Why Not-World

by Alexei Maxim Russell

Young Elsie Boncoeur is staging a one-girl rebellion against a world full of ignorance and prejudice, but her search for a world based on intelligence and justice leads her into a surreal alternate universe, where Einstein won World War II, the Greek gods were real and the citizenry are guided by the moral precepts of a lost Shakespeare comedy.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopia

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 23, 2013

About the author

Alexei Maxim Russell is a writer of fiction and non-fiction, with a cult following. He is primarily a writer of Fantasy, Crime fiction, Historical Supernatural fiction/non-fiction, Folklore and Philosophy.

His first novel, "Trueman Bradley - Aspie Detective", was published in 2011 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. It was the first work of literature to feature an openly Autistic detective and has acheived cult classic status in advocacy and educational circles.

His other works include "Trueman Bradley - The Next Great Detective,” "Instruction Manual for the 21st Century Samurai,” The New Home-Owner's Guide to House Spirits,” “The Hiker’s Guide to Nature Spirits” and the "Forgotten Lore" series.

Reviews

[Alexei Russell]

Hi everyone. Alexei Maxim Russell here. My thanks for reading my work. I do read every review, and appreciate every insight. And I enjoy reading the negative reviews just as much as I enjoy reading the positive, so feel free to speak your mind. I'm often more fascinated by what the review tells me about the psychology of the reader than I am in the review itself. I think that all writers are fascinated by people, in this way. This is, in fact, the first book I ever wrote, which explains, to some extent, the wild and hyperactive nature of the plot. However, I got enough compliments on it and enough hard core fans, among my various literary contacts, that I decided to publish it. Feel free to ask me questions. I look forward to your feedback. Cheers.

[Saul Hearst · Rating 5 out of 5]

guess i should go into details... hm.. I may have given it 4 stars if i think of it just because there were some minor editing mistakes. but i care mostly about the story and it was very good! author is very good at keeping attention of the reader, it was just very very fascinating from start to finish. i am rereading it. very fantasy tho! Almost too fantastical but good dialogue makes it believable! Definate a fun read. (i hope there is a sequel)

[M. Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the usual damsel in distress. ;-) For the most part, I liked it. Nice esacep from reality.

[Mary Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book

[Travis Kristus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks for the fun read.

[Kyoko Shimazaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very imaginative. Never read anything quite like it. Well written, although the plot is a bit erratic. If you're easily offended, you might not like it. It personally mentions God, Virgin Mary, Hitler and his architect Speer and they actually figure in the plot. I already saw a German girl tearing the book apart here on goodreads and I can guess why. If your family history has any direct connection to the Nazis or the Catholic church you might hate the book. I can see this book causing a lot of controversy. But then most good books do. They're my favorite kind. Even if you hate it though, I bet you'll still read it to the end. Very well written page-turner although it is a bit like Alice in Wonderland or a Sal Dali painting because the plot gets surreal. An orginianl experience buyt definitely an experience worth having.

[Mona · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great premise, very poor execution.

The beginning felt like a homage to Sherlock Holmes with a girl as the detective, which made me very excited for the entire work, but it quickly spiraled out of control. There is not a single likable character to be found. Sometimes the strangeness of the plot reminded me of the Lemony Snicket series, so I assume it was created on purpose, but it just didn't work to make a great story.

Elsie seems to be a stand-in for feminism and I can't get over the fact that the reaction was to either pretend to be stupid (unjust, okay with sexism, ...) or send her to a different world... even if God in the end decided that it's time to create an army (seriously?) to cure the world of injustice, that part was so unbelievable that it made the feminism even more crazy-sounding. Her character developments felt hollow -- a lot of telling instead of showing.

There were too many wild cards that didn't feel like plot twists anymore. The world building process wasn't very believable either.

Which is a shame, to be honest.

[Flora · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sorry to say I absolutely hated this book. The world drawn up was really interesting, the whole concept of a hidden other world of smartness and humbleness really made me want to read this. Unfortunately it was a near unbearable experience for me. The protagonist is this supposed brainiac who always ends up saying and doing stupid things and the entire plot to me felt like it was written down in one sitting, no regards for logic or being comprehensible. I am in no way a particularly smart person, but I felt dumbed down by this story.
the way famously smart people were quoted for their imaginary works which solved all problems humanity ever had, it seems so cool to invent a story like that, but, and I am really sorry to say so, it was badly written and I have read better work written by teenagers online. Not the book for me.

[Herman Horowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this book is definitely an original. For the most part, it was quite a memorable experience. Not the author's best, however, as I liked his other books better. Still good though.

[Bernadette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Highly ambitious ideas but unfortunately the characters weren't believable at all and the worlds described were rather one-dimensional.