Melody





ISBN-13: 9780061238987
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2007
239pp




Getting lost is a terrifying experience.

Joey Harker knew this whenever he took a wrong turn in the house after his parents decided to add a hallway and a bedroom for his younger brother, Kevin. You see, he has a problem figuring right from left. But then, there is something worse than getting lost in his own house.

When he went on a field trip with two of his classmates, Ted and Rowena, for a Social Studies assignment as designated by their teacher, he has an uneasy feeling for Mr. Dimas has a reputation for unconventional teaching method. In this assignment, it is no exceptional as they are to be blindfolded and the school bus would drop them off at random places in the city. What is most challenging is, they are supposed to find their way to various checkpoints within a certain time without maps. And this is where Joey's adventure begins.

Since Joey has a poor sense of direction, it is no surprise that he soon finds himself getting lost and on top of it, he has lost his other two team mates too. It took him some time before he realised he has stepped into another dimension, where he meet a few alien-like villians and an army of allies who looked like him. Joey soon finds himself caught in a conflict between the magical HEX and the technological Binary and their main purpose is to try to harness Joey's power to travel between these dimensions.

However, when an incident has forced him to return to earth, he decided the only right thing he could do is to return to the dimension and help to fight the battle till the end, even though he knows he might not be able to return to the earth.

The protagonist, Joey Harker is not your typical hero but yet I have to admire his determination and his courageous act when he decided to join in the battle. But what most touched me is the support of his mother despite he told her he would not be able to see them again. It is the same kind of emotions when mothers see their sons going off to war. Joey might not have a good sense of direction, but he definitely knows what he is doing and the way he is going.

InterWorld is a part sci-fi, part fantasy story. Based on the afterword in this book, Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves started talking about this story in 1995, when at that time Mr. Reaves was making adventure cartoon serials at DreamWorks and Mr. Gaiman was in London working on the Neverwhere TV series. They thought this story would make a fun television adventure, unfortunately some times things do not turn up as expected, and so they decided to write it as a novel. Readers of sci-fi and fantasy genres will find this novel appealing, and of course not to mention fans of Neil Gaiman as well.
10 Responses
  1. Debi Says:

    Thanks for the great review, Melody! For whatever reason, this book had never really caught my attention before despite the fact that I really love the Gaiman I've read. Now I think I may have to pick it up, especially since it will work for the 42 (sci-fi) challenge.


  2. Alice Says:

    This book arrived today in the office! I'm so happy~~~ :D


  3. Josette Says:

    I like the sound of this book. That was a great review! I haven't read anything by Gaiman before...only watched the Stardust movie and I loved it!


  4. Kim L Says:

    hmm... sounds interesting. I haven't read a book by Gaiman that I haven't liked!


  5. Melody Says:

    Debi - Thanks! I hope you'll enjoy it. :)

    Alice - Great! Can't wait to read your review soon. And thanks for linking my review to your post. :)

    Josette - Thanks for visiting and for your kind comments! :) Neil Gaiman is a talented author and his books are great! I'm hoping you'll enjoy reading this book too.


  6. Melody Says:

    Kim - I thought the same thing too. ;)


  7. Anonymous Says:

    Still haven't decided if I want to read this or not. Am tempted after your review... Glad you enjoyed it.


  8. Ana S. Says:

    I have to say that this is probably my least favourite Neil Gaiman book, but I still enjoyed it. It's just that I have insanely high expectations when it comes to his work :P But it was a fun book, and I'm glad you enjoyed it too.


  9. Julia Says:

    I think the bookcover look great! I never read book by Neil before, but I heard lot of raves about it :)

    Great review!


  10. Melody Says:

    Rhinoa - I'm hoping you'll give this book a try.

    Nymeth - I could say this is a little different from Neil Gaiman's other books, but it was still an enjoyable read. :)

    Julia - I think so too. I'm hoping you'll read his book soon. :)


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