Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Everness
Publisher: Pyr (US ed.)
Date of Publication: December 6, 2011
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy's Rating: 4 of 5 stars - "One of the most well-written and interesting YA novels I've ever read and just plain fun, this book will appeal to a wide audience"
Add Ian McDonald's Planesrunner to the list of the most interesting and well-written young adult novels I've read this year. With the third book coming out soon, I'd initially picked this up to get caught up with the series, but in doing so I also finally discovered why so many readers have been raving about Everness. Adventurous and fun but also fresh and clever, if you're looking for a YA offering that's a little different but has a great story at the same time, consider checking this one out.
Planesrunner tackles a topic in fantasy and
science fiction that I have a great interest in: multiple universes
and alternate dimensions. I have rarely seen it
handled with such detail when it comes to YA fiction, though. The protagonist is Everett Singh, whose
father is a brilliant scientist and one of the leading researchers in
the study of parallel earths. But then Tejendra Singh is kidnapped from
the streets of London one day, leaving his son with a mysterious file on
his computer called the Infundibulum.
The
Infundibulum ends up being a map to the parallel earths -- all 10 to
the power of 80 of them! -- making Everett the guardian of the most
valuable tool in the whole entire multiverse. But there are others who
see the Infundibulum as a powerful weapon, nefarious factions in the
group of plenipotentiaries of the Ten Known Worlds. To escape their
reach, Everett travels to a very different parallel earth. With the help
of new friends, he is determined to find and rescue his father, while
fighting to protect the Infundibulum at all costs.
Hard
sci-fi readers will probably find the science behind the quantum
physics and theory of multiple universes to be on the light side, but I
still find Planesrunner to be a fabulously clever novel. There's enough
information to enjoy this fun and action-filled story without getting
bogged down with details, and when it comes to his imaginings of
parallel earths, Ian McDonald takes things all the way.
The
sights and sounds in the world Everett ends up in, designated E3, are
beyond amazing. It is a world where fossil fuels have never existed,
leading to a society powered by a system that can only be described as a
souped-up version of steampunk or, as Everett so amusingly
observed, "electropunk". Everett ends up being taken in by an airship
crew, thus introducing the reader to the rich, imaginative culture and
language of the "Airish". The author certainly does not skimp on the
descriptions of the people and their way of life, making it easy to
picture the setting and put myself right there.
I
also thoroughly enjoyed the characters, though Everett himself comes off as a bit
unrealistic as a 14 or 15-year-old boy. The extent of his
intelligence is played up and so farfetched it's difficult for me to feel
otherwise, but on the other hand, his more mature point of view and way of
thinking might make him more relatable to a non-YA reader, thus
making Planesrunner a book that may appeal to a much wider audience.
And
finally, this book was just plain fun. Where else would I be able to
get the craziness and thrills of an actual airship duel outside the
pages of this awesome novel? I love YA fiction like this -- quick, clever and
full of great ideas. The Everness series is simply "bonaroo"! Looking forward to continuing Everett's journey
with the next book, Be My Enemy, and then on to Empress of the Sun,
dropping early next year.
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