I would have loved to see more character development & basically, something more from the story. But, it’s still very small & gives only a glimpse in the lives of the characters. The writing is simple and beautiful and paints a very vivid picture. This is not a graphic novel per se and is a whole story but very short and easy to read. Not that anyone has asked but some of my favourite retellings are Heartless by Marissa Meyer (queen of Hearts), Hunted by Meagan Spooner (Beauty and the Beast), Spinning Silver (Rumpelstiltskin+Beauty and the Beast) and a few more. I love retellings and how authors have this whole amazing spin on them. This beautiful short story is an amalgamation of The Sleeping Beauty & Snow White and Seven Dwarves. Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems.

She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. Thank you Bloomsbury India.*Ī thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. This review is in no way influenced by that fact. *A physical copy was provided to me by the publishers. So I’ve a book review today for The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman, peppered with gorgeous dark illustrations from the creative mind of Chris Riddell! Hellooo! A very Happy New Year to ya’ll after 15 days 😂 The days have already started flying and I’ve started planning for 2021 🤣

Chris riddell sleeper and the spindle