Wandered Into the Far Outlands
by Carlos X Febles
Xlibris


"…his entire body suddenly just plunged itself headfirst like a torpedo straight through his mirror without it breaking."

Timothy (Timmy) Winnow is a peculiar young man who becomes completely absorbed when looking in a mirror. The only person who can reach him without extreme measures is his twin brother, Edmund. One day, after arguing and breaking up with his girlfriend, Timmy is plunged into his mirror while his mother plays the piccolo. Shortly thereafter, his ex lies to her brother, who plants a bomb in Timmy’s new car. With no body to be found, the police believe Timmy’s father is to blame for the explosion. Meanwhile, Timmy is trying to escape danger in the Far Outlands, where he meets a young lady from the 1800s who is forever seventeen. Along with some intriguing characters and creatures, the two work to find a way to get Timmy back home where he can clear his father’s name.

Febles’ imaginative fantasy does not lack for interesting characters or design. The idea of another world within mirrors is nothing new, but the concepts and characters with which he populates his mirror world are varied. There are elements of fantasy as well as character types like evaluators and conscience advisors who work in a building known as the Computing Quarters, which is reminiscent of the Commission from The Umbrella Academy. The narrative is occasionally weakened by awkward sentence structure and misused words, and strange and fantastic things happen seemingly on a whim, with very little thread connecting them to the rest of the story. However, readers who enjoy the idea of a quick, imaginative read with an alternate world accessed through mirrors will likely find this tale an enjoyable outing.

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