After getting the book in the mail today, I sat down and read it. It’s an easy read. The prose just sails right along. And the story is simple. In fact, it’s a little too simple compared to what I was expecting. Granted that the book was written with a nine to twelve-year old audience in mind, there was a lot of concentration on the architecture of the nothingness that stretched between the worlds. And not enough focus on real character development or even a plot. Both of those turn out simple as well.
I know the juvenile crowd will probably appreciate that, but this is the same market that has been reading Harry Potter books that are 1000 pages long with convoluted and heavily articulated plots.
Still, this is Gaiman and there are flashes of brilliance as well as true emotion throughout. When he talks about his teacher Dimas, he sounds so true I couldn’t help but wonder if Gaiman or Reaves really had a teacher like that. The “class assignments” were terrific, and I found myself wishing for more of those.
The book moves at high speed once it gets up and going, which doesn't take long at all. However, Joey tends to be left on his own through much of the book. He always seems to be leaving people behind and not making any true and lasting friendships for a long time. In fact, the story was depressing there for awhile because everybody he met seems to die. Including himself.
Overall, I was pretty happy with the book. I wish there had been more. But it felt like an interesting cross between a Heinlein juvenile, an early Andre Norton adventure, and Roger Zelazny’s Amber series. InterWorld is a quick read with plenty of zip and provides a host of ideas with lots of action.
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