Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
This book contains scenes of violence, blood, gore and death, including plans for a blood ritual which is discussed on page. The book takes place during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and talks about what it was like in lockdown especially for people in the entertainment industry and people with mental health conditions.

And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a delightfully clever and creepy read, and is Tchaikovsky’s take on an adult revisiting childhood magical adventures. In the same vein as Josh Winning’s The Shadow Glass and Dan Hank’s Swashbucklers, his male protagonist is taken back to the tales of his childhood and finds out that what he thought was fiction is actually very very real. In true Tchaikovsky style that reality is a science fiction, horror and fairytale mish-mash masterpiece that only he can pull off.

Harry Bodie is a failed children’s presenter whose attempt to announce a family secret on a genealogy TV show goes seriously wrong. Instead of finding fame by hinting that he’s related to long-lost royalty, he ends up catching the attention of people who believe his story in a way he could never see coming. Harry’s grandmother wrote a series of children’s books set in a world called Underhill. Beloved by many, Harry didn’t realise just how beloved until he’s kidnapped by a group who are convinced that he’s royalty – Underhill royalty. They don’t just believe that Underhill is a real place, but Harry’s the heir, and he’s the key to them getting to the place of their dreams.

Ever the cynic, Harry doesn’t believe a word of it. He escapes the clutches of his kidnappers only to find himself facing even more bizarre experiences that lead him to the very conclusion he laughed off. Underhill is real and it’s in trouble.

With characters that feel as though they’ve just been plucked off the street, And Put Away Childish Things is more than just a portal adventure about childhood nostalgia and responsibility. It’s set during the pandemic and Harry has mental health conditions, which he struggles with even more when the new reality of lockdown sets in. I was particularly impressed with how Tchaikovsky described Harry’s zoom session with his therapist and how difficult it was for him to connect with her over a video call.

There are elements of traditional storytelling and fairytales interwoven with science fiction, and a healthy dose of horror. While being about children’s stories this novella is most definitely not for children and the wickedly imaginative descriptions will lurk in your nightmares for a long time after you’ve finished reading. Serious scientific theories are discussed side by side with children’s literary discourse as the main characters uncover the shocking true nature of Underhill. The juxtaposition of the real world of science and the real world of the stories proposes certain questions of realism. However, the question at the heart of And Put Away Childish Things isn’t ‘what is real?’, rather it’s ‘what is possible?’ and with that Tchaikovsky bridges the gap between fiction and science. This is science fiction at its best, pushing at the boundaries of fiction and once again it is a superb tale that showcases Tchaikovsky’s award-winning talent brilliantly.

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That was fun overall! I felt like I really enjoyed the first part, before we discover the real Underhill, more than the rest, though.
The protagonist, an unhappy TV presenter, was an interesting one, he was well written and all the mounting tension regarding Underhill, the place his famous grandma wrote about, being real or not, plus mysterious people, etc, was compelling and I just wanted to read more as it was entertaining.
Then while there was an interesting plot twist, the overall plot was a tad too predictable and I felt less interested once the main mystery was revealed. I think I also found Underhill itself a bit boring for a fictional world, even though I liked how the childish (on purpose) concepts from the fictional books ended up being used in the "real" plot and twisted.
The writing style was OK, not the tightest but effective, and the Covid lockdown references and setting were cleverly used and put the story into perspective.

I want to thank NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in ecxhange for an honest review. ( )

Adrian Tchaikovsky does it again with another winning novella (seriously, how does he publish so much good stuff?). I consider Tchaikovsky to be one of the masters of the novella format, and while To Put Away Childish Things doesn’t quite reach the heights of Elder Race or Ogres, it is still a compelling and entertaining read in a relatively small package.

And Put Away Childish Things follows Henry (or, if you would rather, Felix), a pretty unhappy and down on his luck B-list celebrity. In many ways he is more famous for being the grandson of a fantasy author famous for her middle grade portal fantasies (think the Narnia books) from the 1950s and 1960s. When Henry goes on a documentary reality series that explores that past of famous people, he gets wrapped up in realms of magic, secret organizations, and a dying fantasy world.

And Put Away Childish Things falls into the modern interest in interrogating the entire middle grade portal fantasy genres, but with its own Tchaikovsky spin here. While Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series focuses on the darker elements of childhood desires and Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy focuses on the tragedy of aging out of our favorite childhood worlds, Tchaikovsky explores generational trauma, science, the definition of family and the lengths people will go to save the ones they love.

Tchaikovsky injects much of his famous wit and humor into this novella. He cleverly skewers the tropes of the middle grade portal fantasy novella, with particularly targeted barbs at Narnia itself. What I enjoyed most about the humor of this book is that it was obvious the pokes and jabs were coming from a place of affection. It was clear that portal fantasies are something Tchaikovsky has a deep nostalgia for, and this is both his take down and love letter to the genre (I particularly enjoyed that all of these other portal fantasies exist in this novella, so that the Earth characters can comment on them!). I am already ready for a re-read because I know I missed so many little jokes and Narnia-easter eggs that Tchaikovsky left along the way. Seriously, this book is funny if it is your type of humor; I laughed out loud at the climatic battle towards the end of the book.

Because this is a novella, the plot moves a really nice pace. I never felt like there were moments that were dragged out nor did I feel that the plot raced ahead without me totally on board. Many novellas I read struggle to avoid not enough plot or too much plot, but And Put Away Childish Things sails through its approximately 200 pages. I don’t know how Tchaiksovsky was able to inject so much history to the fictional world of Underhill and Harry’s past in such a short amount of time, but he nails it. The depth to the characters and their histories also set up some really solid plot twists that kept me flipping the pages. My only recommendation would be to jot down some notes about the family tree, since the names come hard and fast!

This novella is also filled with a bunch of fun characters, particularly the zany creations from the fictional land of Underhill. They all start out as your stereotypical fantasy archetypes – the helpful yet mysterious faun, the evil giant spider, etc. – whose connections to other major fantasy works are evident. Some of the characters are legitimately terrifying; don’t tell me that you read this book without at least getting a little creeped out by Gombles the Clown. However, the real star of the show is the main character Harry, and your level of enjoyment of the novella might depend on how much you require the main character to be completely likable. Particularly at the beginning of the novella Harry is pretty easy to dislike. He’s selfish, he’s whiny, and he’s entitled. By the end, he shows remarkable growth in realistic ways as the novella progresses.

I think where the novella falls just short of Tchaikovsky’s greatest works is the relatively shallowness of this novella. As I mentioned earlier, it is funny and clever, but the deep themes of trauma, depression, and perspective we got from Elder Race or the commentary of classism from Ogres isn’t present here. I had a really great evening with this novella, but I don’t think it is going to stick with me as long as some of Tchaikovsky’s greatest works. Again, this is not to suggest in any way this is a bad novella, but it fails to reach that level of sticking with me required for a solid five star review.

The other thing that didn’t really work for me was Tchaikovsky’s inclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic (although it is never officially named in the novella). It was clear that Tchaikovsky was working through his own feelings of the government’s response to the pandemic, but the thematic line he tries to draw between what Henry sees in the real world and what he is seeing in Underhill (I’m being vague to avoid spoilers) never really comes together. I think the inclusion of the pandemic was just one plotline too many for the novella format; to really make that work this would have to have been a full novel.

Concluding Thoughts:
Tchaikovsky’s contribution to the adult-portal fantasy subgenre is another treat for fantasy fans. While not as good as some of his previous novellas, this is a fun and fast read with surprising levels of horror, sadness, and thematic heft. Come for the quirky fantasy world and hijinks, stay for the examination of the purpose (both good and bad) of family. ( )