InterWorld [Kindle Edition]

From the moment I started reading the book, I had the nagging feeling that it read way too much like the treatment for a series pilot; this was confirmed when I reached the final pages and read that indeed, Interworld had been concieved as a series, except that apparently no TV executive got the premise of parallel universes (how did Sliders ever get produced then, I wonder?).

It all works OK as short novel for young readers, and it is entertaining and reads quickly. What went wrong then? Well, several things:
- most of the twists and turns were highly predictable.
- the witty-teenager narrator POV sounded a tad forced, and only in a few places I found myself actually getting an idea of what was REALLY going on in Joey's mind, which caused the third issue
- it all makes him very difficult to engage with, and seeing that every other character out there had very little "screentime" so to speak, leaves the reader feeling cheated

Overall, it's worth a read, but I am not sure how the book will sit with its intended audience. It's almost as if the authors were trying so hard to sound cool, that they forgot to actually make us care about the characters. Which is a shame, considering how that is one of Gaiman's strengths as a writer. I have never read anything from Reaves, so I don't know if this is his style, or they were both having off days. It's a real pity, because there is some potential with the idea, although the way it ends, it's left open to construct a whole series around them, which could explore the characters in detail and finally bring us to actually find them interesting. Which, I believe, was the original intent anyway.

This was my first Neil Gaiman book, and despite the praise he is receiving, it may end up being my last. This book was very poor. The characterisation was rough, the scenes were largely derivative and poorly thought through. It was writing on a level I expect I could have produced myself when 11 years old at school (and I don't consider myself a great writer!)

One scene sticks out in this regard. When the protagonist leaves his family and is confronted by his mother but must leave anyway - that scene just does not work. Not at all! It was more a case of forcing the character through a sequence of events so as to get them in the right place for a final showdown.

And then there is the whole other world thing that begged a rich and imaginative outworking, but left you feeling like all the action was happening in an empty space. The world was under-described, and there was no sense of wonder at the immensity of the creation being passed through.

It seems this book was written as a very quick fun project, rightly shelved but at some point dusted down and polished up. But it would have been better to rewrite it from the start than just to knock it into shape where the name of the author would get it published. This is one that should have hit the reject pile instead

Just read this book, pretty much without stopping. A good story, taking you along through several twists and turns. It is a teenage novel, and no fault for that, but as I'm nearer 60 than 15 I can say it works for me, as well. It doesn't have the complexity of a standard Neil Gaimen and it is more "Johhny and the Bomb" than "Stardust" or "Anansi Boys". Reminded me a bit of "Enders Game" - a good read.