Sunday 25 March 2012

Review: Oliver Twisted - JD Sharpe (and Charles Dickens)

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 scent 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 . . .

Visit JD Sharpe's website for more information

Review:
Oliver Twisted introduces us to an Oliver not quite like any we've seen before. He's still an orphan growing up in an orphanage but this is a world where vampyres snack on the children! After making the decision to go to London Oliver barely survives a woe-begotten (zombie) attack on the journey, it is only thanks to the help of Dodger that he arrives in one piece. But that is just the start of his troubles and if you thought the Bill Sykes and Fagin you've read about before were evil you haven't seen anything yet - Oliver Twisted is even darker than the original tale!

You think you know Oliver's story but JD Sharpe has managed to include some fabulous twists in the characters we love (or in some cases love to hate!). So while she has managed to keep the essence of the story she has also managed to make it her own and put a fresh spin on a much loved tale.

Oliver Twisted is a great debut and one that I'm sure will appeal to both boys and girls. It is a very dark and gory read so not one I would have wanted to read just before bed (but then I'm a well known wuss when it comes to horror!) but I found myself enjoying the gruesome details much more than I expected to. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who likes seeing a new twist on classic stories, especially if they also happen to be a horror fan. I'm looking forward to seeing what JD Sharpe comes up with next.

Source: Received from Egmont in exchange for an honest review

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails