I was blown away by this book. Simple, everyday living by a local parapalegic, living in my own neighborhood. It is told with honesty, dignity and self deprecating humor.
Let me set the scene: you are the youngest son of an acclaimed storyteller, the shah of blah. You have grown up hearing his stories, and tales of your older brother's adventures. You have a dog named Bear and a bear named Dog. And tragically one day your father falls into a sleep so deep noone can save him. An insubstantial version of your father, Nobodaddy, appears to tell you that to save him you must journey through the world of magic and steal the Fire of Life, something that has never been done before.
And of course you don't hesitate (why would you? Your father's life is at stake). As in so many video game you can collect (and lose) lives, save the levels you win, make allies along the way, see things you never believed possible, and ultimately live through your father's stories. Can you beat the Old Man of the River, for example, in a contest of riddles? Will the Insultana of Ott let you ride on her magic carpet? Can you persuade the old forgotten gods to help? Along the way you meet those who help and those who hinder, characters you recognize, and those you don't but will never forget, like elephant birds and worms that eat holes in the fabric of time.
Hard to compare, this is an adventure, an ode to inter-generational love, a place where the magical and the real worlds collide, and includes mythological creatures from almost every culture. It touches on truth and freedom, talks of the power of storytelling, the importance of the imagination and of family, the nature of time, and will please both adults and children alike in oh so different ways. And of course it is beautifully written. -- Angela M.
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