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ninjabunneh's review
5.0
Ironically, I've been on a dark fairy-tale kick this month. When I saw Stiltskin, I knew I had to snatch it.
Imagine, if you will, there is a world next to ours. One that contains every magical fairy-tale character you've ever learned about as a child. It's called Thiside. Now, take every lovely, warm, fuzzy, cozy memory of all your favorite characters and demolish them with a fucking chainsaw. You have the world of Stiltskin.
In Thiside, there are the kingdoms of Oz, the Beast, and even the Kingdom of Hearts. The Seven Dwarves run a mining corporation, Gnomes act like an army, and everyone tries to get along. Sometimes they don't succeed. There are doorways between Thiside and the human world. Doorways that are closely regulated by the White Rabbit. If creatures from Thiside cross over, they have the ability to cause too much havoc in the human world.
There's also the prison tower, where the criminals and evil-doers reside. It's here that our tale begins. It's in this tower, that Rumplestiltskin and The Mad Hatter hatch a plan. The Hatter will help Rumps escape, as long as Rumps finds Hatter's long lost son. His son who lives in the human world. Hatter wants a family reunion and Rumps wants to destroy the doors. It's a plan made in madness.
Robert Darkly has never had a normal life. Strange things are always occurring. As a child, his toys would vanish and he'd often wake up in strange places. These odd occurrences follow him into adulthood. So, when in the span of one day he loses his job and his girlfriend, finds a dwarf holding a knife in his bathtub, and a gorgeous lady with a fairy in tow knocking on his door, he isn't all that shocked. Robert is the type of guy who isn't a hero. In fact, he's often the one that needs saving.
Lily is the woman at the door. She works for the Agency in Thiside, and she needs to stop Rumps from destroying the doors between worlds. She takes Robert along, knowing who he is. Lily, however, isn't who she appears to be. What follows is a twisty dark tale, one in which Robert may end up going a bit mad.
Now, remember what I said about destroying the fuzzies? In this story, the truths about Belle, Snow White, the Beast, and even Little Red Riding Hood are revealed. It isn't pretty.
Ah, watch out for pixies. They bite.
There is a huge twist at the end, to which I say, well fucking played.
I look forward to what comes next.
4.5 Ninja-Bunnehs-Wearing-Top-Hats
(Arc received in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes used subject to change upon final release)
Imagine, if you will, there is a world next to ours. One that contains every magical fairy-tale character you've ever learned about as a child. It's called Thiside. Now, take every lovely, warm, fuzzy, cozy memory of all your favorite characters and demolish them with a fucking chainsaw. You have the world of Stiltskin.
In Thiside, there are the kingdoms of Oz, the Beast, and even the Kingdom of Hearts. The Seven Dwarves run a mining corporation, Gnomes act like an army, and everyone tries to get along. Sometimes they don't succeed. There are doorways between Thiside and the human world. Doorways that are closely regulated by the White Rabbit. If creatures from Thiside cross over, they have the ability to cause too much havoc in the human world.
There's also the prison tower, where the criminals and evil-doers reside. It's here that our tale begins. It's in this tower, that Rumplestiltskin and The Mad Hatter hatch a plan. The Hatter will help Rumps escape, as long as Rumps finds Hatter's long lost son. His son who lives in the human world. Hatter wants a family reunion and Rumps wants to destroy the doors. It's a plan made in madness.
Robert Darkly has never had a normal life. Strange things are always occurring. As a child, his toys would vanish and he'd often wake up in strange places. These odd occurrences follow him into adulthood. So, when in the span of one day he loses his job and his girlfriend, finds a dwarf holding a knife in his bathtub, and a gorgeous lady with a fairy in tow knocking on his door, he isn't all that shocked. Robert is the type of guy who isn't a hero. In fact, he's often the one that needs saving.
Lily is the woman at the door. She works for the Agency in Thiside, and she needs to stop Rumps from destroying the doors between worlds. She takes Robert along, knowing who he is. Lily, however, isn't who she appears to be. What follows is a twisty dark tale, one in which Robert may end up going a bit mad.
Now, remember what I said about destroying the fuzzies? In this story, the truths about Belle, Snow White, the Beast, and even Little Red Riding Hood are revealed. It isn't pretty.
Ah, watch out for pixies. They bite.
There is a huge twist at the end, to which I say, well fucking played.
I look forward to what comes next.
4.5 Ninja-Bunnehs-Wearing-Top-Hats
(Arc received in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes used subject to change upon final release)
sjj169's review
5.0
"To be honest, I don't find you physically attractive, you're not bred from the best stock, you're very gangly, you don't say the right thing, and taking into account all the evidence, it seems like you are going mad.
That's the kind of romance in this book. It's a take on a different world that I loved. There is Othaside (normal world) and Thiside. I love how the world's are entwined and our reality of fairy tales aren't what really happened. It's so fun reading this book.
Now that dang ending just left me wanting so much more. Andrew Buckley-please get your arse to work on the sequel to this damn book.
That's the kind of romance in this book. It's a take on a different world that I loved. There is Othaside (normal world) and Thiside. I love how the world's are entwined and our reality of fairy tales aren't what really happened. It's so fun reading this book.
Now that dang ending just left me wanting so much more. Andrew Buckley-please get your arse to work on the sequel to this damn book.
ciska's review
4.0
Author
Andrew Buckley was born in Manchester. As a child he wrote a story about a big blue dinosaur which got awarded by his elementary teacher with a gold star.
In 1997 he moved to Canada where he attended the Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film and Television program where he graduated with excellence.
After pitching and developing several screenplay projects for film and television he worked in marketing and public relations for several years before venturing into a number of content writing contracts. During this time he abandoned screenwriting altogether and began writing his first novel.
Andrew lives in the Okanagan Valley, BC with his wife, children and pets.
Review
I am not sure how I can review this book without giving to much away. I will start with a warning... If you love cute and pink fairy tales with pretty princesses and prince charming do not read this book. You will be having nightmares after reading 10 pages.
Robert Darkly is a bit clumsy and gets confused easily. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong but Robert never understands what exactly happened. Lily is the total opposite though she might had some help with getting that handy, smart and strong. All characters in this book are one big cliché but the story is going so fast and it is all so obvious it does not get the time to get annoying.
Told from different points of view giving you all kind of opinion about the different creatures in this book. While the whole mystery unravels there are a lot of surprises and funny developments.
A great laugh and remember not to take is serious!
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review*
Andrew Buckley was born in Manchester. As a child he wrote a story about a big blue dinosaur which got awarded by his elementary teacher with a gold star.
In 1997 he moved to Canada where he attended the Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film and Television program where he graduated with excellence.
After pitching and developing several screenplay projects for film and television he worked in marketing and public relations for several years before venturing into a number of content writing contracts. During this time he abandoned screenwriting altogether and began writing his first novel.
Andrew lives in the Okanagan Valley, BC with his wife, children and pets.
Review
I am not sure how I can review this book without giving to much away. I will start with a warning... If you love cute and pink fairy tales with pretty princesses and prince charming do not read this book. You will be having nightmares after reading 10 pages.
Robert Darkly is a bit clumsy and gets confused easily. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong but Robert never understands what exactly happened. Lily is the total opposite though she might had some help with getting that handy, smart and strong. All characters in this book are one big cliché but the story is going so fast and it is all so obvious it does not get the time to get annoying.
Told from different points of view giving you all kind of opinion about the different creatures in this book. While the whole mystery unravels there are a lot of surprises and funny developments.
A great laugh and remember not to take is serious!
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review*
yche09's review
5.0
Ever felt as if a book is too good to only be in print? Like it needs to have a bigger stage.. Saaayy.. a movie??!!
It's like that with STILTSKIN!!!!
Oh gosh, it's a whirlwind of adventure!! I'm so proud to say that I read this book!
Alright, first things first..
The characters.. There are many of them here, but only a few that you'd understand right off the bat. A lot of them are complex and some of them, I only got to understand in the end. I would say that these characters are portrayed uniquely and are introduced very much in detail. I swear the author has a knack for introducing characters in the most interesting way possible! He gives them a grand entrance, in my opinion, that you have no choice but be intrigued!
So.. Characters? BIG CHECK! Protagonists or antagonists.. He nailed them!
Wooot!!
I have two favorite characters, The "CAT" who's all wise and very entertaining and Veszico, my hotheaded and tinier fictional self. Haha! So there! It's all cool! They're both cool! :)
No as for the story it self... Of course, you probably already know that this is all about the fairy tale world, but it's not depicted as that. It's way different! Plus, you get to see many of these fairy tale characters in a different light!
Just to give you a bit of information regarding the story... It all revolves around one guy who never fit in the normal world. He's an odd one and many, many weird things have been happening to him over the years that they all seem familiar to him now. I found him to be a sad sort of individual at first, but as it turns out, he has a colorful past.. one with a rabbits, dwarfs, wolves, magic and endless mysteries. He has a chance to venture there now and he takes it! He gets to meet a lot of um.. people.. and umm.. creatures. He also gets to travel from one umm.. place to many others. It's all so interesting!
That's what you get here. No boring moments! Even the characters' banters are well worth your time! I had a good time laughing my ass off with most of their lines! :)
As a big fan of fairy tale remakes (trust me, I've read many of them!), I can tell you that this one is damn good! One would say that the author took a risky move in depicting many characters in a very outlandish way, but I call it brave! To me, that risk also paid off because I love what happened here. It's enjoyable, entertaining and full of surprises!
All in all.. I would gladly give this a perfect 5!
I can't wait for the next one!!! ^_____^
An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
It's like that with STILTSKIN!!!!
Oh gosh, it's a whirlwind of adventure!! I'm so proud to say that I read this book!
Alright, first things first..
The characters.. There are many of them here, but only a few that you'd understand right off the bat. A lot of them are complex and some of them, I only got to understand in the end. I would say that these characters are portrayed uniquely and are introduced very much in detail. I swear the author has a knack for introducing characters in the most interesting way possible! He gives them a grand entrance, in my opinion, that you have no choice but be intrigued!
So.. Characters? BIG CHECK! Protagonists or antagonists.. He nailed them!
Wooot!!
I have two favorite characters, The "CAT" who's all wise and very entertaining and Veszico, my hotheaded and tinier fictional self. Haha! So there! It's all cool! They're both cool! :)
No as for the story it self... Of course, you probably already know that this is all about the fairy tale world, but it's not depicted as that. It's way different! Plus, you get to see many of these fairy tale characters in a different light!
Just to give you a bit of information regarding the story... It all revolves around one guy who never fit in the normal world. He's an odd one and many, many weird things have been happening to him over the years that they all seem familiar to him now. I found him to be a sad sort of individual at first, but as it turns out, he has a colorful past.. one with a rabbits, dwarfs, wolves, magic and endless mysteries. He has a chance to venture there now and he takes it! He gets to meet a lot of um.. people.. and umm.. creatures. He also gets to travel from one umm.. place to many others. It's all so interesting!
That's what you get here. No boring moments! Even the characters' banters are well worth your time! I had a good time laughing my ass off with most of their lines! :)
As a big fan of fairy tale remakes (trust me, I've read many of them!), I can tell you that this one is damn good! One would say that the author took a risky move in depicting many characters in a very outlandish way, but I call it brave! To me, that risk also paid off because I love what happened here. It's enjoyable, entertaining and full of surprises!
All in all.. I would gladly give this a perfect 5!
I can't wait for the next one!!! ^_____^
An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
jresendez610's review
3.0
I went into this not knowing what to expect, and halfway in, I still wasn't quite sure what the book was about. I felt like the plot was revealed too slowly and the main characters didn't have much purpose. I know they were searching for the dwarf, but the author was elusive as to why. To stop him doing what? It just made their journey seem kind of pointless. However, towards the end, it got more interesting and there were some very funny parts as well. I also really liked the characters and the way the author wrote them to be like their fairy tale counterparts, yet different. Every character had its own unique voice, which was great. I didn't like the ending though, so it all left me on a bad note. I think this is a book some people will really love, though. So I still would recommend it to people who enjoy this type of fairy tale/fantasy.
avoraciousreader68's review
4.0
*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Curiosity Quills.
Rumpelstiltskin has been imprisoned in the Tower for years and years. Now, somehow he has escaped and he’s on a mission to finish the dastardly deed he started so many years ago. But first, he has to pass a message to the Mad Hatter’s son, Robert Darkly who doesn’t live in Thiside with the rest of the weird and dark fairy tale denizens. Robert lives in Othaside or as we call it, normal reality. However, Robert’s life hasn’t exactly been normal though he has no idea why. Well, his journey to discovering who he really is starts with a very rude dwarf in his bathtub.
An entertaining fairy tale retelling that is not warm and fuzzy. The entities in the so-called fairy tales are nothing like what is written in Othaside, I mean, our reality. They are very very different. I had fun trying to guess which person (we’ll say person here even though there are animals, dwarves, gnomes and other weirdos) matched which story. Robert Darkly is a bit of a dweeb. But he’s a likeable dweeb and following him around while he’s following around Lily and two gnomes was quite entertaining. Especially when he starts talking to a voice in his head. Well, apparently he’s not the Mad Hatter’s son for nothing. The ending is left a bit up in the air and I’m peeved I didn’t get to find out who Robert’s mother was. I also have an almost uncontrollable urge to go buy a garden gnome for my front yard. Maybe I’ll just watch some of the Travelocity YouTube videos until the urge passes.
Rumpelstiltskin has been imprisoned in the Tower for years and years. Now, somehow he has escaped and he’s on a mission to finish the dastardly deed he started so many years ago. But first, he has to pass a message to the Mad Hatter’s son, Robert Darkly who doesn’t live in Thiside with the rest of the weird and dark fairy tale denizens. Robert lives in Othaside or as we call it, normal reality. However, Robert’s life hasn’t exactly been normal though he has no idea why. Well, his journey to discovering who he really is starts with a very rude dwarf in his bathtub.
An entertaining fairy tale retelling that is not warm and fuzzy. The entities in the so-called fairy tales are nothing like what is written in Othaside, I mean, our reality. They are very very different. I had fun trying to guess which person (we’ll say person here even though there are animals, dwarves, gnomes and other weirdos) matched which story. Robert Darkly is a bit of a dweeb. But he’s a likeable dweeb and following him around while he’s following around Lily and two gnomes was quite entertaining. Especially when he starts talking to a voice in his head. Well, apparently he’s not the Mad Hatter’s son for nothing. The ending is left a bit up in the air and I’m peeved I didn’t get to find out who Robert’s mother was. I also have an almost uncontrollable urge to go buy a garden gnome for my front yard. Maybe I’ll just watch some of the Travelocity YouTube videos until the urge passes.
bukola's review
4.0
This book is so funny. From the fictional reviews to the very last page where your jaw literally drops, I laughed all through. Buckley wrote with English humour, which I quite enjoy. The characters were also very rich. My favorite, of course was Robert Darkly himself. I could relate with his slightly out of place feeling, and although not much else is quick about him, he has a quick wit and biting sarcasm.
The relationships between the characters developed at a reasonable rate, and I loved that. From pure hatred in some cases, to admiration, then respect and even fondness.
Andrew Buckley does warn that if you like classic fairy tales, this story probably isn’t for you and he is right. Everything you’ve ever heard, everything you’ve always believed will be turned inside out. So, this is not something you read to your children, except of course the plan is to scar them permanently. I like how the suspense slowly builds and leads up to the cliff-hanger ending.
And that ending, oh dear Lord, that ending! The twist! You almost don’t see it coming, but you do, and it still takes you by surprise. I loved reading this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.[a:Andrew Buckley|1331527|Andrew Buckley|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]
The relationships between the characters developed at a reasonable rate, and I loved that. From pure hatred in some cases, to admiration, then respect and even fondness.
Andrew Buckley does warn that if you like classic fairy tales, this story probably isn’t for you and he is right. Everything you’ve ever heard, everything you’ve always believed will be turned inside out. So, this is not something you read to your children, except of course the plan is to scar them permanently. I like how the suspense slowly builds and leads up to the cliff-hanger ending.
And that ending, oh dear Lord, that ending! The twist! You almost don’t see it coming, but you do, and it still takes you by surprise. I loved reading this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.[a:Andrew Buckley|1331527|Andrew Buckley|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]
wart's review
4.0
That was so much fun.
When can I get book 2?!
I read this book, took a break to crochet General Gnarly of the Warrior Gnomes of the Grimm Mountains into existence, and almost forgot I had a review to write.
Then I remembered I have a review to write.
Here's what this book is: a giant ball of epic, wonderful, insane, beautiful, crackiness. Which is pretty much a summation of the types of books I tend to love. Hitchhiker's? Yup. Dirk Gently? Yup. Anything by Christopher Moore? Given.
So add Andrew Buckley to my read everything he's written list because holy hell was this fun!
Robert Darkly lives in our world - which is, unbeknownst to him, known as Othaside to an entire population of not actually fairytale characters in a world parallel to our own, Thiside. Strange things tend to happen to Robert Darkly, but he's gotten used to it.
Then a Dwarf shows up in his bathtub, and weird takes on an entirely new meaning for Robert as he finds himself dragged (not kicking and screaming, did I mention the "got used to it" part?) into Thiside's politics, criminal underbelly, and intrigue.
There are werewolves and gnomes and fairies and the white rabbit.
And fairytales get turned on their heads.
It's quite the adventure, and Robert learns quite a bit about himself on the way.
4/5 stars only because there are some wacky typos/grammar issues that made my inner editor cringe.
When can I get book 2?!
I read this book, took a break to crochet General Gnarly of the Warrior Gnomes of the Grimm Mountains into existence, and almost forgot I had a review to write.
Then I remembered I have a review to write.
Here's what this book is: a giant ball of epic, wonderful, insane, beautiful, crackiness. Which is pretty much a summation of the types of books I tend to love. Hitchhiker's? Yup. Dirk Gently? Yup. Anything by Christopher Moore? Given.
So add Andrew Buckley to my read everything he's written list because holy hell was this fun!
Robert Darkly lives in our world - which is, unbeknownst to him, known as Othaside to an entire population of not actually fairytale characters in a world parallel to our own, Thiside. Strange things tend to happen to Robert Darkly, but he's gotten used to it.
Then a Dwarf shows up in his bathtub, and weird takes on an entirely new meaning for Robert as he finds himself dragged (not kicking and screaming, did I mention the "got used to it" part?) into Thiside's politics, criminal underbelly, and intrigue.
There are werewolves and gnomes and fairies and the white rabbit.
And fairytales get turned on their heads.
It's quite the adventure, and Robert learns quite a bit about himself on the way.
4/5 stars only because there are some wacky typos/grammar issues that made my inner editor cringe.
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