When the children end up parenting the parents. Dreams - fuelled by drugs, dreams turn into nightmares, freedom turns into a scary prison
Myers continues to confirm his chameleon ability to write as per the story he is telling. His writing changes as per the story. This time round, we're placed in a commune run on the creation of bad music, free love, drugs, sex real and wished for, and dark horses. In the midst of this, we have Kit, a young boy who has to self-parent and fill the huge gaps the dreamy adults around him leave behind. The commune built on free love is no utopia. Nothing is ever free, consequences be they monetary or not, still add up in one way or another.
As if all the above is not enough, Myers then introduces the dark horse, Jonathan. Or is this a sleight of hand, who is the dark horse, is it Jonathan, or...................
Myers gives us lots but hides behind what he gives. Lots of small details that make up a broader picture, but if you move a piece here and then another piece there a different picture emerges.
That ending - rather Machiavellian, Mr. Myers.
Reading order - although the publicity around this book says that you can read these two sections in whichever order you like, I'm of a different opinion. I read Whiteadder first and then Wolfspider, in chronological order. I can't imagine reading them differently because then Wolfspider would rather spoil Whiteadder. It's either this or I'm not seeing something, or I need to take medication to be able to see or unsee further.
An ARC kindly provided through Netgalley.>