Realm of the Reaper

Everworld #4

by K.A. Applegate

There is a place that shouldn’t exist. But does. And there are creatures that shouldn’t exist. But do. Welcome to a land where all of your dreams and nightmares are very real—and often deadly. Welcome to Everworld.

Things have gotten way beyond weird. First April, Jalil, David, and Christopher end up in Everworld. Since then, they’ve been hunted by trolls, entertained Vikings, fought in a war against Aztecs and their heart-eating god, encountered Merlin, met some strange alien metalsmiths, and got a chance to see their very first real, live dragon. It’s been a strange few days, to say the least.

Their “journey” started out as a search for a friend, but things have turned dangerous. Because now April and the others are about to discover the true opposite of heaven—and it isn’t a very nice place…

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mythology, Fiction, Adventure, Horror, Urban Fantasy

173 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

also published under the name Katherine Applegate

Reviews

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Easily the best book so far. I did not remember the fourth book being this good.

First off, Jalil is easily the most interesting point of view in the series. Which already elevated the book in my opinion. This is why picking the right protagonist in a story is so important.

Second, Hel is balls to the wall insanity personified and I loved every second of it. Crazy world she is living in.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I like that they finally stopped with the silly "Everworld logo over a character's eyes" cover design -- because it was silly, it obscured the cover, and the design on this book is just so lovely. I'm pretty sure my appreciation for Everworld!Hel helped fuel my later love for Mazikeen, of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. I mean:





A trip to the underworld and a return to Norse mythology means that I'm a little subjectively predisposed to enjoy this book. Also, we now have Jalil as a narrator, and finally the characterisation detail I've been waiting 4 books for: his obsessive-compulsive disorder in the real world, which represents his own mind turning against him, a deep betrayal of his love of order. It casts all of his previous actions & mentality in a new light: his relentless drive to find an objective reality, something that makes sense, "order" driven to a too-far extreme, all the while he's ruled by something so irrational and uncontrollable. His attempts to parse the world into something he can understand and control comes from a deep sense of helplessness. This book was probably my first exposure to real OCD in a fictional character, too, so I appreciate Applegate dealing with it.

I think there are some especially nice parallels to David here, too; David is heroic and brave because he's over-compensating for his own internal cowardice and weakness, and Jalil is doing the exact same thing, leaning too far into the realm of the logical & rational in order to wrestle with his internal demons.

As the final POV book of the core quartet, it's interesting seeing his relationships to the others too. Despite him and Christopher clashing all the time -- their moods see-saw operating in direct opposition to one another, Christopher's racist jokes and insults -- even then, there's a strange accord between them: "At times [Christopher] was like my best friend. A second later he was this racist jerkwad. Brave, cowardly, stand-up, self-centered. One minute he'd take your hand, the next slap it away. Like I said, I didn't get him."

They're close; they often agree with one another. Despite those disagreements with Christopher, which I'd say are actually pretty surface-level, just them snapping at one another when they're grumpy -- I think he actually experiences the most genuine animosity towards David because of how bewitched David is about Senna. And April, again, we see them coming from a place of mutual respect and trust. I love the couple moments we get when she casts Jalil a joke meant specifically for him, or they share a little Can you believe this? moment about the other two.

The group is all starting to understand how the rest of them tick, and there's more joking, more group chemistry. They still argue, but I feel like this time they collectively acknowledge their stress and back down, rather than having April yell them into submission. Even Christopher, usually the most needlessly provocative of the lot, starts playing his role in keeping the peace in the group.

There's also some more time spent with Senna, revealing more of her: calculating, manipulative, always trying to work an angle to her own benefit.

Hel is deeply frightening and repulsive (I made the mistake of reading her introduction scene while eating lunch. Don't do that.), and the ending of this book is like something out of The Hobbit.

The plot structure is still lacking, though, casting them on from adventure to adventure -- it's definitely far more like A Series of Unfortunate Events, say, with just a nonstop sequence of events and the characters not having much agency. So this was probably back to being more of a 3-star book... except that the last page made me BURST OUT LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY IN PUBLIC, and I could not stop laughing for like a whole minute, and that alone bumped it up another star for me. 3.5 stars, ish.

I keep trying to think of how KAA might have fixed the 'episodic' issues, but I'm just not sure how it could have been done better in this premise, honestly -- they're just teenagers, plunged into a truly powerless situation. They're not movers and shakers in Everworld, and I can't come up with an easy solution for the way they're stuck drifting from problem to problem. The arc of this series -- at least for the first third -- seems to be more to show off the worldbuilding and mythology, examining how so many different pantheons look when they're mashed together (and how much do I love all the different underworlds all jutting up against each other, and Hel being like a fierce lady-general/CEO barking out orders for maintaining her borders against these other chthonic deities? so much!!). You just have to buckle up and be down for the ride.

--

Favourite quotes:

I turned off the faucet. I put away the soap, I tried to walk away. I had washed my hands five times. Five. Five was four too many. I knew that. I wasn't insane, I knew I had washed my hands five times, knew it was unnecessary, knew it was absurd, ridiculous, worst of all, irrational.

But seven was the number. Seven. Not five. Seven was safe. Had to be seven. No reason. Why even ask? There could not possibly be a reason. People washed their hands once. In an entire day, maybe twice, three times. They had lives, normal lives, they didn't die, they weren't eaten alive by bacteria.

But there was no point resisting. I'd already gone to five. Two more and I would be free, for a while. Seven. That was the number.

I lived here. I lived there. But only here did the dark, ritual impulses rule me. Only here. Why? This was the world of reason. This was the world where cause and effect were always cause and effect; they did not reverse order.

This was the world that could be added and subtracted, divided and multiplied, where circles were functions of pi, where all objects fell at the same constant race of acceleration, where laws of physics were laws, not suggestions.

This was my world. The world of two plus two equals four every time. No wizards, no witches, no dragons, no trolls, no gods and goddesses. My world, understandable, decipherable, logical.

But it was here, here in this world that I stood helpless at my sink, and washed my hands again because the number, you see, is seven.

***

The tusks, the carved, nasty teeth, that snout inches from my face. The pig was going to rip my face open. The pig was going to kill me.

[...] Christopher stabbed at the pig. Nothing.

But then, quite calmly, the pig climbed down off me. It trotted about six steps, then paused, turned, and looked at us with amused contempt.

Then the pig said, "Give me your apples. Give me your apples or I'll gut you, one by one."

We gave him our apples.

Just another day in Everworld.

***

And finally, there's me. Gangly, wiry, skinny, pick your adjective. I prefer lean myself. A black poindexter, most people think. Jalil, that's my name. People assume it's an African name. It's not. It's Hindi, and it means "godlike."

Sometimes irony takes a while to develop.

***

"So let's keep going forward," April said. She winked at David. "I feel great forces guiding my steps to find another crossing. I sense the cosmic rightness of this decision. I believe it may involve the attraction of a crystal, or possibly just fluctuations in my own magnetic fields."

I laughed. She was trying to provoke me, of course.

"If you're in touch with the Great Cosmic Fluctuating Crystal, see if you can get directions to a nice Hyatt Regency. I'd kill for a shower and fresh sheets."

"Kill who?" Christopher asked.

"Don't worry, Christopher, I wouldn't kill you for a shower. I'd kill you for a breath mint."

***

"Canoes, hell, they could come after us with killer mermaids, or singing freaking sea serpents, or windsurfing leprechauns. W.T.E.," Christopher said.

W.T.E. Welcome To Everworld. It had become our all-purpose phrase.

***

He was in a good mood now because I wasn't. Somehow Christopher and I had become polarized. Like opposite ends of a magnet. If I was positive, he was negative.

***

"Hey, let's check the TV and see if they get satellite movies. What was that movie with that killer leprechaun? Bet they show that on every channel."

"You know, you're starting to get a little fixated on leprechauns," David said.

"I'm just being prepared," Christopher said. "Dragons, trolls, unicorns, gods, giant wolves, it's just a matter of time."

***

I was shaking. Teeth not chattering now, but grinding into one another, grinding so that I was sure my teeth would splinter, leaving me to gnaw on the bared nerves.

***

We were a mess. I have five shallow puncture wounds across the back of my shoulders. David's wrist was sprained and swelling. There was blood seeping into the white of Christopher's left eye, and his back had been sandpapered. April's nose was bleeding.

We were a sorry-looking bunch. We did what we could to bind one another's wounds, but the effort ended as we simply collapsed, exhausted.

"Well," Christopher said, "this has not been our best day ever."

***

"Maybe we better find out who took them," I suggested tersely. [...]

"Who took the Four Talismans of the Tuatha De Danann? The filthy lurachmain, of course. The lurgadhan. Who else would dare? Who would rob Nidhoggr in his own den? None but the little thieves, the grubbers after treasure, the most vile and despicable leprechauns."

One by one, slowly, we each turned to look at Christopher.

He nodded. "Saw this coming, man. Had to be. Sooner or later, there had to be leprechauns."


[NOTE FROM JULIE: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA OMG I CAN'T]

[Nemo (The ☾Moonlight☾ Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book picks up again where #3 left off, with the kids wandering the forest, lost and clueless and without a goal in mind. When they stumble upon a prison-city, they come face to face with Loki’s daughter Hel. Desperate to escape, they jump down a pit and come face to face with Loki’s son, the Serpent of Midgard. Along the way they find Senna, and once again we end on a cliffhanger.

I’m getting sick of these cliffhangers. I need to approach this series more like how it’s written: as a serial. It would be better if it were lumped together in one big epic, each ‘book’ being the section of whosever POV we’re floating in at the time. This time it’s Jalil, and he’s smart, a little sassy, obsessive, and only now beginning to accept that Everworld doesn’t work like the real world does.

There’s lots of action in this book as the teenagers struggle to survive with mounting paranoia not always deserved. It can be frustrating reading it when they have no clue what to do, are tired, hungry, and grumpy with no goal besides finding the elusive Senna and getting home, neither of which anyone has any idea how to achieve.

It finally kicks into interesting when the teens are captured by Loki’s weirdly gross yet attractive oversized daughter and their immediate goal is to escape, but apart from that, this book suffers the same ‘wandering’ issues the previous books suffered from as well.

There’s only so much one can read about clueless kids, their weird dreams or other lives, and unattainable obstacles to overcome before one gets frustrated with the lack of plot.

[Sha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot: Teenagers yanked into parallel universe built by old gods and legends encounter Hel.

1. Expanded Summary: The quartet spend some time wandering the land before reaching a city more like a prison. They are captured and dragged into it and eventually encounter Hel, the ruler. Hel takes them underground, deep to her kingdom. They discover Senna is also her captive. There is a fight. Everyone falls into a deep pit. Jailil and Senna wander around for a while before meeting up with the others. They encounter Hetwan tunnelling up into Hel's domain. They get attacked by the midgard serpent when trying to run away, and end up in the gold-choked lair of Nidhoggr, a dragon mourning his stolen treasure.

2. All right, this is getting really interesting and not just because the descriptions of Hel's domain were terrifying. No joke, it was a never-ending parade of really awful shit. So many forms of hideous torture. And it's not like Hel herself is any easier on the brain. (I'd also like to note how it's amazing that the book took the time to show us how she's a capable administrator because that is kinda hilarious.)

3. Senna continues to be fascinating as fuck. April's statement- that she would rather be seen as evil than terrified, that for her control is what matters the most- is proven right again and again. From her begging Jalil to kill her rather than leave her to Hel's mercies, to her leveraging it into a sob story when they are out of immediate danger, to her outright telling him -and only him- she sold them out once Jalil starts to disbelieve her. So that when Jalil states it to the rest of the group David outright denies it and April makes that on-point comment. Senna is such a wonderfully adept puppetmaster- she yanks people's chains in multiple ways at the same time. Slyly commenting to April what someone with courage could do with a sword. Letting silence and assumptions fill the void to her advantage. She's excellent.

4. There was something very satisfying about the point where the rest of the quarter stripped David of his authority. Especially the bit where David tells April to lead the way and we get this wonderful scene;

"Then lead on, April," David said sarcastically. He made a low bow, sweeping his hand toward our chosen path.

April shook her head. "I wasn't raised on war movies," she said. "I don't have the hero myth stamped on my brain, so you know what? I think I'll do what makes sense instead. Senna? Sister? You take the lead. Then me, then David, Christopher, and Jalil."

"Lock and load, Ripley," Christopher said.

We set out, Senna walking in front where four sets of eyes could watch her.

You can just feeeel the animosity between April and Senna in every scene they are in and it's also every evident how they know each other uncomfortably well. Excellent character shenanigans.

5. I'm not sure about what to think of Jalil's OCD mostly because I don't know if it's a fair representation and because KAA has been... uh less than sympathetic when it comes to things like medication for mental illnesses. So I'm not going to touch it without further research. I will, however, admit that a problem like this which defies rationalization is a perfect fit for Jalil and I can see why he would be so bothered by it.

6. I'm absolutely in love with the relationship developing between Jalil and Christopher. It's subtle and Christopher has internalized his racism so it's not always comfortable but these idiots are on the way to being my favorite duo in this series.

7. David and his burning need to be a hero resulting in him actually being the closest thing the group has to a hero is fascinating. It ties in a lot with Jalil's ongoing narrative about science- about if light comes from the sun or the eye, about if they all speak English or hear everything as English, about if Senna's "makeovers" depend on herself or who the beholder is, and about if David acting consistently like a hero makes him a hero.

8. The group dynamics are picking up and we have David next. With his ambitions and thwarted leadership and whatnot. Let's see how those rationalizations go~

9. On a final note I absolutely love this cover. I loved it when I first saw it as a pre-teen. Maybe that says something about me but man you can't look at it and not feel curious about what's in the book.

[Amanda Orlich Ahern · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Realm of the Reaper, we continue our journey through Everworld through the eyes of Jalil, the logical, level headed, and OCD science wiz.

Jalil, April, Christopher, and David find themselves trapped in Hell...well, trapped in Hel's Hell. They come face to half-dead-eaten-face with Loki's daughter, Hel. She sends her eunuch guards across Everworld to collect young, healthy men to entertain her in her harem.

This book was pretty good. It reminded me of Land of Loss in the sense that you experience the main characters terror is very bright, sharp detail. Like the second installment in the Everworld series, the group is faced with a fight or flight situation where if they make the wrong decision, they'll die a very painful torturous death. But they stick together, and deal with being trapped in Everworld, if they should trust Senna or not, and their own personal qualms. David is still dealing with his hero complex, Jalil is fighting his personal demons, and Christopher is becoming more and more obsessed with leprechauns.

I've said before how beautiful the cover art is on each book. It's not obscure at all: the cover on each book really gives you an idea of what you'll be encountering. Hel's description in Realm of the Reaper matches PERFECTLY to the cover. (um, ew.)

Like the rest of the Everworld books, Realm of the Reaper is painted in vivid detail, which is why each book really only covers one scene, usually only lasting a day or two. Will the four teenagers ever be safe? Or are they destined to die in Everworld?

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the first Jalil book (my favorite character), and I still really liked this one.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the books I remembered most clearly, both because Hel is so horrifying, and also because Jalil is unique. Senna tries to control him by demonstrating that she can banish his OCD and it's rare to find a character with mental illness in fiction--especially given that it's not the focus of the story.

But seriously, Applegate makes a pretty convincing demonstration of why Vikings were so eager to die in battle rather than end up with Hel.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was super good, too. Loved Jalil. Very creepy stuff, though. I am awed at the imagination required to write this book. I actually started liking Senna when she was in the pit with Jalil, before that quickly changed back. Also LOL at Christopher and his leprechaun obsession hahaha.

[Joshua Glasgow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four-star rating is definitely within the context of the series and not generally applicable. What I’m looking for is something that excites or impresses me, and this book delivers in that it provides some of the creepiest images so far. In particular—just jumping right to it—the group gets trapped in a walled city which they quickly realize is some kind of prison; they then learn that it’s a feeding (breeding?) ground for a creature called Hel, who is half Siren-like beauty who cannot be resisted and half decomposing corpse who completely repulses. She’s also Loki’s daughter… small (Ever)world! Hel selects our group for her next torture session and leads them through hypnosis out of town and up a mountain to her cave lair. As they walk the cobblestone path they suddenly realize the cobblestones are not stones at all but human skulls. As they near the lip of the cave, they can see that the path continues inside and that up ahead the “stones” are men buried up to their necks in the ground, many still screaming, crying, begging for mercy. Closer to the entrance to the cave there is a split: 90% of the “stones” there are bare, while the remaining 10% are men still clinging to life, bone showing through their tattered skin from being repeatedly trampled. This is an extremely gruesome image! That intensity really wowed me.

The other thing that I liked about this entry is that it deepens the plot in an interesting way. Jalil is revealed to have OCD in the real world but not in Everworld. More of the politics of the gods are discussed, as well as musings on their limitations, and Senna answers a few questions by informing us that she can shapeshift—or at least convince people that she looks different. Then, perhaps most exciting of all provided that they actually follow through with it, Jalil determines that he is going to figure out the mechanics of Everworld. He’s a born skeptic and an atheist though they don’t use that word; he realizes that magic is just what we call something we don’t yet understand. He is confident he will be able to unlock how Everworld functions. He’s already well-attuned to the fact that all of the gods are far more vulnerable than they present themselves as being… including Ka Anor, the god-eater. If Jalil can get the upper hand over Everworld, that would be thrilling. I’m keeping my eye out for more on this front.

I did wonder if this was meant to be the third book given April’s eagerness to find an exit from Everworld and criticism of David for wanting to be a hero. I thought at the end of the last one she had agreed there was no escape so long as a gateway (Senna) remains open. And since nobody is willing to bring up killing Senna as an option, the only other option is to become the saviors of Everworld. She seems to have forgotten that by this book, but perhaps in the time intervening she has lost hope? Unclear.

Oh! Another thing, just since I’m thinking about it: this book reveals that if the kids fall asleep in the real world they will actually just sleep. That’s been a question for me… do they go back to Everworld if they sleep in the real world? Turns out no. Jalil sleeps in Everworld and “wakes” to himself sleeping in the real world, having a nightmare in fact. Good to know that’s how it works. Like Jalil, I’m all about figuring out the mechanics of the system. Any bit of info like this is gold.

Anyway. Strong entry. I’m taking a break after every four books to read something else but I admit I am already feeling a bit of a pull to find out what happens next. Not a ton yet, but it’s starting to get me. I’m eager to find out where the next four leave me.

ETA: One egregious bit of racism from Christopher in this book, suggesting that the only songs Jalil might know are about “popping a cap in some ho’s”. He better be getting some karmic justice or learning the error of his ways down the line, otherwise this feels like a bizarre thing to introduce and repeatedly reinforce in one of the putative heroes.

[Juushika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Norse book, as the cast lands in Hel's underworld. Discovering the reason for a city peopled by eunuchs and the blind, built around an ominous massive cavern, is an engaging mystery. The horrors of Hel's chambers are exuberantly excessive; while I still don't think the creators of Animorphs need to writing something more explicitly adult to make it memorably dark, given the opportunity to do so this is just the sort of thing I hope they'd indulge in. The book's second half is more plot-focused and therefore less memorable: for better and worse the cast have little agency, which makes the survival elements of their travels that much more demoralizing but it also creates repetition in the overarching plot as they stumble between locales, eking out bits of knowledge but unable to meaningfully act on it. But I like Jalil: the handling of his OCD isn't especially sophisticated, but I appreciate the attempt and it gives him one of the more complex characterizations and a particularly interesting, thematically-engaged relationship with Senna.

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently I had to get to book 4 of my re-reading of the series to find something I truly liked rather than something that just made me feel nostalgic. This one centers Jalil, and at this point I find him the strongest narrator. The scenes with Senna and Jalil have an intensity that I haven't detected from the other books (as an adult). I doubt he'd hit a woman, but she's not just an ordinary woman, and you know he wants to deck her. He makes you, the reader, feel the same way. For some reason, Hel is more terrifying than the previous villains, or maybe I think so because I was always put-off by Two-Face in Batman stories. Whatever the case, it was an interesting read and moved faster than the first 3 for me.

[₊‧ ୨୧mollie_ anneliese⸆⸉(kai azer’s version)₊‧ ୨୧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! Jalil is very interesting with the OCD and everything. This is my fave so far! I loved the creepy vibe from it with Hel and the Hetwans and skeletons. So excited for the next book!

[Stephanie Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just gonna read this whole series this month, aren't I?

Anywho Jalil's pov is interesting bc he's got OCD that bothers him in the "real world" but in Everworld, not so much. Maybe because they're always running from one kind of crazy danger to the next. These books would be fun to narrate for audiobooks, honestly. The banter between the kids and in their 1st person narration can be so obviously 90s sometimes. (I die a little inside at the mention of Blockbusters or Borders...)

[Swankivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, that was creepy. Loki's daughter Hel, half living and seductive, half dead and putrid, starts drawing our heroes into her underworld. Not appetizing. (And there's even a nice tee shirt transfer of her face in the middle so you can iron her on a shirt. Nasty.)

[Small Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

reread 8/2015

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

   Welcome back to the style of the first two books – one event runs into another, with the loose plot form back, but with the advantage that the essential world-building has already been done. Now, we can run around Everworld in search of Senna again, meeting new and strange groups of people in scary places, without being over-encumbered by stray details to remind us where we are. Basically, we are back to the less coherent and cohesive plot that reigned in the first two books, but at the same time we are not having this-that-and-the-other-thing thrown at us to tell us where we are. At this rate/pattern, I would advocate that this series be bundled in groups of three to actually get a beginning, middle, and more importantly, end for the different installments.

   That being said, I do really appreciate all the very vivid details that are present in these books – Everworld comes alive in a way that Animorphs didn’t quite manage – in the very visuals of the landscapes, the small details about the different people the Everworld kids encounter, and the absolute horrors which most of those visuals are. Seriously, if I were a kid imagining these images, some of the things Jalil and Co. see would be terrifying. Okay, actually, they’re still pretty terrifying to my adult imagination. So vivid! For the record, I checked a copy of this out from the library, and the iron-on inset of Hel which comes with the book? Still in the book. No surprise that no one took it out to wear her lovely mug on their chest…

   Finally, last but not least, we have Jalil narrating (unless Senna is going to surprise us and narrate one? Which I highly doubt – maybe the last one, but only if that one doesn’t rotate between the four main characters). Our final Everworld kid, the one who is oh-so-fixated on facts and logic. I thought that alone was almost enough to put him on the autism spectrum (still kind of do), but the truth is, it’s related to the fact that he has OCD. For example, he intellectually knows that he does not have to wash his hands seven times, but he can’t control the need to do it anyways, and he hates not having that control over his own mind. So he makes up for it by fitting everything else in his world into logic boxes, and by trying to put the roundness of Everworld into the boxes of the real world. I find it curious – and convenient – that he does not have to deal with his OCD while in Everworld, only in the real world. It is surely the doing of Senna, since we see his first encounter with her where she momentarily takes away his compulsion, but it also makes me wonder: are there any aspects of the others’ character which get ‘left behind’ in the real world while they try to survive in Everworld? For David, his inability to act when faced with a ‘wrong’ situation, maybe. Not sure about Christopher and April, though.

In Hel’s City, after the Everworld kids noticed that some of its inhabitants were blind, all I could think was, “Either this is going to be important, or get completely forgotten once they get inside the city.” I was rather disappointed that it ended up being the latter –reminds me at the end of Animorphs about James’ request of the Animorphs for his roommate to get the morphing ability, which just got completely forgotten by the time the book was over. The Everworld kids make a point of noting the blindness, but nothing ever gets done with it. Not even something so simple as a passing reference that they are blind so that they won’t be drawn to Hel or her to them, so that there is always someone experienced in the city to bake the bread and do whatever else needs doing.

   Hm – it seems like I did not enjoy this book given my nitpicking above, but I did enjoy it. I liked getting inside Jalil’s head, seeing just how this mysterious boy thinks, seeing Senna get knocked down a few more pegs, seeing just how more messed up Norse mythology is I mean, come on, other than Hel’s literally half dead body, she has the Thor frozen alive inside a block of ice with a wooden toy imitation hammer in his fist! Tell me that’s not messed up!, and encountering more strange peoples and creatures. The craziness of the adventure is more linear, less hopscotch-y, beings from before are encountered again and we get to know more about them like the Midgard serpent and the Hetwans. It’s still a wild, crazy adventure, but the Everworld kids are acting like a team, making decisions together even when it involves agreeing that April gets Galahad’s sword because the boys can’t be trusted with it when Senna is around to influence them, and being smart about their moves. Or at least as smart as they can be given the insanity which rules Everworld.

Quotes:

   This was my world. The world of two plus two equals four every time. No wizards, no witches, no dragons, no trolls, no gods and goddesses. My world, understandable, decipherable, logical.
   But it was here, here in this world that I stood helpless at my sink, and washed my hands again because the number, you see, is seven.
   […]Over there, in the place where nothing made sense, seven was not the number. There was no number. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. That’s what it’s called. OCD. Or just OC. A brain wired to learn learns some things too well. A brain wired to eliminate threats becomes fixated, staring endlessly at a threat that is no real threat at all. I knew what it was called. I’d read all about it. Knew the illness, knew the enemy. But I did not know how to make it stop.
   Only once had I felt peace here in the real world.
   […]Once. Because of Senna Wales.
   I washed my hands a seventh time. I would be free, for a while.
   And over there, another me, but still me, would eventually wake up wearing filthy clothing and not wash at all, but eat a crust of black peasant bread with dirty fingers. – page 3-4

   “Canoes, hell, they could come after us with killer mermaids, or singing freaking sea serpents, or windsurfing leprechauns. W.T.E.,” Christopher said.
   W.T.E. Welcome To Everworld. It has become our all-purpose phrase. – page 19

   Fight or flee. The fundamental decision made by all aware life-forms. Some always flee. None always fights.
   There is something about that moment when you decide to run away. The recognition that you are in danger. That the danger is too great to face. Or that at least it represents too great a risk for too little payoff.
   In that moment you become prey. And all the instincts of prey come rushing up from the deep brain. Fear. And worse, growing, accelerating fear. – page 34-35

   Sleep would take us all home.
   Did I want that? April was desperate to escape Everworld. David just as desperate – though less honest – about wanting to stay. It wasn’t just that he was still under Senna’s spell. It was the sword at his side and the adrenaline pumping in his veins.
   And me? I always knew I what I wanted. But not at this moment.
   I was in the land of madness. But here the madness was all without. When sleep came I would return to the land where madness was within me.
   “Nice choice,” I whispered. – page 63

   I pulled my hand away [from Senna’s]. Broke the connection.
   I saw the look of surprise, the swift passage of rage, coming and going like a gust of wind. She regained control of her emotions.
   As I lost control. The obsession was alive in my head once again. The nagging, insistent voice was back, all the louder after the brief silence.
   “You think I’m weak, Senna,” I managed to say. “You think I’m weak because I can’t control this part of myself. You’re wrong. My own brain messes with me, but I am still who I am.”
   “I wonder,” she said, then turned and walked away.
   I woke. This time for real. My pillow was damp. Sheets whipped every which way.
   I took a shaky breath. A dream inside a dream. But a memory, too. Just as it had happened. How long ago now? Six, seven months? I should remember the day when for one moment I was free.
   Now I was in my room, in my world, with both sets of memories, both lives temporarily united.
   I got out of bed. Had to pee. Had to wash my hands. – page 70-71

   “Hide yourselves, if you can,” the Fiannan said. He shot a look at April. “And for all the love, keep the girl from her. She’s a beauty, and hell will brook no competition.”
   He slammed from the room, yelling, “Run, everyone out, the bloody fools have drawn her here!” The crone went with him, still moaning about her house.
   “I didn’t think pagans believed in hell,” April said. “But anything they call hell has got to be bad enough. Let’s get out of here.” – page 74-75

   She stretched out her living leg, stretched it out toward me, and touched the side of my face with her bare toe.
   I cried out and fell back, stunned, shattered. The joy! The ecstasy! Every cell in my brain exploded with the consciousness of pure pleasure.
   And then it was gone. I was on my knees. Face wet with my own tears. I would have begged her to touch me again, would have begged on hands and knees, but then she bent low, brought her face close to me.
   “Such pleasure you will know, gloomy little man. And such agony. I will tear your mind apart, mortal. I will destroy your very soul, Jalil.”
   I jerked involuntarily. She knew my name.
   She laughed her giddy laugh. “Of course I know you, Jalil, with the uncontrolled demon inside your so-controlled mind. I know each of you. Do you imagine I chose you at random? David, Christopher, April, all unfortunate visitors from the real world.” – page 94-95

   I would stay here. This me. A me. One of me would stay here, unaffected. At least directly. But my mind was permanently poisoned.
   “The information age,” I said under my breath. “Information is power.”
   What a naïve little slogan. What a nice bumper sticker. You see it everywhere. But what the fools never consider is that power flows both ways. Sometimes what makes one man strong makes another weak.
   Information was power. The memories, the images in my brain, the horrific, unforgettable visions, they were power all right.
   Hel’s. – page 119

   “Power. That’s it for you, Senna. That’s the drug for you, isn’t it? You want the power. You’ve gone crazy with it.” [I said to Senna after hearing about how she was going to sell us out to Hel so that she could take over Hel’s domain to be safe from both Loki and Merlin.] – page 133

   David shook himself [after Senna’s touch], like a man trying to wake up after a nap and not quite succeeding. “We…we get out of here. That’s what.”
   “Not with her,” April said, pointing at her half sister.
   David’s eyes cleared. He moved away from Senna. “April, I know how you feel, but we’re basically in hell here, literally, and it may be a long time before we find a way out. We have one sword and a Swiss Army knife. Like her or don’t, Senna has some powers.”
   It was a good argument. Even April nodded in agreement. Then she smiled.
   “Give me the sword,” she said.
   “What?”
   “Hel’s whammy didn’t work on me; neither will Senna’s. I’m sorry, but I don’t trust you boys around witches or goddesses.”
   To my amazement, Senna burst out laughing. “My half sister means to hack me up if I get out of line.”
   “I think I should hang on to the sword,” David said tersely.
   “I’m with April,” Christopher said. “She carries the sword.”
   David looked at me. I nodded my own vote. Then, just so there would be no doubt, I said, “ As long as Senna is with us, April’s the boss.”
   Senna was done laughing. Her gray eyes were polar.
   I smiled at her. No, Senna, you don’t scare me, not half as much as you think. -- page 153-154

   We hadn’t had a drink or eaten a bite since the inn back in Hel’s harem city.
   […] “Hey, Senna,” Christopher yelled. “I don’t suppose you can use your whim-whammies to conjure up a cold six-pack, can you?”
   Senna ignored him.
   “I mean, look, if you can, let’s bail, head home and go into business. Start a place, call it… Magic Brew. I like that. We do a little advertising. Magic Brew, the witch’s brew! Colder than a witch’s…heart. How’s that sound, Senna?”
   No answer.
   It was a tense little group. I found I was grateful to Christopher, though. He was managing to make clear our dislike for Senna while nevertheless treating her as part of our group. Acknowledging the schism, and at the same time papering it over.
   Senna could have made it easier by responding. Even if she’d slammed Christopher. But Senna understood the real-world magic of humor. She knew that Christopher was attempting to redefine her. She wasn’t having it.
   Senna would define Senna. She always had.
   Remember that, Jalil, I told myself. It’s the key to Senna. She wants control. She won’t surrender control, not even for a second, not ever.
   Why? That was the question. If I ever knew that answer I might have the same power over her that she had over me. – page 157-158

   “What do you say?” David asked Senna. “About which way to go.”
   She shook her head. “I can’t tell the future. All paths lead to opportunity. And to danger.”
   “Well, at least we have a fortune cookie,” Christopher said dryly. – page 162

   One by one, slowly, we each turned to look at Christopher.
   He nodded. “Saw this coming, man. Had to be. Sooner or later, there had to be leprechauns.” – page 173

Swear count:
hell (7, 19, 33, 60, 127, 156)
ass (18)
damned (56, 132)
damn it (98)
bitch (117, 149)

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book is narrated by Jalil. He keeps up the narrative of trying to rationalise things, trying to understand the formula of Everworld. He doesn't deny that things like gods and talking pigs etc exist, but he does try to understand the rules that allow them to exist. Which I do like. Because any well-written magic system should have rules, and costs, otherwise anyone can do anything.

Interestingly, you find out right at the start of the book that Jalil has OCD, but for some reason, that OCD only manifests in the real world, and not in Everworld. For a rational person like him to have to fight an irrational compulsion is a brilliant piece of irony.

One thing I have noticed is that the characters seem to learn information off-page between books. For example, Jalil mentions that humans make up 70% of Everworld's population, while 20% are dwarves. To my memory though, there weren't any dwarves in previous books.

Once again, Applegate gets my vote for diverse mythology. This book introduces some Irish mythology alongside the Norse. Not a lot (that comes in later books I believe), but we do get mentions of The Daghda and the Fianna. I love this. Christopher has provided a running joke of "so when do the leprechauns arrive?" Of course there's much more to Irish mythology than leprechauns and pots of gold, so I'm looking forward to some Tuatha Dé Danann. There is even a mention of a feud between Hel and Ahriman, a Zoroastrian deity (entity? Apologies, my world religions knowledge is a bit rusty), which I don't think ever materialises on page, but I appreciate the mention.

Applegate's version of Hel's underworld is creative, disturbing, and somewhat Dante-esque. It's refreshing to see something other than fire and brimstone.

One thing I like about Jalil is that he seems to be the only one of the group able to outsmart Senna. The two of them are constantly in a battle of wits. She tries to use his compulsion against him, but he is quite good at batting her back. Interestingly he also seems to have a good dynamic with Christopher, despite their previous clashes over racism. Maybe this is because Christopher is changing, becoming less bigoted (one hopes), but they often agree with each other, meet up in the real world, and support each other in arguments. Jalil and April of course, is a dynamic I've always liked. Although they fundamentally disagree on the topic of religion, they have a mutual respect. April's is the hand he grabs when getting swept up in a river. Jalil is the one April feels most comfortable and safe sharing a bed with.

David the man child is the character I like least, just after Senna who is absolutely vile. He gets all huffy when people question him, as though it's a blow to his authority, and he's still stupidly blind to Senna's manipulation a lot of the time, even when he's not directly under her spell. So I don't think it can all be put down to him being bewitched.

Overall, I liked seeing Jalil's perspective. He's the voice of reason and really if anyone is going to make sense of Everworld, it will be him. However, I really wish we had seen more of Jalil's home life in this book. I feel like out of all the characters, I know him and his backstory the least. He's also the only one out of the four main narrators who gets 2 POV books while the others get 3. It really is a shame. He deserves more credit and more page time.

At the moment the characters are still sort of "passing through". There's no real direction to their "questing", apart from finding Senna and getting back home. But even at the points when they do come across Senna, they never sit down and try to figure out a game plan because they're too busy having to run away from danger, and also Senna would rather serve them up on a silver platter while she escapes. She just can't be trusted.

I believe things do change eventually: they get allies, join a war effort, etc. But right now, they are still a group of lost humans completely out of their depth in a strange world they are trying desperately to understand. Which is actually quite believable. You don't just pick up a sword with no training and become a mythical hero. That's not how it works. And in a series full of gods, monsters and magic, I really do appreciate that realism.

4 full stars for my man Jalil. Hope we get more of his backstory in his next POV book.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book's synopsis has basically the same problem as the last one: it makes it sound like it's April's book when it's actually Jalil's. More of a minor thing, but it's still odd that this switcheroo happened.

At any rate, this is Jalil's first book, and so far Jalil is the most sympathetic of the group—which might not be entirely unrelated to the fact that Everworld is affecting him the worst. His real world counterpart is suffering from severe OCD brought on by his complete inability to get clean in Everworld for any length of time, and he can't even try to get help because telling the full story would only leave everyone thinking he's delusional.

So, while I connected with Jalil as a narrator a bit better than any of the others, the point where I goofed was on the portrayal of Hel, whose Alternate Character Interpretation was... not necessarily wrong, considering how few primary sources on Norse mythology are actually available, but still didn't jive with my own interpretation of her. Most of what I know of Hel is that she's an underworld goddess of death and not a particularly nice person, but nowhere in either of the Eddas do I recall seeing any indication of her being a man-eating sadist. Just a case of incompatible interpretations, I guess.

[Brunna Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy moly, I had forgotten all about Jalil’s particular set of problems.

I’m pretty sure this is the last of the books that I read as a kid, so it’ll be interesting to see how I feel about the series going forward.

In this book, our heroes are taken into a city that is guarded by eunuchs and populated by mostly young-ish men who are petrified of “her”. Lucky us, we’re about to meet another one of Loki’s kids.

Our best friend, Senna, of course, is already hanging out with Hel, and she may or may not have betrayed us (I’m starting to see a pattern here). Of course, David is still her champion and no one else trusts her. We also are clued into the fact that maybe she had originally wanted Jalil to be her champion and he turned her down FLAT.

So far, Jalil has felt like the most complete character we’ve seen. He has real problems and is consistently trying to fight them. He’s also the smart one of the group. Thank you for doing research in the real world instead of just waiting to find out everything in Everworld.

This has been the best book so far.

[Fefi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Che angoscia! (SPOILER)
Premesso che non sono appassionata di horror,questa è a tutti gli effetti una storia orribile. I nostri protagonisti,con Senna,che non ho ancora capito se è buona o cattiva, si ritrovano,dopo aver passato giorni e giorni nella foresta,in una città di eunuchi,dove tutti hanno una grande paura della Regina,che altri non è che Hel,la figlia del dio Loki, la morte in persona,che vive in una grande caverna che sembra molto l'inferno dantesco.
Le descrizioni di lei e del posto dove vive sono davvero degne di un racconto orror,mi hanno fatto un po' schifo,(vermi che le escono dalla bocca marcia,cadaveri scuoiati,ossa ovunque...); ma a parte questo,la narrazione è affidata a Jalil e scopriamo che lui,solo nella realtà,soffre di una sindrome ossessivo-compulsiva che lo obbliga a lavarsi le mani continuamente.
Quello che mi piace di questa serie è il fatto che la compagnia di amici non si scoraggia mai davanti a nessun pericolo.

[G. Edweird Cheese · Rating 4 out of 5]

first off, lets talk about the cover art. freaking fantastic! glad they decided to leave behind the old design... too busy.
now, onto the story. This time it was told from Jalil's pov. It was a great installment, with our gang having to face off against Hel.
Though Jalil is a good charater, he just pisses me the fuck off. He tries to be rational and scientific about everything going on around him. dude, you're in some kind of parallel universe with gods and magic and giant snakes and you're over here trying to figure out the scientific laws that govern everything? just give it up, bro! its freaking annoying!!
other than that, the story moved pretty swiftly. turns out Senna is a double crossing, two faced, backstabbing, lying, bitchy cunt witch.
if it was up to me, id just slit her throat and be done with it. she may be the doorway home, but as we all know, there's always more than one way in or out of places. kill the skank and take your chances.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 reread

3.5 rounded up.

Jalil is one of my favorite narrators for this series, because he's the one who sees Senna the clearest. Especially when it comes to him trying to reason his way through all the things in Everworld he doesn't understand. I think all the layers of Jalil are so interesting and it's a shame that he gets the short straw in terms of POV books in order to give one to Senna. Possibly that's because of how the end of the series came about, but still a shame all the same.

Hel is truly horrific though, and I'm glad that this is the only time we spend with her in the series. There are some parts of the world that I enjoy going back to - she is not one of them. Still, I'm excited to continue on and see where the kids go next.

[Red🏳️‍⚧️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would honestly believe it if u told me this was written *pre* Animorphs, none of these leads are very distinct (other than April). You could pull out miscellaneous sections from any of the three guys’ books and they’d read very similarly, and that’s partly because they all have one dimensional relationships with the series antagonist Senna. David pines for her, Christopher is depressed by her, and Jalil is distressed by her. It’s only April who brings the nuance because she both has a long a history of wanting to be part of Senna’s life plus a history of being repulsed by her.

I’m curious about this so I’m hanging on, but I’m less and less sure this is an investment of time that will pay off. I’m not a completionist at heart tho so I can get off the ride whenever.

[Tommy Grooms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realm of the Reaper is the first book from Jalil's perspective, and we learn that there are more layers to his character than meets the eye. We finally learn his connection to Senna, and see that his obstinate materialism in the face of the inexplicable Everworld has as much to do with his inner battle against obsessive compulsive disorder as anything else. Jalil's narration is ideal for encountering the horrifying Hel, and Applegate's buildup to and description of the goddess is one of the things I remember best from reading the series in childhood.

[Rylee Creed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite book in the series, and has been since the first time I read it. Hel is such a compelling deity and I love that it allowed April some time to shine.

I also love Jalil's perspective. Finally seeing what Senna wanted with him is great, but more than anything, getting to see how analytically he views the world is such a cool narrative to add to a story so fantastical. A straight up, believe the science atheist transported to a world of gods and magic, and him never losing hope that he'll be able to figure out the laws of Everworld.

[Lorenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo libro procede con la narrazione dal punto di vista di Jalil. Lo stile diventa molto più dark, quasi horror a tratti. Rimane interessante il punto di vista di Jalil, visto che era uno dei personaggi più misteriosi dopo Senna. In questo libro per buona parte si è accompagnati anche da Senna, si rivelano quindi ulteriori dettagli su Everworld, sul perché Senna sia stata rapita e sui giochi di potere tra i vari dei ed dei e l'invasore alieno Ka Anor.

[Heather Mayle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh, I have a really hard time abandoning books/series. I want to know how the overall story ends. But not a big fan of this book in particular. I didn't like the cover. Think it'll give me nightmares. Also I do most of my reading during my lunch break. Hard to eat with the graphic description of Hel's ugly side. Just glad to be done with this book and on to the next.

[Enya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the best series I have read in a lot of time. I think it is a very good book because it is very well written and it helped me a lot to understand easily because it was super hard at the start because I started on the 4th book, but I would like to read all the books because they are super interesting.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, Hel is creeeeeepy.

I love that this book has an insert halfway through with a picture of Hel that you can transfer to a shirt. I find it hilarious that this is a library book that has been checked out countless times and yet the insert was still in there, because WHO WOULD PUT THAT FACE ON A SHIRT?

[Katherine Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe Applegate grew as an author over the course of this series. Maybe Jalil is just the best.

That's it. Jalil is just the best.

Anyway, it's nice to see throwbacks to my own YA years, such as Beanie Babies and Borders book stores. The 90s were the best. Fight me.