The Sleeper and the Spindle – paperback edition

Reviewed By  Janet Mawdesley       February 2, 2020

 

Author  Neil Gaiman. Illustrations Chris Riddell.

Distributor:      Bloomsbury Childrens Books
ISBN:                 9781408859643
Publisher:         Bloomsbury Childrens Books
Release Date:   December 2019 (paperback edition)  

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The team of Neil Gaiman and Neil Riddle are hard to beat when to it come to spinning a fine yarn, all the while twisting together the time old children’s stories of Snow White and the Sleeping Beauty to come up with rollicking good yarn for modern audiences.

Released in 2017, The Sleeper and the Spindle proved to be so popular it has now been released in paperback, and like the storyline, returned to enchant and intrigue once again.

Known for his wonderfully creative revamping of many traditional fables and fairy tales Gaiman, in his quirky manner, leads readers on a merry old dance through the portals of history to arrive in the modern world, dragons still needing to be despatched, well it appears there is not one but should be, a Queen putting aside her robes to don armour before heading out to fight the good fight, rescue a princess, who maybe does not really want to be rescued and conquer evil, with the storyline going anywhere but the expected.

The intricate illustrations added by Riddle only enhance the completely captivating and yet slightly dark tale which simply underscores the undeniable fact that nothing in a Neil Gaiman story, is as it seems.

The Sleeper and the Spindle, sees these two highly acclaimed men at the peak of their talent and for those who have not already read this fast paced, slightly dark, slightly bizarre, funny, modern fairy story, make sure you do almost immediately.