The Accidental World

My favorite books are the ones in which I connect with the characters, and I can’t help but reminisce about what a few of the characters of The Accidental World have taught me over the last few years.

• Ethan Scott: Not all battles are fought and won with physical strength.
• Ashlyn Primrose: True love endures through time and space.
• Archibald Bingham: Loyalty, even to the point of self-sacrifice, is a rare quality that should be treasured.
• Star Chastain: Being quiet allows more time to observe, and with observation, one better understands how to defeat her opponent.
• Jack Flynn: To save the people we love, we solve the problems that at first seem impossible.
• Johnathan Vanderschmidt: With extraordinary intelligence and creativity comes the weight of responsibility. The very things we create to do good in the world can easily be used for evil.

There may be a young boy on the cover, but I can assure you that some of my favorite characters are the females of NHHMM. I was quite pleased to find that Keith included strong, intelligent, and strategic girls and women of all ages in this series. In fact, one female is the deadliest character in the book.

I would be remiss in my review if I did not include at least a few lines on Keith’s ability to build a world that is both similar to and yet quite different from ours. NHHMM is a world in which logic and science are valued above all else. The arts are entirely non-existent, as is religion. Crystal technology is at the core of society’s advanced technology and is used in everything from weapons to “breathers,” or devices worn on the face that filter the air. But just like in our world, greed and the desire to hoard power poison everything resulting in a classic good versus evil plot.