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A review by mat_tobin
Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor by Mervyn Peake
5.0
The first book from Mervyn Peake and a glorious look into the imagination of a 29 year old writer and illustrator. I had no idea that Peake was an illustrator but his work here is excellent and shows exactly why he has gone on to illustrate Alice in Wonderland and Treasure Island for his characters are richly drawn and the world of Captain Slaughterboard is as odd as Wonderland itself.
The story itself is quite simple in which Slaughterboard, coming to the end of his pirating days, stumbles across a creature who is also out of sorts upon the island it inhabits. Together both find a companionship which takes them on great adventures and also shows Slaughterboard the true meaning of contentment. Although, as expected with Peake, the work is well written, it is the rich and beguiling illustrations which make the book. The oddity and nonsensical nature of the island's inhabitants reminded me very much of the excellent [b:The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear|62032|The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (Zamonia, #1)|Walter Moers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388176963s/62032.jpg|1482372]
The story itself is quite simple in which Slaughterboard, coming to the end of his pirating days, stumbles across a creature who is also out of sorts upon the island it inhabits. Together both find a companionship which takes them on great adventures and also shows Slaughterboard the true meaning of contentment. Although, as expected with Peake, the work is well written, it is the rich and beguiling illustrations which make the book. The oddity and nonsensical nature of the island's inhabitants reminded me very much of the excellent [b:The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear|62032|The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (Zamonia, #1)|Walter Moers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388176963s/62032.jpg|1482372]