Shadowland | Peter Straub

Shadowland ~ Peter Straub
By: Fatma Al-Hajri

Shadowland, by Peter Straub begins in a private prep school for boys. In this school, Del and Tom, two freshmen boys fascinated by magic, find each other and form a strong friendship. Together,they form a bond based on their interest in magic tricks. In the seconed half of the book, the boys retire for the summer to the estate of Del's uncle, Shadowland.

Del's uncle is a half-crazy, alcoholic, retired magician. He sets about teaching the boys magic or the art of illusion. At Shadowland, nothing is as it seems. An hour can feel like all day. The sun can set at 11am. You can find yourself suddenly half-way across a continent, just to find that you haven't moved from your spot at all. There are others living at Shadowland that are unseen, and whose existence is denied. There are rules that are made in the hopes of being broken. In the end, the boys struggle through an alternate world where dark forces are at play so they can escape from Shadowland.

Personal Opinion: I usually love horror coming of age books but I failed to like this one. I felt that it consists of many interesting events but there was no connection between them. The first half of the book was in a universe and the second half was in a different universe. Also I didn't get the point of going on and on about the character SKELETON in the first half if he wasn't really important in the second half. Also I didn't like the heroes, Tom Flanagan and his friend, Del Nightingale. They were boring and a bit annoying. Even the villain was boring.

My rating: 3/10

I recommend it only to Peter Straub hardcore fans.