Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain audiobook

I loved this right after I finished the prologue. The novel follows a young dungeon keeper by the name of Thisby Thestoop, who by accident becomes a part of the staff due to a hungry minotaur’s poor penmanship. She becomes “Game Keeper” of the dungeon and ensures it is deadly and well stocked with monsters to guard its treasures. This book is in my vote for one of the best fantasy novels of 2018. It does numerous things wonderfully.The setting of Thisby Thestoop is an intriguing one I haven’t seen in middle grade fantasy. I’m completely enamored with all of the creatures, monsters, and beasts Thisby deftly navigates and cares for. It harkens me back to nights of tabletop RPGs or co-op all nighters with friends. We see the usual fare of D&D derivative monsters, and some new things dwelling far below spawned out of pure nightmare fuel. While I may know what to expect from some of the usuals, Gorman portrayed the dungeon as if I were there. Brilliant descriptive writing made even the creatures typical of a D&D setting seem new and evoked the same sense of wonder I experienced when I encountered them for the first time. The last time I enjoyed a setting this much was Bond & Rowe’s Supernormal Sleuthing Service. Absolutely brilliant setting brought wholly to life by Gorman’s writing and Bosma’s illustrations.This gets me into what I enjoyed the most about the book: The Characters. Every character is fleshed out to the perfect amount. We see each motivation in the apt characterizations the entire cast has. From Thisby all the way down to Gregory. But the Characterization (although brilliant) isn’t the most important thing Gorman does with the characters here. I believe that the most important function of children’s literature is promoting and creating empathy within the reader. This function is performed in a myriad of ways; escaping into the lives of other characters is the primary vehicle. Literature is also a wonderful bastion of our own escapist culture (which is recursively creating empathy through the characters. I understand it can get quite cyclical here). I bring this up for a sole purpose. Thisby Thestoop is the best novel I’ve read that creates empathy this well in this subtle of a package. Through the characterizations of even the most minor cast member, your feelings for just about everyone is dynamic. We think of Roquat as this evil taskmaster (which he is), but when we hear of the extinction of his people and his desire to take back their birthright; we feel for him. The crown princess seems to be cold, apathetic and wholly unlikeable, while her twin brother seems to be a gregarious paragon. Then these roles seem dynamic internally in the reader. The citizens of the Deep Dark are absolute Cronenberg nightmares, but when we hear them rallying for freedom, we can’t help but want them to attain it. This is where this book is magical to me. The depth of every dynamic character spinning around primarily in the reader’s head is some of the best character writing I’ve seen in fiction. Bravo, Zac Gorman, Bravo. An excellent novel I would highly recommend to any age fantasy reader (provided they are old enough to follow the plot).

Thisby is a gamekeeper who cares for the demons of the black mountain. Her job is to make sure they don’t kill each other...or any humans who come looking for the treasure of the dungeons. This job is no easy task when you are dealing with blood thirsty monsters!👹I LOVED this book! It was a wild and hilarious adventure with monstrous battles, royal pains in the bum, and the sweetest revenge!⚠️ Warning, this book was pretty scary at times and included some blood and gore. Also beware of the detailed illustrations. I’m kind of a scaredy-cat. 🙀

The best part of Thisby is that she didn’t change. She didn’t get a makeover or leave the dungeon. Instead, she admitted she loved her life as an overworked gamekeeper of the monsters in the Black Mountain. She saved the day because she read, observed and took notes. She was brave and true and a heroine that I want more of!!This book is scary. There is murder and darkness and horrible deaths. Yet there was a sweetness in the story telling and a friendship between a slime ball and a gamekeeper that is nothing but endearing. Might be a cool scary, edge of your seat read aloud for 5th grade. Good read for 5-7th.

What an insanely charming book! This book had everything I was looking for-humor, heart, unique monsters, and incredibly lovable characters (the amazing illustrations were an awesome bonus.) Thisby and the Black Mountain is an instant new favorite of mine. I will definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out!

Four, Count 'Em Four, Great Books in OneThis is a buddy-comedy-fantasy-adventure featuring two very appealing heroines. It has suspense, action, humor, careful plotting, magic, imaginative world building, and great atmosphere. Here's the overall setup. The evil castle run by the vaguely evil magical master sits on top of the mountain, which sits on top of a vast dungeon filled with all sorts of monsters and dangerous creatures. That all sits on top of the Dark Deep, where truly evil, (like mythical and legendary evil), creatures lurk. There's a portal between the everyday bad dungeon and the evil Dark Deep. The portal is guarded by a physical barrier and by deep ancient magic. And by a sarcastic and menacing giant cat with a really deep voice.Our first heroine is Thisby Thestoop. (A minotaur guard found her as a baby abandoned outside the castle door. He decided to wait until later to eat her and left her in the castle kitchen with a note - "I found this by the stoop." The kitchen goblins read this as - "I found Thisby Thestoop" and kept her and raised her.) Thisby is the smart, lonely, good-hearted, clear-eyed assistant dungeon keeper, (a/k/a gamekeeper), who cares for all of the monsters and creatures in the dungeon.Now, for the four books. (MILD PREMISE AND PLOT SPOILERS.) The first quarter of the book follows Thisby as she travels the dungeon feeding, tending, and caring for the monsters, who all roam freely throughout the vast dungeon. It's like a safari park of fantasy creatures and is the most fully realized and atmospheric and carefully imagined cryptozoology tour I've ever read.But we need some action. In the second quarter of the book two visiting young royals are attacked in the dungeon. The prince is kidnapped and the princess and Thisby end up the only remaining survivors. Thisby and Princess Iphegenia have to escape the dungeon, which was heavily damaged during the attack on them. This ends up being a suspenseful and danger filled dungeon crawl populated by loads more menacing, (or sometimes helpful), creatures.In the third quarter of the book, Thisby and Iphegenia find that the castle has been sealed off from the dungeon, some sort of insurrection is afoot, and no one is coming to save them or the prince. So, the two of them have to take matters into their own hands and enter the Deep Dark to rescue the Prince. (It's sort of like "The African Queen", but with spectral were-goats.) The final book is the battle of the evil Deep Dark creatures to breach the portal and, basically, take over the world, and then the tying up of lose plot threads.So, you get a creative dungeon crawl, a survival tale, a dark and dangerous quest, and a less evil versus greater evil battle to save everything. But here's the best part. Thisby and Iphigenia are funny, touching, gutsy, and one of the best action/adventure/comedy double-acts in middle grade lit. We watch Thisby blossom from a shy and lonely little grubby nobody into the heroine she was meant to be. And, we watch Iphigenia shed her spoiled rotten mean girl ways to become the authentic, trusty, reliable friend she was meant to be. From opposite directions they both grow up and become their best selves. Along the way they are cranky, sarcastic, snarky, insightful, witty, and silly. They also learn how to connect with and appreciate other people, (and monsters and creatures).The book is just lovely. We move from laugh out loud funny to suspenseful, to twistily plotted, to a whole host of plot and character surprises and unexpected twists and turns. Here and there you'll note a bit of edge, and there are some sly and ironic throwaway lines in the narration. The book is just filled with dozens of unique and often appealing or compelling characters, and many of them get some funny or touching lines while on the scene. The upshot was that this book amused and entertained on many levels, not least of which was the bonus of two quality heroines.(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

This fast-paced, action-packed fantasy novel for ages 8-12 follows in the footsteps of many a tongue-in-cheek precedent. Set in a gruesome dungeon filled with monsters and starring a practical, mousy girl raised by goblins, Thisby Thestoop is a fresh and well-written take on the genre that comes bearing an enormous backpack, lots of notes, a sentient blob of slime, and plenty of horse meat to spare.Thisby Thestoop takes her name from a note left with her when she is abandoned near the opening to the Black Mountain’s dungeon. Originally reading “found this by the stoop, keep for later”, the note is left by a Minotaur intending to eat the baby as a snack. The goblins who live in the black mountain interpret the note as a request to keep the baby safe, and so Thisby grows up a gamekeeper and janitor in the vast prison that contains a range of terrifying beasts.The Black Mountain is not only a vast mountain with plenty of teeth. It is also a part of a larger kingdom. As a regular ritual, the king inspects the dungeon to affirm that it is both terrifying and also not a military threat to his power. This year, though, the king sends his twin children to do the inspection: teenage Crown Princess Iphigenia and Prince Ingo. In the course of the inspection, a poorly managed monster goes on rampage and Ingo disappears. Iphigenia requests that Thisby help her find him—but in the course of searching, both get lost in the deep caves below the dungeon.At the same time, a wicked plot is brewing at the bottom of the mountain to unleash the worst terrors imaginable upon the kingdom and the world at large. Only Thisby, her slime friend Mingus, a giant cat named Catface, and Iphigenia can stop it. Readers of The Graveyard Book, The Wee Free Men, Dealing With Dragons, The Princess Bride or The Dark Lord of Derkholm will appreciate this witty, self-aware book.

My name is Thisby, and I'm the gamekeeper for creatures living under Castle Grimstone. I've been caring for the monsters all of my life, and I'm the only one who shows them respect. People fear the beasts, but even the monsters fear what's in the Deep Down. Nothing is supposed to be able to pass through the Darkwell, but what if that's wrong? Princess Iphigenia arrived for a tour of the dungeons, but now her twin brother has disappeared. Now, the princess and I are trekking through the far reaches of the dungeon, trying to find our way back up to the castle. Something's happening in these dark depths. Could it have anything to do with the stories of the Eyes in the Dark? It's up to Iphigenia and me to unravel the mystery.This book was a finalist for a 2018 Cybils Book Award. You're in luck if you love reading about bizarre monsters. The highlight of the book is Thisby, as she tries to cope with a princess who is used to having her orders followed without question. She carries a huge backpack everywhere that creates an amusing mental image. Thisby fears the creatures she oversees, but she understands their behaviors and needs. That's where her careful note-taking comes in. She even takes notes about the princess and learns to understand her. The princess is a dynamic character and grows throughout the plot, as she adopts some of Thisby's positive virtues. The princess has never had a friend and slowly warms to Thisby. Thisby is accompanied by a sentient slime that normally is frightened of his surroundings. Surprisingly, this minor character turns out to be a key factor in the story's conflict and resolution. Overall, this book tells an entertaining adventure, and the imagination of the dungeon-world is a highlight. It shares moments of suspense and humor that should captivate lovers of speculative fiction.

Thisby and Iphigenia couldn't be more different. Iphigenia is the crown princess, raised in the lap of luxury and used to getting her way. She walks with grace and stands tall and poised, confident in her power and beauty. Thisby is an orphan, raised in the Black Mountain. As the gamekeeper she spends most of her days covered in grime, trudging through tunnels and feeding monsters, narrowly avoiding becoming dinner herself. She walks hunched over carrying a huge backpack and her nose looks like a giant triangle. Her best friend is a sentient bit of glowing slime she keeps in a jar attached to her bag. Thisby doesn't have much respect for the pampered royal who comes to visit, and Iphigenia thinks Thisby is beneath her notice. Then disaster strikes and the two are trapped with only each other to rely on. Will they be able to rescue Iphigenia's lost brother? Or will they fall victim to the dungeon, like so many hapless adventurers before them?This hilarious adventure takes many common fantasy elements and turns them on their head. The Black Mountain is purposefully maintained with monsters and treasures to occupy adventurers and give the common people hope for advancement. There are many funny creatures such as the fearsome spectral goat. Not all the monsters are funny though. They face some serious threats that move the plot along at a fast pace. Fans of fantasy with a sense of humor are sure to enjoy this.

From the moment I saw this cover, I knew I was going to like it. A cute, awesome art style with neat illustrations, oh yeah. Girl in a dungeon taking care of a whole bunch of different beasties, that makes it even better. I love how the premise is basically, you know all those dungeons heroes and adventurers go through in stories? Here's a story about the girl who takes care of all the monsters in them. It's a great adventure full of imaginative creatures.While a lot of plot elements seem familiar, it in no way makes the book feel unoriginal or terribly predictable. It's just a lot of fun from beginning to end. It's really cool that even though this the author's first book, he's worked on storyboards for cartoons and written for graphic novels. I just find it nice when an author is capable of telling a story not only through words but also with visuals as a main focus. I can't wait for the sequel to come out.

I had so so SO much fun with this book! The gallery of monsters and the cast were interesting and memorable. Two girls, so different in background, adventure through a mountain full of monsters to save a prince. What I love most about this book is the fact that Thisby didn’t need some kind of oversized sword(which don’t get me wrong, I love an oversized sword) to face the obstacles throughout the story. She used her wits, her hard-earned notes on everything having to do with any creature or location in the mountain, but more than anything else, she utilized her desire to learn. Her desire to learn about everything she didn’t know about, including her traveling companion was such a subtle but important theme that no one should ever forget: the more you learn and WANT to learn about other things and people, the stronger the bridge between you and them get. Awesome story. Can’t wait to read the sequel.

NICOLE'S REVIEW: This little book charmed me to my core. A bit of mystery and a bit of fantasy led by two delightful female characters makes for a fun, whimsical, and at times heart-pounding adventure through a dungeon packed with monsters of every kind. But none of them prove to be a problem for Thisby, who tackles all of her problems with Hermione-leveled preparedness. It was so fun to watch her handle every situation that came her way equipped with nothing more than extreme competence and attention to detail. This is a story of friendship and of learning to see things from another persons (or creatures) perspective. It's equal parts touching and quirky and a great read for anyone who likes their fantasy silly, but not TOO silly.

This is a story of Thisby Thestoop who was left on The Black Mountain doors by her parents. They didn't really give her a name just a note that said "This by the stoop". So when she was found everyone just called her Thisby. Thisby grow up learning to the the gamekeeper of the Black Mountain by watching over all the creatures. One day the royal family of the kingdom visits and things are turned upside down. A gate lost the seal of magic that kept some of the evil dark creatures in the Deep Down. One of the royals, Ingo, went missing on the day of the visits. Along with the Princess Iphighenia, Thisby travels throughout the mountain to try and find Ingo, and the reason the magic seal was broken.

Filled with childish delight and terrifying creatures, Thisby Thestoop and The Black Mountain did not disappoint! It was a fun adventure through both classic and unique fantasy elements, leaving it both comfortable and enticing. It does a great job with its characters! Everyone in the book has layers and growth. I never felt like a joke or trait was overplayed, or like I knew what was coming next. This book was an absolute joy beginning to end.

Adorable, charming and ABSOLUTELY Chock full of dungeon monsters ! If you want a fun read about being true to yourself and becoming the best you can be, this book is for you! I adored Thisby and found a lot of things I could relate to with this character - and their adventures through the dungeon. It was humorous and many times the book made fun of itself (being set in a dungeon and all). Seriously, this is the cutest kids book I've read since Furthermore that had me absolutely hooked.