07/03/2017
Debut author Mahoney sends a mild-mannered fellow on an interdimensional journey in this entertaining, chaotic adventure. Barnabus Wildebear needs to know why his teen nephew and ward, Ridley, is acting so strangely. Unfortunately the cause is an ominous entity, possibly a demon, named Iugurtha. She whisks Ridley away to dimensions unknown while implanting mysterious information in Barnabus’s mind that allows him to (sort of) control portals to other dimensions and times. The odyssey that follows bounces him to other planets, the minds of other people and creatures, temporal loops where effects come before causes, and a war against a merciless enemy seeking to steal the knowledge in his head. He’s accompanied by an increasingly vocal artificial intelligence named Sebastian. Mahoney skillfully (but unsubtly) uses Barnabus’s multilayered adventures to yank readers into moments of comedy, tragedy, horror, and philosophical contemplation of time, free will, and personal responsibility. Despite occasional segments that distract or feel a little overdone, Mahoney’s work is great for those who like their speculative fiction thoughtful, eloquent, and messy. (Oct.)
Mahoney's work is great for those who like their speculative fiction thoughtful, eloquent, and messy.”
~ Publishers Weekly
Barnabus J. Wildebear's comfortable life of sipping Lagavulin and teaching Junior High School English comes to an abrupt halt when his fifteen year old nephew Ridley is recruited by an alien to help fight a war half-way across the galaxy. After having promised his sister on her deathbed that he would take care of her son, nothing means more to Wildebear than keeping Ridley safe.
Unfortunately, rescuing Ridley will mean travelling through a dangerous portal capable of transporting Wildebear to other worlds and times. Just about anywhere, it seems, except where he actually wants to go. Accompanied by an obnoxious talking wristwatch, Wildebear will find himself forced to evade armies, survive telepathic assaults, and inhabit the minds of alien beings. He will come to question the nature of free will and his own sanity. All this before being forced to pick sides in an ancient conflict. Is all this trouble worth it for an ungrateful teenager who doesn't even want to be saved?
Of course it is. Wildebear cannot fail: to do so would mean failing not only his sister, her son, and humanity, but Wildebear himself.
Mahoney's work is great for those who like their speculative fiction thoughtful, eloquent, and messy.”
~ Publishers Weekly
Barnabus J. Wildebear's comfortable life of sipping Lagavulin and teaching Junior High School English comes to an abrupt halt when his fifteen year old nephew Ridley is recruited by an alien to help fight a war half-way across the galaxy. After having promised his sister on her deathbed that he would take care of her son, nothing means more to Wildebear than keeping Ridley safe.
Unfortunately, rescuing Ridley will mean travelling through a dangerous portal capable of transporting Wildebear to other worlds and times. Just about anywhere, it seems, except where he actually wants to go. Accompanied by an obnoxious talking wristwatch, Wildebear will find himself forced to evade armies, survive telepathic assaults, and inhabit the minds of alien beings. He will come to question the nature of free will and his own sanity. All this before being forced to pick sides in an ancient conflict. Is all this trouble worth it for an ungrateful teenager who doesn't even want to be saved?
Of course it is. Wildebear cannot fail: to do so would mean failing not only his sister, her son, and humanity, but Wildebear himself.
A Time and a Place
A Time and a Place
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Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940178647288 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Donovan Street Press |
| Publication date: | 09/17/2018 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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