A Hundred Thousand Worlds in Around the Year in 52 Books

May 10, 2016 Melissa rated it liked it

Shelves: 2010s, advanced-reader-copies

Somewhat disappointed, but I think I had specific expectations going in. I am not a comic book fan but love everything geek (Joss Whedon is the man). I loved The Guild, I love the Avengers and even have played MMORPGs. The book was so heavy I thought I would crater under the weight of it. I think I wanted quirky, comedy with a touch of tragedy, rather than the tragedy heaped upon tragedy given. The intermittent comic book hero chapters were disruptive although very well written. I would still re ...more

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Sep 26, 2018 Jaime rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2018, general-fiction, bookclub

I wasn't really sure how to categorize this book. On its face it looks like it's going to be science fiction, but other than the settings primarily being science fiction conventions, it's really not science fiction at all.

What this is is the story of Val Torrey and her son Alex. Val used to be one of the leads on a very popular science fiction show (think Gillian Anderson on X-files), but has spent the last few years on the down-low, acting in plays in New York and raising her 9 year old son, Al ...more

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Oct 06, 2021 Tania rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Valerie Torrey and her son Alex are on an epic road trip headed towards Los Angeles. Epic for Alex, since he's supposedly blissfully unaware of his destination (parents - stop underestimating kids!), but torture for Val, who is facing a disruption to her whole way of life in this one simple trip. Along the way Val has scheduled comic-con appearances, having appeared as a beloved character in a sci-fi TV show before switching coasts to live in NYC and do broadway. Alex is fine with that, he's a b Valerie Torrey and her son Alex are on an epic road trip headed towards Los Angeles. Epic for Alex, since he's supposedly blissfully unaware of his destination (parents - stop underestimating kids!), but torture for Val, who is facing a disruption to her whole way of life in this one simple trip. Along the way Val has scheduled comic-con appearances, having appeared as a beloved character in a sci-fi TV show before switching coasts to live in NYC and do broadway. Alex is fine with that, he's a budding writer himself and lover of comics (and his mom's TV show). The big picture of this novel would seem to be the world of comics and all the players in it, from writers and artists to publishers and cos-players. Yet the heart of this story is the relationship between Val and Alex, which is endearingly close and yet at times contentious. Part of that is because of Alex's own curiosity about his family's past and the truth of what awaits him in LA.

The author moves between character POVs, and Alex is by far the best head to be in. Proehl writes a child like a child - I could literally imagine my 9 year old nephew in his place, saying the things he says and doing the things he does. The adults wandering around throughout the story are so very adult - worried about relationships and s*x and getting ahead in their careers. Alex's concerns are much more basic and immediate - who is around to entertain him, who can help him with a project, who can get him to the store, where will they sleep for the night... And yet, once in a while Alex's true fears surface - what happened between his mom and his dad, and what does it mean that they are headed back to where his dad lives? Why is his mom acting strangely, and what does it mean for their future?

The comic-con scene was an interesting backdrop for the story, but you don't have to love comics or cons to enjoy this book. It was there to show how every aspect of the creative process came with its own challenges - whether it was an artist trying to convey the writer's words in pictures, or the writer trying to decide where the story should go next, or the publisher trying to hook its next big talent or project. There were references to characters and storylines, and even some roleplay to set the tone of a chapter, but it was all easy enough to understand and you didn't have to worry about piecing it together, slowly it unraveled into one cohesive story behind the story, and was really a parallel fantasy world that mirrored what was playing out in the real world. Val and Alex had their own creative demons to slay, even as they dealt with the family issues that drove them mile after mile back to LA. ...more

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