InterWorld

By Neal Gaiman and Michael Reaves

Eos/Harper Collins, New York 2007, Juvenile, 239 Pages

Unknown to himself Joey Harker is a World Walker. He has the ability to cross to other probable universes. When he does this accidentally while on a school assignment, he sets off alarms across the probability lines.

It seems that there are three groups interested in intercepting Joey for their own purposes. They are the forces of Hex or Magic and the forces of Binary or Science; both of whom wish to dominate the lines of probability. They are at eternal war. Between them is the force of InterWorld or Balance whose purpose was to see that neither Binary nor Hex achieve their aims. InterWorld’s chief minions are World Walkers like Joey. In fact, all of the World Walkers are Joey in some form or the other. Some were male, some female and some not quite human, but all were Joey.

So all three groups sought Joey. In the first world Joey walked to, he found himself a girl, in the second he had drowned the year before. He narrowly escaped the Scientists and dodged the familiar sounding recruiter from InterWorld. He sought advice from a trusted teacher at his High School and was intercepted by the Witches and taken aboard a piratical ship that sailed in the Nevernever between probabilities.

And it goes on from there. Joey must make choices which will determine the immediate course of the Worlds. He chooses the forces of Balance but is ultimately rejected, mind wiped and sent back home. He remembers and seeks out his companion selves. Can they save the Balance?

The book is great fun and a wonderful reiteration of one of my favorite themes in SF harking back to Van Vogt’s Recruiting Station, Williamson’s Legion of Time and Norton’s Quest Crosstime. There are even elements of Heinlein’s Space Cadet. I recommend it and not just for children. –Gary Swaty