Review: Interworld, Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves

I gave Interworld 4 out of 5 stars:

Joey Harker is a normal kid who pines after his dream girl and has absolutely no sense of direction - or so he thinks. After a school excursion that goes very wrong indeed, Joey finds himself in places that he doesn't understand. He runs home only to find that his mother no longer recognises him, and he now has a sister that he never had before. This is only the beginning of how strange Joey's day is going to become.

He travels across dimensions, quite by accident and meets some weird and wonderful people who tell him that he actually does have a sense of direction, it's just that it's a multidirectional sense of direction. Joey can't find his way to the local newsagent in his own world, but he can navigate trans-dimensional space. It's an unusual skill and not one that he had ideally planned for.

Joey's new skill takes him to dangerous places. He soon finds out that his abilities have real consequences, not just for himself but for those around him too.

Neil Gaiman

Michael Reaves

I found Interworld to be an interesting read. I enjoyed the multidimensional aspects of the book and found the MDLFs to be a novel and intriguing part of the book. This book was a collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves. It's a little bit different from the usual Neil Gaiman books, but there is still a clear influence visible in the magical characters and locations.

I haven't read anything by Michael Reaves before, but judging by this story, he may be worth checking out. He seems to be a screen writer amongst other roles, and his Goodreads profile says that he has been involved in Star Trek, Bat Man and Star Wars in one way or another.

I gave Interworld 4 out of 5 stars.

I would recommend this book to science fiction fans who like themes around multidimensional space, exploration, and magic.

[Posted by: Peter James West, author of the science fiction series: Tales of Cinnamon City.]

If you're new to the my books, you'll find that they're a mixture of military science fiction, action, and fantasy. 

Tales of Cinnamon City is a science fiction series set in the richly detailed world of Megarothia.

For a limited time, you can get a FREE copy of Information Cloud – the first novel in the series – direct from this site. Just click the button below to get started.

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Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman

I gave the The Ocean at the End of the Lane 5 stars out of 5:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is an unusual title for this Neil Gaiman novel. It immediately fills the reader's mind with questions. Neil Gaiman has a reputation for not worrying too much about what genre he 'belongs' to, and that leaves him free to do what he does best. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is no exception.

The book begins with a man visiting a farm. He isn't quite sure why he's visiting it, but there's something familiar about it and he finds himself drawn towards an old duck pond behind a farmhouse. The rest of the book explains how he came to be there. It's not the kind of storyline that you will ever be able to guess! 

The main story revolves around the events that took place when the main character was seven years old. He has a difficult time at home and never has any friends. When a young girl from a neighbouring farm befriends him, he enjoys her company, and begins to realise that there is something a little unusual about his knew friend and her whole family.

What the main character learns is surprising and strange. Any adult would have difficulty accepting the odd events that take place, but as a seven year old, he accepts everything at face value. This is part of the beauty of the story. The innocence of childhood is something we can all learn from. He does ask his father whether it is possible for an ocean to be the size of a duck pond, but Lottie sets him straight when he questions what she said.

This was a beautiful story, well told with wonderfully weird characters. The settings and events were equally odd and very imaginative. Gaiman paints a world that is far different from any that we might have expected, and yet he paints it clearly and with such skill that we quickly become a part of it. We accept everything that happens. 

The farm grows within us and it becomes a character in its own right. The duck pond becomes more than the sum of its parts, but in the end, it is the young boy and his friend Lottie and her family that make this book what it is. We feel for them, and quickly become part of their world. 

I gave The Ocean at the End of the Lane 5 out of 5 stars.

I would recommend this story to all fantasy fans, particularly those who like stories with depth, stories that have a dark edge, and stories that are full of impressive and weird characters.

[Posted by: Peter James West, author of the science fiction series: Tales of Cinnamon City.]

If you're new to the my books, you'll find that they're a mixture of military science fiction, action, and fantasy. 

Tales of Cinnamon City is a science fiction series set in the richly detailed world of Megarothia.

For a limited time, you can get a FREE copy of Information Cloud – the first novel in the series – direct from this site. Just click the button below to get started.

Find out More >

Review: American Gods, Neil Gaiman

Review: American Gods, Neil Gaiman

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

This is the first Neil Gaiman book that I've read. He has a good reputation as an author and is highly regarded. I get the feeling that he enjoys sliding between genres and journeying to places where other authors dare not go. That's all good, and it comes across well in American Gods.

The book features the travels of a man called Shadow. He is released from prison only to discover that the world he once knew is no longer the same as he remembered it. Everything that he once depended on has either gone or has been changed beyond all recognition. Without a life to return to, he wonders what his life will become. When a stranger in a bar offers him a job, he is rightly suspicious and assumes that the man is not to be trusted - only he doesn't realise just how strange the man really is until much later.

Shadow wanders across the united states not only in a geographical sense but also travelling through history, ideas and dreams in equal measure. He encounters many different gods that exist as memes in the minds of the people. Memes come and go as time passes and the strength of the gods comes and goes through the ages. Shadow's journey is deep and mystical and takes the reader to places where they might not expect to visit. The overall feeling of the story is a dreamlike journey across ideas and times and places and different ways of life. Gaiman describes the journey in rich detail and the characters are varied and interesting throughout.

In one part of the book a minor character was introduced, and her whole complex life was described from start to finish in a matter of a few pages. It was almost like a summary of a biography for someone who pretty much disappeared again immediately afterwards. It was an unusual technique, and didn't seem entirely relevant at the time, but it was written with such detail and included such interesting and unexpected events that it was enjoyable in itself. There were many such details scattered throughout the story, and through the richness of the individual details, the book's dreamlike background atmosphere became more prominent and believable.

If you are looking for a story with a clear sequence of well defined events that rush from the beginning to end then this book might not be for you, but if you are open to a story that wanders freely amongst characters and ideas, and offers a richly detailed alternative world, then perhaps it is for you. In either case, it is clear that Neil Gaiman is a skilful story teller who has many ideas to share. He is not afraid to wander off the well beaten path, and he has the skill and experience to find his way back onto it, just in time to guide the reader home.  

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy or horror, or even ghost stories.

You can find this book pretty much everywhere, but here is the Amazon Link: Amazon

[Posted by: Peter James West, author of the science fiction series: Tales of Cinnamon City.]

If you're new to the my books, you'll find that they're a mixture of military science fiction, action, and fantasy. 

Tales of Cinnamon City is a science fiction series set in the richly detailed world of Megarothia.

For a limited time, you can get a FREE copy of Information Cloud – the first novel in the series – direct from this site. Just click the button below to get started.

Find out More >