Author John Connolly is very much tied to my love of reading. In 2008, I had reached out on a pro wrestling message board (odd, I know) looking for any reading recommendations. A fellow poster responded with Connolly’s critically acclaimed 2006 novel, THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS. I absolutely loved it. Since then, I have recommended it to just about anyone regardless of what genre they prefer. Why? Because I’m not much of a fantasy fan myself and I loved it. It’s very relatable at its core and how we can all use a little push and guidance when life isn’t going how we’d wish it to.

Seventeen years after the original’s publication, John Connolly returns to the land of Elsewhere to pen a new chapter. This time, the story follows Ceres, a single mother caring for her young daughter lying helpless in a coma following a traffic accident. After moving her daughter out of London and into a facility that can better care for her needs, Ceres comes into contact with an old property that housed a reclusive author who penned THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS, a semi-autobiographical novel about the author’s own experiences during the Second World War. It isn’t long before Ceres finds herself compelled by the home’s strange aura and upon entering, is ushered through a doorway into Elsewhere.

Does this book suffer from the unfortunate consequences of hype? Maybe. I can’t explain to you how much I anticipated this novel and was just about over the moon when I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy. I’m not sure I can even complain about the emergence of several of the first novel’s characters; the best of which being The Woodsman. Connolly even revisited popular fairytales and warped them so they appeared differently than the original stories.

The problem lies in the fact that THE LAND OF LOST THINGS very much feels like a retread of the original. Is that fair? I don’t know. I never seem to have a problem with the nearly two dozen Charlie Parker novels Connolly has written, all of which follow similar plot points and each bring back recurring characters. I’m not even sure I would do anything different here, to be honest. I guess I was left feeling underwhelmed and far from the joy I felt reading the first book. Maybe it was the freshness and uniqueness of the original story that won me over.

THE LAND OF LOST THINGS is far and away from being considered a “bad book”, but I certainly struggled to get into it. Given the advance praise it’s received, it’s likely to be a hit for fans of the original as well as those who enjoy fantasy reads, but I just couldn’t get into it. I will always and forever recommend the original – it’s a timeless story that maybe should have been kept to just the one book.