Out of This World (Three World Triology) - Hardcover

Watt-Evans, Lawrence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 034537245X ISBN 13: 9780345372451

Publisher: Del Rey, 1994

Synopsis

Like most suburbanites, Pel Brown had problems in his basement. But his were somewhat out of the ordinary: a portal from a world of magic had opened, and now wizards and barbarian swordsmen were gathered in his house, demanding that he help them defeat Shadow, a strange, dark force that was taking over their world.

On the other side of town, Amy Jewell had a similar set of problems: a spaceship had crashed in -- and trashed -- her backyard. Now Prossie Thorpe, a telepath from the Galactic Empire, wanted Amy's help against the powerful Shadow that sought to rule her world.

Pel Brown, along with Amy, Thorpe, a menagerie of wizards, a lawyer, a disbelieving neighbor, and Pel's wife and daughter, went through the portal in his basement to peek at the world of magic, just for a second. Then Shadow attacked, and the portal back to Earth closed. The only escape was through yet another portal -- but this one led to the Galactic Empire.

Though Pel had seen plenty of science-fiction movies, he soon realized that things were not going to work out the way they did on screen. This was no game, no fantasy. This was for keeps. Pel Brown and company soon found themselves entangled in escapades that would make heroes out of common men -- and corpses out of heroes.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

It seems almost churlish to dislike an "easy read" in which the author initially displays a fine wit and intelligence. Yet this weak first book of a series pairs Arthur Clarke's Law about any sufficiently advanced technology being equivalent to magic with a curious cast of characters--ultimately to little effect. Impetuous Captain Joshua Cahn, emissary from the technology-driven universe of the Empire, and his crew are virtually indistinguishable. Cahn's analog from the magic-driven universe is Raven, a quaint fop who likely will be central to future volumes. Amy (short for Amethyst Beryl) Jewell, in whose yard Cahn's ship crash lands, is forever having the same crisis about having to redefine her worldview. Pel Brown, a normal guy and the touchstone for SF readers, invokes Captain Kirk and Star Wars with tedious repetitiveness. Brown's family, his and Amy's lawyers, and some creatures from Raven's universe make up the rest of what may become a multiuniversal peacemaking force. They are often attacked, with consequences that should be significant, but are not. Unfortunately, potentially evocative incidents and memories--Amy's failed marriage, her lawyer Susan Nguyen's childhood in Vietnam, and various deaths, rapes and dismemberments along the way--are rendered in an often prosaic style. Watt-Evans's ( Crosstime Traffic ) writing has been both more interesting and more careful than it is here. Pel Brown often describes himself as a "spear carrier" unfit to be the centerpiece of a Great Adventure. The reader will probably concur.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

In this first of a trilogy, Watt-Evans's hardcover debut, business consultant Pel Brown suddenly discovers he has a portal to another reality in his basement, with wizards and barbarian swordsmen popping through to ask his--and Earth's--help in fighting the evil Shadow that has conquered most of their world. Across town, meanwhile, Amy Jewell finds a large spaceship crashed in her backyard; from it emerge telepath Prossie Thorpe and some soldiers from yet another reality, the Galactic Empire; they, too, need Earth's help against the Shadow, which lately has begun to invade them also. Gathering at Pel's house, they all agree to step through his portal into the magic world--only to find themselves marooned there when the portal is attacked by Shadow-creatures. Hurriedly, they depart via still another portal into the reality of the Empire, where further adventures lie in store: kidnap by pirates, enslavement, death, rescue, and hard choices. Brisk, lightweight and different despite the rather plodding attempts at humor. Should prove popular with the Piers Anthony and/or Alan Dean Foster crowd. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Del Rey
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 034537245X
• ISBN 13: 9780345372451
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 307