Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain (Thisby Thestoop Series #1)

by Zac Gorman, Sam Bosma (Illustrator)

Overview

Surrounded by all creatures gruesome and grotesque, Thisby Thestoop, the gamekeeper for the Black Mountain Dungeon, is getting roped into another job—saving the princess’s skin—in the debut fantasy-adventure series by Zac Gorman, contributor to the hilarious Rick and Morty comic series.

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.

Don't miss the first book in this rollicking new fantasy-adventure series from debut author Zac Gorman!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062495686
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2019
Series:	Thisby Thestoop Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Zac Gorman is a cartoonist and author from Detroit, Michigan. He worked as a storyboard artist on the Emmy-winning series Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon Network) and was nominated for the Annie Award for Character Design for his work on Welcome to the Wayne (Nickelodeon). He wrote for the Rick and Morty comic series published monthly by Oni Press. Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain is his debut novel.

Sam Bosma is a sentient orb discovered in an abandoned mine, of average height and build (for an orb). He is also the award-winning creator of the Fantasy Sports comics (NoBrow Press), and has fashioned illustrations for the New Yorker, Scholastic, Hulu, and the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles. 

Editorial Reviews

Tweens will instantly connect with innovative, hardworking Thisby and cheer her on. The story is an intriguing page-turner.” — School Library Journal

“A proper adventure story.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Gorman makes a strong children’s book debut...delivering a fast-paced, high-stakes adventure. Clever Thisby and forceful Iphigenia make a delightfully odd pairing as they form an unlikely friendship amid the chaos and danger, and Bosma’s ghoulish b&w illustrations further help bring the characters and creatures to life.” — Publishers Weekly

“The strength of this first novel of a planned series is certainly its menagerie of familiar and unfamiliar monsters, which Thisby helms as a young and extraordinary zookeeper.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

The strength of this first novel of a planned series is certainly its menagerie of familiar and unfamiliar monsters, which Thisby helms as a young and extraordinary zookeeper.”

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

02/12/2018
In this peril-packed page-turner, first in a series, a pampered princess and a resourceful orphan girl struggle to stay alive in a monster-infested dungeon. As the gamekeeper for the dungeon of Black Mountain, 12-year-old Thisby Thestoop knows how to handle hungry trolls, rampaging wyverns, and cranky goblins. But when Princess Iphigenia and her brother, Ingo, come to tour the mountain and see its horrors, Ingo is kidnapped, and the dungeon’s inhabitants are thrown into turmoil. Thisby and Iphigenia attempt to rescue Ingo as ancient evils in the dungeon’s deepest depths threaten to escape their long captivity. Comic book writer Gorman makes a strong children’s book debut, deconstructing the creature-filled caverns and trapped tunnel tropes prevalent in classic role-playing games (who feeds the monsters or oversees proper distribution of treasure, for instance?) while delivering a fast-paced, high-stakes adventure. Clever Thisby and forceful Iphigenia make a delightfully odd pairing as they form an unlikely friendship amid the chaos and danger, and Bosma’s ghoulish b&w illustrations further help bring the characters and creatures to life. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Jen Linnan, Linnan Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

The strength of this first novel of a planned series is certainly its menagerie of familiar and unfamiliar monsters, which Thisby helms as a young and extraordinary zookeeper.”

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

11/01/2017
Gr 4–6—Thisby Thestoop was adopted by goblins as an infant due to the poor penmanship of a minotaur who had eaten a big lunch and was hoping the goblins would save her for a later meal. Instead, they read the note lying by the infant as an adoption letter; and that's how Thisby came to earn the job of gamekeeper in a dungeon of monsters at Black Mountain. Tweens will instantly connect with innovative, hardworking Thisby and cheer her on as she works to make sure the princess is safe during a royal visit. Simple illustrations are provided throughout the book that help ground readers in the fantastical setting. Overall, the story is an intriguing page-turner. VERDICT An exciting read for those who enjoy fantasy and adventure novels with a strong main character.—April Sanders, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL

School Library Journal

2018-01-22
The saying goes, "Write what you know." Gorman seems to know a whole lot about monsters.This fantasy novel is filled with monsters, and they're not always familiar ones. There are wereplants and a slughemoth and a tarasque. Readers may assume the author made them up, but most of them come from actual folklore. Thisby Thestoop is in charge of feeding—and sometimes grooming—the monsters. Castle Grimstone, where she's grown up, has to look nice for tourists. It's designed to be an attraction for bored and foolish adventurers—fertile ground for a writer. One charm of the book is that everything that happens feels slightly counterintuitive and, better yet, slightly cynical. This extends to the pacing. When readers expect an epic battle, they may get the history of a city. Sometimes basic plot exposition is delayed until many chapters into the book. But there is a proper adventure story, complete with a search for a missing prince. The characters are so odd and engaging, though, that the plot hardly matters. The cast is only moderately diverse, however: a white protagonist; a pair of black-haired, olive-skinned twins; and a black adventurer/tourist who pops in now and again.Another saying goes, "Artists have to know the rules before they can break them." This author knows the rules of fantasy really well, and if the pacing sometimes defies convention, he makes up for it with spectacular monsters. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews