I can't technically consider this a book review since that would imply that I finished the book. This is more of an explanation of why I didn't finish the book.
I loved The Neverending Story as a kid. The movie, I mean. My kid brain didn't wonder where such a freaking cool idea came from I was just happy that there was a furry dog faced dragon involved.
When I saw the bright cover of The Neverending Story on a shelf at Barnes & Nobel I became that little kid again and HAD TO HAVE IT. Didn't even care that it was $11.99 for a paperback I bought that sucker then and there. Later that day, I settled in to read it. It started as I remembered in the movie except that Bastion wasn't and adorable polite-spoken little boy. He was cowardly, awkward, chubby and his dad didn't really like him. Okay I got that; it honestly made more sense for a boy like this to be drawn to a book and a world like Fantastica. The story ran similar to the movie, but it was a little scarier and more serious which made it better. Atreyu and Artax were admirable and I totally cried when they were in the Swamp of Saddness. Whenever it would switch back to Bastion's perspective I would be mildly annoyed that I had to read about this stupid kid who locked himself in the school attic, but I'm pretty sure I was supposed to feel that way because throughout the story Bastion will grow as a character into someone more admirable and likable like Atreyu.
Well then it gets to the turning point in the story where Bastion can make a choice and save everything and he...goes in to a corner of the attic and hides from it. Then the Childlike Empress does some crazy paradox stuff and forces Bastion to save Fantastica.
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Oh, well then okkkaaay. Then two chapters of Bastion running around being a megalomanic.
Then, I put the book up. At that point I realized that this book had been translated from German and since it's a german story Bastion could very well never grow as a character then die some horrible death involving crows eating out his eyes, and the moral of the story would be, don't steal books you little asshole.
I almost never put books up smack dab in the middle of the story. (I made it through The Constant Princess after all.) This time however, I really didn't like Bastion as a character and didn't care what happened to him.
The writing was well done. It was poetic in the right parts with plenty of symbolism.
Michele Ende did a wonderful job describing scenes that were almost too impossible to imagine. I'm sure that the book has a brilliant second half and ending, not many books make me cry ever.
I just hate Bastion.
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