Review by Frank Plowright

Bonnie Blair is the type of girl whose thirst for knowledge is unquenchable, but it’s at the cost of being home schooled and having no friends. This is established in a clever few opening pages by Ryan Parrott to the point that when Faerie King Oberon manifests on Earth to supply new information, it’s credible despite the source having already been seen manipulating events to appear a saviour. He claims Bonnie was kidnapped as an infant and he’s been attempting to track her down for years.

It’ll take a while for it to drop into place how neatly the set-up is achieved because from the opening page you’ll be entranced by the art of Milos Slavkovic. He’s a concept artist by trade, so perhaps the ideal designs should be no surprise, but the entire package is astonishingly good. Both real world and more exotic locations are fully realised in attractive detail, the storytelling is first rate in maximising the possibilities, and everything looks so special. This is a book to buy for the art alone.

As noted, though, as amazing as the art is, Parrott delivers a compelling story about Bonnie being in beyond her depth, having to learn rapidly and making Oberon a sympathetic figure, to some degree, despite his manipulations. Because Bonnie isn’t yet a teenager and everything looks as if it could be children’s story illustrations, you might make the mistake of assuming this is aimed at younger readers. It isn’t, and the point is emphatically made with an atrocity early in the second chapter, shortly after Bonnie begins her tour of a new world. A matter kept from readers for a while is exactly who Oberon suspects Bonnie is, and various tests are required to determine the truth. And of course, if we’re seeing Oberon, what about Titania?

In tone and output there’s a definite nod to Sandman, with a similar deadly presentation of captivating mythical figures and their world, but Parrott and Slavkovic weave their own spell. The only possible downside is that while there’s a complete and captivating story here, it’s but a prelude to another, and that’s never appeared.