The Door to Far-Myst: The Adventures of Rupert Starbright (Volume I)

By: Mike DiCerto
Publisher: Zumaya Thresholds
Publication Date: August 2011
ISBN: 978-1-49361-4468-6
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: November 3, 2011

There are very few books that you read and then, literally, you want to go back and read all over again; this is one of those books. The Door to Far-Myst is not only a wonderful story, but it feels as if an early Christmas gift has been given to the reader.

There is a place called Graysland, where families live in a ‘gray’ world, raking leaves, and living in “reality.” In this land there is no such thing as imagination. In fact, any imagination or creativity is ‘frowned upon’ in this normal, reality-driven, land.

Rupert lives on The Curving Road in Graysland, knowing that something is missing in his life. When he looks up one day while raking, he and all his friends see the magical, colorful object floating through the sky, and run behind it trying to figure out what, exactly, it is. Turns out, it is a little man by the name of Pie O’Sky, flying his Grand Bagoon. Pie is looking for a child with the most imagination to take back to Far-Myst. In order to get to Far-Myst, the children all have to compete to use their imaginations and figure out which one can get through the ‘door’ that leads to this amazing, wondrous land. Rupert is the boy who delivers.

Upon arriving in this world, he is awestruck. This is a place where whatever children imagine becomes real, so the wonders that are there are beyond ‘cool.’ But Rupert also finds out from Queen Chroma in Everstood Castle that their world is being taken over by a monster named Markus, who has kidnapped the children and is sending a ‘gray cloud’ over everything in order to stop color, beauty, creativity and imagination from occurring, turning Far-Myst into a frightening world. Rupert will join with The Weaver, who is a man missing his own children, and journey to Story so that he can find a way to stop the bad guy and bring imagination back to the world.

Markus lives in The Dark Keep, tending to a creature that will soon be born, and dealing with his minions - the wingers - to make sure that no child is able to use their imagination anymore. He has found out through the grapevine that a hero has come to the land that is there to thwart his plans, and he must convince two of the children in his possession to find this boy and stop him from achieving success. The Weaver’s son - Quixotic - is one of those good guys turned bad.

This is a book where the review can go on and on, because there is not one page that lets the reader down. The characters, the Pigments, the Figments, rooms, caves, flowers, castles, foods, creatures - everything this amazing writer has placed on paper is truly unforgettable! This is a life-changer - read this one now!

Quill Says: With this series, there is no such hue as gray. Bringing back imagination is a must for all!