InterWorld by Neil Gaiman
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Book Reviews of InterWorld
Book Review: Well-constructed story
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a light, easy-to-read, and skillfully constructed tale. Arc is customary for the genre, the ordinary kid discovering special powers and that he's crucial for some larger battle. Prose is far superior to most other efforts in the genre, vocabulary is much richer and more interestingly chosen than the overwhelming majority of putative adult novels.
Imagery characterized by strong reliance both implicitly and explicitly on popular movies and TV shows. Implicitly, authors describe an image (for example, a grin turning over on itself) that directly evokes a particular famous image (the T1000's demise in T2); more notably, the narrative is full of express comparisons to various contemporary movies and TV shows.
Although the plot gets very ambitious, if not convoluted, as is customary with Gaiman's works he maintains a clear over-arching logic to the various special powers and plot developments. It is as a matter of fact quite impressive how seamlessly and effortlessly so many plot complications are handled.
This does lack, of course, the depth of characterization, the believability of characters, or the luminous prose of Gaiman's best work. But it does not aspire to be more than what it is, a light tale well-told.
Book Review: A compelling and imaginative tale
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been a fan of Gaiman for some time now, and Interworld was a title that intrigued me from the start. The story was well constructed and completed a wonderful introduction to a strange multiverse of characters and struggles.
If I had one complaint, it would be that the story was too short. We received only the briefest of introductions to a vast and somewhat timeless struggle between this group caught between two powerful organizations. I'd easily recommend this book to friends looking for a quick read, or to teens getting into fantasy reading.
Book Review: Not just for kids...
Summary: 5 Stars
I wasn't aware that this was a "young adult" book until I received it. No problem, since, as always, Neil Gaiman delights with clever story-telling and memorable characters. It is, perhaps, a somewhat quicker read due to being geared toward a younger, somewhat more distractable audience, but certainly not a disappointment by any means, and I would love to see futher adventures of the young Joey in his parallel worlds.
Book Review: Gaiman does sci-fi
Summary: 4 Stars
"Interworld" is what you could describe as a "lost" Neil Gaiman. It's a collaboration with American author Michael Reaves that the two were hoping could translate into a television series. When TV producers weren't picking up on the idea, Neil and Michael decided to sit down together in the 90's and write it as a short novel. The book was shelved and gathered dust for several years due to a lack of interest from publishers. In 2007, "Interworld" finally surfaced into the published world, no doubt aided by Gaiman's unstoppable and still-growing popularity.
Interworld is told in a first-person narrative by a teenager named Joey Harker. Joey's a somewhat shy teenager living in a small town in the Midwest. One day he and his classmates go on an unconventional school trip organized by his eccentric teacher. Joey ends up wandering away and stepping into another dimension. Then things get really weird. He meets several copies of his own bodies, who are living in alternate versions of his world. He also ends up in the middle of an Interworld battle between the forces of good and evil. Getting back home is the least of Joey's problems right now, first he must battle the arch nemesis bent on destroying peace in the "Altaworld".
It was clear when I started reading this novel that the target audience is for teens and young teens. The book's written in a very straightforward style, is only 240 pages of large print and in many ways reads like a comic book. Does that mean adults wouldn't enjoy it as well? Of course not. This is great escapist reading no matter what your age. Even though it's short in length this novel creates a very dense world of imagination, of parallel universes and time warps and other far-out concepts that fans of Gaiman's work are no doubt used to.
If I were to say there's one fault with this novel, I'd say that the imagination factor runs a little too wild. Yes, it's Science Fiction but it's sci-fi related to a boy's world on earth and as far-fetched as the idea of parallel worlds is, what's even more far-fetched are all the other outrageous things that seemingly happen arbitrarily through the story. Multiverse? Binary? Altaworld? I admit a lot of this stuff flew right over my head. But in the end this remains a very enjoyable read, both for fans of Gaiman and sci-fi in general. It reminded me of a cross between Robert Heinlen's "Glory Road" and Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game". Short, swift, enjoyable and definitely a recommended read.
Book Review: A Good Afternoon Read...
Summary: 4 Stars
Interworld is not Gaiman at his best. I've seen his collaborations with Pratchett (Good Omens), and read a lot of his independent work, and this collaboration disappointed me a bit. The writing was fine, technically. It just wasn't what I expected.
The premise is really cool - who wouldn't like to read about a kid who can travel between dimensions? The science was a bit lacking though, and the story seemed like it had been cut from a longer series and pasted together, rushing from action scene to action scene without much time for exposition or world-building. As a result, it felt as though the main character had gone from ignorant, lost kid to savior of the multiverse in 6 seconds flat. For a young adult audience it's a great introduction to fantasy/sci-fi mashups, with a fast pace and and a quirky mystery aspect (the identity of Joey's helpers) which is revealed about halfway through the book, but it all ended too soon for me. I'd really love to see a few more stories come out in this universe - maybe following some of the other characters.