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lilhill's review against another edition
5.0
Really beautiful book, lots of behind the scenes images and concept art. I loved seeing the evolutions of the character designs and how they built the costumes. Lots of accompanying text as well with information about the production of the film, details about the story, and interviews with the actors. I can't wait to watch this movie again after having learned so much about it!
kirkw1972's review
4.0
This is the novelisation of the 2006 film by Guillermo del Toro and co-written for 2019 by Inkeart novelist Cornelia Funke. I've had a look around the internet for why we suddenly have a written adaption and can't really find anything beyond: because she wanted to. Odd but I did enjoy reading the story. I vaguely remember starting to watch the film, being a bit weirded out and giving up. Reading this makes me want to give the film another go.
It's beautifully described, very haunting in some places and very easy to devour all in one go. It's much darker than the children's stories we get now and probably more evocative of the fairy tales as they were originally written hundreds of years ago. I enjoyed being a little bit creeped out by some of the characters like the Pale Man and the violence of the Capitan.
I'm intrigued to see the final published work as the illustrations looked great on kindle netgalley PDF but I'd like to see if they will be coloured. If not I still imagine they will be fantastic in print as they looked amazing from what I could tell. I actually wish there were more of them. I think they enhanced the story a great deal.
Overall not sure why we have it but I'm glad we do.
It's beautifully described, very haunting in some places and very easy to devour all in one go. It's much darker than the children's stories we get now and probably more evocative of the fairy tales as they were originally written hundreds of years ago. I enjoyed being a little bit creeped out by some of the characters like the Pale Man and the violence of the Capitan.
I'm intrigued to see the final published work as the illustrations looked great on kindle netgalley PDF but I'd like to see if they will be coloured. If not I still imagine they will be fantastic in print as they looked amazing from what I could tell. I actually wish there were more of them. I think they enhanced the story a great deal.
Overall not sure why we have it but I'm glad we do.
alexislynae's review against another edition
4.0
I love coffee table books and love Pan's Labyrinth, so this was probably never not going to be a great experience for me. This book is loaded with facts about the creation of the film as well as beautiful artwork. I really knew nothing about the production aspect of this movie and think that this book will have a real, positive impact on my experience of the film next time I watch it.
rachel1's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting book, will make you appreciate the movie more. My one complaint is that there are inserts that sometimes cover over text, and if you try to remove them it damages the page. Not a major issue though, doesn't happen too many times.
beslis_melis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Changed my life. The absoluut pinnacle of fantacy. It made me feel like a little kid again. i cried like never before <|spoiler>
charkar's review against another edition
2.0
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher. This in no way influenced by thoughts. (I'm aware that this is a very late review for an ARC, but I still felt the need to add this disclaimer.)
Before I even start talking about this book, I want to preface this review with the fact that I've never watched the film Pan's Labyrinth. And even though I've never seen it, I still know that this book doesn't do it any form of justice...
There isn't even much to say about this because it's just... such a nothing book. It's supposedly from 'two of the world's greatest storytellers' and yet nothing is fully described or explained throughout. We're just kind of told what happens, and I think a lot of it relies on your prior knowledge of the film. Which is... fine... But also really lazy. If this could stand on its own two feet it would be amazing. if the fantastical elements were richly described in evocative detail it would be a masterpiece. But as it stands.... Meh.
I obviously can't speak for the film, but this genuinely felt like more of a political military story than the fantasy it's supposed to be. Even with the little scenes offering backstory into the underground world didn't add much whimsy to the book. In fact, they felt more disjointed and out of place than anything. The plot was just zoomed through and I didn't get the chance to connect to Ofelia and her heartbreaking story, because I was constantly being bounced from this happened to Ofelia did that to this is what happened. There was no emotion anywhere, and I can tell from the events that, had this been executed well, it would have been an extremely emotional read. As it stands, I just don't care about anything.
Two stars purely because it's made me want to watch the film (despite how creepy I find the Pale Man).
Before I even start talking about this book, I want to preface this review with the fact that I've never watched the film Pan's Labyrinth. And even though I've never seen it, I still know that this book doesn't do it any form of justice...
There isn't even much to say about this because it's just... such a nothing book. It's supposedly from 'two of the world's greatest storytellers' and yet nothing is fully described or explained throughout. We're just kind of told what happens, and I think a lot of it relies on your prior knowledge of the film. Which is... fine... But also really lazy. If this could stand on its own two feet it would be amazing. if the fantastical elements were richly described in evocative detail it would be a masterpiece. But as it stands.... Meh.
I obviously can't speak for the film, but this genuinely felt like more of a political military story than the fantasy it's supposed to be. Even with the little scenes offering backstory into the underground world didn't add much whimsy to the book. In fact, they felt more disjointed and out of place than anything. The plot was just zoomed through and I didn't get the chance to connect to Ofelia and her heartbreaking story, because I was constantly being bounced from this happened to Ofelia did that to this is what happened. There was no emotion anywhere, and I can tell from the events that, had this been executed well, it would have been an extremely emotional read. As it stands, I just don't care about anything.
Two stars purely because it's made me want to watch the film (despite how creepy I find the Pale Man).
kindleandcrochet's review against another edition
4.0
I recieved a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really, really enjoyed this. It sucked me in from the very beginning with rich descriptions and fantastic characters.
I loved reading from Ofelia's pov. It was interesting to see her take on everything that happened... Interspersed with pov's from the adults around her and the creatures from the Underworld.
I think it stayed in line with the film really well - and I really enjoyed the film.
I'd love to read more by these authors I think they could do some amazing work
I really, really enjoyed this. It sucked me in from the very beginning with rich descriptions and fantastic characters.
I loved reading from Ofelia's pov. It was interesting to see her take on everything that happened... Interspersed with pov's from the adults around her and the creatures from the Underworld.
I think it stayed in line with the film really well - and I really enjoyed the film.
I'd love to read more by these authors I think they could do some amazing work