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InterWorld
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InterWorld, by Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves - Start Date February 22, 2014 [February 2014 Young Adult]
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Date Chapters Pages DQ's
Feb 22 1-Interlog2 1-66 Karen
Feb 23 6-9 67-121 Lisarenee
Feb 24 10-13 122-176 Anima
Feb 25 14-17 177-232 Lisarenee
Feb 26 18-end 233-288 Taylor
Chapter breakdown is based on this version of the book
If you are using a different version, use the chapters rather than the page numbers
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Thanks,
Karen
:)
Just got my copy from the library. Looking forward to this read. :)
Moderators of Nothing but Reading Challenges (All the Mods) wrote: "If anyone would like to write discussion questions for any of the day(s), just let us know!Thanks,
Karen
:)"
Hi Karen, I can take the last day (Feb 26) of discussion questions if you still need help.
Mod
Karen, I can do the 24th Feb questions.
Mod
hmmm this looks good.need to see if my library has it available
Mod
Chapters 1 - Interlog2
1. Initial impressions of the book (style, pacing, characters)?
2. At fist I thought that Jay in the mirrored mask was another dimension's version of Joey, but now I'm not so sure. Also, everyone he mentions in his journal has a name that begins with J. Your thoughts?
3. So Joey was crossing from plan to plane and setting off alarms. Does that mean "ordinary" people can find they have this ability to be "walkers"?
4. Pretty scary how the witch (Lady Indigo) was able to put a spell over Joey so completely. Do you have any thoughts on his character yet? Will he want to learn more or just go back "home"?
5. I like how the Interlogs give us a different POV and it is a mechanism to introduce us to new terms (Altiverse, walkers, Hex etc.) What are your thoughts on this world? I'm still a little confused as to how it all connects together, but super keen to find out!
Comments and Questions Feb 22Chapters 1 - Interlog2
1. Initial impressions of the book (style, pacing, characters)?
It's interesting because this is co-written by Gaiman and Reeves, I keep looking for which parts Gaiman influenced and which parts Reeves did. I'm familiar from Reeve's work mostly from TV shows like Gargoyles. So I can kind of see his influence in the action and the bad guys that we've seen so far. The term Nowhere-at-All feels very Gaiman to me. I don't know. It was easier to spot who did what in Good Omens because Gaiman and Pratchett alternated chapters. So far things seem a little more straight forward than most Gaiman fiction I've read.
2. At fist I thought that Jay in the mirrored mask was another dimension's version of Joey, but now I'm not so sure. Also, everyone he mentions in his journal has a name that begins with J. Your thoughts?
Not sure. All I know is that so far I like him.
3. So Joey was crossing from plan to plane and setting off alarms. Does that mean "ordinary" people can find they have this ability to be "walkers"?
Again, I'm not sure. I feel like knowing Gaiman probably not, since weird things like this happen to specific people for specific reasons in most of his stuff. But with Reeves' influence who knows?
4. Pretty scary how the witch (Lady Indigo) was able to put a spell over Joey so completely. Do you have any thoughts on his character yet? Will he want to learn more or just go back "home"?
I like this fusion between science fiction and magic going on. Joey seems like a super average kid, except for his horrible sense of direction. Which I assume will turn out to be ironic since he can walk between worlds
5. I like how the Interlogs give us a different POV and it is a mechanism to introduce us to new terms (Altiverse, walkers, Hex etc.) What are your thoughts on this world? I'm still a little confused as to how it all connects together, but super keen to find out!
I always like seeing a story from multiple POVs. It lets us see the world from the POV of someone who knows it, and uses lots of new terms. And the POV of somebody who doesn't know it, and that way we can hear the explanations with him.
Mod
1. I agree that this is more of a "normal" YA fiction book than what Gaiman would normally write. I think this book would have wider appeal
4. lol, indeed!
5. me too :)
Jessica wrote: "Joey seems like a super average kid, except for his horrible sense of direction. Which I assume will turn out to be ironic since he can walk between worlds "I was wondering if this was also the reason he seemed to be stronger then other walkers. Maybe getting lost makes him travel between planes differently then other walkers.
@Zonnah, I hadn't thought of that! Maybe his bad sense of direction is why he's such a powerful walker.
Mod
Comments and Questions Feb 22Chapters 1 - Interlog2
1. Initial impressions of the book (style, pacing, characters)?
It's pretty easy to read (as expected from a YA book). Though it appears to be one of those ones where it's not concerned with explaining things since the point of the book is to figure out how the book's universe works.
2. At fist I thought that Jay in the mirrored mask was another dimension's version of Joey, but now I'm not so sure. Also, everyone he mentions in his journal has a name that begins with J. Your thoughts?
Maybe all walkers start with J? You'd think that there'd be multiple Joey walkers moving around one from each universe where he can move.
3. So Joey was crossing from plan to plane and setting off alarms. Does that mean "ordinary" people can find they have this ability to be "walkers"?
I assume it's something you're born with. You'd think they'd try to find the people before they walk but maybe no one knows who will manifest the ability. Or maybe it's like Steelheart where random people got the ability from some event (though this would have to be multiple events.) I suppose that would explain why there's only one Joey walker instead of multiples.
4. Pretty scary how the witch (Lady Indigo) was able to put a spell over Joey so completely. Do you have any thoughts on his character yet? Will he want to learn more or just go back "home"?
I wonder if there's a reason they're named HEX and binary. Because technically they're not really different if you consider them as numeric formats. It's just a different way of representing the same number. Maybe that's what they're trying to say is that the groups are the same just manifested differently. I'm not sure how the whole witchcraft thing fits into this world. I wonder if random people wake up to find they're witches too. I'm sure he'll want to learn more, what kid wouldn't? Though learning how to get home would be a good first step.
5. I like how the Interlogs give us a different POV and it is a mechanism to introduce us to new terms (Altiverse, walkers, Hex etc.) What are your thoughts on this world? I'm still a little confused as to how it all connects together, but super keen to find out!
They confused me a bit with whether they were out of sync with the events unfolding in the other timeline. Usually you write log type entries after the fact so I wasn't sure if he was repeating what had happened and what part it happened over. The second one was easier to understand since we had already read some of that parallel.
Mod
yes I agree it is an easy read, and no explanations really... just a "come along for the ride" type book!
I like your thoughts about HEX and Binary. I think you are right
"There's a Council of Thirteen that rule HEX, and the Binary is run by an artificial intelligence that calls inself 01101." 01101 in decimal is 13.
Zonnah wrote: ""There's a Council of Thirteen that rule HEX, and the Binary is run by an artificial intelligence that calls inself 01101." 01101 in decimal is 13."
13 Hex is 19 Decimal :) Will be interesting to see how many people are on the council.
Maybe it's the same overlord person behind all the groups.
Questions and Comments for Chapters 6 - 9 (February 23rd)6) "Because your talent doesn't lie in navigating the planes--it lies in navigating between them. And that's where we are now. Pay attention. The In-Between is a dangerous place. There are--creatures--that live here, or partly here. We call them 'mudluffs.' That's an acronym, MDLF, standing for multidimensional life-form. Which is kind of a pointless label, I know--we're multidimensional life-forms too, right?
Except that you and I can only move freely in three dimensions and linearly in a fourth, where as they have complete freedom in who know how many. Including, in many case, the fourth."
--I love this idea. Could you follow all that?
7) I love the idea of a soap bubble colored amoeba creature that has a type of mood ring way of communicating. What did you think of it? I bet it helps him later. That time walking ability sounds pretty handy. I wonder why Jay was able to feel Hue's panic? Could he have another ability besides Walking? (I'm chuckling at the name--Hue--very fitting) For some reason images of jellyfish came to mind:
8) Were you surprised that Jay was actually another version of Joey only older and wiser? Maybe now we know why everyone wanted him. I wonder if all the versions of Joey can Walk? Also, I like how this directionally challenged individual ends up having an extraordinary power. How about you?
9) I "Tell him...FrostNight...comes.." I wonder who or what FrostNight is? Any ideas? It sounds like something from a prophecy.
10) For anyone listening to the audio book every time you hear the chime of musical sounds the book is referring to the following: {IW}:=Ω/∞ Before he died, Jay shows Joey a mathematical equation that will lead to Base Town: {IW}:=Ω/∞ (InterWorld is Omega over infinity).
11) Would you have vowed to help defend the Altiverse? I wonder how someone would bend it to their will? I hope we find out.
12) Would it be weird or what to see the funeral of another version of yourself? Would you feel the need to fill his shoes? I think it would be worse than living up to the legacy left by an older sibling.
13) Can you imagine seeing an older version of yourself? It reminds me of the following pictures a new artist is doing of mothers and daughters and fathers and sons to show home much we can look like our relatives (I'm not sure who the artist is):
Just for fun, here are some of spliced female/male siblings pictures:
Kelly said, "I wonder if there's a reason they're named HEX and binary. Because technically they're not really different if you consider them as numeric formats. It's just a different way of representing the same number. Maybe that's what they're trying to say is that the groups are the same just manifested differently. I'm not sure how the whole witchcraft thing fits into this world. I wonder if random people wake up to find they're witches too. I'm sure he'll want to learn more, what kid wouldn't? Though learning how to get home would be a good first step."I was wondering the same thing. As a programmer I was trying to figure out if there was something mathematical about the two worlds or perhaps systems oriented like in The Matrix, but neither my hubby or I could figure anything out.
Zonnah wrote: ""There's a Council of Thirteen that rule HEX, and the Binary is run by an artificial intelligence that calls inself 01101." 01101 in decimal is 13."
The reference of hex immediately made my hubby and me think of hexadecimal. I'm not sure what the significance of the 13 is other than an unlucky number. maybe the choice of names will be explained later. It seems there has to be something.
Questions and Comments for Chapters 6 - 9 (February 23rd)6) "Because your talent doesn't lie in navigating the planes--it lies in navigating between them. And that's where we are now. Pay attention. The In-Between is a dangerous place. There are--creatures--that live here, or partly here. We call them 'mudluffs.' That's an acronym, MDLF, standing for multidimensional life-form. Which is kind of a pointless label, I know--we're multidimensional life-forms too, right?
Except that you and I can only move freely in three dimensions and linearly in a fourth, where as they have complete freedom in who know how many. Including, in many case, the fourth."
--I love this idea. Could you follow all that?
I think I followed it. The walkers can move through space, but not time like the mudluffs? Do I have that right?
7) I love the idea of a soap bubble colored amoeba creature that has a type of mood ring way of communicating. What did you think of it? I bet it helps him later. That time walking ability sounds pretty handy. I wonder why Jay was able to feel Hue's panic? Could he have another ability besides Walking? (I'm chuckling at the name--Hue--very fitting)
I like Hue. I've read some scifi so communicating through color and mood isn't too strange to me. I feel like this interaction will reveal more to the mudluff's than those at interworld assume.
8) Were you surprised that Jay was actually another version of Joey only older and wiser? Maybe now we know why everyone wanted him. I wonder if all the versions of Joey can Walk? Also, I like how this directionally challenged individual ends up having an extraordinary power. How about you?
It's always nice when a weakness is actually a strength.
9) I "Tell him...FrostNight...comes.." I wonder who or what FrostNight is? Any ideas? It sounds like something from a prophecy.
Sounds like foreshadowing. :)
10) For anyone listening to the audio book every time you hear the chime of musical sounds the book is referring to the following: {IW}:=Ω/∞ Before he died, Jay shows Joey a mathematical equation that will lead to Base Town: {IW}:=Ω/∞ (InterWorld is Omega over infinity).
I like it when audiobooks take advantage of the medium. What a good idea.
12) Would it be weird or what to see the funeral of another version of yourself? Would you feel the need to fill his shoes? I think it would be worse than living up to the legacy left by an older sibling.
Well everybody there was at the funeral of their alternate self. I think Joey felt worse because Jay died to save him, and everybody hates him because of it.
13) Can you imagine seeing an older version of yourself? It reminds me of the following pictures a new artist is doing of mothers and daughters and fathers and sons to show home much we can look like our relatives.
I resemble my Mother a lot, so I can imagine how strange it is to see an older version of yourself. It makes you very aware of time passing, and the finiteness of our lives. I'm actually more interested in seeing siblings side by side. I kind of want to try this with me and my brother now.
Getting started a bit late.Chapters 1 - Interlog2
1. Initial impressions of the book (style, pacing, characters)?
This doesn't feel "super Gaiman." But I didn't expect it to and I've stopped thinking about the authors and started getting lost in the story. It had a fun start.
2. At fist I thought that Jay in the mirrored mask was another dimension's version of Joey, but now I'm not so sure. Also, everyone he mentions in his journal has a name that begins with J. Your thoughts?
I thought during the first encounter that Jay in the mirrored mask was Mr. Dimas, since he was the only adult introduced at the beginning of the story that the reader had any understanding of and Joey mentioned his voice sounded kinda familiar. Once Joey mentioned the thing Mr. Dimas had said about kneeing a stranger in the crotch and Jay's crotch was protected, I was fairly sure I made the right guess. But now I'm not so sure. It's possible that Jay is Joey. But this guy is much older than Joey. You can tell because (view spoiler) I wonder if all Walkers have names that start with J. That seems to be the case so far.
3. So Joey was crossing from plan to plane and setting off alarms. Does that mean "ordinary" people can find they have this ability to be "walkers"?
Dunno. Seems like this is a gift that doesn't fully realize until the person is a certain age. Why would Joey just now be finding out he can walk if the gift doesn't remain dormant for a while?
4. Pretty scary how the witch (Lady Indigo) was able to put a spell over Joey so completely. Do you have any thoughts on his character yet? Will he want to learn more or just go back "home"?
I'm not sure even if he wants to just go back "home" he will be able to until whatever he has accidentally walked into is resolved. :)
5. I like how the Interlogs give us a different POV and it is a mechanism to introduce us to new terms (Altiverse, walkers, Hex etc.) What are your thoughts on this world? I'm still a little confused as to how it all connects together, but super keen to find out!
Reading from the perspective of someone who is in the know is nice. It will help the story move forward more quickly when we get to the part where Joey gets the run down of what's going on.
Other thoughts...
I didn't realize that HEX and binary were the same. That makes the comment from Jay about hating two organizations equally funny. That would have gone over my head had I not been a part of this discussion. ;)
Questions and Comments for Chapters 6 - 9 6) "Because your talent doesn't lie in navigating the planes--it lies in navigating between them. And that's where we are now. Pay attention. The In-Between is a dangerous place. There are--creatures--that live here, or partly here. We call them 'mudluffs.' That's an acronym, MDLF, standing for multidimensional life-form. Which is kind of a pointless label, I know--we're multidimensional life-forms too, right?
Except that you and I can only move freely in three dimensions and linearly in a fourth, where as they have complete freedom in who know how many. Including, in many case, the fourth."
--I love this idea. Could you follow all that?
So.... if humans can only move linearly in a fourth dimension, then why are there "Joeys" who are different ages? I hope this idea of time comes back into the story.
7) I love the idea of a soap bubble colored amoeba creature that has a type of mood ring way of communicating. What did you think of it? I bet it helps him later. That time walking ability sounds pretty handy. I wonder why Jay was able to feel Hue's panic? Could he have another ability besides Walking? (I'm chuckling at the name--Hue--very fitting) For some reason images of jellyfish came to mind.
I was a little sad that Hue couldn't come with Joey and be his little sidekick.
8) Were you surprised that Jay was actually another version of Joey only older and wiser? Maybe now we know why everyone wanted him. I wonder if all the versions of Joey can Walk? Also, I like how this directionally challenged individual ends up having an extraordinary power. How about you?
When Jay said that Joey wasn't ready for him to take off his mask, I knew he had to be another version, but I didn't realize he would be older. I can't remember where it was mentioned, but somewhere in the story so far, it said that our Joey was more powerful than others. I wonder what makes him different. I am assuming that HEX is going after "Joeys" who have just started walking because they don't really know what's going on. Trying to capture Jay may just be too difficult.
9) I "Tell him...FrostNight...comes.." I wonder who or what FrostNight is? Any ideas? It sounds like something from a prophecy.
Jay didn't say anything about this in his Interlog and it doesn't seem to connect to anything to the story so far. Maybe it is something Jay found out before the story with Joey starts.
10) For anyone listening to the audio book every time you hear the chime of musical sounds the book is referring to the following: {IW}:=Ω/∞ Before he died, Jay shows Joey a mathematical equation that will lead to Base Town: {IW}:=Ω/∞ (InterWorld is Omega over infinity).
I love the use of sounds in the audiobook. Since I switch from audiobook to digital book when I'm in different places (audiobook on the bus, digital at home) I got to see the symbols and also hear them. Unfortunately, when you are listening to the book you don't get any insight into what they look like. I at first thought he somehow drew a sound in the dirt. When I read them it made more sense.
11) Would you have vowed to help defend the Altiverse? I wonder how someone would bend it to their will? I hope we find out.
Our Joey seems to be trusting that his older self was doing the right thing. It also felt like the Old Man was guilting him into it. I was a bit peeved at that. "Sure, we can send you home, but it would mean that we have to do all this extra work and we will fail because of it." What a jerk. Essentially all these people are the same person, why are they not nicer to each other?
12) Would it be weird or what to see the funeral of another version of yourself? Would you feel the need to fill his shoes? I think it would be worse than living up to the legacy left by an older sibling.
Weird. Lots of guilt to make up for the lose of Jay's life. I don't have siblings so I'm not sure what that dynamic is like, but I imagine that a piece of you is missing when your "other" self dies.
13) Can you imagine seeing an older version of yourself?
Again, the Old Man is kind of a jerk. Doesn't he remember what it was like when he first started walking? Or what it was like to be a kid at all? And then magnify that by the fact that he is actually the same person, with the same brain and heart. I would like to think that if I met an older version of myself that I would be kind to the young, naive me and be able to empathize. On the flip side, I would hope that I would call out my older self as being a jerk if I was behaving that way.
Taylor I like your thoughts/perspective on the multiple Joeys. I guess to go along with what you're saying, another version of oneself would know what buttons to push to manipulate them into doing something. I think its funny that there are so many versions of the same guy. I'm still unclear if he/she (in his/her multiple forms) is the only person who can walk?
Lisarenee wrote: "Taylor I like your thoughts/perspective on the multiple Joeys. I guess to go along with what you're saying, another version of oneself would know what buttons to push to manipulate them into doing ..."Ha! Good point Lisarenee. Although it doesn't seam as though the Old Man wants him around.
As I progress through the story a voice in the back of my mind keeps saying, "This Joey is different."
It does appear so far that the only people who can walk are "Joeys." I wonder why the story hasn't addressed this yet.
Questions and Comments for Chapters 6 - 9 (February 23rd)6) "Because your talent doesn't lie in navigating the planes--it lies in navigating between them. And that's where we are now. Pay attention. The In-Between is a dangerous place. There are--creatures--that live here, or partly here. We call them 'mudluffs.' That's an acronym, MDLF, standing for multidimensional life-form. Which is kind of a pointless label, I know--we're multidimensional life-forms too, right?
Except that you and I can only move freely in three dimensions and linearly in a fourth, where as they have complete freedom in who know how many. Including, in many case, the fourth."
I've thought about this topic quite a bit because I keep contemplating writing a book that plays in this type of issue. How I explain it is trying to go back to Flatland where everything is 2D and 3D is like time. So if you drop a ball then the ball is going through 3D space which would be us traveling through time. However in this case we'd cease to exist in the timeframe before and after and only exist in the one we're currently in. I suppose you could make time travel work that way.
7) I love the idea of a soap bubble colored amoeba creature that has a type of mood ring way of communicating. What did you think of it? I bet it helps him later. That time walking ability sounds pretty handy. I wonder why Jay was able to feel Hue's panic? Could he have another ability besides Walking? (I'm chuckling at the name--Hue--very fitting) For some reason images of jellyfish came to mind:
I think Hue sounds pretty cute. I liked the talking with colors. Maybe Jay's suit helped him understand Hue better.
8) Were you surprised that Jay was actually another version of Joey only older and wiser? Maybe now we know why everyone wanted him. I wonder if all the versions of Joey can Walk? Also, I like how this directionally challenged individual ends up having an extraordinary power. How about you?
I'm kinda subscribing to the "they're all versions of Joey" mantra. I suppose the universe splitting off at different key points would make a bunch of different Joey versions. Some of who can walk and some who can't.
9) I "Tell him...FrostNight...comes.." I wonder who or what FrostNight is? Any ideas? It sounds like something from a prophecy.
Maybe it's the hidden leader behind the HEX and binary groups.
10) For anyone listening to the audio book every time you hear the chime of musical sounds the book is referring to the following: {IW}:=Ω/∞ Before he died, Jay shows Joey a mathematical equation that will lead to Base Town: {IW}:=Ω/∞ (InterWorld is Omega over infinity).
I'm curious what meaning of Omega they're going to use. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega I choose to believe it's the density of the unvierse one. I suppose if you divide the density of the universe by infinity maybe you slip between the cracks?
11) Would you have vowed to help defend the Altiverse? I wonder how someone would bend it to their will? I hope we find out.
I'm not sure I could give up a bunch of knowledge and go back to not knowing. I like knowing things.
12) Would it be weird or what to see the funeral of another version of yourself? Would you feel the need to fill his shoes? I think it would be worse than living up to the legacy left by an older sibling.
I think the worst part would be losing the one person who's been nice to you since this all started. I wonder if it's symbolic in some way like "His innocence died" or something like that.
13) Can you imagine seeing an older version of yourself? It reminds me of the following pictures a new artist is doing of mothers and daughters and fathers and sons to show home much we can look like our relatives (I'm not sure who the artist is):
Those are kinda creepy. I know I look like my mom quite a bit. I'm sure they chose people who would meld well together. I can imagine seeing a version of myself who's older. It's not much different than remembering stupid things you did when you were younger.
Taylor wrote: "So.... if humans can only move linearly in a fourth dimension, then why are there "Joeys" who are different ages? I hope this idea of time comes back into the story."I think they explained that. There was something about being able to move in the 4th dimension a little bit since you didn't want one time to move a month while your other one only moved a day since it was hard to keep things straight then. There's also the time difference where only 5 minutes passed so far on his world/time line so maybe the longer you stay in the interworld the older respectively you get? Maybe a strange version of time relativity?
Questions and comments for chapters 10 - 13 (the 24th February)
14) As some of us believe, there are a lot of versions of "Joey". Some of them are really original. How do you like them? Do you have your favourite version? Perhaps we could come up with some more ideas. Have you got any?
15) Do you believe HEX or Binary should dominate all the Earths or is the balance the best solution as in InterWorld? If you were to choose one dominating doctrine, which would it be?
16) It looks that the training Joey goes through is really difficult, but he seems to deal with it without that much trouble. Is he a natural in this way of thinking and areas of knowledge, or is there any other explanation? How would you fare in such training?
17) Hue helped Joey. Are we going to meet this "multidimensional being" again? Is he going to "work" with Joey in the next parts of the story?
18) They took Joey's memory, but it came back. What's going to happen next? What is Joey going to do without Walking? Is it possible to live "a normal" life after his experiences?
Kelly wrote: "I think they explained that. There was something about being able to move in the 4th dimension a little bit since you didn't want one time to move a month while your other one only moved a day..."Thanks Kelly. I remember that. It's still not clear to me how they are able to do this and I do wish they would give more explanation into why time is different in different universes. But the story is moving along and is quite fun so I'm not going to complain too much. :)
Taylor wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I think they explained that. There was something about being able to move in the 4th dimension a little bit since you didn't want one time to move a month while your other one only mo..."If I had to come up with a reason it would be one of the following.
1) If you look at it one dimension down then a ball can fall through 3D space and it moves through each 2D layer at a certain speed. This speed can change based on the velocity. So maybe different objects move through time differently based on whatever their Velocity+1 Dimension is.
2) You take what we already know about objects at different speeds moving through time differently or objects really close to extreme gravity moving through time differently and extrapolate it to entire timelines that are affected by outside forces (maybe something the multidimensional guys are affecting) and assume that something can cause an entire timeline to alter the speed at which it's progressing.
Questions and comments for chapters 10 - 13 (the 24th February)
14) As some of us believe, there are a lot of versions of "Joey". Some of them are really original. How do you like them? Do you have your favourite version? Perhaps we could come up with some more ideas. Have you got any?
You'd think some of them would end up as nice Joey. I'm kinda surprised that Joey didn't try to help his teammates. I think our Joey along with being nice is also unable to act. He just lets stuff happen around him. I like Hue :)
15) Do you believe HEX or Binary should dominate all the Earths or is the balance the best solution as in InterWorld? If you were to choose one dominating doctrine, which would it be?
Dunno, magic would be kinda neat but the unfortunate part about magic (at least from most stories) is that only certain people can wield it. Though with science not everyone can do it well, everyone can benefit from it.
16) It looks that the training Joey goes through is really difficult, but he seems to deal with it without that much trouble. Is he a natural in this way of thinking and areas of knowledge, or is there any other explanation? How would you fare in such training?
They did say they had delta wave programming or something. Plus I imagine, no extra activities and studying all day and all night for half a year would do wonders.
17) Hue helped Joey. Are we going to meet this "multidimensional being" again? Is he going to "work" with Joey in the next parts of the story?
I can't imagine he'd just disappear. I'm guessing he plays a role in whatever final event happens with the HEX and binary folks.
18) They took Joey's memory, but it came back. What's going to happen next? What is Joey going to do without Walking? Is it possible to live "a normal" life after his experiences?
Maybe walking comes back to him too. Or he can develop the ability again. They never really explain how he does it to begin with so maybe instead of removing the ability they just block it.
On a side note, all the adults seem remarkably dense in this book. Though that seems to be normal for YA books.
Kelly wrote: "If I had to come up with a reason it would be one of the following..."Kelly, I started talking to a couple of coworkers about this and we ended up trying to draw your first idea on a whiteboard. This probably doesn't make any sense, but it ended up being a fun conversation and I thought you might like to see what we came up with. :)
Mod
Questions and comments for chapters 10 - 13 14) As some of us believe, there are a lot of versions of "Joey". Some of them are really original. How do you like them? Do you have your favourite version? Perhaps we could come up with some more ideas. Have you got any?
I really like our Joey the best. But I do think it is cool being introduced to all the different versions of him. All are kinda fun and unique in their own ways.
15) Do you believe HEX or Binary should dominate all the Earths or is the balance the best solution as in InterWorld? If you were to choose one dominating doctrine, which would it be?
I wonder why the Old Man just wants to keep HEX and Binary at bay. Why not eliminate those who want to conquer and allow each world to bend the direction of magic or science? Balance between the two driving forces does seem like the best solution. I can't choose between magic and science. I think they complement each other so well!
16) It looks that the training Joey goes through is really difficult, but he seems to deal with it without that much trouble. Is he a natural in this way of thinking and areas of knowledge, or is there any other explanation? How would you fare in such training?
The training he went through was totally unappealing to me. But having that kind of knowledge would open up so many opportunities to better understand the world around you. And getting to know how to do types of martial arts that no one else knows is fun.
17) Hue helped Joey. Are we going to meet this "multidimensional being" again? Is he going to "work" with Joey in the next parts of the story?
Yay! I was hoping that wouldn't be the last of Hue. I'm really anxious to know more about the little guy. I totally feel like Hue will be crucial to the story going forward.
18) They took Joey's memory, but it came back. What's going to happen next? What is Joey going to do without Walking? Is it possible to live "a normal" life after his experiences?
He has a longing to Walk. It's a part of him, and as far as I can tell, it is a part of every "Joey." I started to wonder while he was weighing the decision before him, (view spoiler)
Taylor wrote: "Kelly wrote: "If I had to come up with a reason it would be one of the following..."Kelly, I started talking to a couple of coworkers about this and we ended up trying to draw your first idea on ..."
Heh. I'm a software engineer so I tend not to remember much about vector math.
I think of it like a film reel. There's 30 frames per second for normal speed. Some films have 60 frame per second. So if you compare frame to frame the 60 frames one would go slower than the 30 frames. It's also interesting to think about the reason they do the 30 frames per second is that once it gets fast enough our brains merge the motion together and it looks live instead of pictures. Just like a flip book.
I also wonder if our perception of time has anything to do with it. Since we perceive time to be longer during stressful or scary events. I think I remember the cause of that being that our brain records more "frames" of information (or maybe discards fewer of them) so when we interpret the information later it feels like it took longer than it actually was since we're playing back 60 frame speed film at 30 frames speed.
Taylor wrote: "Lisarenee wrote: "Taylor I like your thoughts/perspective on the multiple Joeys. I guess to go along with what you're saying, another version of oneself would know what buttons to push to manipulat..."I'm surprised it hasn't been addressed either.
Sorry for getting this up so late. The last couple of days have been nonstop and I've been meaning to work on questions since Sunday but couldn't find the time.Questions and comments for Chapters 14 - 17
19) So one of our many questions has been answered, "Each Walker, I’d been told, had a unique psychic signature that could be traced. I guessed that the Binary had thousands of sequenced mainframes on the lookout for my configuration, just as HEX kept a phalanx of sorcerers on twenty-four-hour duty for the same reason. I couldn’t put my family and my friends in that kind of danger. So now it appears he'll be setting off alarm bells. Do you think it's worth the risk?
20) Were you surprised at how Joe's mother took the news about him going to war? Do you think there is something special about the necklace or is it just a gift to remember his family by?
21) So Hue has even more skills. He can shift himself into a lens and can project images. He's pretty surprising considering every other Joe felt mudluffs weren't to be bothered with. I wonder why they just wrote them off?
22) I like the name Malefic for the ship. It means causing or capable of causing harm or destruction especially by supernatural means. I'm thinking this is not a good place for Joe to be.
23) What did you think of boiling The Walkers down to their essence that allows them to Walk to power the ship? I wonder what happens if all the joeys are released? Can the ship still function?
24) I like how each of the Joes are each so different personality wise. It reminds me of those studies of identical twins separated at birth who display similar characteristics but are different in other ways. Do you like how the authors did this?
25) Do you like how Joe is going back for Hue? He seems to live by the 'no one left behind' code. It makes me like him even more.
***
FYI, I'm not going to go too much into it, but I looked up the elements that went into the making of the formula for home base. According to wikipedia, "The point at infinity, also called ideal point, of the real number line is a point which, when added to the number line yields a closed curve called the real projective line, \mathbb{R}P^1. The real projective line is not equivalent to the extended real number line, which has two different points at infinity.
The point at infinity can also be added to the complex plane, \mathbb{C}^1, thereby turning it into a closed surface (i.e., complex algebraic curve) known as the complex projective line, \mathbb{C}P^1, also called the Riemann sphere.
The concept of infinity point admits several generalizations for various multi-dimensional constructions."
They also mention that "in hyperbolic geometry, an ideal point is also called an omega point." And that "the omega points can be visualized since they lie on the boundary circle."
Now I just have to admit I like how both omega and infinity in geometry deal with ideal points and that it was stated, "The concept of infinity point admits several generalizations for various multi-dimensional constructions."
If you're interested in reading more, here's the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_at...
Questions and comments for Chapters 14 - 17(view spoiler)
Oh, and no worries about the questions being late :)
Questions and comments for Chapters 14 - 1719) So one of our many questions has been answered, "Each Walker, I’d been told, had a unique psychic signature that could be traced. I guessed that the Binary had thousands of sequenced mainframes on the lookout for my configuration, just as HEX kept a phalanx of sorcerers on twenty-four-hour duty for the same reason. I couldn’t put my family and my friends in that kind of danger. So now it appears he'll be setting off alarm bells. Do you think it's worth the risk?
I think you have to. It's like risking your life trying to save a planefull of people. Sure, there's a chance maybe even a good chance you'd survive if you hid, but can you have that on your conscious.
20) Were you surprised at how Joe's mother took the news about him going to war? Do you think there is something special about the necklace or is it just a gift to remember his family by?
I think it will end up helping him somehow. I'm guessing it's one of those special rare rocks that she got earlier :)
21) So Hue has even more skills. He can shift himself into a lens and can project images. He's pretty surprising considering every other Joe felt mudluffs weren't to be bothered with. I wonder why they just wrote them off?
Maybe they just didn't meet a cool one like Hue. I suppose most are probably not good to be around.
22) I like the name Malefic for the ship. It means causing or capable of causing harm or destruction especially by supernatural means. I'm thinking this is not a good place for Joe to be.
Or this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malefic_...
I suppose naming your ship of mass destruction after something that causes great harm that would make sense. Plus it's a magic oriented ship. I wonder if the other side has one named for great destruction of a scientific nature.
23) What did you think of boiling The Walkers down to their essence that allows them to Walk to power the ship? I wonder what happens if all the joeys are released? Can the ship still function?
Evidently not. I'd assume that if you're operating on a certain type of power you slowly drop backup systems. Especially if you assume you'll never need them. I wonder how fast they get used up.
24) I like how each of the Joes are each so different personality wise. It reminds me of those studies of identical twins separated at birth who display similar characteristics but are different in other ways. Do you like how the authors did this?
My thought after reading about the psychic signatures is maybe it's not so much significant events that cause a splintering of worlds but something that would cause a unique Joe signature. Maybe significant events just cause that to happen more often.
25) Do you like how Joe is going back for Hue? He seems to live by the 'no one left behind' code. It makes me like him even more.
I couldn't leave him behind either. Plus, I'd see it as a good way to escape as well. Hue seems to be able to zap people places.
Questions and comments for Chapters 14 - 1719) So one of our many questions has been answered, "Each Walker, I’d been told, had a unique psychic signature that could be traced. I guessed that the Binary had thousands of sequenced mainframes on the lookout for my configuration, just as HEX kept a phalanx of sorcerers on twenty-four-hour duty for the same reason. I couldn’t put my family and my friends in that kind of danger. So now it appears he'll be setting off alarm bells. Do you think it's worth the risk?
I dunno. He's potentially righting a wrong by going back for the other "Joeys," but he is putting those closest to him at risk. Although he walked right onto the bad guy's court so hopefully they won't go looking for whatever universe he came from.
20) Were you surprised at how Joe's mother took the news about him going to war? Do you think there is something special about the necklace or is it just a gift to remember his family by?
This part was a little weird. What parent really takes their kid seriously when they say the are leaving to join "some sort of army?" And we didn't get to listen into the conversation. It was sort of glossed over. I think he displayed enough conviction in the conversation with his parents that his mother knew something was going on. Plus, he had recently been missing for 36 hours and had memory loss. He was probably acting pretty weird to them.
I completely forgot that his mother mentioned going to see a rare jewel until it was mentioned in the thread. Before remembering that I would have said that it was just something to show the connection between him and his mother. But now I think it might have a purpose.
21) So Hue has even more skills. He can shift himself into a lens and can project images. He's pretty surprising considering every other Joe felt mudluffs weren't to be bothered with. I wonder why they just wrote them off?
This Joey is special. Unfortunately, the only people who seem to notice are Lady Indigo and Lord Dogknife. Maybe Hue is attracted to him because he is such a powerful Walker. Maybe... (view spoiler)
22) I like the name Malefic for the ship. It means causing or capable of causing harm or destruction especially by supernatural means. I'm thinking this is not a good place for Joe to be.
I'm listening to the audiobook and I like the way the narrator's voice for Lord Dogknife says, "Malefic." It even sounds dark magicy when spoken. :)
23) What did you think of boiling The Walkers down to their essence that allows them to Walk to power the ship? I wonder what happens if all the joeys are released? Can the ship still function?
If Walkers are able to be boiled down to their essence, then Walking must be the core of what makes up their existence. That seems like more than just a gift or ability.
24) I like how each of the Joes are each so different personality wise. It reminds me of those studies of identical twins separated at birth who display similar characteristics but are different in other ways. Do you like how the authors did this?
I forget that they are all the same person. I usually only remember when Joey remembers and says something about it in the narrative.
25) Do you like how Joe is going back for Hue? He seems to live by the 'no one left behind' code. It makes me like him even more.
Hue is my favorite! While reading that last scene I kept saying to myself, "What about Hue?" So glad Joey is going back for him.
Comments and Questions Feb 26Chapters 18 - end
26) While on the Malefic we get to see this motley crew act more as a team. Each member had their own strengths and utilized them to get back to the In-Between. Who's ability surprised you the most? J/O's sword fighting? Jai's quick thinking bargain with Scarabus? Joey's ability to lead and crazy plan?
27) So we find out that the stone Joey's mom gave him is special! Do you think his mom knew more than she was letting on when he left?
28) Why do you think Lord Dog-knife didn't kill Joey after he was freed from the fireflies? Does this creature maybe have a sense of honor?
29) What do you think happened to Lady Indigo? I would say we might meet her again in the future, but Joey made it pretty clear that he never did.
30) How did you react to the Old Man berating the team after they returned? Do you think he was proud of them? Most remarkable tales of heroism require a little dumb luck. Jay was considered to be one of the best and he relied on luck sometimes. Was the Old Man's reaction a way of teaching an important lesson?
31) Not sure if everyone's version of the book has an Afterward, but in mine it said that the two authors originally pitched this story as a TV series but didn't get any takers. Would Interworld have made a good TV show or movie?
32) Also in my copy there were two chapters from the next book in the series, The Silver Dream. Did anyone read them? What did you think if you did?
So, anyone up for a buddy read of The Silver Dream? ;)
Comments and Questions Feb 26Chapters 18 - end
26) While on the Malefic we get to see this motley crew act more as a team. Each member had their own strengths and utilized them to get back to the In-Between. Who's ability surprised you the most? J/O's sword fighting? Jai's quick thinking bargain with Scarabus? Joey's ability to lead and crazy plan?
I liked that they gave J/O something to do to be part of the team. He's annoying but I get the feeling he's that way since he feels left out a lot of the time.
27) So we find out that the stone Joey's mom gave him is special! Do you think his mom knew more than she was letting on when he left?
It feels like she did. Otherwise it's a real special case. I wonder if maybe Jay or the Old Man was the one selling the gem.
28) Why do you think Lord Dog-knife didn't kill Joey after he was freed from the fireflies? Does this creature maybe have a sense of honor?
Maybe he just wanted to escape? Or he didn't think he could fight all of them.
29) What do you think happened to Lady Indigo? I would say we might meet her again in the future, but Joey made it pretty clear that he never did.
Who knows. The advantage of time travel books/tv is that they can do whatever the heck they want and explain it with random new rules.
30) How did you react to the Old Man berating the team after they returned? Do you think he was proud of them? Most remarkable tales of heroism require a little dumb luck. Jay was considered to be one of the best and he relied on luck sometimes. Was the Old Man's reaction a way of teaching an important lesson?
I think it normally works best if people just say they did a good job but without medals and parades and such. Otherwise people tend to get big heads about things instead of just doing something because it's important to do a good job.
31) Not sure if everyone's version of the book has an Afterward, but in mine it said that the two authors originally pitched this story as a TV series but didn't get any takers. Would Interworld have made a good TV show or movie?
I think it would be rather confusing as a tv show. I've been watching Continuum and it's a good show but time travel is always tricky to pull off. Plus I think you'd lose a lot of the humor behind some of the phrasing.
32) Also in my copy there were two chapters from the next book in the series, The Silver Dream. Did anyone read them? What did you think if you did?
I didn't have those but I'm planning on reading the book.
Be prepared for spoilers!
Synopsis:
InterWorld tells the story of Joey Harker, a very average kid who discovers that his world is only one of a trillion alternate earths. Some of these earths are ruled by magic. Some are ruled by science. All are at war.
Joey teams up with alternate versions of himself from an array of these worlds. Together, the army of Joeys must battle evil magicians Lord Dogknife and Lady Indigo to keep the balance of power between all the earths stable. Teens—and tweens and adults—who obsessively read the His Dark Materials and Harry Potter series will be riveted by InterWorld and its sequel, The Silver Dream