AUTHOR: GUILLERMO DEL TORO, CORNELIA FUNKE | PUBLISHER: BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING | RELEASE DATE: JULY 2ND

For anyone who has viewed Guillermo del Toro’s epic 2006 fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth, it may come as a surprise that it was not adapted from an existing story or novel. So layered, so intrinsically detailed with fairytale splendour is Del Toro’s narrative that you feel it must be based upon some centuries old text. But only now, in conjunction with New York Times bestselling author Cornelia Funke, has the Oscar-winning movie been translated into print. And it’s everything you could hope it would be.

There is an intoxicating richness to Del Toro’s original film, that tells the tale of a young girl’s adventure in a fantasy world full of child-eating monsters, giant toads, psychopathic soldiers and princesses, all heroes and villains; a blend of sadness and joy detectable in the best of fairytales. What Funke adds to this is an even greater fleshed out world, through adding stories and information that further enhances the original.

For any fan of Pan’s Labyrinth, Del Toro or Funke, this is a must-buy. The beauty inherent in the material is comparable to any tale present in a child’s book of bedtime stories. The unavoidable darkness simmering beneath the surface, and at times bursting loose, would complement and improve any horror story. This is a work of consummate skill and passion, one that needs to be revered for its unmistakable brilliance.

If you are not yet familiar with Pan’s Labyrinth, then now is the time to fill that void. It is Del Toro’s masterpiece, a film unlike any other, and this novelisation not only lives up to impossibly high expectations but incredibly adds to the darkest of magical fairytales.