WordsOnWordsWhen I started re-reading this series, a friend of mine was renting a house and found this book on one of the shelves. He sent me a picture and said something like he couldn’t believe I was going to read this book.
But I am so excited to tell you folks how good this book actually is!
It isn’t my favorite (that honor goes to the Blob), but it is SOLIDLY in my top 5. It’s got a genuinely creepy skeleton of a story to it where an entire class of kids disappear one year only to have a new kid to the school stumble onto an old elevator that brings him and a new friend to… basically an alternate dimension.
The kids who had disappeared were transported to this black-and-white mirror world of their own en masse and, realizing they are never going to leave, decided to reenact Lord of the Flies. They’re ruthless, violent, and insane. Beyond that, there’s a distinct lack of humanity because almost everyone has given up and become nihilistic. There’s a vibe of “we’re screwed, so we’re going to hurt you as well so you’re just as bad-off as us.”
Personally, the idea of being trapped in a world that is basically empty except for its insane and violent inhabitants with no hope of leaving is pretty creepy. It would be impending doom and a ticking clock as there is no escape, no hope, and the only guarantee is that the others will find you one day and, until then, it’s just survival in a shitty world.
I think it might be one of the more unsettling books in the series.
After I read it, I told my friend he should give it a go. There’s a lot of characters getting whipped into hysteria by everyone around them and this felt poignant in modern America, but he declined saying it’s still a children’s book.
WordsOnWords When I started re-reading this series, a friend of mine was renting a house and found this book on one of the shelves. He sent me a picture and said something like he couldn’t believe I was going to read this book.
Show moreBut I am so excited to tell you folks how good this book actually is!
It isn’t my favorite (that honor goes to the Blob), but it is SOLIDLY in my top 5. It’s got a genuinely creepy skeleton of a story to it where an entire class of kids disappear one year only to have a new kid to the school stumble onto an old elevator that brings him and a new friend to… basically an alternate dimension.
The kids who had disappeared were transported to this black-and-white mirror world of their own en masse and, realizing they are never going to leave, decided to reenact Lord of the Flies. They’re ruthless, violent, and insane. Beyond that, there’s a distinct lack of humanity because almost everyone has given up and become nihilistic. There’s a vibe of “we’re screwed, so we’re going to hurt you as well so you’re just as bad-off as us.”
Personally, the idea of being trapped in a world that is basically empty except for its insane and violent inhabitants with no hope of leaving is pretty creepy. It would be impending doom and a ticking clock as there is no escape, no hope, and the only guarantee is that the others will find you one day and, until then, it’s just survival in a shitty world.
I think it might be one of the more unsettling books in the series.
After I read it, I told my friend he should give it a go. There’s a lot of characters getting whipped into hysteria by everyone around them and this felt poignant in modern America, but he declined saying it’s still a children’s book.
But he should have read it. It’s one of the best!
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