Robert T. Jeschonek

Idea Deity made up a band called Youforia and made a fake website for them. But, as is wont with the internet, it explodes with popularity with a cult following. He is also a runaway from overbearing type A parents--and the malevolent author that he believes pulls the strings of his life. A chance meeting with Eunice Truant, a girl with a tattooed face on the back of her head, starts his escape.

Reacher Mirage is the lead singer and creator of a secret band called Youforia. He is waiting for show more the magic feeling when he plays to know they are ready to go public. But someone created a website detailing their unreleased bios, song lyrics, tour updates, and even location to the online masses. They get so popular that and music magazine put a bounty on their heads for their first interview. He and his girlfriend, Eurydice--another girl with a tattooed face on the back of her head, must stay ahead of their pursuers.

Deity is out to find the band impersonating his creation and those cashing in on his work. Reacher is out to find the person leaking his band's secrets. Both find a journey that changes their lives and everything they ever believed.

Jeschonek weaves these two main story lines in with a third--a book that both characters are reading: Fireskull's Revenant. It features Fireskull, a tyrannical king with a head engulfed in flames and leathery wings, trying to overthrow his greatest enemy and rival king, Johnny Without--whose body cannot keep a single form for more than a few seconds. Throw in some epic battle scenes and prophecies, and it's a crazy medieval fantasy smack dab in the middle of this modern urban fantasy story. At some points the switch is a little jarring, but all story lines kept my attention very well. And the payoff is in how all three come together in the end.

Overall, I kind of loved it. Srsly. This book has some of the weird stuff my brain defaults into thinking about when doing mindless stuff at work: bands, teh silly internets, excessive fandom, duality, multiple universes, what happens when universes meet, being in books, original ideas not being original, AND (most importantly) PERCEPTION. Green is not green to everybody--ramifications from that are soul churning. The further I got in the book, the more my eyes and brain wanted to devour it. The ridiculous names (along with those already mentioned, include Loving and Vengeful Deity, Wicked Livenbladder, and Spill Ringamajig) gave this book a bit of a comical charm that in some other books has felt overly pushed and off-putting. Many of the difficult ideas have been simplified enough and put in such a way to reach the young adult readers, but not lose their integrity--even when a couple of parallelisms were stated, instead of trusting all the readers to get it themselves.

And, I just found out he has written some of the sanctioned Doctor Who books.
Must.Resist.Until.Xmas. show less

Mr. Flood has used his powers to submerge Jonestown, Pennsylvania, three times in the last century, and now he’s planning a fourth. As the rain starts, his young apprentice starts to have second thoughts, but can her magic stand up to that of the master himself? This story was great; the central conceit completely captured my imagination, the action was exciting, and the conclusion was surprisingly dramatic and satisfying, especially for a short story.

Plot: Idea Deity is convinced he's a character in a book who will die by chapter 64. Reacher Mirage is the lead singer of a secret band and he isn't ready to take them public yet. Idea can't bear the thought of someone controlling his destiny. Reacher, wondering who's putting the bands secrets online struggles with anger and fears of failure. Yet the two teens are part of a much more sinister plot than either of them realize. They will have to work together, but can they...before it's too show more late?

Why I picked it up: The title jumped out at me from a list of books our library had recently purchased. The blurb in Amazon's book description intrigued me.

Why I kept reading: I liked the idea behind the book, the three intertwined plot lines, and the way the author brought three alternate universes to life in vivid detail. His use of dialogue and unusual names for his characters also added to the story. All this seemed an ambitious undertaking for a first novel, but the author pulled it off.

Final thoughts: I found the end a bit hard to follow, but I had a lot of work-related things on my mind when I was finishing up the book, so I was distracted and didn't follow along very well. The themes of not knowing your future and wondering just who is in control of your life will resonate with teens and draw them in. This would also be a great book for parents and teens to read together. Events particularly at the end of the story can open up conversations about the family's religious beliefs (though the book doesn't espouse a specific religion).

I do hope Mr. Jeschonek has more novels in the works. show less

A really ambitious book which tries to mess with the reader's mind, but still keeps us moving along the story. I really enjoyed this and appreciated how different and original it is.