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Down the Mysterly River

by Bill Willingham (Goodreads Author), Mark Buckingham (Illustrator)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 535 ratings · 169 reviews

Down the Mysterly River is the children’s book debut of Bill Willingham, the creator of the #1 New York Times bestsellinggraphic novel series Fables. Complete with illustrations by Fables artist Mark Buckingham, it is a spirited, highly original tale of adventure, suspense, and everlasting friendship.

Max “the Wolf” is a top notch Boy Scout, an expert at orienteering an

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Hardcover, 333 pages

Published September 13th 2011 by Starscape

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Aug 12, 2011 Cecelia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hi, my name is Cecelia, and I just fell in love with a book for 10 year-old boys. Hi, Cecelia. Wait, WHAT?! Yes, that's right. Bill Willingham's Down the Mysterly River has crazy powers of amazing. This book? Would have been my brothers' favorite thing on the planet when they were younger. I'm not even joking. It would have gone in the camouflage backpack right alongside the machete, walkie-talkies, and beef jerky. But it was published NOW, so I, city-dweller, older person and girl that I am, ha...more Hi, my name is Cecelia, and I just fell in love with a book for 10 year-old boys. Hi, Cecelia. Wait, WHAT?! Yes, that's right. Bill Willingham's Down the Mysterly River has crazy powers of amazing. This book? Would have been my brothers' favorite thing on the planet when they were younger. I'm not even joking. It would have gone in the camouflage backpack right alongside the machete, walkie-talkies, and beef jerky. But it was published NOW, so I, city-dweller, older person and girl that I am, have unwittingly become its latest conquest. How did THAT happen?

Talking animals. A Boy Scout. An unfamiliar forest. I know what you're thinking, but NO, this is not some Narnian mash-up. Oh, that wasn't what you were thinking? Good. Because this story is all its own, and what that is, is wonderful. It's about a boy named Max the Wolf. He may be lost in unknown terrain, but he's resourceful, and he's an expert at woodcraft and solving mysteries. There's just one problem: Max isn't the only one in this forest. He finds that he and some newly-made friends are being hunted by a bunch of unsavory characters called the Blue Cutters, and their fight and flight towards safety make up the majority of the story.

What shall I say about the characters? Max is resourceful and strong and generally very good, but he's also just a boy, and so he has his minor shortcomings. One of his strengths is his cleverness. I do love clever middle grade characters (a la Max, and the crew from The Mysterious Benedict Society). They're just so wonderful! Max doesn't change over-much in during the course of the story, but he does come to several realizations that change his outlook on life. Of the other characters, I think McTavish was my favorite. He learns no shortage of lessons (most of them subconsciously), and in so doing influences his fellow travelers in ways they wouldn't have imagined possible.

Down the Mysterly River was witty, exciting, adventurous and even frightening in parts. Willingham's writing had a bit of the flavor of Mark Twain, and it felt like an perfect mix of a boy's outdoors guide and a rip-roaring adventure serial, crossed with your favorite childhood talking-animals story. I laughed while reading and loved it whole-heartedly. If it has a failing, it is that it will not appeal to girls as much as one would hope. There aren't any female main characters, and I think that's unfortunate. That lack didn't change my enjoyment of the book, but I can't know for sure if my childhood self would feel the same. In the end, I think it will be one of my best books of 2011.

Recommended for: brave explorers (and those who would be, if they had the chance), boys and tomboys of any age, lovers of fantasy, and anyone who compulsively read adventure-mysteries in their childhood and day-dreamed of starring in their own story and saving the world.(less)

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Jan 19, 2013 Sheila Beaumont rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-and-adventure, animals, books-about-books, cats, fantasy, kids-middle-grade, mysteries-suspense-thrillers

What a delightful fantasy story! I loved this book, in which Max the Wolf, a Boy Scout and boy detective, finds himself in a forest much like the Seattle woods he's familiar with, but since this forest has talking animals, obviously he's lost, and he has no idea how he got to this strange place. The talking beasts, Banderbrock the badger, McTavish the battered old tomcat, and Walden the black bear, also find themselves in an unfamiliar wood with no recollection of how they got there.

Soon Max and...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Angie by: Courtney

Shelves: fantasy, website, children-s-fiction

Max the Wolf (not a real wolf) wakes up in the woods with no memory of how he got there. But he is in his Boy Scout uniform so he must have gotten lost on a Scouting trip. He loves solving mysteries so he decides to use his skills to figure out how he got to Heroes Woods and how he can get home. Then he meets Banderbrock a warrior badger who can talk; this forces him to reevaluate...maybe he is dead or dreaming. Soon the small band of warriors is joined by McTavish the Monster (a fierce barn cat...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Erica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Just finished it, and I'm seriously impressed. This book is very...meta in its approach, and quite frankly a bit of a mindscrew.

The protagonist is a Boy Scout nicknamed Max the Wolf, who finds himself in unfamiliar woods with no recollection of how he got there. He has vague memories of his home and family, and several mysteries he has apparently solved, but that's it. He meets up with a few other lost souls-Walden the Bear, Banderbrock the Badger, and McTavish the Monster (who is actually a cat...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Marion G. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. “Max the Wolf was a wolf in exactly the same way that foothills are made up of real feet and a tiger shark is part tiger, which is to say, not at all.”

As a writer, I sometimes find myself insanely jealous of another author’s ability to use words. On the other hand, when I come across an opening line that good, I simply have to buy the book and look for other gems of literary genius. So it was that I found myself buying Down the Mysterly River, a “YA book” by Bill Willingham. (For those not in th...more “Max the Wolf was a wolf in exactly the same way that foothills are made up of real feet and a tiger shark is part tiger, which is to say, not at all.”

As a writer, I sometimes find myself insanely jealous of another author’s ability to use words. On the other hand, when I come across an opening line that good, I simply have to buy the book and look for other gems of literary genius. So it was that I found myself buying Down the Mysterly River, a “YA book” by Bill Willingham. (For those not in the know, Willingham is a great spinner of fables. Literally: he is the writer of Fables, the long-running comic series that has won a three-bag-full of Eisner Awards and garnered a Hugo nomination for Best Graphic Novel story (he probably lost to Girl Genius).

Down the Mysterly River is written in YA style; Max the Wolf is a young boyscout who finds himself mysteriously transported into a strange woods with talking animals and homicidal lords and no idea how he got there. Fortunately he’s used to mysterious things–almost preternaturally resourceful, he sets off with his new companions (a brave badger, homicidal barn-cat, and clueless bear) in search of answers and sanctuary. But while it’s written as a YA adventure, DTMR is really about Warning: spoilers alert. Willingham plays his hand fairly early in the story, but don’t read further if you want to retain the option of surprise. Just take it from me that you will enjoy this book. what happens to fictional characters when they die or when an author stops writing about them. Willingham postulates an afterlife for “finished” characters, a place where they go once the story, or their part in it, is done. In the Settings (the various afterlife settings available so that genre characters can fit comfortably), the released fictive characters are given the one thing none of them had before, when they were forced to serve The Plot: free will.

Of course it couldn’t be a restful afterlife, now could it? An adventure story has to have a villain, and here Willingham pulls out a huge axe to grind. The Bad Guys in the story are Blue Cutters. They have magical swords that “cut” pieces out of fictive characters like Max and his friends–and by pieces I mean bits of their character/background/story that the cutters don’t like. For example, the aforementioned cat, an evil, homicidal animal who ruled MacDonald’s farm through terror, could be “cut” into a mischievous but friendly tabby suitable for children’s tender minds.

In other words, the cutters are literary revisionists. In their keep they have a tome called The Book of Better Creation, in which appear the names of characters in need of revision–but the book itself changes in the same way modern critical methods do; characters previously considered ideal types can fall out of fashion or become politically incorrect (or even just irrelevant). All this traces back into Willingham’s own literary experience: Fables is a comic series about the great characters of fables, fairy tales, and myths. In researching them it’s obvious that Willingham has done his homework; they resemble the characters that populate the often dark and bloody original stories instead of the Disneyfied versions today’s children are exposed to.

And, really, if you are a fictive character finally given free will, what could be a worse fate than to be changed into something else, cut to fit an image later critics and revisionists think is more socially responsible? Talk about A Fate Worse Than Death.

So Down the Mysterly River functions as both a straightforward YA adventure story and as a piece of metafiction, and is fun on both levels. I recommend it highly to anyone who has enjoyed Fables–or who would just like to read a fun story about resourceful boyscouts and talking animals. It does make me worry a bit, though; as an author myself, will I someday have to answer to my characters for all the hell I put them through?(less)

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Apr 25, 2012 Alex Telander rated it 4 of 5 stars

The dynamic duo who’ve been entertaining fans for years with the fantastic comic book series Fables now turn their writing and illustrating talents to middle readers. Down the Mysterly River is a quaint, entertaining tale that straddles a perfect balance between a memorable fable or fairy tale, and a great kid’s story. Combining Bill Willingham’s skill as a storyteller and Mark Buckingham’s recognizable illustrations, this book is a delight for anyone, be they child or adult.

Max “the Wolf” is th...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When I first read Watchmen, I was blown away with how Alan Moore deconstructed the whole idea of the superhero and told a gritty, realistic tale of how folks with superhero powers are really just humans become gods, and how they deal with their vast powers. It was groundbreaking and felt significant, and I became an Alan Moore fanboy at that moment. And as I gradually started reading more and more of his stuff, I realized that he did this same sort of thing quite a bit. Miracleman? Yep. Swamp Th...more When I first read Watchmen, I was blown away with how Alan Moore deconstructed the whole idea of the superhero and told a gritty, realistic tale of how folks with superhero powers are really just humans become gods, and how they deal with their vast powers. It was groundbreaking and felt significant, and I became an Alan Moore fanboy at that moment. And as I gradually started reading more and more of his stuff, I realized that he did this same sort of thing quite a bit. Miracleman? Yep. Swamp Thing? Also yep. It’s not a bad thing (both of those series are still impressive, nearly 30 years later), but the repetition felt slightly disappointing.

I bring that up because the same principle applies to Bill Willingham. In some ways, it makes sense — Fables, Jack of Fables, and Peter and Max are all set in the same universe — and besides, there’s not a whole lot outside of that universe that I’ve read by him. Down the Mysterly River might be an extension of that theme, but it’s not explicitly in the same universe. The characters in the novel are literally that, characters from other books who converge on this mysterious world and try to figure out how they got there while avoiding the vicious Blue Cutters who are after them for reasons unknown. The thing is, they don’t realize they’re characters from someone else’s books, and besides, once they set foot in this world, they’re no longer characters, they’re real. So it’s easy to see how the book can fit into the world of Fables, and might explain how this book got republished.

Republished, you ask? Yep. The book wasn’t promoted as a reprint, but this is actually an older work of Willingham’s from 1990. I think the publishers were hoping to ride the wave of popularity that the author’s enjoying, especially considering how easily the book fits in with the rest of his oeuvre. It smacks of being a money-grab, which always bugs me, but what bugs me even more is that this is a pretty decent read by itself, and deserves the reprint, despite the similarities it has to his existing work. At the very least, I’m glad that it didn’t get retconned to fit into that universe.

The main characters of the story are all characters from other books, and since I haven’t read those works, I don’t know how well Willingham captured those characters. What I do know is that it was very easy to relate to all of them, and that they all had distinctive personalities that worked well together. It was easy to sympathize with and care for them and feel what they were feeling. The story is compelling and interesting, and well worth reading. I think this is being marketed as a juvenile novel, but I can see it working well for anyone who enjoys Willngham’s other works.(less)

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Feb 06, 2012 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A well written tale of survival, friendship, along with the power and mystery of stories. I have to say it felt a bit existential (especially in its ending). The idea that we could be more than we seem, and can be changed by a creator (be it the forceful cutters or the ignorant, writing wizard). Reality and fairy tales blur throughout, making me recall storybook characters from my own past childhood. Characters I'm reminded of from book titles like Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, the Redwall serie...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, children-s-books, mystery, first-reads

Review format taken from my Children's Literature class at College of Saint Mary.

Summary of Elements:
Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham is an outstanding piece of children's literature. The overall tone of the book is darker than many works for young readers but had a very thrilling aspect to it that kept me reading long after I ought to have gone to bed. The `heroes' quest' is the prominent motif in this book and used to great effect. As the author shows marvelously with McTavish the M...more Review format taken from my Children's Literature class at College of Saint Mary.

Summary of Elements:
Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham is an outstanding piece of children's literature. The overall tone of the book is darker than many works for young readers but had a very thrilling aspect to it that kept me reading long after I ought to have gone to bed. The `heroes' quest' is the prominent motif in this book and used to great effect. As the author shows marvelously with McTavish the Monster, sometimes the hero is very unexpected and sometimes we fail. However, it is what Max does at the end of the book which helps make up for his failings.
The use of the blue swords was a great device to show the power of intangible objects. When used wrongly the sword's awesome power became corrupt. I think for me the biggest mystery was not Max's inability to remember how he got to the woods but exactly what these swords did and what the cutters wanted the heroes for. Although this mystery was solved quite early in the book, I was too devoted by that time to stop and I am very glad I elected to keep reading!

Visual Elements:
The visual elements to the story were placed at the beginning of each chapter, and might I give strong congratulations to Mr. Mark Buckingham! It is often easy to overlook the heading artwork, but by pausing to truly appreciate these soft pictures (graphite perhaps?) we really are given another level to the story. The character sketches convey personality and emotion; the settings are truly awe-inspiring; and the action shots, while not action in the traditional sense, are conveyed marvelous through the media, and in just a couple square inches nonetheless!

Intended audience:
Now I may be a college student, albeit an elementary education major, but I love reading middle grade novels because they tend to be more adventurous.
This is a great novel for the 9 - 14 age group in my opinion. I also feel that it has major appeal for boys who enjoy action and adventure stories despite it being labeled as fantasy. While younger children might enjoy it there are several elements that are quite dark and other elements that play around in theology. While these elements make an entertaining story they can also be inappropriate for some children. I would have no qualms reading it aloud to my 6 and 8 year old cousins but would never recommend at large to the age group.
I hope to teach fourth or fifth grade in the near future and can say with absolute certainty that this is one book that will go in my classroom library.
For students who enjoyed this book I would recommend the series Chronicles of the Imaginirium Geographica(less)

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Oct 21, 2011 Hilary rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, animal-stories, fantasy, grades-5-6

When Max the Wolf finds himself in the middle of the woods one afternoon he has no idea how he got there or where he is. Since Max is a master at orienteering, he finds this strange. Even during all his boyscout trips, he never once can remember being lost. Then, even more peculiar, he stumbles upon a talking badger. He is sure he must be dreaming, at first, but the badger thinks that they have both died and are in the afterlife. The two set out together and are not on the road for long before t...more

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Oct 08, 2011 Shaun Duke rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fantasies for young readers are almost always a joy to read. I'm no sure what it is about such books. Maybe it's to do with the whimsical style -- of which Down the Mysterly River has plenty -- or the adventures -- ditto. Or maybe there's something else I haven't discovered yet. In any case, Willingham's children's fantasy, Down the Mysterly River, is an exciting adventure story with a wonderful mixture of fairy tale and detective mystery. Too bad I don't have kids to read this book to...

Expert...more Fantasies for young readers are almost always a joy to read. I'm no sure what it is about such books. Maybe it's to do with the whimsical style -- of which Down the Mysterly River has plenty -- or the adventures -- ditto. Or maybe there's something else I haven't discovered yet. In any case, Willingham's children's fantasy, Down the Mysterly River, is an exciting adventure story with a wonderful mixture of fairy tale and detective mystery. Too bad I don't have kids to read this book to...

Expert boy scout Max "the Wolf" wakes up in a forest without any idea how he got there -- or any idea where "there" happens to be... Soon Max discovers that this forest is part of a new world, inside of which a group of violent hunters known as the Blue Cutters seek out new lives to trim and prune into their "proper forms." With his new (mysteriously talking) companions -- Banderbrock the warrior badger, Walden the less-than-spectacular-sheriff bear, and McTavish the monstrous
cat -- Max sets off on a journey to meet a mysterious wizard and discover why he and his companions have been whisked away to such dangerous world.

Down the Mysterly River channels a number of interesting genres. The most obvious is fantasy, which is an unavoidable fact both for the reader and for Max, who has to come to grips with the reality of the world around him. The second is the young detective story, which Willingham brings out through Max via a methodical set of steps of detection. These detective elements are interesting, though I have to admit that they sometimes felt forced. That is until you get to the big reveal, which immediately draws into focus Max as a character and the old-time-children's-story feel he evokes. The same thing can be said about the dialogue, which sometimes seemed too advanced or perfect for a character as young as Max; but once you realize what has been happening throughout the book, you start to understand why Willingham writes dialogue in the way that he does. To be perfectly honesty, young folks are probably not going to notice these issues. With or without the ending, however, the mixture of elements works, in part because it gives Max an enhanced sense of agency in a story that could reduce him to the victim trying to escape an evil that wants to kill him. Having Max attempt to discover "why" things are happening, to put it another way, makes for a story that does more for its reader than provide an extended chase.

That said, Willingham's plot and pacing is expertly crafted. The story moves at a good clip and the twists in the story are sure to amuse or shock readers (there are two major twists or revelations, plus a fair deal of minor ones; the ending, however, will blow your mind). Willingham makes a good effort to introduce the genre mixture and Max's character traits without damaging the flow of the adventure story; in many respects, he succeeds. One issue I had with the plot's construction, however, was Willingham's use of non-central POVs to show things the main characters couldn't see. These are fairly minor, and are perhaps more common in literature for young readers than I am I aware, but they can pull you out of the suspense. Regardless, the journey of the main characters is rarely disrupted, moving forward with an even dose of revelation and action.

Willingham also succeeds at constructing a cast of sympathetic (or terrifying) characters. Max is a clever young boy who refuses to let the situation get the best of him, but also a boy who has a strong sense of morality -- he's easy to sympathize with as a result. Banderbrock is a warrior with a soft heart who serves as a wonderful companion, and the interactions between the badger and McTavish -- which translate roughly to an animal kingdom version of "I'm tougher than you" -- are amusing. Walden, who is the only actual member of law enforcement in the group (though a bad one), is also lovable as a character, which seems perfect for a bear. And the more you learn about him and watch him try to adopt Max's detection skills, the more you love him. How can you fault a big, hug-able bear for being a less-than-stellar sheriff? Even the Blue Cutters, who are the story's villains, are interesting characters -- and it's because of them that I want to see more stories set in this world. They are pure villains, but there is a hint of complexity in Down the Mysterly River that I think Willingham needs to explore -- either through additional Max stories or via some other character. There's a lot left to be told about this world.

Overall, Down the Mysterly River is a fantastic book. The characters are amusing, the young detective storyline is compelling, and the fantastic elements are enjoyable and exciting. I had trouble putting this book down, in part because I wanted to know why Max ended up in the world and in part because the mixture of genres and the characters seemed to beckon me through the cover. Hopefully others will feel the same way.(less)

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Oct 05, 2011 Chris King Elfland's 2nd Cousin rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of the Fables graphic novel series, fans of middle-grade adventure fantasy

NOTE: This review was first published on my blog at The King of Elfland's 2nd Cousin on October 4, 2011. If you enjoy this review, please come check out the rest of the blog!

I've been a fan of Bill Willingham's writing for years. His work on Vertigo's Fables: Legends in Exile series? Hands-down the best comic book writing out there. I've particularly appreciated the structure he brings to his sequential storytelling: sweeping, complex plots that more closely resemble epic fantasy than standard...more

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Aug 05, 2011 TheBookSmugglers rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2011/08/j...

REVIEW

First Impressions:

Ana: Bill Willingham is the writer of the comic book series Fables which has been going strong for years and although I have not read every single volume of the comics, I did read quite a few and enjoyed what I read a great lot. When I learned about Down The Mysterly River which is his first incursion into MG writing, it was all I could do not to drool all over myself. Needless to say, ex...more

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Jul 19, 2011 MaryBookSwarm rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine, arc, tor, middle-grade, starscape

Positive: Oh, such a fairy tale: A lost boy in a strange land who gathers a merry band of talking animals and battles evildoers on a search for answers and sanctuary. Hurrah! I will most definitely be book-talking this one to my students when the school year starts. I'm absolutely positive it'll be snatched up in a hot minute by anyone who's looking for the next Percy Jackson or Fablehaven.

Positive: The merry band. An adorably smart Boy Scout, Max is the leader in this strange land. A warrior in...more

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Sep 18, 2011 Andrew rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, adventure, childrens, fantasy

A talking badger, a talking bear, a vicious feral cat, and a boy scout who solves mysteries find themselves thrown together in a mysterious forest. Pursued by cloaked figures carrying blue swords that can rewrite reality itself, they desperately seek both sanctuary, and answers about the surprising truth of their situation.

Bill Willingham, best known for his comics work, gives us his first, and latest, prose novel. First, because he originally wrote it years ago and published it himself, and lat...more A talking badger, a talking bear, a vicious feral cat, and a boy scout who solves mysteries find themselves thrown together in a mysterious forest. Pursued by cloaked figures carrying blue swords that can rewrite reality itself, they desperately seek both sanctuary, and answers about the surprising truth of their situation.

Bill Willingham, best known for his comics work, gives us his first, and latest, prose novel. First, because he originally wrote it years ago and published it himself, and latest, because it has been revised for this edition. His only other published novel ties into his Fables comics series. This, however, is a completely original story. It's been compared to Wind in the Willows because of the talking animal characters, but the postmodern themes help make it wholly original.

Willingham writes with a straightforward style reminiscent of oral storytelling. He doesn't draw attention to elaborate turns of phrase, but still possesses a clear, distinct voice. He also writes with a great deal of humor, as is evident from the first line: "Max the Wolf was a wolf in exactly the same way that foothills are made up of real feet and a tiger shark is part tiger, which is to say, not at all."

Overall, the tone feels heavily influenced by classic children's adventure literature. But Willingham gives us more than a simple homage. He adds on a layer of postmodernism that gives his style a unique twist of relevance. Ultimately, it's a deeper story than it seems on the surface (but to say more would be to give the game completely away).

While the characters' backgrounds are necessarily kept vague (as that's part of the mystery), Willingham crafts personalities for them that make the reader truly care about them. When the action comes--and it comes swiftly and furiously--we worry about the characters. When bad things happen, we feel sad. And when good things happen, we feel elated. And he has possibly created the most realistic cat, in terms of attitude, I've ever seen in literature.

I don't want to see Willingham abandon comics. However, I do hope that this represents the start of a long career in prose, independent of his comics work. Clearly, he's more than adept in both.(less)

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Jul 19, 2011 April rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, fantasy, ya, middle-grade

Down The Mysterly River by Bill Willingham opens with intrepid boy detective Max ‘the Wolf’ awakening in the woods with no memory of how he got there. As he is in boy scout uniform, Max assumes he got lost on a scouting trip. He must reexamine this theory when he happens upon some talking animals in this middle grade fantasy novel.

Read the rest of my review here

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Nov 02, 2011 Scott Foley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Though Down the Mysterly River is written primarily for middle-graders, the fact that it is scribed by Bill Willingham proved irresistible. You may know Willingham as the creator and author of the Vertigo series entitled Fables. He won me over long ago, and I don't mind admitting that I'll give anything he writes a chance.

Down the Mysterly River proved an enjoyable read, even for an old man such as me. It is the story of Max the Wolf, a twelve-year-old Boy Scout who awakens upon an otherworldly...more Though Down the Mysterly River is written primarily for middle-graders, the fact that it is scribed by Bill Willingham proved irresistible. You may know Willingham as the creator and author of the Vertigo series entitled Fables. He won me over long ago, and I don't mind admitting that I'll give anything he writes a chance.

Down the Mysterly River proved an enjoyable read, even for an old man such as me. It is the story of Max the Wolf, a twelve-year-old Boy Scout who awakens upon an otherworldly planet much like his own except for the fact that this one has talking animals. He soon befriends three such animals - a warrior badger named Banderbrock; a hellcat conqueror called McTavish; and a sheriff bear that answers to Walden. Their adventure beings almost immediately as they are pursued by the Blue Cutters, a self-righteous group of huntsmen who will use their magic swords to cut all of the "bad" out of their quarry.

The quest for safety begins, and as any story such as this should, the group is told to seek out a wizard that shall protect them. However, the tale takes a decidedly interesting turn, one that I've seen before, but that made it no less enticing. And quite frankly, for most middle-school students, the big reveal will likely be the first time they've experienced such a thing and I can only guess at the explosion it will cause within their young imaginations.

Down the Mystery River is not without some issues. My biggest objection is with the main character, Max the Wolf. Though the boy be only twelve, he is written to employ the dialogue of a forty-year-old. Now, Willingham cleverly addresses this issue, but the explanation did not settle well with me even though it did not contract the plot. I also found the story a little too tethered to the "quest" formula. Granted, the book was not written for me, it was written for those half my age, and I have no qualms stating that I'm certain the "quest" will be right up most young people's alley.

I'd now like to talk about what Willingham got right. As usual, his sentences are a delight. And while his characters speak sometimes too similarly, he gave Max, Walden, Banderbrock, and McTavish each a distinctive personality that wins the audience over. It goes without saying that the devilish McTavish steals the show. Willingham had me laughing outright at some of the barn cat king's antics. Furthermore, near the end of the book, Willingham introduces a plot device that will probably change students' outlook on literature and its possibilities. I will forever be grateful to Willingham for taking students to such an imaginative and thought-provoking place.

Down the Mysterly River followed the typical conventions of a "quest" book for the most part, but the climax, as well as truly original, fun, charismatic characters far outshined that adherence to tradition. This book will spark the imaginations of young men and women everywhere, and I daresay many adults--not just the Willingham fans, either--will have no desire to put it down before completion.
(less)

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Jan 08, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, litwits

I loved this book for many different reasons. It began with a boy named Max the wolf, who really is not a wolf, and a badger named Banderbruck. They start having a conversation and they are both astounded that they could talk to each other in a new world that they somehow arrive in. They meet two other characters, a bear and a tom cat, and add them to their group. The story is about their adventure together and learning to understand the world that they are in. It is well written because as the...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Jessica Trujillo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade, ys-ya-fantasy-ra

The best word I can think of to describe this book is delightful. Quick synopsis--Max the Wolf (not a real wolf but a boy called wolf), boy scout and boy detective, finds himself in a wood that looks vaguely familiar. But one important difference is that he meets a talking badger. Boy and badger have to figure out how they got there--because neither one can remember how--and meet great friends and great enemies.

What really struck me was the story's sense of real danger and existential questions....more

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Oct 02, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Complete with lovely chapter header illustrations, "Down the Mysterly River" has the look and feel of a good old fashioned fairy-tale and it absolutely lives up to that first impression. Totally original, yet paying homage to classics like "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Incredible Journey", it has all the elements of a classic. With a boy lost in the forest, talking animals and an epic quest, there's loads of adventure. There are enough grizzly battles to satisfy tween readers and an ending which w...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, fantasy, fractured-fairy-tales, funny-stuff, juvenile-fiction, teen-fiction

Max the Wolf is a boy scout who suddenly realizes he has no idea how or when he wound up in the woods. He is forced to put his detective skills to good use when, on top of being lost, he meets several animals that can speak with him and each other. Max and his animal companions all have different theories of why they have found themselves in such confusion. It's a "mysterly", to quote McTavish the Monster (who is really a very curmudgeonly cat with interesting elocution skills). To make things w...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Jessica at Book Sake rated it 3 of 5 stars

Down the Mysterly River is a truly entertaining, adventure story. The characters have so much personality that it really makes it a fun read. That being said I did have a few issues with the book. The mystery of the Mysterly River was crystal clear from the get go. The book is a middle aged book, so that may explain the obviousness of the mystery.

Also the author has written a series of graphic novels called Fables. These books follow of the lives of fairy tale characters in modern New York City....more

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Jun 01, 2012 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 13, 2012 Shara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed

The premise: ganked from BN.com: Down the Mysterly River is the children’s book debut of Bill Willingham, the creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel series Fables. Complete with illustrations by Fables artist Mark Buckingham, it is a spirited, highly original tale of adventure, suspense, and everlasting friendship.

Max “the Wolf” is a top notch Boy Scout, an expert at orienteering and a master of being prepared. So it is a little odd that he suddenly finds himself, with no re...more

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Sep 28, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a charming novel for tween readers who love fantasy, adventure, and animals. Max is a diligent Boy Scout who is stunned to find himself lost in an unfamiliar wood. Adding to his confusion, he meets a badger, a farm cat and a bear who all talk and also can't figure out the why and the how of their situations.. The banter between Max and the animals is sharp and quite humorous. Soon Max and his new friends are on the run from the nasty Blue Cutters and their even nastier hound dogs. Max ha...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Chris Freeman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Down the Mysterly River has strong elements of both The Hobbit and the Narnia books but, at the same time, manages to be rather different than both of these YA fantasy classics. "YA" may even be too strong a characterization for this novel, in fact. The prose, while pleasant and well-written, seems actually to be geared toward readers in the 10-12 year old range. However, while the reading level is basic, the several instances of real violence (some unwillingly carried out by a 12 year old boy)...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Ramie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

Max "The Wolf" has two real loves: Boy Scouts and a good mystery. Both of these loves will be put to the test when he suddenly finds himself in a mysterious land full of woods where the animals not only speak but tell fantastic tales. This alone would make for big mystery since Max has no memory of how he got there, in fact many of his memories of his life before the mysterious woods seem a bit muddled. Oh, but then there's the group of people with blue swords who seem to want to cut he and his...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-books

I have read a fair bit of Willingham's work. I read Fables and the spin-off books as soon as they come out in trade, and really liked Peter and Max. I've read Bad Doings and Big Ideas, and while some of it was just okay, most of it was really good, especially the Thessaly stories. After saying all that, I honestly believe this is the best Willingham book I have read to date. It's a kid's book, but should certainly not be limited to kids (remember, it's for 10 and up). It is wonderfully written,...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Krista Stevens rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: boys, fantasy, young-adult

It's a little bit odd, but I don't want to say too much as part of the allure of this book is trying to figure out the mystery of how Max, a boy, ends up in a strange word with a talking, goofy, gamboling bear, a tough, arrogant, pure-delight farm cat, and a brave and admirable badger. It is a dangerous world and they are being chased by Cutters (people with blue swords) who do terrible things to the creatures they catch. I loved the characters, though the premise the book is built on totally th...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Stephanie Jobe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Max the Wolf is not actually a wolf but rather a boy scout and young detective. He finds himself in an unfamiliar woods with no idea of how he got there, there are others like himself but they are animals that talk and in Max’s world that just doesn’t happen. So he must deduce what this strange place is and why there are people with blue swords chasing him and his new friends.

I honestly don’t know what to think of this book. I enjoyed it in a very casual way. It never got me super duper excited....more

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About Bill Willingham

In the late 1970s to early 1980s he drew fantasy ink pictures for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert game rulebooks. He first gained attention for his 1980s comic book series Elementals published by Comico, which he both wrote and drew. However, for reasons unknown, the series had trouble maintaining an original schedule, and Willingham's position in the industry remained spotty for many...more

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Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers

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