[personal profile] quippe
The Blurb On The Back:

If you think you know Oliver Twist, think again.

“Flesh,” the woe-begotten moaned at Oliver, baring teeth which were ragged and black.

“Flesh,” came another moan and he turned to see two more behind. They began to shuffle towards him, barefoot – toes blue from cold, arms outstretched.


The world according to Oliver Twisted is simple. Vampyres feed on the defenceless, orphans are sacrificed to hungry gods and if a woe-begotten catches your scene it will hunt you forever.

When a talking corpse reveals that Oliver will find his destiny in London, he sets out to seek the truth. Even if it means losing his soul …




The opening of a hell mouth has unleashed all kinds of nastiness into fair old England. Vampyres, werewolves, ghouls, soul stealers, woe-begottens (zombies) and other terrors all prey on the weak and defenceless and only the Knights of Nostradamus stand against the darkness.

When Oliver Twisted’s mother dies during his birth, his future seems very bleak. Sent to a blood farm where he’ll be fed on by the vampire aristocracy, he’s not expected to survive for long. But Oliver’s a survivor, which is good because there are two prophecies about him – one that he’ll be mankind’s saviour, the other its destroyer.

When the Brotherhood of Fenris find out about Oliver, they’re keen to ensure that he follows the darker path. What follows next is a rollercoaster journey that sees Oliver travel to London in search of his destiny and on the way, encountering a pickpocket called Dodge and a den master called Fagin …

J. D. Sharpe’s YA mash-up of OLIVER TWIST by Charles Dickens is a fun, dark and gory fantasy that in some ways is more entertaining than the original.

Oliver has much more of a backbone in this book beyond his innate goodness and I liked the fact that he was prepared to stand up for himself in the face of evil. However, I didn’t always buy into his gullibility (particularly the scene where he’s introduced to Nancy) and I would have liked to see more of his relationship with Dodge.

I really liked Fagin’s reinvention as a soul-stealer and the scenes that show why he’s so interested in stealing handkerchiefs is completely chilling. Similarly I enjoyed how Sharpe reimagined Sykes, particularly his relationship with Bullseye and again, I would have loved it if the book had been longer so that this could have been developed more.

I loved the world-building, particularly the way in which evil has pervaded every section of society and Sharpe cleverly reinvents both plot elements and characters from the original book. If I’ve got any real complaint, it’s that I wish the book had been longer so that the world could be examined more – especially the Knights of Nostradamus who are sketched well but too briefly.

The book ends with sufficient loose ends to warrant a sequel, which I would definitely want to check out.

The Verdict:

J. D. Sharpe’s YA mash-up of OLIVER TWIST is a fun, dark and gory fantasy, which I have to say I enjoyed more than the original mainly because Oliver is not a simpering twit. Sharpe cleverly reinvents key plot elements and characters and my biggest complaint is probably that I wanted the book to be longer so that I could see more of the dark and hellish world that the characters populate. There’s a potential here for a sequel, which I would definitely read.
This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

If you are unable to use this captcha for any reason, please contact us by email at support@dreamwidth.org

Profile

quippe

July 2025

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 14th, 2025 11:17 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios