Noras Bokblogg

Title: Alias Hook

Author: Lisa Jensen

Pages: 357

Published: 2013

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Genre: Fantasy

ISBN: 1250042151

My rating: 6/6

Have you ever wondered what happened to Captain Hook after the events in the famous story about Peter Pan? And what Hook was actually like, what he cared about, and how he ended up in Neverland? “Alias Hook” will tell you.

Captain Hook is trapped in Neverland by the Boy you like to call ‘Peter Pan’, and he cannot escape nor die. He is a part of the boy’s never-ending games, and he has to endure watching his crewmates being slaughtered by the lost boys, time after time, as a part of this ‘game’.

“Gone, all of them gone now. Slaughtered one by one, like a game. It’s all a game to the boys“. (p. 5)

But there is nothing he can do about it. These traumatic incidents are inevitable and will happen again and again forever. Once Captain Hook was James Hookbridge, the son of a wealthy tradesman. He would go to war for the country, and as a boyish fool, thought war and deaths were exciting. When his life suddenly fell apart, he knew only anger and bloodlust and would take this out on everyone around him. This is how Captain Hook was born.

And then he was cursed to stay in Neverland.

Something is slowly changing in Neverland. The Boy is in total control of everything that happens on this magical and mysterious island, but something slips in nonetheless. And this ‘something’ is someone who might be Hook’s way out of this misery.

But to leave the land of children you have to grow up.

I know I became a little cryptic in my description of the story, but I don’t want to spoil too much. This book was truly marvelous, and I would love for you all to read it! “Alias Hook” tells a story about the well-known Captain Hook from his perspective and is a story to reflect over. It is a magical fantasy book with all our favorite creatures and characters; the fairies, the mermaids, the lost boys, Pan himself, Hook obviously, the Indian tribe, pirates, and much more!

This story is a story of love and discusses the vague line between being a child and an adult. It also discusses more sore topics, like genocide, war, miscarriage, torture, and rape. (Some are more detailed than others – some are merely mentioned).

This book was magical! We get to see mystical Neverland from the eyes of Captain Hook and follow along his journey.
I loved how this book took the well-known “Peter Pan”-story for children and made it into a book for adults. The fairytale-like story we know, was merged into historical events and mythology, and we could see the more tragic and disturbing sides of the land of dreams.