A review by chamblyman
A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer

I hate not finishing books. Especially ones by authors whose work I have enjoyed greatly. I LOVE Vandermeer's adult stuff, and I was excited to see him tackle YA lit. I had fun with this for a while, but just completely ran out of steam after the halfway point. It reminded me of early Terry Gilliam movies like Time Bandits (which I love) or sort of a darker version of the zany, funny SF&F of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett (which I have enjoyed.) But those works really benefit from being succinct and fast paced. I can dig a big book, but this was feeling pretty bloated and messy to me. And it's only part one of a series! I think maybe YA's PG-13 rating didn't really jive with Vandermeer's twisted imagination, or maybe the humor didn't? I felt adrift on a sea of weird but not in the good way. I sincerely hope that this finds an audience, but it wasn't for me.