Wednesday, June 11, 2014

A Place Beyond The Map by Samuel Thews

Once in a very long while, betwixt and between the humdrum of everydayness, something magical happens: life gives us a fairy tale. Sometimes it begins with a door; sometimes by following a peculiar cottontail down his hole. For Phinnegan Qwyk, it begins with a chilly November night, two wet footprints and Periwinkle Lark.
A flamboyant and cunning Faë with a penchant for mischief, Periwinkle is also a bit of a thief. When he snatches Phinnegan away to a Place-Beyond-the-Map, Phinnegan discovers that fairy tales aren’t all they’re cracked up to be: at least, not when you are being attacked by the wild wolves of the Faolchú, being hunted by a gholem that lurks unseen in the shadows, or bargaining for your very life with a troll—even if she is beautiful.
When all seems lost, Phinnegan finds hope in the form of a shy pixie and a jolly, if rather messy, old man. His journey is not a mistake.
Evocative, purposeful and winsome, A Place Beyond the Map is what children’s dreams are made of. A simplistic tale spun within the world of fairy tales and myth, it is a story for children, and for those of us that are finally old enough to read fairy tales again.
From Goodreads.

I enjoyed this book though I found the start quite slow going. After that it was a real fairy tale full of all sorts of creatures and not all looking as expected.
Phinnegan has to find his way home with the help of the not too trustworthy fae Periwinkle but he also gets involved in the local affairs.
My biggest problem with the story was that the ending is no ending but more of a setting the scene for the next book - but there is no sequel.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
2014 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R2: Team Challenge SS?
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Q-quail)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

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