Book Review: A World Without Heroes (Beyonders #1) by Brandon Mull

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

Over the centuries individuals have crossed from our world to Lyrian in a variety of ways. . . .But nobody has ever passed from Earth to Lyrian in a less likely way than Jason Walker.
Mull, Brandon. A World Without Heroes. New York: Aladdin, 2011.

Fourteen-year-old Jason Walker is transported to a strange world called Lyrian, where he joins Rachel, who was also drawn there from our world, and a few rebels, to piece together the Word that can destroy the malicious wizard emperor, Maldor. (from the book’s copyright page)

Brandon Mull has a great imagination. When I attended the launch party for his final Fablehaven book, he talked about how excited he was for his Beyonders series because he was able to make up his own world with his own creatures. I have to hand it to him–he came up with some awesome creatures, places, and events. Lyrian was a unique world.

There was a great mix of humor. My favorite scene was one that made me laugh out loud. (I won’t give it away.) Jason, the main character, is a funny guy. The humor and the adventure and the creatures make this a perfect book for boys, but also can appeal to girls, much the same as Mull’s Fablehaven series.

The one issue I had with the book is probably because I’m a writer and I notice these things. The vocabulary in the book is way advanced, which I don’t have a problem with. (I was learning tons of words myself!) But often the vocabulary made the dialogue unnatural. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Jason was a fourteen-year-old kid because he talked and thought like a very educated thirty-year-old. However, even though his words were older, I felt like he had genuine teenage thoughts for the most part. He didn’t act like a thirty-year-old.

Like the Fablehaven books, A World Without Heroes is humorous, exciting, and full of imagination. I won’t be surprised if it makes it onto the New York Times Best Seller’s list as well.

*news about a world without heroes*

Author connect: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook |
Sequels: Beyonders #2 (Spring 2012), Beyonders #3 (Spring 2013)
Similar books: Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

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*for writers*

Agent: Simon Lipskar from Writer’s House

A Page from Brandon Mull’s Book: This book is a great example of other-world fiction (when the MC goes from our world to a new one). The reader is often reminded that the world is different than ours by the MC’s uncertainty about customs, etc. This not only gives it an authentic feel, but also opens up opportunities for world building.