Interspersed with hundreds of intricately detailed vignettes, this loony escapade introduces one of the most engaging casts in years. The factory town of Ratbridge has fallen on hard times since the collapse of the autocratic Cheese Guild, but even darker days may be in store, as Snatcher, the Guild’s crazed head, is creating a cheese-fed monster to avenge the loss of his fortune. The notably diverse crew opposing him includes Arthur, a foundling lad raised in the town’s extensive system of tunnels; canny retired patent attorney Wilbury Nibble; and a host of uncommon helpers, from toothy but shy “boxtrolls” to a crew of human and rat pirates. The action begins as Snatcher and minions set out on an illegal cheese hunt, climaxes with an explosion that leaves an entire neighborhood coated in cheesy goo and in between delivers enough headlong, riotous adventure for an entire series. The next episode can’t come too soon. (Fantasy. 11-13)
