Graphic Novel Review – The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Graphic Novel/Fantasy
Length: 64 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: September 22, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-0062398246
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Gift
Rating: 5/5 stars
I got this book for Christmas. I had it on my wish list because I love Neil Gaiman’s writing style and Riddell’s illustration style. This is a beautifully done book with a wonderfully ironic fairy tale mash up of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.
On the eve of her wedding a young queen puts on her armor and takes up her sword to ventures into a castle surrounded by brambles in an effort to stop a sleeping sickness that is creeping across the land. The young queen quests all the way to the top of the tower only to find that the sleeping princess is not at all what she expected.
I really thought this was a well done and ironic mash up of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. There are no princes in sight in this retelling; just a powerful queen (Snow White) determined to stop a sleeping sickness that is heading towards her kingdom. I loved how the identity of Sleeping Beauty was twisted and really enjoyed the cleverness of the story.
The book itself is a very pretty package. It is hard cover with a semi-translucent dust cover and looks very beautiful. I was a bit disappointed that the dust cover is a bit brittle; a couple places had been chipped off during shipping and torn a little bit because it is so delicate.
The illustration throughout is amazing, very detailed and high quality. Again the presentation itself is very well done. The pages are thick and high quality and the illustrations are illuminated with metallic ink throughout. This is a very fun story in a beautiful package.
Overall a beautiful book with an ironic fairy tale retelling inside. This would make a great coffee table book and is one of those books you will want to hang onto just because it is so pretty. I would recommend to those who enjoy fairy tale retellings.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
