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alexxkayHuh. I wonder just how intentional it was that this book reads like a Heinlein juvenile. It feels very strongly like one to me, though it has rather more fantasy elements than RAH typically used.
Our hero is Joey Harker, a boy whose sense of direction is so bad that he once got lost inside his own house. As it transpires, he actually has an excellent sense of direction -- it's just tuned to finding the paths between parallel universes.
The world we know is pretty average, though tending a bit more towards science than magic. Other worlds are more extreme, and the most extreme have formed authoritarian empires who want to make their own brand of reality dominant. The scientists of The Binary are just as evil as the sorcerers of HEX. One group stands between the two, striving to maintain the balance by playing these two great powers off against each other.
This 'balance' group, the good guys here, are called Interworld. In some sense, Joey Harker, despite being their newest recruit, is also their oldest. See, every Interworld agent *is* Joey Harker -- as he might have been on some other timeline. Some are girls, some are cyborgs, or werewolves, or winged, but they are all in some sense the same.
Joey (the specific instance who is our protagonist) is an especially powerful World Walker, and the book follows his discovery of his powers, and his recruitment to Interworld. He makes some big mistakes along the way, and lands in some impressively deep trouble. But he gets the chance to make tings (at least mostly) right by the end. The story reaches a satisfying conclusion, while still leaving open the possibility of more adventures down the line. Along the way, there are passing nods to Narnia, Doctor Strange, and other favorite dimension-travelling stories.
Though certainly not Gaiman's strongest work, this is certainly entertaining. Recommended. If you're a fan of Heinlein juveniles, up that to Highly Recommended.
Our hero is Joey Harker, a boy whose sense of direction is so bad that he once got lost inside his own house. As it transpires, he actually has an excellent sense of direction -- it's just tuned to finding the paths between parallel universes.
The world we know is pretty average, though tending a bit more towards science than magic. Other worlds are more extreme, and the most extreme have formed authoritarian empires who want to make their own brand of reality dominant. The scientists of The Binary are just as evil as the sorcerers of HEX. One group stands between the two, striving to maintain the balance by playing these two great powers off against each other.
This 'balance' group, the good guys here, are called Interworld. In some sense, Joey Harker, despite being their newest recruit, is also their oldest. See, every Interworld agent *is* Joey Harker -- as he might have been on some other timeline. Some are girls, some are cyborgs, or werewolves, or winged, but they are all in some sense the same.
Joey (the specific instance who is our protagonist) is an especially powerful World Walker, and the book follows his discovery of his powers, and his recruitment to Interworld. He makes some big mistakes along the way, and lands in some impressively deep trouble. But he gets the chance to make tings (at least mostly) right by the end. The story reaches a satisfying conclusion, while still leaving open the possibility of more adventures down the line. Along the way, there are passing nods to Narnia, Doctor Strange, and other favorite dimension-travelling stories.
Though certainly not Gaiman's strongest work, this is certainly entertaining. Recommended. If you're a fan of Heinlein juveniles, up that to Highly Recommended.