for the reader. Within minutes of meeting Branderbrock the Badger, for example, we learn that he remembers his own death, suggesting that both he and Max are already dead.
I found the contrasts between positive and negative to be the book's strongest aspects, and such contrasts show up repeatedly in Willingham's character development. While our four heroes are drawn sympathetically, three out of the four have darker (or at least more negative) sides: McTavish the Monster (the tom cat) self-identifies as evil and selfish, but evidences unswerving loyalty when put to the test. In many ways, he reminds me of Doli from The Book of Three : on the surface, brash and self-centered, but heroic nonetheless. Walden the Bear is portrayed as dull-witted and lazy, but is giving and capable of great violence when roused. Max, with his capacity for introspection, teeters on the edge of making certain choices that may align him with the Blue Cutters' morality. His struggles with his own conscience and justification lend the book its moral depth. Of the four heroes, Branderbrock is the only one who does not have a dual nature or conflicting desires. Together, our adventurers are offset by the Blue Cutters, who are depicted with haughty brutality. They are vicious and cruel, and their implacability in particular makes them frightening villains.
Willingham concretizes these contrasts in his battle scenes, where he does not shy away from violence. While I don't think this weakens the book at all, I think it is particularly notable for its genre and intended audience. Most MG fiction - and even most YA - tends to steer clear of blood-in-the-mud battle scenes. And middle-grade heroes almost never kill human villains. Even in The Hunger Games , which is targeted towards a YA audience and is considered by many to be a particularly violent novel, Katniss Everdeen only directly kills one of the other twenty three tributes. But in Down the Mysterly River , intended for a younger audience, we not only watch our heroes become grievously wounded on several occasions, but we see the Blue Cutters torturing innocent animals, and watch Max actually kill one of the Blue Cutters.
This violence is depicted in a matter-of-fact fashion, and though I was surprised to see a MG novel with this degree of it, I found that it did not draw away from the story. In some ways, the violence lends a visual dynamism to the book: reading along, I imagined sequential panels visualizing the action as if I were reading a comic. This kind of stylized violence brings excitement to a graphic medium, but in prose I found that its implausibility diminished its realism. Yes, the book is violent. But it is no more violent than Adams' Watership Down , the story of Robin Hood, or Brian Jacques' Redwall series.
Thematically, the violence was also treated seriously. Throughout, our heroes engage in violence defensively. They do not take the attack to the Blue Cutters: they are just trying to get away from people who are intent on torturing and killing them. And Willingham justifies our heroes' violent response by showing us exactly how vile the Blue Cutters really are, and by making it clear that our heroes are significantly outnumbered. And, perhaps most significantly, he does not let our heroes off the hook: their actions have consequences, and Max is shown to struggle with his choices. That his actions to defend himself and his loved ones are justified in no way diminishes the poignancy of his guilty conscience. And, interestingly, the book seems to suggest that offensive action against the Blue Cutters is an adult right: one that twelve year-old Max is not ready to either understand or undertake.
The world-building is well-executed. Willingham's cosmology - which lies at the heart of the mystery - is particularly interesting and appealing, though to explain why would unravel the mystery Willingham painstakingly sets up. Readers of Fables will no doubt recognize certain archetypes that show up in his world-building, but they are put to a very different use in Down the Mysterly River . The characterization and how it ties into the world-building is also particularly well done, with non-human heroes who we can understand and believe in despite their fantastic natures.
The writing itself is competent, but I found a number of areas where it could have been tightened. The first quarter of the book tends towards stilted descriptive sentences. At BEA, I asked Willingham about the difference between writing a prose novel and a comic script, and he pointed towards exposition. The book's beginning clearly shows where Willingham struggled with this: his early descriptions tended to flow more like visual notation for an artist rather than descriptions of ongoing action. However, the text remains functional and his skilled characterization is able to overcome the exposition's choppiness. And as the book's plot accelerates, the flow improves and Willingham loses the stilted declarative style that predominated early on. By the book's mid-point, sentences and paragraphs are flowing smoothly.
The other weakness that stood out to me in the writing was an occasional tendency to over-write. Honestly, I see this as less of a failure on the part of Willingham's writing as on the part of his editor's line-editing: good MG/YA editors should know to look out for this and trim it out of the book before it ever goes into production. Yes, this is a book for children. But kids are more perceptive than we stodgy grown-ups like to give them credit for. Even ten year-olds don't need to have a rhetorical question defined and explained for them: if they don't know the word, then they'll pick it up in context. I found this tendency most jarring when it occurred at the end of certain chapters, throwing off the rhythm and dramatic resonance of the chapter's conclusion. Next time, I would hope such extraneous and unnecessary sentences were just cut: part of what makes great MG fiction great is that it challenges the reader. And kids are especially sensitive to condescension in their reading.
Despite these weaknesses, I found Down the Mysterly River to be a fun adventure. The answers to Max's mystery were robust, and the characterization and story arcs that Willingham takes us down are immensely satisfying.
For parents who may be concerned about the violence: it's handled well, and if you have concerns about it, read the book yourself first, and then decide if your kid is ready for it. There's no universal rule. I found that the violence was tasteful and well-executed. At nine or ten I know that I would've enjoyed the book. Whether the same holds true for your kid, well, that's your call. Grown-up fans of Willingham's comic book writing will probably enjoy it, provided that they remember that it is not a Fables book. Comic book retailers - who I've heard had trouble selling Willingham's earlier prose novel in the Fables universe - may find that Down the Mysterly River is a great transition book for kids who read books like The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer (Owly (Graphic Novels)) and might now be ready for more grown-up fare.
I really enjoyed Willingham's first foray into his own prose fiction, and I hope to see more books like this from him.
I've been a fan of Bill Willingham's writing for years. His work on Vertigo's Fables: Legends in Exile series? Hands-down the best comic book writing out there. I've particularly appreciated the structure he brings to his sequential storytelling: sweeping, complex plots that more closely resemble epic fantasy than standard super-hero fare (most of which I can no longer stomach). Several months ago at BEA, I managed to snag a review copy of his new middle-grade fantasy novel Down the Mysterly River , which Tor Teen/Starscape just released a couple of weeks ago.
Down the Mysterly River follows the adventures of a young boy named Max who wakes up in the woods one day with no recollection of how he got there. Thankfully, Max is a Boy Scout and so is better prepared for such situations than I ever could be. As he tries to figure out where he is and how he got there, he makes friends with a talking badger, a tyrannical tom cat, and a friendly bear. All four of them are in the same situation, and together they must figure out what brought them to this place. But they must do so while fleeing from the Blue Cutters, a band of sword-swinging fanatics who want to re-create our heroes according to their own ideas of what makes people good. Obviously, Max and his friends are not particularly interested in being forcibly molded.
The book is generally structured as an adventure story, and blended with mystery. Our plucky band of heroes must sneak and fight their way free of the Blue Cutters while piecing together the mystery surrounding their appearance in this unfamiliar world. The book is written in omniscient third, but with a relatively narrow focus on Max. With his self-professed experience at detection, Max eagerly goes about solving the mystery and we are drawn into it in his wake. While Max may proceed with little fear, Willingham expertly uses ominous suggestions to raise tension for the reader. Within minutes of meeting Branderbrock the Badger, for example, we learn that he remembers his own death, suggesting that both he and Max are already dead.
I found the contrasts between positive and negative to be the book's strongest aspects, and such contrasts show up repeatedly in Willingham's character development. While our four heroes are drawn sympathetically, three out of the four have darker (or at least more negative) sides: McTavish the Monster (the tom cat) self-identifies as evil and selfish, but evidences unswerving loyalty when put to the test. In many ways, he reminds me of Doli from The Book of Three : on the surface, brash and self-centered, but heroic nonetheless. Walden the Bear is portrayed as dull-witted and lazy, but is giving and capable of great violence when roused. Max, with his capacity for introspection, teeters on the edge of making certain choices that may align him with the Blue Cutters' morality. His struggles with his own conscience and justification lend the book its moral depth. Of the four heroes, Branderbrock is the only one who does not have a dual nature or conflicting desires. Together, our adventurers are offset by the Blue Cutters, who are depicted with haughty brutality. They are vicious and cruel, and their implacability in particular makes them frightening villains.
Willingham concretizes these contrasts in his battle scenes, where he does not shy away from violence. While I don't think this weakens the book at all, I think it is particularly notable for its genre and intended audience. Most MG fiction - and even most YA - tends to steer clear of blood-in-the-mud battle scenes. And middle-grade heroes almost never kill human villains. Even in The Hunger Games , which is targeted towards a YA audience and is considered by many to be a particularly violent novel, Katniss Everdeen only directly kills one of the other twenty three tributes. But in Down the Mysterly River , intended for a younger audience, we not only watch our heroes become grievously wounded on several occasions, but we see the Blue Cutters torturing innocent animals, and watch Max actually kill one of the Blue Cutters.
This violence is depicted in a matter-of-fact fashion, and though I was surprised to see a MG novel with this degree of it, I found that it did not draw away from the story. In some ways, the violence lends a visual dynamism to the book: reading along, I imagined sequential panels visualizing the action as if I were reading a comic. This kind of stylized violence brings excitement to a graphic medium, but in prose I found that its implausibility diminished its realism. Yes, the book is violent. But it is no more violent than Adams' Watership Down , the story of Robin Hood, or Brian Jacques' Redwall series.
Thematically, the violence was also treated seriously. Throughout, our heroes engage in violence defensively. They do not take the attack to the Blue Cutters: they are just trying to get away from people who are intent on torturing and killing them. And Willingham justifies our heroes' violent response by showing us exactly how vile the Blue Cutters really are, and by making it clear that our heroes are significantly outnumbered. And, perhaps most significantly, he does not let our heroes off the hook: their actions have consequences, and Max is shown to struggle with his choices. That his actions to defend himself and his loved ones are justified in no way diminishes the poignancy of his guilty conscience. And, interestingly, the book seems to suggest that offensive action against the Blue Cutters is an adult right: one that twelve year-old Max is not ready to either understand or undertake.
The world-building is well-executed. Willingham's cosmology - which lies at the heart of the mystery - is particularly interesting and appealing, though to explain why would unravel the mystery Willingham painstakingly sets up. Readers of Fables will no doubt recognize certain archetypes that show up in his world-building, but they are put to a very different use in Down the Mysterly River . The characterization and how it ties into the world-building is also particularly well done, with non-human heroes who we can understand and believe in despite their fantastic natures.
The writing itself is competent, but I found a number of areas where it could have been tightened. The first quarter of the book tends towards stilted descriptive sentences. At BEA, I asked Willingham about the difference between writing a prose novel and a comic script, and he pointed towards exposition. The book's beginning clearly shows where Willingham struggled with this: his early descriptions tended to flow more like visual notation for an artist rather than descriptions of ongoing action. However, the text remains functional and his skilled characterization is able to overcome the exposition's choppiness. And as the book's plot accelerates, the flow improves and Willingham loses the stilted declarative style that predominated early on. By the book's mid-point, sentences and paragraphs are flowing smoothly.
The other weakness that stood out to me in the writing was an occasional tendency to over-write. Honestly, I see this as less of a failure on the part of Willingham's writing as on the part of his editor's line-editing: good MG/YA editors should know to look out for this and trim it out of the book before it ever goes into production. Yes, this is a book for children. But kids are more perceptive than we stodgy grown-ups like to give them credit for. Even ten year-olds don't need to have a rhetorical question defined and explained for them: if they don't know the word, then they'll pick it up in context. I found this tendency most jarring when it occurred at the end of certain chapters, throwing off the rhythm and dramatic resonance of the chapter's conclusion. Next time, I would hope such extraneous and unnecessary sentences were just cut: part of what makes great MG fiction great is that it challenges the reader. And kids are especially sensitive to condescension in their reading.
Despite these weaknesses, I found Down the Mysterly River to be a fun adventure. The answers to Max's mystery were robust, and the characterization and story arcs that Willingham takes us down are immensely satisfying.
For parents who may be concerned about the violence: it's handled well, and if you have concerns about it, read the book yourself first, and then decide if your kid is ready for it. There's no universal rule. I found that the violence was tasteful and well-executed. At nine or ten I know that I would've enjoyed the book. Whether the same holds true for your kid, well, that's your call. Grown-up fans of Willingham's comic book writing will probably enjoy it, provided that they remember that it is not a Fables book. Comic book retailers - who I've heard had trouble selling Willingham's earlier prose novel in the Fables universe - may find that Down the Mysterly River is a great transition book for kids who read books like The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer (Owly (Graphic Novels)) and might now be ready for more grown-up fare.
I really enjoyed Willingham's first foray into his own prose fiction, and I hope to see more books like this from him.
June 9, 2025
An earnest young boy scout with a talent for solving mysteries, Max (nicknamed “the Wolf”) finds himself wandering in a mountainous, forested land where he learns that some of the animals can speak. Banderbrock the badger is an irritable but loyal ex-soldier, McTavish is a swaggering, pugnacious orange barn cat, and Walden is a lazy but well-meaning black bear, who was formerly sheriff of a small forest community.
Max also soon discovers that he and the animals are targeted by a menacing cult-like group known as the Blue Cutters, who carry enchanted blue swords which they use to alter beings, remaking them into their own idea of perfection.
Similar to the old-fashioned stories of previous generations, the beginning of this tale is something of a slow burn, as Max puts his scouting skills to use to survive in the wilderness and employs his detecting skills to solve the mystery of how he and his companions came to be in this land. The things that strike the reader as being a little odd or off are vital clues, revealing more about what is really happening here.
As the story unfolds, it becomes clearer that there are layers of subtle and sophisticated complexity that might be disturbing for some very young readers. The Blue Cutters, for example, are insidious and disturbing embodiments of a certain ideology currently en vogue in some creative circles.
Nonetheless, the unsettling concepts are presented in a way that is entirely appropriate and thought-provoking. Even young readers need to be challenged from time to time, and this story is definitely not a rote series of trite, episodic adventures.
Now, as I anticipated the ending, I was prepared to be very annoyed—if not outright angry—by where the author was guiding the story. But by the time I arrived, I found the ending to be beautifully executed, very satisfying, and almost tear-jerking in its beautiful tone.
Overall, the characters are vivid and well done. Max is a wonderful protagonist, and the animals are simply delightful. The worldbuilding is spare but vivid, the prose is on-point, and anyone looking for a newer tale for young readers that harkens back to the golden era of storytelling should definitely check out Down the Mysterly River.
Max also soon discovers that he and the animals are targeted by a menacing cult-like group known as the Blue Cutters, who carry enchanted blue swords which they use to alter beings, remaking them into their own idea of perfection.
Similar to the old-fashioned stories of previous generations, the beginning of this tale is something of a slow burn, as Max puts his scouting skills to use to survive in the wilderness and employs his detecting skills to solve the mystery of how he and his companions came to be in this land. The things that strike the reader as being a little odd or off are vital clues, revealing more about what is really happening here.
As the story unfolds, it becomes clearer that there are layers of subtle and sophisticated complexity that might be disturbing for some very young readers. The Blue Cutters, for example, are insidious and disturbing embodiments of a certain ideology currently en vogue in some creative circles.
Nonetheless, the unsettling concepts are presented in a way that is entirely appropriate and thought-provoking. Even young readers need to be challenged from time to time, and this story is definitely not a rote series of trite, episodic adventures.
Now, as I anticipated the ending, I was prepared to be very annoyed—if not outright angry—by where the author was guiding the story. But by the time I arrived, I found the ending to be beautifully executed, very satisfying, and almost tear-jerking in its beautiful tone.
Overall, the characters are vivid and well done. Max is a wonderful protagonist, and the animals are simply delightful. The worldbuilding is spare but vivid, the prose is on-point, and anyone looking for a newer tale for young readers that harkens back to the golden era of storytelling should definitely check out Down the Mysterly River.
December 15, 2019
The book, Down the Mysterly River, tells a fictional story by Bill Willingham. Max "the Wolf" is an extremely skilled boy scout, when he discovers he's in an unfamiliar wood and no memory of what had just happened to him seconds ago, he encounters four animals who all have the ability to talk and mysterious and deadly dangerous hunters and their hounds who are after the posse of friends, Max has to find out why he's lost in this lost world while running from the Blue Cutters (the hunters) to avoid him and his new friends being changed far beyond recognition. I enjoyed this book provided, I thought it was exciting, kept you "on your toes", and definitely a thriller. While in the process of reading this book, it occurred that it reminded me of another book I've previously read called The Sword of Shannara because both books have tell stories which include strange worlds, mysterious creatures, and battling for life's safety. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fiction and high fantasy.
Aria Grade 6
Aria Grade 6
January 16, 2018
I read a book called Down the Mysterly River, I liked this book because it was a bit predictable for awhile, sounding kind of like Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz, until the very end, when they play a wildcard, making your brain explode because of how much different it becomes from books you thought were similar to it. My favorite part was the end when they played the wildcard ending, I was in utter disbelief of how off my predictions were. The main character is a young boy scout named Max The Wolf, a detective who makes friends with a bear, a badger, and a cat; and helps them find sanctuary in a strange land with strange inhabitants. The conflicts in this book seemed decently predictable, being like a few of the classic fairy tails, until one character ‘dies.’ Anybody who likes to try and answer questions in books would like this book, I would recommend this book to anybody who is fine with holding a book for the entire day, for no person, no matter how strong their will, will be able to put this book down (I finished the book)
June 22, 2025
Add this to the other novels and novellas Willingham has written and I'm sorry that it appears he has gone at least into semi-retirement. Yes, I know he did one Fables novel, but his split with DC Comics has ended his involvement with that property. The Beowulf novellas were fun, and had a nice bit of world building in them. I could have done with more than two of those.
And, despite some meta-fiction pieces I think most readers will pick up on, there is some good world building here. This was written/published as a young adult book (at the oldest) but that does not mean adults cannot enjoy it.
Max, also known as Max the Wolf is a Boy Scout who dabbles as a detective, He suddenly finds himself awake in a world full of talking animals, villainous humans, and he has large memory gaps. Willingham lays out the clues for the reader to follow, and I'll admit that I was frustrated at figuring out the major points of the mystery well before the ending. It took me a little while to be able to slide back into the story.
And, despite some meta-fiction pieces I think most readers will pick up on, there is some good world building here. This was written/published as a young adult book (at the oldest) but that does not mean adults cannot enjoy it.
Max, also known as Max the Wolf is a Boy Scout who dabbles as a detective, He suddenly finds himself awake in a world full of talking animals, villainous humans, and he has large memory gaps. Willingham lays out the clues for the reader to follow, and I'll admit that I was frustrated at figuring out the major points of the mystery well before the ending. It took me a little while to be able to slide back into the story.
March 8, 2025
Yeah, it was ok. I wonder what I would have thought of it had I been younger. The writing style sort of bothered me sometimes. I guess it was very much written for boys. I felt sort of attacked as someone who prefers to take existing characters and give them new lives (like in the Sims). Except that I try hard to make the way my characters continue their lives the way they would have originally. So maybe I am more of the same mind as the author despite being one of those deplorable people who have no ability to create worlds of their own.
Overall it was a cute story and got appreciably deep, but some of the more religious, Boy Scout-y stuff I didn't care for. It was easy to read though and I cared about the safe travel of the characters.
Overall it was a cute story and got appreciably deep, but some of the more religious, Boy Scout-y stuff I didn't care for. It was easy to read though and I cared about the safe travel of the characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2021
Max the Wolf realizes suddenly he's hiking in a wood he doesn't recognize, and that he's gotten lost from his Boy Scout troup. But that's not all...he runs into a talking Badger, a talking Bear, and a Talking Cat - and all of them need to know what's actually going on. Are they dead and in the afterlife? Or were they stolen away from their worlds?
One other scary thing - they're being chased by a group of huntsmen known as the Blue Cutters, who have the ability to change someone by cutting them with their peculiar blue swords. And they find out just how oddly someone is changed...
A great little story about another fantasy world and how to navigate it.
One other scary thing - they're being chased by a group of huntsmen known as the Blue Cutters, who have the ability to change someone by cutting them with their peculiar blue swords. And they find out just how oddly someone is changed...
A great little story about another fantasy world and how to navigate it.
October 28, 2023
One too many editors told Willingham that his writing is so redundant that half the sentences in any given paragraph could be cut.
"[Diana] had pleasant, youthful features that disguised her actual years, and would break into a large bright smile at almost any provocation. In every visible way she seemed affable and sweet, which caused more than one adversary to underestimate her. No matter now nice she looked, she had an inner resolve of cold, hard iron. She could be surprisingly ruthless when ruthlessness was called for."
This book is just him whining about it.
"[Diana] had pleasant, youthful features that disguised her actual years, and would break into a large bright smile at almost any provocation. In every visible way she seemed affable and sweet, which caused more than one adversary to underestimate her. No matter now nice she looked, she had an inner resolve of cold, hard iron. She could be surprisingly ruthless when ruthlessness was called for."
This book is just him whining about it.
June 20, 2017
A disappointing and rather fruitless tale. Aside from a few remarkably humorous insights, I found the novel to be essentially a strained allegory about the author's frustrations with producers and editors. I'm not entirely sure Willingham chose the right setting or approach for that criticism, as the exposition and promise of discovery were pretty seriously betrayed by a poor reckoning and wildly discordant conclusion.
December 12, 2019
I'm probably biased based on my love for the Fables comics by this creative combo, but I thoroughly enjoyed this light romp through the woods. The group of fugitives was an entertaining mess with fun personalities that fit the animals well. The Cutters were an interesting spin and the Eggman was a character I'd enjoy reading about in another story. The ending was exactly what I wanted for my favorite character.
January 20, 2021
While this adventure story, with its boy hero and cadre of talking animals, can be enjoyed by kids and makes a great read aloud, it will best be appreciated by adults, and particularly by writers. To say much more would be a spoiler, but anyone who really got into the trippy final books of Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower" series will find similar themes here, but delivered in a faster, more succinct package.
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