The Child Thief

Synopsis

The story starts with a prologue where a girl, waiting for her abusive father, is saved by a boy who has auburn hair, freckles, pointed ears, and golden eyes. He comforts her, describing a world without adults and full of adventure, and she leaves with him. The narrative then follows multiple characters through Avalon, a magical island that is slowly dying. The author weaves in Celtic and Scottish myths while also telling a parallel story of Peter’s life, from his birth to becoming the Lord of Deviltree. In the present day, a boy named Nick runs away from home carrying a bag of methamphetamine. Drug dealers have taken over his house, mistreating him while his mother and grandmother can do nothing to stop it. On his first night fleeing, the gang chases him, but Peter shows up, using incredible speed and strength to drive them off. Peter tells Nick about Avalon and persuades him to go there. Nick travels through the mist and arrives on Avalon, where he meets other children Peter has brought over the years, many of whom have not aged at all since they arrived. Peter’s group of human kids is the only thing standing between the Flesh Eaters and the Lady. The Lady’s magic keeps Avalon alive and maintains the mist, which blocks out unwanted humans while trapping the Flesh Eaters inside. She is held captive in Avalon’s heart by her nephew, Lord Ulfger, who has the same father as Peter. The children living at Deviltree are changed by Avalon’s magic. Because they are kids, they do not turn into twisted, scaly monsters. Instead, they become fast, strong, and powerful, with their eyes shifting to match Peter’s color. They are trained as warriors and fight alongside Peter to save Avalon and the Lady, and to destroy the Flesh Eaters. Earlier children in this role were pagan and druid kids escaping enslavement, persecution, and execution by church knights. Peter constantly looks for new children in the poorest areas, taking only those who are abused, forgotten, or runaways. Many children die in the mist, and many more die in battle on Avalon.

Literary analysis

The magic of Avalon slowly transforms children taken from abusive homes, turning them into a merciless, bloodthirsty, and savage force. Brom draws a parallel between this process and modern gang culture, noting that once these children feel superior and find the right circumstances, they can become killing machines. He observes how quickly teens in gangs define their own morals and justify horrific actions, suggesting it would not be difficult for innocent children to follow the same path. The Flesh Eaters were originally Puritans and ship crews who left England for the new world. When they arrived in Avalon, the Lady of the Lake trapped them by covering the island in a magical mist to stop more people from coming. At first, these people were no better or worse than others of their era, but after three hundred years, they have degenerated in both body and soul, now resembling demonic creatures with horns and black scales. Avalon’s magic corrupted them, and their long desperation to escape drove them further into madness. The worst cases, like The Reverend—once a just and inspiring man—have become twisted caricatures, such as a fanatical sadist. Even those who have not fully degenerated go along with the others out of fear, complacency, or a need to band together against the island’s dangers. Before the Flesh Eaters arrived, the beasts of Avalon were a light and airy people who cared only for merriment and joy. They worship pagan gods who live among them. Both the beasts and the Flesh Eaters want the other group to leave, but by the time of the novel, their hatred has grown too deep for any cooperation.

Characters

Peter, the Lord of Deviltree, leads a band of children with the singular aim of battling the Flesh Eaters and rescuing Lady Modron. His temperament swings unpredictably between a hardened fighter and a vulnerable child, especially when he remembers Devils who have fallen. He has red hair, pale skin dotted with freckles, golden eyes, and pointed ears. His outfit consists of hand-stitched leather pants with attached pointy-toed shoes, a tattered tuxedo jacket with a tail worn over a black hoodie, and a rawhide pack.

Nick is a fourteen-year-old boy, slender and slightly undersized, with dark, uneven bangs and a pale complexion. His story starts when he flees his home, where a drug lord tenant and his thugs terrorize Nick, his mother, and his grandmother. Cornered by a group of boys, he is rescued by Peter. After passing through the Mist, Nick is left with the other Devils as a "new blood."

Cricket is another new blood who arrived at Deviltree shortly before Nick. It is suggested she is the girl from the prologue. She forms a close friendship with Nick, and a mutual attraction develops between them. She bears a scar above one ear, where her hair no longer grows, a mark she had before coming to Avalon.

Sekeu is the most seasoned warrior at Deviltree, second only to Peter. She has lived in Avalon since the first colonists settled in America. A Native American woman with golden eyes, dark hair, a lean and muscular build, and a regal presence, she instructs the new bloods in combat and takes charge when Peter is away.

Redbone has been at Deviltree since 1974 and is one of Peter's veteran fighters, often described as a wild, feral child. He stains his skin and hair with red dye for a devilish look and ties a red bone into the topknot on his head. He wears a battered but authentic leather jacket. His grin is fierce and broad, his eyes squinty and fiendish, and a scar runs down the center of his face between his eyes, a wound inflicted by his pimp before he was brought to Avalon.

Leroy is the most seasoned among the new bloods, known for being cunning and self-serving. He bullies and intimidates Nick, and later earns the status of a Devil by falsely taking credit for Nick's brave deeds. He fled to Avalon to avoid punishment for murdering his father, and is eventually brainwashed by Lord Ulfger into betraying the other Devils.