The Book of Nonsense (Forbidden Books, Vol. I). The Forbidden Books series is in the hands of producer Kevin Bannerman (Lion King, Ice Age, Curious George) and screenwriter Karen Janszen (Dolphin Tale), who are developing it for film. Below is a review of the book.
By Amanda R. Smith on June 2, 2015
Format: Paperback
There’s a line from Nathaniel Hawthorne that reads, “Words—so
innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how
potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows
how to combine them.” On its surface The Book of Nonsense is a young
adult adventure story about twins who uncover and attempt to
stop a centuries-old plot to unravel and re-form the world as we
know it—through the discovery and use of the Words of Power from the
First Tongue, the language that is rumored to have brought the
universe into being. And this brings us to the core of The Book of
Nonsense: It’s actually a meditation on the power of language. It’s
both a cautionary tale about how the words and ideas contained in
books can be warped and used for terrible harm in the wrong hands
and a celebration of the way those same words have potential to do
great things in the right hands. The problem, however, is that so
many hands seem to be the wrong ones. The power of the First
Tongue is not presented as something especially desirable, but
rather something so strong that it can’t really be wielded with any
guarantee of safety—even by those with the best of intentions.
Potent for good and evil, indeed.
While these may seem like heady thoughts, the adventures of Daphna
and Dexter Wax do make the themes accessible and palatable to young
readers by pitting the young heroes against at least two truly
terrifying foes. Asterius Rash and his hulking assistant Emmet are
drawn in grotesque lines, all gnarled joints and ruined eyes. Rash
(even his name is gross) is driven by literally blind ambition, and
Emmet is obsessed with his only lifelong goal, finally getting to
kill someone. Rash uses the Words of Power as heavy weaponry to bend
others to his distorted will—he is the personification of the ways
power can corrupt.
Daphna and Dexter, in contrast, are innocents, drawn into a
situation that is well over their heads, but they have to make the
best of things. While twins are generally supposed to be close
allies, the Wax twins don’t really like each other and could not be
more different. She’s a bookish goody two-shoes, and he’s engaged
in mindless rebellion—but both are using these tactics to cover up
deep insecurities that seem to only begin to heal when the unlikely
pair joins forces. They become more likeable when they’re working
together, and it’s easy to root for them to succeed.
The plotting here is fast-paced but the way threads that seem
The plotting here is fast-paced but the way threads that seem
insignificant eventually tie together is immensely satisfying.
Efficient is the best word I can use to describe the plot—Slater
packs several millennia’s worth of events into a densely packed
timeline, but it never feels rush or as if events are getting short
shrift. And while the outcome of the adventure is deeply poignant,
as the first installment of a series, the ending strikes the
balance of wrapping up just enough while leaving room for the
adventure to continue.
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