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A review by ehays84
100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
5.0
Wow, another really excellent children's fantasy that has been written fairly recently. This follows fairly closely after reading Garth Nix's Mister Monday, and this is another excellent book that reminds me that there really are some talented authors currently producing children's fantasy.
Probably the biggest criticism of the book would have to be that it is fairly derivative of books like E. Nesbit's books or the Half Magic books or Narnia, but since I love all those books, this is really more of a compliment than a criticism from me. After all, aren't all books derivative in some way, if you know enough about it? I think a better way to say it is that the author is "in conversation" with other similar authors with similar ideas. The most derivative part would probably be the witch, who comes out of her world to try to take over the others--this is almost exactly like the White Witch in Narnia and the cupboards is a lot like the wood between the worlds.
Onto the positives. His characters are so well done. Uncle Frank is seriously the best and most fun character I have met in some time in a fantasy book. His primary world in Kansas was so well set up, that I almost missed it once we started spending more time in the secondary worlds of the cupboards. The later part of the book gets pretty chaotic with all of the cupboards, but I think once you embrace the chaos, you can really just enjoy the thrill and excitement of it, with so many unknowns and so much to discover. I would also say that Wilson has channeled Neil Gaiman a bit with some really creepy parts yet never dipping over into anything horrific (and to me, the genre of horror is about manipulating your emotions rather than telling a good story on its own).
I also think this book works quite well on its own, but that it is an excellent set up for the rest of the series.
At this point in my reading career and as busy as I am in my life and parenting young child (soon to be children), one of the best compliments is to say that I will definitely continue reading this series. There are so many other great books on my to read list, but I will definitely make a place for more of this series in that list. And I will definitely recommend this book to my students.
Bravo.
Probably the biggest criticism of the book would have to be that it is fairly derivative of books like E. Nesbit's books or the Half Magic books or Narnia, but since I love all those books, this is really more of a compliment than a criticism from me. After all, aren't all books derivative in some way, if you know enough about it? I think a better way to say it is that the author is "in conversation" with other similar authors with similar ideas. The most derivative part would probably be the witch, who comes out of her world to try to take over the others--this is almost exactly like the White Witch in Narnia and the cupboards is a lot like the wood between the worlds.
Onto the positives. His characters are so well done. Uncle Frank is seriously the best and most fun character I have met in some time in a fantasy book. His primary world in Kansas was so well set up, that I almost missed it once we started spending more time in the secondary worlds of the cupboards. The later part of the book gets pretty chaotic with all of the cupboards, but I think once you embrace the chaos, you can really just enjoy the thrill and excitement of it, with so many unknowns and so much to discover. I would also say that Wilson has channeled Neil Gaiman a bit with some really creepy parts yet never dipping over into anything horrific (and to me, the genre of horror is about manipulating your emotions rather than telling a good story on its own).
I also think this book works quite well on its own, but that it is an excellent set up for the rest of the series.
At this point in my reading career and as busy as I am in my life and parenting young child (soon to be children), one of the best compliments is to say that I will definitely continue reading this series. There are so many other great books on my to read list, but I will definitely make a place for more of this series in that list. And I will definitely recommend this book to my students.
Bravo.