Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook

Fans of Peter Pan will relish this inventive back-story. We all know who James Hook is and several other writers have attempted to create his back-story, not all with success. Christina Henry has done a fine job with LOST BOY in showing how a very young Hook started out idolizing Peter Pan and the events that turned that love into resentment and eventually hatred-fueled obsession.

Got an autographed copy from Denver Comic Con, wife figured I would be interested. I was, binge read this one quickly. Well written and a very unique dark take on some classic characters. I think what really 'hooked' me (get it?) was wondering what time period the main character was from. I was guessing Victorian England. A good read, and a lot of it makes sense.

Lostboy is a dark and compelling story that is impossible to put down. It is about the lost boys of Never Never Land and a slyly sinister Peter Pan and his savage ideas of fun and adventure. It is also about love and friendship, grief and obligation. Highly recommend.

Great concept. Love the different perspective but thought it'd be a bit darker after reading the Alice books by Henry. Still, an interesting take that makes you really feel for Hook. His thoughts about Peter became extremely repetitive by the end, and this is what took it down to four stars for me.

I've a personal connection to Captain Hook's backstory as I have twice played him in productions of the musical, Peter Pan. When I was an actor I spent INCREDIBLE amounts of time writing and developing histories for my characters, and with Hook, I was once directed by a psychopath whose main goal as a director was to keep everyone in the cast off-balance and in fear of him, so much so that both the actress playing Peter Pan and I --- who he DAILY told everything we were doing was wrong and adjust to this, which we would, and then the next day he would say THAT was all wrong --- ended up a week before the show having representatives tell him he was NO LONGER allowed to speak to us directly, but had to give our notes to our reps who would relay them to us as they saw fit. The next time I did the show, I was in essence NOT directed at all, but allowed to do whatever I wanted. I was an actor --- whatever I wanted didn't necessarily serve the show, and while the audience loved me, it wasn't really Hook up there. What both times had in common was that you can't play a villain and think they're a villain --- you've got to understand why they are doing what they do and why they think it's the right thing to do, or okay --- even if their reasoning is psychotic.

All of which is to say, I was interested in how an author would do for Hook what Gregory Maguire has done for Oz's Wicked Witch and so many other classic characters. As in Wicked, this telling turns the villain to hero and the hero to villain. Pan is an awful, sociopathic soul-vampire and there is much death and horror here. Nicely written, interesting turn, but it felt to me like there was a lot more that could have been explored.

As in --- what purpose does it serve to just flip the story so Hook is mostly right and good and Pan is nearly all wrong and evil? A more interesting approach maybe if there was good and bad in both of them. I don't know, I suppose that I am weary of living in a world where we are increasingly divided, forced to choose sides, and disbelieve in heroes at all --- and so eager to redeem villains. The writing here is good --- although, again, we've the trendy words "clamber" and "thrum" --- seriously, is there something contractual forcing authors to use those words?

The best pre-quel to Peter Pan (or, more accurately. "Peter and Wendy"-Peter Pan is the play, which was, time-wise at least, a "pre-quel" to the book) is the Dave Barry/Ridley Pearson ste of books, one of which was turned into a fairly marvelous stage play; the best sequel to the above is Gilbert Adair's "Peter Pan and the Only Children"

While we're at it, the best sequel to Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass is the same Gibert Adair's brilliant "Alice Through the Needle's Eye"

I mention these because Ms Henry has written pre/Se quels to both series of which "Lostboy" is a perfectly adequate, and, frankly thoroughly unnecessary addition

Yes, I know all about the success of "Wicked" (Oz books, of course) and the aforementioned off-broadway success of the Peter, but, honestly, the odds of yet ANOTHER hit play, let alone one on the scale of Gregory McGuire's...

Give it a rest why don't you

Oh, and while we're not likely to see THAT, could SOMEBODY please indicate that they understand the tru nature of BARRIE'S "Captain Hook" (no, not Dave Barry's)

Between Peter and Hook, who’s the real villain here? It has always been safe to assume that Captain Hook was the villain, but the question of where he came from and why he hates Peter was never answered. Peter did take his hand after all, but was that it? Henry offers a new look at the story bringing to life the relationship between the two, and man, is it incredible.

Lost Boy is an incredible look at Neverland and Peter Pan. Peter isn’t the hero here, no one really is. He’s a kid who just doesn’t want to grow up, and sure, everyone sometimes wishes at one time or another that they had never grown up. To stay a child forever is just a fantasy and that’s the idea that Henry sort of capitalizes on. Peter wants to have fun, but an island is a dangerous place, unknown to the children who only have to follow after Peter. They aren’t really given a choice as his charisma wins everyone over. But Jamie has been on the island the longest, he’s been a child for so long, with his memories of this life before Peter haunting him. What’s so striking about that is that it doesn’t come all at once, it’s a narrative that sort of just springs on the reader and on Jamie, this giant revelation that everyone senses are coming but can’t quite see until the end. The reader sees the disenchantment that has fallen over Jamie as Peter’s carelessness of the boys begins to crack that charisma. Not only for Jamie but also for the other boys. It’s an amazing narrative that is believable.

Heroes tend to create their own villains, and Peter has done that here. He did that with his selfishness, his lack of care for these boys here. And while that may seem like it would be out of character, it’s not. Henry did a fantastic job tying together elements of not only J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan but also Disney’s, to make this origin story powerful because Henry structures the story in such a way to make every element seem so wholly plausible. There’s really nothing to suggest otherwise. Peter is a child who brought kids to Neverland on a whim, to his own enjoyment because he was lonely. And through Jamie, the reader gets a feel of this island and the dynamics of the place.

In a way it’s a heartbreakingly beautiful story about how Captain Hook came into being. He’s such a riveting character and the way the story develops, how it shifts and grows, and how the tension drives the story, it sucks the reader in. It’s a dangerous tale that highlights Peter’s quick to anger childish nature and Jamie’s disillusionment. They went from best friends to mortal enemies and that shift in the narrative, in perspective, it creeps on the reader, it makes the reader feel for Jamie, it creates sympathy for the kid everyone knows is the villain. Except he’s not, not really.

This story is a great adventure, it has such a level of darkness to it that is key in Henry’s storytelling. The level of horror functions in a very sophisticated manner, it adds to the story without taking away from the story. It’s a brilliant story that is breathtaking in every way, creating believability and coupling it with an amazing voice to tell a rich and darkly twisted story. (★★★★★ | A)

Lost Boy by Christina Henry was an incredible book. Henry does a fantastic job of challenging my perspective on the well-known Captain Hook while keeping true to his character. This book is considered a prequel to Peter Pan. Lost Boy was an engaging read, and it was full of surprises. This dark twist on a classic fairytale really captured my imagination. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves retellings of classic stories and who wants to understand more about a villain’s character. I want Henry to rewrite the classic Peter Pan story now to go along with Lost Boy. This was definitely one of my favorite books to read.

I have always rooted for Captain Hook and after reading this book my love for Hook is even greater. Though I'm sure a certain Mouse company wouldn't approve, I think this back story for Hook (and Peter to an an extent) is wonderful and puts a whole new light on Peter Pan lore. This is not a child's bedtime story, it is a dagger point to the reality that not all things are happy endings and that yes growing up is hard.

The best pre-quel to Peter Pan (or, more accurately. "Peter and Wendy"-Peter Pan is the play, which was, time-wise at least, a "pre-quel" to the book) is the Dave Barry/Ridley Pearson ste of books, one of which was turned into a fairly marvelous stage play; the best sequel to the above is Gilbert Adair's "Peter Pan and the Only Children"

While we're at it, the best sequel to Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass is the same Gibert Adair's brilliant "Alice Through the Needle's Eye"

I mention these because Ms Henry has written pre/Se quels to both series of which "Lostboy" is a perfectly adequate, and, frankly thoroughly unnecessary addition

Yes, I know all about the success of "Wicked" (Oz books, of course) and the aforementioned off-broadway success of the Peter, but, honestly, the odds of yet ANOTHER hit play, let alone one on the scale of Gregory McGuire's...

Give it a rest why don't you

Oh, and while we're not likely to see THAT, could SOMEBODY please indicate that they understand the tru nature of BARRIE'S "Captain Hook" (no, not Dave Barry's)