The issue of child molestation is touched on briefly in chapter nine, but it is too murkily presented to be more than a hint at one of the bad memories David wishes to leave behind in the Old World. The chapter is such a marked departure from the tone and content of the rest of Discover the Destroyer that it may stand out as a special problem for some readers.

Of greater significance to Discover the Destroyer is the theme of greed. Christopher views the economy of Fairy Land as robustly capitalist, and talks confidently about the law of supply-and-demand with Ambrigar. But David also sees Fairy Land as phony, a fake place prettied up to attract people who have money to spend or have profitable business to take to Fairy Land.

David likens his impression to visiting the botanical gardens in Chicago, implying a place...