'For her eighth birthday, Nola receives a marvellous present: her late mother Annah’s music box. It has the most enchanting melody, and inside the globe… is that a little girl waving? And calling for help?! Before she knows it, Nola has shrunk down in size, slipped through the keyhole, and entered the world of Pandorient, where even the most ordinary-looking citizens can have extraordinary powers—and where danger could lurk down every hallway. Nola must help her new friends save their mother from a mysterious malady—all the while making surprising discoveries about Annah’s past, and—maybe—her own future…'
The Music Box: Welcome to Pandorient is the first volume in a children's fantasy series written by Carbone, that follows eight-year-old Nola on her birthday, and the strange, magic worlds she finds waiting for her inside a music box.
Nola has recently lost her mother, Annah, and is celebrating her birthday alone with her father. Despite not wanting to really celebrate, her father gives her a cake, and a special present, an old glass globed music box that once belonged to her mother. When Nola heads off to bed she winds up her new music box to listen to the music. However, she's surprised when she sees something moving inside the the globe.
A small girl appears before Nola, and writes her a message asking her for help. Following the girls instructions, Nola turns the music box's key in a certain combination, and is shrunk down to a tiny size; allowing her to enter the music box. Inside the box Nola finds a magical world called Pandorient, where all manner of strange creatures live together in a small town. The girl, Andrea, tells Nola that her mother is sick, and asks for her help. Sneaking Nola into Pandorient, the two girls try to figure out a way to help. However, when they discover that the water supply has been poisoned the two of them, along with Andrea's brother Igor, must try to figure out who's behind it all.
The Music Box: Welcome to Pandorient feels like the first episode of a children's fantasy television series. It's a creative world, with lots of little things hiding in the background for the reader to spot that feel like they're being set-up for future instalments. But, this story keeps things simple, and keeps the focus on the three lead characters instead.
Nola is the main focus of the book, and we spend almost all of our time with her. She's our entry character, and is a pretty normal girl. She's only recently lost her mother, and is clearly still dealing with her grief. Her birthday wishes are to have her mother back, and all of her birthday presents have some kind of connection to her. As such, when she learns that the magical music box belonged to her mother she instantly becomes attached, seeing it as one of the most beautiful things in the world. Even before she learns that there's a whole world nestled inside.
Over the course of the book we see that she's learnt some skills from her mother, and is good at healing. We're told that her mother used to travel to Pandorient before, and that many of the people there own her a debt, as such, I wonder if perhaps her mothers healing abilities was something that played a part in this, and if perhaps this is something that Nola will end up doing in future volumes.
Andrea is similar in age to Nola, and seems to be a pretty confident and outgoing girl. She, like most folks in Pandorient, has some kind of powers; though we don't see her use hers. Whilst she's not human she is one of the few people in the book that at least looks human, and as such seems to bond well with Nola. She's a point of near normality that Nola is able to latch onto as she enters this strange new world. Her brother, Igor, is a lot more outgoing, and seems to be full of energy and overconfidence. He seems to be a bit older, though we get no confirmation on this. He has a wildness to him that comes through in the way he's always running around, shouting at folks, and getting himself hurt. He seems like the sort that could end up getting the trio into some dangerous situations in the future; but at least handles himself well here.
The rest of the folks of Pandorient are a bit more unusual, and many of them look like strange animals, multi-limed creatures, or other weird fantasy creations. The designs are great, and there are some wonderful creatures that make Pandorient home. We get to spend some time with a few of them, and they make for some interesting characters. Hopefully, now that the groundwork has been done with this volume we'll get to see some more of the fantastical elements.
The artwork, provided by Gije looks lovely. It has a very unnatural look a lot of the time, and doesn't seem to be trying to have a realistic style. It often feels like the artwork from a fairy-tale story, and this absolutely fits with the writing. Gije also creates some wonderful designs in the inhabitants of Pandorient, and some of the best moments are when you can just spend time looking over the crowded street scenes, taking in everything.
The Music Box: Welcome to Pandorient is a nice beginning to the series, and spends time getting to know the characters, whilst giving hints at the bigger world and larger mystery just behind the scenes. Whilst it was a lovely read, I'm hoping that future volumes will explore a bit more of the world than this one did.
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