Fairs and theme parks are an almost irresistible attraction to the young and the young at heart, places where the everyday cares of the world can be safely ignored for a while as you indulge in a little bit of fantasy and just plain fun. And just a little bit into the future, there may be a new theme park, one that draws on the images and ideas of fabulists such as Robert Heinlein, Barry Hughart, and yes, even the Beatles of Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields to create its attractions. For anyone with a smidgen of liking for the fantastic, for things which are a little bit beyond the current world, such a theme park might just be heaven.
For Mike, a twelve year old who has had to face cares and responsibilities that would try the best efforts of most adults, Dreamworld is more than a temporary haven. It’s a place where he can live, sheltered from the world, and even hidden from park employees, helped by the other non-regulation denizen of this park, Annie, sometimes known as the Mother Elf. Ah, but there’s something really strange happening in Dreamworld – at the end of the day shift, there are more employees leaving the park than arrived in the morning. And the arch-nemesis of this park, Alonzo Haines, proprietor of the competing park Thrillworld, would dearly love to find out who these ‘extras’ are, as a lever to destroy Dreamworld. The battle to save the park is joined, and Mike and Annie find themselves in a fight to save not just their adopted home, but perhaps the entire universe.
Clearly, this is a fun book, written very much in the mold of some of Heinlein’s juveniles, and echoes of The Mother Thing and the older Hazel Meade are clearly present in the character of Annie, while Mike evokes something of Kip and Thorby. Those who don’t recognize those names will not be lost, as they are fully realized, engaging personalities, while for those who do these items provide a greater ambience and they will be treated to a great trip down memory lane. This is true also of the many references within this book to other authors and books – all of them are deserving of a read, but if you haven’t read them, it won’t detract from your enjoyment of this novel.
This being a Spider and not a Heinlein novel, there is a fair amount of Spider’s specialty present, his penchant for puns and ironic humor, as evidenced most by some of the chapter titles like Out of Kin Troll. This adds a different flavor to this book, and those who like Spider’s Callahan’s Bar series will not be disappointed here. The plot itself is well developed, although there is nothing startling new or different here, and there are a few places where the action may give one a feeling that ‘this is just not a believable set of actions for a 12 year old’, but in general this is a smooth read, with each new scene developing logically from the prior one.
Not a great book, but one where you can sit down for a few hours and just lose yourself in its nicely imagined world, and experience a nice adventure.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
