Out of this World (Three Worlds Trilogy, Book 1) - Softcover

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.

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.