Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Ransom Riggs - Tales of the Peculiar - Book Review (Penguin) (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children)

*A new set of stories from the world of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children*

In this collection of fairy tales, Ransom Riggs invites you to uncover hidden legends of the peculiar world. A fork-tongued princess, a girl who talks to ghosts, and wealthy cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars are just a few of the characters whose stories will have you hooked.

Featuring stunning illustrations from world-renowned artist Andrew Davidson, this compelling, rich and truly peculiar anthology is the perfect gift for fans - and for all lovers of great storytelling.

Tales of the Peculiar is a beautifully illustrated collection of fairy tales that draws the readers back to the world of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. It is a lovely volume of ten short stories that all start with a fantastic black/white full page of woodblock engravings by Andrew Davidson. 

This golden striking book cover has also been designed by Andrew; it is absolutely stunning, just like the overall production of the book. The illustrations will lead you into a transcending world of fables, myths and mysteries that will pull at the peculiar strings of your fantasy brain. 

I'm not usually a big fan of short stories, but I am a very big fan of Ransom Riggs. All of the short stories exist within his previous novels and give you a fantastic taste of each whether you are a new reader or a previous fan. They are a mixture of beloved fairy tales and legends that the peculiar children grew up hearing; all have been written by and about people with peculiar talents and afflictions. 

The tales are mostly folklore and are meant, primarily, to be punchy and packed full of good stories. They delve into important aspects of peculiar history, such as how Miss Peregrine’s time-looping predecessors came to be through the short story of "The First Ymbryne". The tales are set in a distant era before peculiars lived in time loops. It concerns strange dealings between a peculiar village and a group of disarmingly polite cannibals. 

My favourite story is "The Girl Who Could Tame Nightmares" which is a deliciously dark fairytale told in a clever and imaginative way. It will pick you up and suck you into a bubble of wonderfully weird brilliance which will stay in your dark hungry hearts for some time. 

All of the stories are twisted and filled with a strange and quirky humour which suits me just down to the ground. You can start at any place in the book and easily follow the flow of the narrative. I am confident that you will love all of the stories. There is certainly a great selection to read aloud, but only if you are Peculiar. 

This is a fantastic book to introduce to the world. The characters and the story will soon be seen on the big screen at the end of this month. It has been directed by Tim Burton and stars Eva Green, Samuel L. Jackson and Judi Dench. It looks like an amazing film so check out the movie trailer below. 

Ransom Riggs grew up in Florida but now makes his home in the land of peculiar children—Los Angeles. He was raised on a steady diet of ghost stories and British comedy, which probably explains the novels he writes. There's a nonzero chance he's in your house right now, watching you from underneath the bed. (Go ahead and check. We'll wait.) If not, you can find him on Twitter @ransomriggs.

Andrew Davidson graduated from the Royal College of Art with a Masters in Graphic Design. Davidson has worked as an illustrator in a number of different disciplines, but craft and design have always been the cornerstones of his work. His varied career has included wood engravings for The Iron Man byTed Hughes, more than twelve sets of stamps for The Royal Mail, and the glass etched doors for the Centre Court at Wimbledon. He is married to his wife Julia, and has two sons, Lewis and Hugh.

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Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Sally Green - Half Wild First Chapter Reveal - Penguin 2015

Strong language warning . This extract may not be suitable for younger readers. 

Here is the first chapter of Half Wild which doesn’t come out until March 2015! 

You’ll feel my heavy spirit chill your chest, And climb your throat on sobs, Wild with all Regrets, Wilfred Owen

a new day

a crossbill calls

another bird replies, not a crossbill

the first bird takes over again

and again

the crossbill-

shit, it’s morning

i’ve been asleep

it’s morning, very early

shit, shit, shit

don’t panic

need to wake up need to wake up

can’t believe i’ve been asl-

chchchchchchchhchchchc chhhhhchchch hchcchchchhhchc hchhchchchcchchhcchhchchhchchchhcchchchchchchhchch chchchhchchchchhchhhchchchchccchchchchh chchchchhchchc hhchchchchhc hchchhchhchch chchchchchchchhchh hchchccchchchchhchchchh hchhchchch

SHIT!

the noise is here. HERE!

chchchchchchchhchchchcchhhhhch chchhchcc hchchhhchchchhchch chcchchhcchchchhchchchhcch chchchchchhchchc hchchhchchchchhchhh chchchchccchchchchhhchchc hchhchchchhchchchchhchchc hhchhchchchch chchchchchhchhhch chccchchchchhc hchchhhchhchchch 

that level of noise means, oh shit, someone with a mobile is close. very close. shit, i can’t believe i’ve been asleep with Hunters on my tail. and her. the fast one. she was close last night.

chchchchch chchhchchchcchh hhhchchc hhchcchchchhhch chchhch chchcchchhcchh chchhchchchhcchch chchchchhchchchc hchhchchchchhchhhchchchch ccchchch cchhchchchchhc hchchhchchchchhchc hchhchhchchchchchchchchchhc hhhchchccchchchchh chchchhhchhchchch 

THINK! THINK!

chchchchchchch hchchchcchhhhhchchchh chcchchchhhchchchhchchchc chchhcch chchchhchchchhcchchchchchchhch chchchchhc hchchchhchh hchchchchc cchchchchhhc hchchc hhchchchhchch chchhchchch hchhchc hchc hchchch chchhchh hchchccchc hchchhchch chhhchhchchch

it’s a mobile phone, for sure it’s a mobile phone. the noise is in my head, not in my ears, it’s to the upper right side, inside, constant, like an electrical interference, pure hiss, mobile hiss, loud, three or four meters away loud. SHIT! THINK! THINK!

chchchchchchchhch chchcchhhhhchchchhc hcchchchh hchchchhchchchcchc hhcchchchc hhchchchhcchchc hchchchhchch chchchhchc hchchhchhhc hchchchc cchchchch

ok right, lots of people have mobiles. if it’s a Hunter, that Hunter, and she could see me, i’d be dead by now.

i’m not dead

she can’t see me

chchchchchc hchhchchchcchhhh hchchchhchcc hchchhhchchch hchchch cchchhcch chchchhchchchh cchchchchc hchhchchch chchhchchchchh chhhchchchchccchchc hch

the noise isn’t getting louder. she’s not moving closer. but she’s not moving away either.

am i hidden?

i’m lying on my side, face pressed into the ground. totally still. can’t see anything but earth.

got to move a little.

but not yet. think first. stay calm and work it out.

there’s no breeze, no sun, just a lightness. it’s early. the sun has to be behind the mountain still. there’s the smell of earth, the pine of the forest. the ground is cool, dry, no dew. there’s the smell of the forest and . . . there’s another smell.

what is that smell?

and there’s a taste.

a bad taste. it tastes like . . . oh no-

don’t think about it

don’t think about it

don’t think about it

don’t think about it

think about something else

think about where you are

You’re lying on the ground, in the early morning and the air is cool. You’re cold. You’re cold because . . . oh shit, oh shit . . . you’re naked. You’re naked and the top half of you is wet. Your chest, your arms . . . your face are wet.

And you move the fingers of your left hand, the tiniest of movements, and they’re sticky. Sticking together. As if with drying, sugary juice. But it’s not juice.

don’t think about it

don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it

DoN’t THiNk aBOUT IT

THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE

THINK ABOUT STAYING ALIVE

You’ve got to move. The Hunters are close on your tail. That fast one was close. She was very close last night.

what happened last night?

what happened?

remember!

NO.

FORGET THAT. THINK ABOUT STAYING ALIVE

WORK OUT WHAT TO DO

You can look, move your head a fraction to see more. The ground by your face is thick with pine-needles. Brown pine-needles. But the brown isn’t from the pine, it’s the colour of dried blood. You’re left arm is extended. It’s streaked in it, dried, brown. But your hand isn’t streaked in it, it’s thick with it. Sopping. Red

close your eyes

close your eyes

close your eyes

chchchchchchchhc hchchcchhhhhch chchhchcc hchchhhchc hchhchchchcchchhcch cchchchhc hchchhcchchchch chchhchchchchchh chchchchhchh hchc hchch ccchch chchchh chchchchhchchc hhchchchchhc hchchhchhch chchchchch chchchh chhhch chccchchch chhchchc hhhchhchchch

You need to go. Without thinking or looking or remembering. You need to go. For you’re own safety you have to get out of here. You need to get moving. Get away from here. You can find a stream and wash. Wash it all off.

The mobile phone is close, not changing. It won’t be coming closer.

You should look, check. Turn your head to the other side. You can do it. Look, check. . .

it looks like a log

Please be a log. Please be a log. Please be a log.

Please.

it’s not a log.

it’s a shape in black and red, with black boots and with two legs; one straight, one bent. legs dressed in black. black material covering the torso. light-brown hair. her hair. cut short. sopping with blood. her face is turned away.

she’s lying as still as a log

still wet

still oozing

not fast any more

the mobile phone is hers

chchchchchc hchhchchchcch hhhhchch chhchcchc hchhhchch chhchchchc chchhcch cchchch hchchchhcchchchc hchchhchchchchchhchchc hchhchhh chchchch ccchch chchchh

and as you raise your head you see the wound that is her throat

and it is jagged and bloody and deep and red

Half Bad has gone into the new Guinness World Record as the most translated book and most translated children’s book by a debut author before publication. Now comes book two in the trilogy, Half Wild. 

Penguin have also announced an e-short which will come out on 13^th November and is called Half Lies.

You can watch the trailer of Half Bad here.

RELEATED POSTS: Also check out my book review HERE AND A Exclusive Interview From Sally Green - HERE Thank you all for reading....

Interview with Sally Green - Half Bad Blog Tour - Published by Penguin Books - March 2014

On today's stop of the Half Bad blog tour  day six you can read an interview with author, Sally Green. On the final stop you can win lovely signed copies of the book. Go to www.realmoffiction.blogspot.com (on 2nd March)

Is this the first book that you have written?

Half Bad is the first book I've had published. I have written one other novel before this, which I tried and failed to get it published and now it is in a box never to be looked at again. 

When and where did you get the first ideas for this book?

I think my first inspiration came from a storytelling festival I went to in 2009 (Festival at the Edge in Shropshire) - I was steeped in folklore for three days and loved it. In these old stories three was a significant number (three brothers, three branches on a bramble, three wishes etc.) and I had the basic idea of a scenario where to become a true, adult witch you had to be given three gifts. 

I didn't know much about witches but I knew there was 'good' White magic and 'bad' black magic and the themes of good and bad reminded me of the lines from Hamlet 'there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so'. I liked the idea of playing around with the assumptions that the White Witches would be the good guys and the Black Witches would be bad.  

To potential readers, can you describe the book as you see it?

Half Bad is the story of Nathan a teenage witch. At the beginning of the story he is a prisoner of the White Witches. He is being kept in a cage, not because of anything he has done, but because of what he is - a Half Code (half White Witch and half Black Witch) - and because his father is the most feared of the Black Witches. The story traces Nathan's life from birth to his seventeenth birthday by which time he must escape White Witches and go through a ceremony (receiving three gifts) to become a true, adult witch.

Nathan's life is full of physical hardship, even torture, but his mental struggles are as difficult as his physical ones. He is alone, abused and afraid of both the White Witches and the Black, and added to that he is not sure how he himself is going to turn out - whether his Black half or White half will dominate.

Did you do any research for the book? If so what did comprise of?

I didn't do a lot or research. I used a lot of what I know, for example all the places are based on real locations that I'm familiar with, though most of them aren't named. 

For my research I mostly had the help of my research buddy, Google,  for example I had an important knife in my story and I read up on knives and found out about the Fairbairn-Sykes dagger which I modelled my knife, the Fairborn, upon. 

Who has influenced you or influences you as a writer?

I'm influenced by many other writers and the books I read. I love Hemingway's style and his short stories in particular, and his ideas about writing do influence me - in particular his idea that you have to know a character but that doesn't mean you have to tell the reader these things, even important things, just knowing them will mean the character will come out in the story. I do believe you have to trust the reader to fill in the gaps, you have to assume the reader is pretty smart.

What kind of books do you read for pleasure?

I read a mix of YA (about a third of my reading) and literary fiction, some non-fiction and some younger children's books with my 11 year old son. The authors who have recently given me a lot of pleasure are David Mitchell, Hemingway, Kate Atkinson, Ben Fountain, Patrick Ness, Mohsin Hamid, Emily Bronte, JG Ballard, Philip Roth…I could go on, the list is actually quite long.

I rarely put up with a book if it's not giving me any pleasure. I guess I've started and given up on 3 in the last year.

Do you have any tips on how to get published?

Be the best writer you can. To do that you need to work hard at your writing, get feedback from fellow writers whom you respect and whose feedback style you understand. Give feedback to them too - analysing writing and working out its strengths and weaknesses will benefit your own writing. 

Write your novel - live and breathe it.

Edit your novel - ruthlessly.

When submitting your manuscript follow the instructions given by the agent and always be professional.

When your manuscript is rejected don't give up but do consider starting again on a new novel. I was inspired by Iain Banks' path to publication. He told himself that he would have 3 (there's that number again!) attempts at submitting different novels before he would give up. The Wasp Factory was his third, but I suspect he would have done a fourth and a fifth. 

If/ when the book becomes a film, what kind of input would you like on the production?

I'm no expert on film making and can't imagine striding around saying much of anything about the production of the film. I'm confident that the producers will stick closely to the book (as they did with Twilight for example) - if I wasn't sure they knew what they were doing I wouldn't have agreed to the film deal. I will have some input - to ensure that the overall sense of the trilogy is followed and important but minor aspects of Book 1 are not ignored.

How many books do you plan to write in this series?

Three. The second will be published in March 2015 and the third in March 2016.

Could you give us a little insight into your next book?

All I can say is that I'm writing the second book of the trilogy at the moment. It follows on from the first book and I'm trying to make sure it lives up to its title - Half Wild.

Twitter: @Sa11eGreen 

www.halfbadworld.com

Book Review: Sally Green - Half Bad - Published by Penguin 2014

One of the biggest books to make last years Bologna Book Fair was Sally Green's Half Bad. It received worldwide praise and some amazing comments from the publishing world. From this point onwards, the book has now been released in 42 languages worldwide and film rights have recently been sold to Fox.

A global launch for this book will take place on the 3rd March. This supernatural thriller has been much anticipated by readers everywhere. The question must be . . . .  is this hype justified? Well it isn't another Twilight or Hunger Games which I'm really pleased to be able to report as I'm always looking for originality. Personally, I think that this has original qualities by the bucketful. I was not expecting this book to turn out the way it did - I was expecting magic and, perhaps, an unrealistic fantasy world. However I found neither of these elements within this book.

What I did find was an emotion-fuelled story that will touch every heart to the core. Set in a modern day world inhabited by Witches (both Black and White) who are divided by hatred and the fear of each other. The white witches are the ruling force - this council seeks out protection for it's own kind. However this brings social consequences, which create emotional turmoil, developing in to an interesting element of the story that I was keen to explore.

Half Bad is a parallel universe occupied by witches. This fantastical side to the book is so subtle that it almost creeps into the book. I really loved this aspect and felt that, in my opinion,  it was very cleverly created. There is light and dark, good and evil and then the main character of the book, Nathan.  He lives in no-man's land, on the blurred boundary between black and white magic. Illegitimate and exiled. Wanted by no one, but hunted by everyone.

This book is a real thinker; it's not all about magical spells within an over the top fantasy world. Instead it's a journey of self discovery in a world of loneliness. Where the main character doesn't 'fit' in and is regarded as a social outcast. The plot encompasses a brutal world of fear and the worst elements of mankind. It is a very dark and gripping YA/adult cross-over which will entertain both emotionally and psychologically. It's interesting, intriguing and, to me, felt totally original. The blend of genres makes you think from the first page to the last. A great debut start with a powerful new voice in town.

I'd love to hear what you all think of this one......

Also check out our exclusive interview with Sally Green.  http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/2014/03/interview-with-sally-green-half-bad.html