The Well Between the Worlds

The land of Lyonesse is sinking. The poisonous water beneath is rising up through the wells, bringing monsters up with it. As a result of *not* drowning after accidentally falling from a great height into the sea, twelve-year-old Idris of Westgate is condemned to death by the Town Captain, accused of being a "Cross" -- part human, part monster. Thrown into a watery cavern and left for dead, Idris is rescued just in the nick of time and whisked covertly away by a mysterious stranger into an unknown future.

This is a fresh, quirky twist on Arthurian legend, recommended for middle-school-aged readers who may wish to try some light fantasy. I would have liked to learn more about the nature of the world within the wells, its beastly show more inhabitants and their perception of this "upper" world where humans reside. Perhaps this will be explored more deeply in the second book. show less

This is obviously the first book in a series as it ends on a cliff-hanger. As I was reading it, I couldn't help but be struck by the similarities between it and the legend of King Arthur - magic swords stuck in doors, benevolent older mentors, evil witch queens, dragons etc.... then I read the "To the Reader" part at the end where Llewellyn explains how the legends of Arthur originated in the area where he grew up, the area where this novel is set! (Duh! Penny drops!)

The story is about a boy called Idris Limpet, who lives in a seaside village in medieval England. Idris has a talent for being able to see through the eyes of his pet seagull Kek but he doesn't tell anyone about it, in case he is singled out and banished. The world where show more Idris lives is surrounded by huge walls that keep out the rising sea water (think Holland's dykes) and in the middle of the land are a number of very deep wells which lead to other worlds full of Monsters. When the tide rises in these wells, Monstergrooms bait and catch the monsters that rise up and then burn them to power the cities of Lyonesse.

Idris has a brush with death after he falls off a wall into the Ocean and supposedly "swims" which is against the law and a sign that he might be a Cross (half monster/half human). He is rescued by Ambrose (think Merlin) who takes him and Morgan ( a noble girl they collect on the way) to the main area of the Wells so he can be trained to be a Monstergroom. But there is more to it than that, as Idris soon discovers that he can talk to the Monsters, hear their thoughts and also those of the people around him.

Then there is the weird prince regent and his evil mother, the strange power of a scabbard he is given and the truth about his parents, Morgan and his destiny.
Lots of fun for the fantasy lovers - scary monsters, lots of blood and guts, magic and sword fights & a little bit of "humans wrecking the environment" thrown in for good measure! show less

Idres Limpet, an 11-year-old boy, lives in a world that is divided into different realms. There is the human realm which exists above ground, and a realm of monsters that exist in a watery underworld. These two realms are connected by a series of stone wells. Idres is from the kingdom Lyonesse where the people have learned to keep their sinking land afloat by building machines which are powered by the monsters in the underworld. The monsters and humans have a truce, or so Idris believes. But when Idris is accused of being a Cross (both monster and human) and sentenced to execution the world he knows is turned upside down. He realizes that he can hear the thoughts of both men and monsters and is swept into training as a monstergroom, show more where he discovers that he will play a crucial role in Lyonesse’s destiny.
There seemed to me a subtext that commented on todays issues with the burning of fossil fuels and the damage this does to our own realm (or maybe I just read into it because of current public discourse). But anyway this was a wonderful novel set in an interesting and inventive new world. I like that the hero learns to put a face to the monsters and discovers the corruption in his world slowly, instead of starting off as a hero. show less

Reviewed by Shyanne for TeensReadToo.com

This is the story of a boy who was raised in a fishing town with a loving family. He was your average twelve-year-old who liked adventures and playing with friends after school.

Little did he know that this current adventure had just begun. With a twist of events, this young boy was fighting for his life and finding out things about himself that put him and everyone that knew him in more danger than ever before.

I greatly enjoyed this book. At times it lacked detail and became hard to follow, but overall it was a great book.

It shows the real side of humans. Some are out to help people and others are there to only help themselves. It is a nice change to your classic 'monster' story or King Arthur show more tale. Many books have the same theme and you can predict what is going to happen way before it does. With THE WELL BETWEEN THE WORLDS, though, it is another story.

The plot is different from anything I have ever read and I loved it. It was also unpredictable for the most part. There are times where I was sure that I knew what the main character was going to do but was surprisingly wrong and a new twist unfolded. I could not put the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next and what this young boy was going to do.

I can't wait for the next book in the LYONESSE series to come out so I can discover where this young hero's journey veers off to next. show less

Well Between the Worlds is the first in a series and as such has some set up and explaining to do to introduce you to the world that has been created. But it is done well so you don’t get the boring lecture where you feel like you are reading the rules before you get to play the game. There are some words that are made up, obviously for the things that are also made up, but also for existing things. They are not hard to figure out (when they are eating zupper you know what that means) but personally I would rather have the real words used instead. There are a few elements that seem to come right from the Legend of King Arthur but there is much here that is original and interesting. The relationship between monsters and men, the show more setting and the attitudes of some of the characters give the book a dark, creepy, and foreboding feel. There is a sense of menace. You worry about the people and the land. There were a few places when I thought things happened too quickly, they weren’t friends and then they were, Idris is told something that would be hard to believe but without pause for thought he starts making big dangerous plans based on it. The speed at which things were accepted was unnaturally fast sometimes and a little more development in some spots would have been nice. But there is a lot of action and a lot of story so I understand the desire not to slow down the narrative too much so the fast pace is forgivable. Since there is more story to come there are many things that get left up in the air at the end of the book but it does not leave you in the middle of a scene. It takes a nice pause so you get a kind of ending but still have questions and want more. I was left wanting to know what happens next. show less

One of my best library readers had a book overdue, and when I asked her about it on the last day of school she said, "Oh, it's right here, can I please finish it first?" This was the book, and I can see why she wanted to keep it until the last minute. It's based on a variant of the Arthurian legend, with some science fiction mixed in, and the characters worked themselves into my heart over the course of the story. I can't wait for the next one!

Llewellyn is a very good writer. I especially liked how you could see echos of what we know as the typical King Arthur in this story. I can't wait for the next in the series!