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jamestomasino's review against another edition
2.0
This one ended up feeling drearily bleak, even with a realtively "happy" ending. It drolled on and on, despite the book being quite short.
alexctelander's review against another edition
4.0
Peter & Max is the first of what will hopefully be a number of spin-off novels from the award-winning comic book series, Fables, created and written by Bill Willingham. Fables is the incredible story told in pictures and words of the lives of the fables who have been forced out of their home world by the Adversary, as well as a number of monsters and beasts, and now live in our world. They’ve resided in the grand state of New York for a number of centuries now. The human-looking, ordinary fables, as well as those who can transform into humans (such as the Big Bad Wolf, Bigby), live in a square block of New York City known as Fabletown. Protected by wards and spells that keep ordinary humans away, these fables enjoy an average everyday life in this busy city. For all the animal fables that would cause the average person to run screaming for the hills when said fable started talking to them, they live at the Farm, a large piece of land located in upstate New York.
A lot has happened in the pages of Fables, many battles and wars, and catastrophic events; new fables have been born, while others have died. But as much as skillful writer Bill Willingham has already told, there is much back story and history that the author has barely hinted at. Enter Peter & Max, the riveting, fascinating story of Peter Piper and his older brother Max. The story begins with the discovery that Max is now loose in our world, and it is up to Peter to stop him. The reader is taken back in time, going through Peter’s and Max’s lives, as Peter becomes close to Little Bo Peep, his future wife, and his skill at playing the pipe. At a relatively young age they are separated, and while Peter grows to become a skilled and intelligent person, Max is taken under the claws of a wicked witch and taught evil things and evil ways. In a big showdown, Peter is barely able to best Max who flees to other lands, while Bo Peep is left horribly handicapped. And now Max is back, in our world, wreaking havoc, and this time Peter will have to end him once and for all.
While Peter & Max isn’t written in quite the same colorful, moving style as the comic book series, Bill Willingham continues to show that he sure knows how to tell a story, keeping the reader hooked from start ‘til finish. The words are accompanied by some wonderful ink-black illustrations by Steve Leialoha, whether they are single or full double-page spreads, or small depictions on the corner of the page, that continue the mood of a fairytale that you never want to end. Peter & Max is a necessary addition for any Fables fan looking for something new and different for the series, as well as anyone wanting to discover the series for the first time; the book is a perfect introduction.
For more book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to BookBanter.
A lot has happened in the pages of Fables, many battles and wars, and catastrophic events; new fables have been born, while others have died. But as much as skillful writer Bill Willingham has already told, there is much back story and history that the author has barely hinted at. Enter Peter & Max, the riveting, fascinating story of Peter Piper and his older brother Max. The story begins with the discovery that Max is now loose in our world, and it is up to Peter to stop him. The reader is taken back in time, going through Peter’s and Max’s lives, as Peter becomes close to Little Bo Peep, his future wife, and his skill at playing the pipe. At a relatively young age they are separated, and while Peter grows to become a skilled and intelligent person, Max is taken under the claws of a wicked witch and taught evil things and evil ways. In a big showdown, Peter is barely able to best Max who flees to other lands, while Bo Peep is left horribly handicapped. And now Max is back, in our world, wreaking havoc, and this time Peter will have to end him once and for all.
While Peter & Max isn’t written in quite the same colorful, moving style as the comic book series, Bill Willingham continues to show that he sure knows how to tell a story, keeping the reader hooked from start ‘til finish. The words are accompanied by some wonderful ink-black illustrations by Steve Leialoha, whether they are single or full double-page spreads, or small depictions on the corner of the page, that continue the mood of a fairytale that you never want to end. Peter & Max is a necessary addition for any Fables fan looking for something new and different for the series, as well as anyone wanting to discover the series for the first time; the book is a perfect introduction.
For more book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to BookBanter.
samcarlin's review against another edition
3.0
It was good, but I really missed the graphic elements from the series.
i_dream_of_books's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this a lot until the end. To me, it ended in kind of a disappointment. I won’t spoil it, but I felt it was built up and kind of a let down. Otherwise, I enjoyed the character building and the story for the most part.
chgoange's review against another edition
4.0
Like the Fables comic book series which it is based upon, a fun escape with some of our favorite fairy tale characters. Little Bo Peep as an assassin. Love it.
just_fighting_censorship's review against another edition
3.0
Peter Piper and his brother Max are the ultimate case of sibling rivalry. This story takes us from the supposed beginning of the rivalry in the Homelands all the way to the final showdown in our present day.
I enjoyed the characters of Peter and Bo, but as far as villains go Max was pretty one note. Max has absolutely nothing to give him even the slightest bit of redemption and his motives are pretty simplistic, so simplistic in fact, that they seem hard to believe. Even Voldemort was given a little redemption/explanation with the exploration of his family background. Max is just an asshole. He does incredibly terrible things and at a pretty early age. Despite the seemingly all-knowing narrator we get very little insight into Max's thoughts and feelings besides insanely intense anger.
There were some really great battles but too many lulls filled with things that added nothing to the story such as. Overall, a pretty average story with few surprises but a decent tension filled plot nonetheless.
I enjoyed the characters of Peter and Bo, but as far as villains go Max was pretty one note. Max has absolutely nothing to give him even the slightest bit of redemption and his motives are pretty simplistic, so simplistic in fact, that they seem hard to believe. Even Voldemort was given a little redemption/explanation with the exploration of his family background. Max is just an asshole. He does incredibly terrible things and at a pretty early age.
Spoiler
His dad giving the flute to Peter instead was not enoughThere were some really great battles but too many lulls filled with things that added nothing to the story such as
Spoiler
Max approaching Fabletown to ask for citizenship, Peter's discussion with Bigbysarahconnor89757's review against another edition
3.0
Like the comic, I love the premise but hate the way it was written. Just bores me.
The book itself, though, is beautiful. The illustrations are done in a detailed classic children's book style.
The book itself, though, is beautiful. The illustrations are done in a detailed classic children's book style.
stevereally's review against another edition
5.0
Could not put it down.
It's probably still enjoyable if you've never read Willingham's Vertigo comic series Fables, but it makes a lot more sense if you're well familiar with the comic series (which starts off slow, gets good in the second trade paperback collection, and even better in the third and fourth collections).
It's probably still enjoyable if you've never read Willingham's Vertigo comic series Fables, but it makes a lot more sense if you're well familiar with the comic series (which starts off slow, gets good in the second trade paperback collection, and even better in the third and fourth collections).
cosmicbutton's review against another edition
4.0
It's been a few years since I finished the Fables graphic novel series, but I was delighted to find this stand alone novel in the same universe. This story was enchanting in the right ways, and if anything, I'm so happy I was able to enter this world again with new eyes and new characters.
charlottejones952's review against another edition
4.0
Peter & Max is a standalone novel based in Bill Willingham's world of Fables, an extremely popular graphic novel series. I picked up this book on audiobook because it is narrated wonderfully by Wil Wheaton and already it has around 3160 ratings on Goodreads, I've never heard anyone talk about this.
This tells the story of Peter and Max Piper, two brothers who become the hero and villain characters in the story. I loved the way that Bill Willingham has used fairytale tropes and characters and put them into the modern world in ways that really play on their character traits in interesting ways.
I loved the writing style and although I understand that the graphic novel will read differently because of the format, I feel that the writing style may carry over into the original work.
I liked how Bill Willingham didn't shy away from some of the violence in the novel, especially where Max was concerned, and I think that although this is set around a fantasy setting and well-known fantasy characters, a lot of their actions were believable and grounded in our real world.
I would recommend this book, whether you've read the graphic novel series or not, and I will definitely be reading the first volume soon!
This tells the story of Peter and Max Piper, two brothers who become the hero and villain characters in the story. I loved the way that Bill Willingham has used fairytale tropes and characters and put them into the modern world in ways that really play on their character traits in interesting ways.
I loved the writing style and although I understand that the graphic novel will read differently because of the format, I feel that the writing style may carry over into the original work.
I liked how Bill Willingham didn't shy away from some of the violence in the novel, especially where Max was concerned, and I think that although this is set around a fantasy setting and well-known fantasy characters, a lot of their actions were believable and grounded in our real world.
I would recommend this book, whether you've read the graphic novel series or not, and I will definitely be reading the first volume soon!