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inverarityAnother version of "adults have to go back to their childhood portal fantasy world."
Solaris, 2023, 208 pages
This isn't the first story where the heroes of a portal fantasy return as adults to the magical realm where they had adventures as children. "Narnia turns out to be a grimdark place" has been explored by many authors. But Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of those authors who can write anything, and this novella was satisfying even if the premise wasn't terribly original.
Harry Bodie is a television personality whose career never really took off. He never capitalized on the fact that his grandmother was the author of the beloved Underhill books, because a wholesome children's fantasy series didn't really fit his image. But with his professional prospects dimming, he wonders if maybe he should have.
Then he starts to have strange encounters, and pretty soon, sure enough, he's been dragged to Underhill, which turns out to be not a very nice place at all. The place has deteriorated badly since Harry's grandmother abandoned it, and for some reason the residents expect him to save it. Except he has no idea how.
When he escapes back to the real world, he thinks it's over. Except Underhill's not done with him, and the story hits all the expected Campbellian beats. Harry Bodie, a sort of unlikeable schmuck, must become a hero to a misbegotten band of monsters. The climax dips into metaphysics and "crunchy" mechanical interpretations of parallel worlds, because this isn't just a handwaved children's fantasyland but a pocket universe that needs some sort of explanation in a Tchaikovsky story.
Also by Adrian Tchaikovsky: My reviews of Children of Time, Children of Ruin, Children of Memory, Empire in Black and Gold, Dragonfly Falling, Blood of the Mantis, Salute the Dark, The Scarab Path, The Sea Watch, Heirs of the Blade, The Expert System's Brother, The Expert System's Champion, Made Things, Shards of Earth, Eyes of the Void, and Lords of Uncreation.
My complete list of book reviews.
Solaris, 2023, 208 pages
All roads lead to Underhill, where it's always winter, and never nice.
Harry Bodie has a famous grandmother, who wrote beloved children's books set in the delightful world of Underhill. Harry himself is a failing kids' television presenter whose every attempt to advance his career ends in self-sabotage. His family history seems to be nothing but an impediment.
An impediment . . . or worse. What if Underhill is real? What if it has been waiting decades for a promised child to visit? What if it isn't delightful at all? And what if its denizens have run out of patience and are taking matters into their own hands?
This isn't the first story where the heroes of a portal fantasy return as adults to the magical realm where they had adventures as children. "Narnia turns out to be a grimdark place" has been explored by many authors. But Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of those authors who can write anything, and this novella was satisfying even if the premise wasn't terribly original.
Harry Bodie is a television personality whose career never really took off. He never capitalized on the fact that his grandmother was the author of the beloved Underhill books, because a wholesome children's fantasy series didn't really fit his image. But with his professional prospects dimming, he wonders if maybe he should have.
Then he starts to have strange encounters, and pretty soon, sure enough, he's been dragged to Underhill, which turns out to be not a very nice place at all. The place has deteriorated badly since Harry's grandmother abandoned it, and for some reason the residents expect him to save it. Except he has no idea how.
When he escapes back to the real world, he thinks it's over. Except Underhill's not done with him, and the story hits all the expected Campbellian beats. Harry Bodie, a sort of unlikeable schmuck, must become a hero to a misbegotten band of monsters. The climax dips into metaphysics and "crunchy" mechanical interpretations of parallel worlds, because this isn't just a handwaved children's fantasyland but a pocket universe that needs some sort of explanation in a Tchaikovsky story.
Also by Adrian Tchaikovsky: My reviews of Children of Time, Children of Ruin, Children of Memory, Empire in Black and Gold, Dragonfly Falling, Blood of the Mantis, Salute the Dark, The Scarab Path, The Sea Watch, Heirs of the Blade, The Expert System's Brother, The Expert System's Champion, Made Things, Shards of Earth, Eyes of the Void, and Lords of Uncreation.
My complete list of book reviews.
