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Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes

By Jonathan Auxier

Bookpage Interviews and Reviews

  • An exciting story of destiny

    Imagine the characteristics of a good thief: He would need to be a child (to fit in small spaces, and pick locks with small fingers); an orphan (so that no one would miss him); and blind (so that his senses of smell and touch far exceed those of anyone else). In Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, the exciting debut novel by Jonathan Auxier, Peter is all of these things, and much more. In fact, he is the greatest thief who has ever lived, and that is what changed his life forever.

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  • An adventure that's more than meets the eye

    Most authors today are content to make their characters special by giving them extra senses and abilities. In Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, Jonathan Auxier makes Peter special by taking them away. Peter Nimble is considered the greatest thief in the world, not in spite of the fact that he is a child, an orphan and blind, but because of these things.

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Reader Reviews

tgibert's picture
August 16, 2011 - 11:54am — tgibert

PETER NIMBLE: MY HERO

When I was a shy home-schooled child, books helped me to escape, especially fantasy books, which promised some other, better world. Jonathan Auxier’s debut novel, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, would have been a joy for Little Me, offering up a wondrous world complete with talking animals and heroic children. Well, it was a joy for Big Me, too. What makes Peter Nimble so good is that it’s not too GOOD. At parts, it’s heartbreaking; at others, terrifying; but always satisfying.

Peter Nimble, you may have heard, is the world’s greatest thief. The fact that he’s been blind since infancy (his eyes plucked out by a raven while he did some solo basket-floating in a river) has only aided his skill, heightening his other senses.

Auxier leads us through Peter’s humble beginnings, his “apprenticeship” to the sadistic, beggar-mongering Mr. Seamus, and then: the Quest. And the author’s creativity really begins to triumph. We get: an oddly cursed travelling companion named Sir Tode who is an amalgamation of human knight, horse, and kitten; a Vanished Kingdom; a riddled cry for help; and a hero (that’s Peter). With a little advice from a mysterious professor and help from the eponymous Fantastic Eyes, Peter and Sir Tode venture to find the disappeared kingdom with only this message to lead them:

Kings aplenty, princes few,

The ravens scattered and seas withdrew.

Only a stranger may bring relief,

But darkness will reign, unless he’s—

Slowly and skillfully, Auxier reveals who the kings are and who the good guys are. Adventure ensues, and I am not ashamed to say that I cried more than once because it’s a REAL adventure. There is death. There is fear and doubt and confession. In one especially memorable scene, a raven friend encourages Sir Tode to overcome his fears with this heavy line:

“There are times when Justice demands from us more than we would give.”

And that is the story’s heart: courage to be exactly who we are AND more. Which, by the by, is exactly what Peter discovers, in several wonderful ways. Deep down, in his heartiest, truest nature, he IS a thief—but a lot more, too. We should all have the chance to go on a Quest and be forced to become more than we thought we were. The real world would be a better place and far more FANTASTIC.