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The Seems #3
Lost Train of Thought
Fixer Becker Drane never thought things could get so bad: he's in deep trouble with The Seems for breaking so many rules, he never gets to see his girlfriend, and it looks like his days as a Fixer may be numbered. So when a train carrying a load of Thought destined for The World disappears, Becker reluctantly agrees to join a crew of fixers to solve the mystery--in The Middle of Nowhere. The mission leads Becker into a scenario more terrifying and dangerous than he could have ever prepared for. Getting the Train of Thought back on track is just a temporary Fix. Becker's real mission may prove to be saving The World from ending--forever.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 29, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 21, 2026
Wie die ganze Reihe ist auch dieses Buch wieder sehr kreativ, lustig, fantasievoll und generell eine gut erzählte Reise. Die Charaktere sind sympathisch, man fiebert bei der Entwicklung der Geschichte mit und ist gespannt.
Wie beim ersten Mal fällt mir auch diesmal wieder auf, dass das Ende etwas abrupt ist. Soll es ja auch sein. Ein vierter Teil sowie ein Begleitwerk waren geplant, sind aber traurigerweise nie erschienen. Trotzdem finde ich es ein gutes Ende für die Reihe.
Wie beim ersten Mal fällt mir auch diesmal wieder auf, dass das Ende etwas abrupt ist. Soll es ja auch sein. Ein vierter Teil sowie ein Begleitwerk waren geplant, sind aber traurigerweise nie erschienen. Trotzdem finde ich es ein gutes Ende für die Reihe.
November 30, 2013
Perhaps the only thing that kept me from giving this book 5 stars is the flow of the plot/setting. There were a few instances in which I stopped to re-read passages thinking that I had missed information somewhere. (And if the Seemsian HR department had returned my inquiries, perhaps I would have the information needed so I would not have been confused?)
Otherwise, this book, in keeping with its predecessors in the trilogy, was fantastic. The Seems still fascinates, the plot had twists and turns, and Becker Drane is still fun to follow. But, OH the ENDING! I both loved it, and hated it, and have HOPES sprung from an ETERNAL SPRING that this book in truth is not the end, but rather the beginning. (This line only makes sense to those who have read the books. So grab the first book immediately and begin reading.)
I have also thought of holding the fifth star hostage until I am contacted about my SAT and invited to become a fixer, but I realize that would make me more like the TIDE. So I have abandoned my plan and await the time when THE PLAN says I should join the team. (To any Seemsians in HR who might be reading this post, I also have interest in working with Figarro Mastrioni and painting The World's sky....)
Live to Fix! Fix to live!
Otherwise, this book, in keeping with its predecessors in the trilogy, was fantastic. The Seems still fascinates, the plot had twists and turns, and Becker Drane is still fun to follow. But, OH the ENDING! I both loved it, and hated it, and have HOPES sprung from an ETERNAL SPRING that this book in truth is not the end, but rather the beginning. (This line only makes sense to those who have read the books. So grab the first book immediately and begin reading.)
I have also thought of holding the fifth star hostage until I am contacted about my SAT and invited to become a fixer, but I realize that would make me more like the TIDE. So I have abandoned my plan and await the time when THE PLAN says I should join the team. (To any Seemsians in HR who might be reading this post, I also have interest in working with Figarro Mastrioni and painting The World's sky....)
Live to Fix! Fix to live!
May 28, 2012
The thick plottens considerably after a train carrying the world's entire supply of upcoming Thought vanishes (making the Unthinkable almost certain to happen in our world), Fixer Becker Drane is sentenced to forget all about his heartthrob Jennifer Kaley, and the Tide makes its move to take over the Seems. Basically, almost nothing here turns out to be what it....Seems, though.
The author's ingenuity in riffing on the "Phantom Tollbooth" conceit is still in high gear, and the series shows no signs yet of series fatigue. Rah!
The author's ingenuity in riffing on the "Phantom Tollbooth" conceit is still in high gear, and the series shows no signs yet of series fatigue. Rah!
March 24, 2013
Really, I don't like this series. I like the first book, but overall I don't like the series. After the first book, when Becker continues to break the Rules, it just sorta goes downhill. I personally couldn't handle this one. I considered the Powers That Be to be, well, powerful, and somewhat distant, maybe even cold, but discovering that ruined the illusion for me.
May 3, 2019
This is a review as a part of /r/fantasy's hero mode for book bingo. I read this book for the square of 'second chance' after dropping this book due to time and lack of interest more than a few years ago.
Probably a 3.5 or a 3.75, rounded up.
This is the third book in the Seems series, preceeded by A Glitch in Sleep and The Split Second. This book is more narratively complex that the previous two books which, for me, means more interesting, and ultimately more rewarding. The series follows the adventures of Becker Drane, a middle school kid who gets a behind-the-scenes view of how the World works. The series features excellent worldbuilding, although much of the story seems a bit big and daunting for a 10-13 y/o kid. Much of the plot in the first two books is... there, with not much more to say about it: it's a kid doing awesome stuff. Book three, as said before, has more than just the 'save the world' theme, with intrigue and suspense. It may not be as thrilling or interesting as 'adult' fiction but it's one of the best I've read for middle grade. For the most part it wraps up the story and puts a bow on it, although a certain question is left unanswered for fanfic writers to take over. While there appears to be a fourth book, as far as I can tell it appears to be a collection of short stories for secondary characters, not connected to the main line except tangentally.
If you're willing to put up with the two previous installments, you may find this an enjoyable experience for your middle grade square, 4+ word square (for the first and third books), maybe disability (for the third book only), final book square, or local square for folks in New Jersey or West Virginia, US.
Probably a 3.5 or a 3.75, rounded up.
This is the third book in the Seems series, preceeded by A Glitch in Sleep and The Split Second. This book is more narratively complex that the previous two books which, for me, means more interesting, and ultimately more rewarding. The series follows the adventures of Becker Drane, a middle school kid who gets a behind-the-scenes view of how the World works. The series features excellent worldbuilding, although much of the story seems a bit big and daunting for a 10-13 y/o kid. Much of the plot in the first two books is... there, with not much more to say about it: it's a kid doing awesome stuff. Book three, as said before, has more than just the 'save the world' theme, with intrigue and suspense. It may not be as thrilling or interesting as 'adult' fiction but it's one of the best I've read for middle grade. For the most part it wraps up the story and puts a bow on it, although a certain question is left unanswered for fanfic writers to take over. While there appears to be a fourth book, as far as I can tell it appears to be a collection of short stories for secondary characters, not connected to the main line except tangentally.
If you're willing to put up with the two previous installments, you may find this an enjoyable experience for your middle grade square, 4+ word square (for the first and third books), maybe disability (for the third book only), final book square, or local square for folks in New Jersey or West Virginia, US.
March 12, 2017
This is the third installment of "The Seems," about a kid named Becker Drane who gets a job as a Fixer in the world that made the World, troubleshooting problems with the supply of sleep, time, and (this time) thought itself. A train full of the precious ore, mined in an obscure part of the Seems, has disappeared en route to the transshipment hub from where it was to travel to Earth. Unless the train and its contents are recovered pronto, the Unthinkable will happen - possibly costing millions of lives - and the only other way to stop it would be to take the World offline and risk being unable to get it started again.
Meantime, Becker is facing disciplinary action for mixing work with personal business. He could end up being suspended from his job, having his brother and his girlfriend "unremembered" (so they have no memory of what he let slip to them about the seems), and even seeing the girl of his dreams forget they ever met. But before his sentence kicks in, he gets called in as part of a second team of four fixers, sent out to the Middle of Nowhere to find out what became of the train of thought, after the first team loses contact. Then, while Becker, the Octogenarian, and two other fixers are out of the way, there's a prison break in Seemsberia. The Tide, a rebel group within the Seems, chooses that moment to strike, taking over everything and threatening the stability of the World.
I'd like to keep spoilers to a minimum, even though this book has been out since 2009, but that's an awful long time after the third book for a series that, up to then, brought out a new installment every year, not to have a fourth book yet. That throws a certain light of finality upon the ambiguous, possibly cliffhanger ending - though, to be exact, it isn't quite the ending of the book. It's followed by a glossary and several helpful appendices. But there also seems (no pun intended) to be good reason to expect another story, at least, to resolve some of the issues left up in the air at the end of this story. So, I hope I'm not quite finished with it, though I seem to be caught up for the moment.
The Seems is a fun universe, full of action, surprises, and goofball humor, combining puns on everyday phrases with a magical concept of how the world works and the wild ways it could go wrong. Becker is an imperfect hero who, nevertheless, steps up and delivers the stuff. Perhaps the authors will think of a way to bring him back. Hope springs, well, in a place in the Seems that we visit in this book. So the authors should know all about that.
Meantime, Becker is facing disciplinary action for mixing work with personal business. He could end up being suspended from his job, having his brother and his girlfriend "unremembered" (so they have no memory of what he let slip to them about the seems), and even seeing the girl of his dreams forget they ever met. But before his sentence kicks in, he gets called in as part of a second team of four fixers, sent out to the Middle of Nowhere to find out what became of the train of thought, after the first team loses contact. Then, while Becker, the Octogenarian, and two other fixers are out of the way, there's a prison break in Seemsberia. The Tide, a rebel group within the Seems, chooses that moment to strike, taking over everything and threatening the stability of the World.
I'd like to keep spoilers to a minimum, even though this book has been out since 2009, but that's an awful long time after the third book for a series that, up to then, brought out a new installment every year, not to have a fourth book yet. That throws a certain light of finality upon the ambiguous, possibly cliffhanger ending - though, to be exact, it isn't quite the ending of the book. It's followed by a glossary and several helpful appendices. But there also seems (no pun intended) to be good reason to expect another story, at least, to resolve some of the issues left up in the air at the end of this story. So, I hope I'm not quite finished with it, though I seem to be caught up for the moment.
The Seems is a fun universe, full of action, surprises, and goofball humor, combining puns on everyday phrases with a magical concept of how the world works and the wild ways it could go wrong. Becker is an imperfect hero who, nevertheless, steps up and delivers the stuff. Perhaps the authors will think of a way to bring him back. Hope springs, well, in a place in the Seems that we visit in this book. So the authors should know all about that.
January 8, 2019
the third installment in this series is just as good as the first two by expanding on the world he created which creates the world is fascinating and makes humorous connections and reason behind things that happen in the world everyday. It is a very unique concept and plays on the idea of what if we had complete control of the world. A theme I picked up on especially in this book is the question of what you should do with power over the world. Every character presented are likable and the relationships built between them can be felt and makes you attached to them like Becker and Jennifer or Becker and blaque. Before every chapter it has an image that helps the reader picture scenes with the help of imagery presented in the chapter. It is one of the only series that I was hooked on enough that I read and bought all three books. I just hope for a fourth or a spinoff of this series to see more of this world.
September 24, 2024
Sometimes I forget why I’m so incensed about this series never being completed, but that doesn’t make its unfinished state sting any less. Now that everything that’s happened and everything that’s not is fresh in my mind, it stings a whole lot more. Similarly to The Split Second, I felt permanently on edge while reading. The stakes keep being raised, and yet, as with any well-crafted villain, I can’t help but feel The Tide has a point even as they get closer to blowing up The World. I won’t stoop to writing fan fiction in order to gain closure, but there’s so many fascinating philosophical questions this series raises and I’d hate to see these characters’ stories never resolve. Maybe that’s the way of The Plan, but, respectfully, what kind of plan would allow for A Better Place to never be written?
March 22, 2023
I was so excited to see another book in the Seems series, but I did not enjoy it as much as the first book. There was a lot going on, and all the jumping around was a bit confusing. I would like to listen to the audio book, to see if that would help - if different people are used for the voices. The ending was a cliffhanger, so I will look forward to the next book.
December 27, 2025
This was the last book in the Seems series I read, and I don’t even know if the fourth book was ever released. So, I think of the Seems as a trilogy. This was the weakest of the Seems series for me, not least because it ended on a cliffhanger. I still liked this book just fine, and thought it was a thrilling adventure through the unusual world of the Seems.
Read
January 9, 2021did not finish. would like to come back to sometime.
April 16, 2024
I don't remember these books well, but I remember liking them a lot because of (what I at least perceived at the time as) a really cool deconstructive twist near the end of the series.
I'm over-analyzing and probably misinterpreting books for preteens. But the concept of the series was insane to me at the time.
I'm over-analyzing and probably misinterpreting books for preteens. But the concept of the series was insane to me at the time.
February 25, 2010
Becker Drane is on another Mission. This time, he's with a whole team of Fixers, because it's a possible emergency: a train tranporting SIX MONTHS' worth of Thought has been lost, in The Middle of Nowhere. This isn't the first team of Fixers...the other team isn't responding, for unknown reasons. It could just be the Middle of Nowhere...but some suspicious video footage says otherwise. It's the Middle of Nowhere for a reason, after all, but that's where Becker and the rest of the Fixers are going to have to go. If not, it could be the end of The Wolrd, but that's just a normal day's work for a Fixer.
The Seems is funny. A pinch of suspense, a dash of excitement, stir until thoroughly interesting...it could have been made by one of the greatest chefs in the Seems!
No matter what Seems book, the recommendation remains the same: anyone can read, everyone should, and anyone who does read it will probably enjoy it!
The Seems is funny. A pinch of suspense, a dash of excitement, stir until thoroughly interesting...it could have been made by one of the greatest chefs in the Seems!
No matter what Seems book, the recommendation remains the same: anyone can read, everyone should, and anyone who does read it will probably enjoy it!
January 26, 2015
I thought a long time about giving 5 stars. I totally live the whole seems series and this novel continues to be as lovely and wonderful as the other two. I settle with 4 stars then, because I sometimes missed the lighthearted and humorous tone the other two novels contained. still, this is only partly and only really high pointed being sad, so this rating is more a 4,5 or something. I kind of loved the end of the novel, that is so sad and so great in the same time, but I don't want to spoiler Anything. furthermore I just adore the whole idea and tone and all of the novel and desperately wait for another novel. what's left to say: please, write another novel I can't wait to read it and If there is any free job in the seems I'd love to work there!!!!!
February 20, 2015
This book was very good, but I was saddened by the ending. If Becker hadn't died in the end, it would have made the book one more star better. It was really depressing. Alas, the rest of the book was very good, and the plot was exciting. I really enjoyed reading it. I hope the author continues the series and writes about him in "A Better Place"
April 2, 2016
The story has gotten quite a bit darker in tone, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Becker Drane is in significant trouble because of his affection for Jennifer. Benjamin and Jennifer are subject to unremembering. And, Becker goes to A Better Place at the end. I'm hopeful the next book in the series will return the story to its goofy, cheerful, witty balance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2012
This is an OH-MY-GODS-GET-THE-NEXT-BOOK-OUT-NOW-OR-I-AM-GOING-TO-EXPLODE!!!! type of book. I really enjoyed it, and I really don't know what the author is going to do next, since Becker is now .
July 7, 2010
I liked it but the end was a let down.
September 1, 2010
Not thoroughly awesome by any means, but still fun. I will admit I am rather baffled by the ending, though. Will there be more books?
October 12, 2010
The third book in this fun series comes out in paperback today, yet it seems it hasn't been discovered by many goodreaders. Like F. Becker Drane, I'm on a mission to fix that!
July 28, 2011
Whaaaaaat?
What just happened?
If this is the last book, i am SO confused.
What just happened?
If this is the last book, i am SO confused.
December 1, 2011
Meh. Not as good as the first two.
More later.
More later.
November 6, 2012
One of the times I've sobbed uncontrollably while finishing a book.
October 4, 2011
It wasn't as good as the first or second book but it had alot of drama while still retaining the sci-fi genre
April 9, 2016
I like it, and found it very saaaaaad. Also the kid gets killed I think, and his girlfriend forgets who he ever was because of the High Council.
March 4, 2012
Brilliant book, best in the series. It's got action, romance, and moral dilemmas. A thought-provoking and wonderful read.
October 8, 2013
Best book in the trilogy. Had an astounding end which put a smile of sadness on my face. Worth the read for sure. What a pleasant yet sad way to end the series. Well done! :')
October 8, 2014
It ended horribly.
November 7, 2015
Excellent
April 20, 2016
Continuation of a great series, but leaves the book on a cliff hanger and the next volume isn't published yet. I can only hope the author continues the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews