Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley
Published by Bloomsbury
Challenge: BBC
Source: Review Copy
Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief. Mister Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets. Their relationship begins as pure convenience. But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target ...Victor Frankenstein.
Friendship, trust and betrayal combine to form a dangerous liaison in this moving and frightening new book from Chris Priestley.
Mister Creecher is an interesting read which is very different from Chris Priestly's first novel but also capturing the same Gothic Victorian feel as it meaning I really enjoyed it.
For me this book at its very core is about humanity and friendship and spends a great deal of time questioning issues around these themes. Creecher is a monster who is shunned by society forced to live on the outskirts, never quite fitting in anywhere. His mission in life is to hunt down his creator who has promised to build him a mate. To do this he recruits Billy, a partnership which is initially built on fear and convenience, to help him track the mysterious Mister Frankenstein in return for food and protection. As the story goes on this relationship changes to one of friendship as the two set off on their journey to help Creecher. Throughout the journey there are several questions raised about what it means to be human as Creecher ponders what he is and what sort of life he should be entitled to. I also loved seeing how the friendship between him and Billy developed and changed as the book progressed.
One thing I loved about this book was the the setting. You get a wonderful sense of period from this book and a real feel of Victorian England. I loved how this creepily Gothic feel added to the story as a whole.
For me another thing that made this book special was how the story tied into other works of fiction from the time. Whilst one of them will be obvious both from this review and from the blurb the other isn't initially and I though how they were used was really clever.
All in all this book is a brilliant read meeting the expectational high standard I have come to expect from a Chris Priestly novel with a fantastic setting and interesting ideas posed throughout.
Published by Bloomsbury
Challenge: BBC
Source: Review Copy
Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief. Mister Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets. Their relationship begins as pure convenience. But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target ...Victor Frankenstein.
Friendship, trust and betrayal combine to form a dangerous liaison in this moving and frightening new book from Chris Priestley.
***
For me this book at its very core is about humanity and friendship and spends a great deal of time questioning issues around these themes. Creecher is a monster who is shunned by society forced to live on the outskirts, never quite fitting in anywhere. His mission in life is to hunt down his creator who has promised to build him a mate. To do this he recruits Billy, a partnership which is initially built on fear and convenience, to help him track the mysterious Mister Frankenstein in return for food and protection. As the story goes on this relationship changes to one of friendship as the two set off on their journey to help Creecher. Throughout the journey there are several questions raised about what it means to be human as Creecher ponders what he is and what sort of life he should be entitled to. I also loved seeing how the friendship between him and Billy developed and changed as the book progressed.
One thing I loved about this book was the the setting. You get a wonderful sense of period from this book and a real feel of Victorian England. I loved how this creepily Gothic feel added to the story as a whole.
For me another thing that made this book special was how the story tied into other works of fiction from the time. Whilst one of them will be obvious both from this review and from the blurb the other isn't initially and I though how they were used was really clever.
All in all this book is a brilliant read meeting the expectational high standard I have come to expect from a Chris Priestly novel with a fantastic setting and interesting ideas posed throughout.
Comments
Thanks
Lynn