Paraworld Zero by Matthew Peterson

From the Publisher

Simon Kent is just an ordinary 12-year-old trying to cope with the loss of his parents and the bullies at school . . . or so he thinks. After meeting an outspoken girl with strange hair that changes colors with her mood, he is swept into a futuristic world filled with dragonlike creatures, vast technology, and enslaved giants.

But Simon also stumbles upon a secret: He can perform magic in this parallel world! While fighting mystical creatures, unraveling an ancient mystery, and even experiencing his first kiss, Simon discovers that he, an outsider from Earth, is the only person who can save the high-tech planet from an impending doom.

Midwest Book Review

Winner of the Flamingnet Top Choice Award, Paraworld Zero is the unabridged audiobook version of Matthew Peterson's debut fantasy novel for young adults. Paraworld Zero [is] the story of a twelve-year-old boy troubled by loneliness and low self-esteem. Suddenly trapped on a parallel world, he gains the ability to perform magic. Over the course of his adventure he makes new friends, discovers his own inner strength and uncovers the solution to an ancient mystery. Over 100 unique character voices are present in this stirring audio adaptation that the whole family can enjoy, perfect for long car trips. Highly recommended.

VOYA

Orphaned and horribly bullied, undersized seventh-grader Simon Kent thinks that his life cannot get any more miserable until he has a run-in with Tonya Doyle, a colorful magic student from a parallel world. Through a series of madcap misadventures, the two travelers find themselves on the planet Pudo, where the brilliant and technologically advanced inhabitants are locked in a repressive social system that may doom them to annihilation. After many death-defying feats, Simon, Tonya, and Thornapple Troodle, Simon's know-it-all sidekick, solve a thousand-year-old riddle and save the day. Interwoven within this tale of magic, mayhem, and maturation is a thread of unresolved interstellar intrigue and political power play that needs to be addressed in the forthcoming books in this series. The predictable plot, although action packed, is loaded with heavy-handed moral lessons. Not only are the three main characters conspicuously similar to J. K. Rowling's Harry, Hermione, and Ron, the story is overpopulated with one-dimensional characters who also have counterparts in popular culture. The story's settings are familiar and unimaginative. It is as if Darth Vader, Dumbledore, and Dorothy Gale were transported to Lilliput, Jurassic Park, Mordor, and the starship Enterprise. A reasonable blend of science fiction and fantasy, Simon's adventures should appeal to middle schoolers who enjoy reading for escape. Older students might find the over-familiar themes and author's blatant use of preexisting characters, themes, and settings uninspiring and annoying. Reviewer: Lynne Farrell Stover

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7- The best thing that can be said about this book is that the painfully bad cover art should dissuade anyone from attempting to read it. The prose is ungainly and includes grammatical errors at regular intervals. The plot begins with a dark and stormy night straight out of the Bulwer-Lytton contest: "Rumbling sounds resonated from the darkness above, accompanied by a faint groan of atmospheric indigestion echoing in the distance." It doesn't improve. The story follows young Simon Kent, an orphan and a victim of bullies, as he is suddenly catapulted into a series of adventures by an encounter with a young student of magic. Tonya transports Simon to another "paraworld," one of many parallel universes. They have various adventures with Puds, ancient secrets, magic, space travel, etc., but the narrative is nearly impossible to read, let alone enjoy. If readers are looking for something involving parallel worlds, hand them Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves's wonderful Interworld (Eos, 2007).-Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

What People Are Saying

Douglas Hill
"It's always a pleasure to find a new writer who is comfortable in that marvelous borderland between fantasy and science fiction. Even more of a pleasure to find one with flair and humour and a truly original imagination. What do you get when the effect that produces parallel worlds also creates the phenomenon that we loosely call magic power? You get a lot of really weird beings with slightly faulty technology bursting into the lives of... well... some really weird people. You also get murderous villains, mighty warriors, goddess-like women, impossible problems and some of the wildest chases since the Keystone Kops. More fun than a barrel of computer games. Read it. Trust me, you'll have a terrific time on that borderland. Especially in the company of Matthew Peterson."--(Douglas Hill, bestselling author of nearly 70 books)

Maria V. Snyder
"Flame throwing pigeons and demonic dumpsters. Funny and imaginative."--(Maria V. Snyder, award-winning author of Poison Study)

Diana Pharaoh Francis
"The exciting action of Star Wars with the humor of Napoleon Dynamite. I think Paraworld Zero has strong potential to be popular among readers."--(Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of the Path and Crosspointe series)

• Read an Excerpt

Read an Excerpt

Paraworld Zero
by Matthew Peterson

Copyright © 2008 Matthew Peterson
All right reserved

The woman was dying, and no one on Earth who would mourn for her when she was gone. Not a soul would know of the secrets she possessed or of the ultimate power that emanated from within her limp body. The hope of the universe was about to be lost-that is, unless she arrived at the hospital in time.

A torrent of watery darts hit the windshield as the ambulance squealed around another corner. The hospital was not much farther. A spark of lightning erupted in the night sky, as if to point the way the ambulance should go. Rumbling sounds resonated from the darkness above, accompanied by a faint groan of atmospheric indigestion echoing in the distance. The storm, like the mighty hand of a demon, buffeted the vehicle with its cold fist, but the driver remained steadfast.

"We're losing her," a paramedic cried.

"Come on, lady. You can make it," another said.

The vehicle skidded to a complete stop, and the back doors flung open. Interns rushed to help with the gurney, but in the process, one of them slipped on the wet concrete and lost his grip, causing the stretcher to jolt. The poor woman, her skin infested with blistered lesions, lifted her head and moaned. One of the students gasped.

A paramedic took hold of the gurney and entered the emergency room. He tried to keep his eyes away from the grotesque figure in his care, tried not to even breathe the same air that spewed from her deformed lips and nostrils. Visions of horrible diseases filled his mind, but he dispelled them with the thought of a quick dispatch to labor and delivery.

A consternated expression etched itself across the gynecologist's face. Word of the woman's arrival had spread quickly. The doctor peered at the sores on her face and arms. "What happened to her?"

"I dunno," the paramedic said. "She's all tripped out and won't say noth'n."

"I see."

"Someone found her in a park and called it in," he added. "She's not contagious, is she?"

The gynecologist winced but remained silent. He looked closer at the gruesome sores on her body, then pulled up her sleeve and discovered more pustules on her arm. He checked her legs and found that they too were infected.

"I have no idea what this is. Almost looks like she's been exposed to something." He turned to a young nurse. "Do an ultrasound and get blood and tissue samples. Keep me posted."

"Aren't ya gonna set up a quarantine or something?" the paramedic asked.

"I want to know what we're dealing with before we put the whole city in a panic. It could just be an allergic reaction."

The woman on the gurney jerked upright, as if waking up from a nightmare. "My son!"

"Calm down, ma'am. We're here to help."

"My son . . . Simon . . . His name is Simon," she mumbled. "And his . . . And. . . ." Her eyes glazed over.

Just then, the doctor noticed the blood and discharge on the sheets. "Nurse, delay that order. We're not going to have time for tests." The patient arched her back and screamed. "Her baby wants to come right now. Let's get ready."

The paramedic left, and the nurses took charge. They moved the pregnant woman directly to a birthing room. The windows streamed with rushing water, and the howling wind fought against the thick glass. Ferocious thunder hammered the building, making the surgical instruments vibrate. One nurse held up a sterile gown for the doctor to put his arms through while another nurse doused the woman's belly with clear gel.

The doctor held her hand gently. "What's your name?"

The monitor picked up a huge contraction, which surged throughout the woman's body like a tidal wave. She clenched his fingers in a vice-like grip.

"Forget the ultrasound," the doctor said, releasing his hand and stumbling past the nurse. "I can already see the head. That was fast. Ma'am, I need you to push."

The woman held her breath and pushed. Her face turned red. She let out a loud sigh and pushed again. Beads of sweat collected on her forehead.

"Almost there . . ." the doctor said mechanically. "Almost there. . . ." A twinge of nervousness crept into his voice as three pustules on the woman's skin burst. He adjusted his hands, avoiding the thick liquid that oozed from the open sores. "Just one more push."

Within moments, a baby's cry filled the room. The doctor picked up a plastic syringe and suctioned the amniotic fluid out of the newborn's small mouth. A nurse handed him a pair of surgical scissors.

"Congratulations! You have a boy." He snipped the umbilical cord.

Suddenly, an explosion of bright blue light sprang from the baby and shattered the glass in the doors and windows. The medical personnel dropped to the floor. A whirlwind of pastel light filled the once-bland room, and a strange mist arose from somewhere below. The wisps of sparkling color danced upon the plumes of thick smoke and vapor, making it hard for anyone to focus his or her eyes. The doctor looked up, squinting to see through the chaos, and gasped as he witnessed the infant emerge from the translucent smoke.

Simon was floating in the air.

"Oh, my . . ." cried a nurse from beneath a table. Breathing hard, almost to the point of hyperventilation, she made the motions of a cross on her chest.

Simon looked in her general direction, his brown eyes wide open and his arms flailing about. He drifted towards the bed, the smoke parting on both sides of his frail body as he moved, and came to rest in the arms of his mother.

Smiling, she brought out a necklace she'd been wearing beneath her blouse. Attached to the gold chain was a medallion-about the size of a silver dollar, ebony in color, and beautiful in workmanship. The colorful lights reflected off the metallic pendant as she placed it on her son's bare chest.

She looked at the doctor and whispered, "Give him this." Then she closed her eyes and died.

The smoke and colorful lights soon dissipated, leaving the small room cold and lifeless as before. Everyone remained silent. Not even the wind outside dared to make a sound. The storm had finally ended.