AUGUST 2016 - AudioFile
Narrator MacLeod Andrews’s warm voice weaves this complicated story of real and imaginary worlds as characters attend various Comic-Cons, national conferences that promote comic books and the spin-off products associated with them. A number of characters are featured—ex-TV series actress Valerie Torrey; her 8-year-old son, Alex; comics illustrator Bret; and writer Gail—as their lives intersect at a series of Comic-Cons. Andrews acts out the characters, imbuing them with believable personalities and emotions. His performance is a treat for listeners as they fall in love with Alex and his exploration of the hundred thousand worlds that are intertwined with his own. M.B.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
06/06/2016
Proehl lovingly illustrates the world of fan culture in this debut novel, presenting an accessible story with plenty of insider shout-outs for the true nerds. Years prior, on the heels of a terrible tragedy, Valerie Torrey ran away from a successful career on television. On "Anomaly," an X-Files–type show that inspired a rabid fan base, she and Andrew Rhodes played a time-traveling duo; off the set, they conceived a son. The story unfolds as Val drives their son, Alex, cross-country from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to reunite with Andrew. Alex hasn't seen his father in six years. At nine, he is small for his age and full of wonder, and right at the border of a more adult understanding of the world. Val hasn't told Alex that she'll return to New York without him. Instead she plans the road trip to coincide with her appearances at a number of comics conventions dotted across the country, and, as they draw closer to Los Angeles, doles out stories to Alex from the show that brought his parents together and tore them apart. Along the way, Val and Alex meet Brett, an illustrator who is touring to support his indie comic "Lady Stardust," and Gail Pope, a woman writing a series owned by one of the two major comic book distributors. Gail provides insight into the insular world of professional comic books. The prose can feel a bit heavy-handed in its earnestness, but this is an ambitious debut effort, and Proehl conveys his deep affection for comics and the people who build their life around them. (June)
From the Publisher
"With enthralling characters and tons of heart, this read (much like a good con) has something for everyone."
—Bustle
"A perfect summer read for the Comic-Con crowd . . . Anybody up on superheroes and X-Files will have a lot to love here."
—USA Today
"Comic-Con age's definitive novel about a road trip through geek culture."
—The Wall Street Journal, Speakeasy Podcast
"Anyone who is a geek or a parent of a geek should read this novel. In these interesting times . . . books like A Hundred Thousand Worlds are doing the work of navigating a new reality, where work, family, and adulthood are all being redefined."
—Tor.com
"Who doesn’t like a good origin story? This delightful novel has a dozen of them, each sparking deftly off the next. A work of wit and heart, A Hundred Thousand Worlds is for anyone who craves a smart family saga. Especially one with superheroes. I loved it completely."
—Karen Joy Fowler, Booker Prize finalist and author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
"Proehl creates worlds within worlds within worlds, all of them full of surprise and wonder. One of the best novels I have read in a while."
—Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
"For all its acrobatic wit and outsize charm, at its heart this is the love story of two everyday heroes—a mother and a son—who, like their author, possess the superpower of storytelling. A Kavalier & Clay for the Comic-Con age, A Hundred Thousand Worlds is a bighearted, inventive, exuberant debut."
—Eleanor Henderson, author of Ten Thousand Saints
Library Journal
06/01/2016
Nine-year-old Alex and his mother, Val, are on a cross-country road trip, stopping at comic book conventions en route to Los Angeles. Actress Val is best known for her role as Agent Bethany Frazier from the cult sf television show Anomaly, and her gigs signing autographs for geeky fans help pay the bills and prolong the time she has with her son before she has to deliver him to his estranged father. It has been six years since Val fled her costar ex-husband, taking Alex with her to start a new life in New York. Now she must make good on their custody arrangement, only she hasn't admitted to Alex what's in store. Alex is precocious but still a kid, sweet but increasingly savvy. He strikes up friendships with Brett, a struggling illustrator, and Gail, a lesbian comics writer, and a bevy of costumed women on the comic-con circuit—Red Emma, Ferret Lass, ExSanguina, and Astounding Woman—helps him understand that he's in charge of writing his own story. VERDICT Readers need not be into cosplay, comics, or superheroes to enjoy this touching first novel about a family deeply affected by tragedy, and a mother's love for her son.—Christine Perkins, Whatcom Cty. Lib. Syst., Bellingham, WA
AUGUST 2016 - AudioFile
Narrator MacLeod Andrews’s warm voice weaves this complicated story of real and imaginary worlds as characters attend various Comic-Cons, national conferences that promote comic books and the spin-off products associated with them. A number of characters are featured—ex-TV series actress Valerie Torrey; her 8-year-old son, Alex; comics illustrator Bret; and writer Gail—as their lives intersect at a series of Comic-Cons. Andrews acts out the characters, imbuing them with believable personalities and emotions. His performance is a treat for listeners as they fall in love with Alex and his exploration of the hundred thousand worlds that are intertwined with his own. M.B.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2016-03-30
An ex-actress and her son trek across America, hitting comics conventions along the way in Proehl's (Flying Burrito Brothers' The Gilded Palace of Sin, 2008) first novel. Six years ago, Valerie Torrey was the star of Anomaly, an X-Files-like sci-fi TV show about two time-travel agents, which has obsessive fans. When an unimaginable tragedy struck, Valerie took her son, Alex, and fled LA for New York, leaving her show and her co-star husband, Andrew Rhodes, behind. Now, she and 9-year-old Alex are headed back across the country to meet with Andrew, and as they travel, the story deftly weaves past and present events until the full account of what happened years earlier is revealed. Along the way, Valerie makes appearances at comic-book conventions, where she meets Gail, a comics writer who draws attention to gender inequality, and Brett, a struggling illustrator. Proehl's observations about convention life are especially keen and insightful without being sneering or belittling. But by trying to appeal to comics fans and nonfans alike, the book sometimes breaks down. For example, in one chapter (conveniently titled "Women in Refrigerators"), Gail discusses at length how comics creators often kill female characters solely to spur male characters to action. While this is an important issue, Proehl just reiterates what most thoughtful comics readers already know, while possibly boring everyone else. The same could be said of Proehl's roman-à-clef-for-nerds concept: some might enjoy the endless array of thinly veiled icons (e.g. Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, as well as comics writer Gail Simone, to name a few), but those not fully in the know may feel left behind. The prose sometimes lurches into overwrought, look-at-my-MFA style writing, but it's a testament to Proehl's talents that these stumbles never detract from the rest of the story, which is a genuine and often moving tale of a mother and her son. An appealing debut novel despite a few missteps.
