Book Review: Beyonders

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

Review by: Chris Singer

About the author:

Brandon Mull resides in a happy little valley near the mouth of a canyon with his wife and three children. He spent two years living in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile where he learned Spanish and juggling. He once won a pudding eating contest in the park behind his grandma’s house, earning a gold medal. Brandon is the author of the New York Times bestselling Fablehaven series and The Candy Shop War.

About the book:

Jason Walker has often wished his life could be less predictable—until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank into a strange, imperiled world. Lyrian holds dangers and challenges unlike anyplace Jason has ever known. The people all live in fear of their malicious wizard emperor, Maldor. The brave resistors who once opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.

In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes.

My take on the book:

Brandon Mull's Beyonders is the latest addition to an already crowded fantasy genre for middle readers. Seasoned readers of fantasy will definitely recognize Beyonders theme of a hero's journey, and has many elements reminiscent of some classic fantasy stories such as Tolkien's The Hobbit and Homer's Odyssey.

Beyonders is packed with action from the get-go. Middle readers will be engaged immediately by the circumstances in which Jason finds himself. Thirteen-year-old Jason takes on challenge after challenge and lives up to the billing of a hero throughout. Although I found myself rolling my eyes over Jason's good fortune in overcoming these challenges (he's only 13!!), middle readers will still enjoy this fast-moving adventure, which despite the length of the book (over 450 pages), finds each chapter moving along quickly.

Beyonders has good messages for young readers as bravery, self-worth and determination are characteristics of many of the story's heroes and their allies. Despite being thrust into a world devoid of bravery and heroes, Jason's high quality of character helps attract the few people who wish to stand up to Maldor.

Throughout the adventure, Jason is paired with another "Beyonder," Rachel, who happened upon the world of Lyrian in a similarly bizarre incident. Despite Jason's pairing with Rachel, there isn't the same sort of equal billing given to her. This may turn off female readers as Rachel is pretty consistently left behind in much of the story, often forced to stay out of sight in the paranoid and suspicious world of Lyrian due to her being a girl. As Beyonders is part one of a three part series, I hope Rachel's place in the story becomes more pivotal and involved as the series progresses.

Parents should be aware of a decent amount of violence in this book. Although scenes are, for the most part, not graphic in detail, the implication is there. Most of the substantial violence in Beyonders occurs near the end as much sword fighting takes place as well as one of the main characters is tortured by a venomous snake, as well as placed in a sensory deprivation chamber.

All in all, I think Beyonders is worth a read although I'd be hesitant to share it with readers under 8 years old. However, the 10-year-old in me found it to be an exhilarating adventure, and found myself looking forward to each chapter and new adventure awaiting the heroes.