Divergent Dungeons in Two Middle Grade Novels [Review]

Both of these books were shortlisted for the 2018 Cybils award in the category middle grade speculative fiction.

Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain by Zac Gorman

In the absurd land of Nth, Thisby Thestoop can be found within the forlorn walls of Castle Grimstone, down the precarious steps of the Black Mountain dungeon, up to her nose in griffon toenails, gnoll spittle, and troll meat (to give to them, not made of them). When the prince and princess arrive for a Royal Inspection, the much too good-looking Princess Iphigenia winds up lost in the tunnels of the dungeon—without her guards, her staff, or her younger twin brother—and it’s up to Thisby to guide the princess safely past the hoards of minotaurs, wyverns, ghouls, and who-knows-what-else that would love nothing more than to nosh the royal highness for dinner. Thisby Thestoop and Princess Iphigenia have a dangerous adventure ahead of them. If they’re going to a rescue the missing prince, stop a mounting war, and keep safe all the creatures who call the mountain dungeon home, they’ll have to learn how to trust each other.

• Thisby Thestooop and the Black Mountain contains many elements that make it a fun read:
  • a dungeon setting (okay, not particularly a favourite setting of mine but a unique and entertaining one!)
  • a protagonist who diligently goes about their work (Thisby taking care of the dungeon’s creatures),
  • prose with injections of dry humour (see quote below)
  • a glowing slime sidekick with a past he hasn’t shared (I loved Mingus! Sometimes I find sidekicks tiresome, but he holds his own.)
  • the two protagonists fending for themselves and defending a dungeon aren’t the type of characters you usually encounter in dungeons (Thisby, child caretaker of gruesome creatures and Iphigenia, impatient and prissy princess)
• Silly names, especially alliterative ones like Thisby Thestoop, usually put me off but I laughed out loud at the explanation of Thisby’s name on page 14 and took that as a sign I would enjoy her story.
• I imagine some readers might find the story overly long; the narrative feels like two distinct parts put together (in the dungeon and in the Dark Deep). The setting and characters, rather than the plot, make this narrative stand out.
  • That being said, the narrative builds to an epic and dramatic battle that makes logical sense (as opposed to just happening for a big finish to book one.)

Castle Grimstone had existed for as long as the people of Three Fingers could remember, which isn’t really impressive as it sounds. The villagers of Three Fingers rarely made it past the age of twenty-five, and the ones who did were too busy barely staying alive to remember things like when castles were built and all that nonsense

Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain by Zac Gorman, p. 11

Escape to the Above by Adam Jay Epstein

Chopping blades, scorpion nests, giant spiderwebs—no one makes traps better than Wily Snare. He has never seen the sun, or blue sky, or even his parents. Wily Snare lives underground, creating traps to keep treasure-seekers away from the gold in an ancient wizard’s dungeon. He spends his days mopping up giant slug slime, avoiding poison darts, and herding undead skeletons. It’s all he knows. Until an unusual band of adventurers—an acrobatic elf, a warrior with a magic arm, and a giant made of moss—successfully defeat Wily’s traps. And they want the ultimate treasure: Wily himself. His skills can help them invade every other dungeon in the kingdom. He might even aid their fight against the Infernal King, whose gearfolk and prisonauts terrorize the land.
But for a boy who has never been outside, dungeons aren’t nearly as scary as the world above. Or an evil king who builds the trickiest traps of all . .

• (The title of the book is Escape to the Above and Snared is the name of the series.)
• A much shorter read than Thisby, Escape to the Above begins in a dungeon but most of the story takes place above ground. From the title and description, I had expected the actual escape to be the climax of the story. It’s not – the escape happens early on.
• Reading Snared felt to me like reading a novelization of someone’s D&D campaign, what with its mix of characters, off-beat happenings and dialogue, and general quest narrative. It was a lot of fun and I’ll probably pick up the sequel, but neither the plot nor prose stood out to me.