The Commons

From Goodreads:

“Paul Reid died in the snow at seventeen. The day of his death, he told a lie—and for the rest of his life, he wondered if that was what killed him.

And so begins the battle for the afterlife, known as The Commons. It's been taken over by a corporate raider who uses the energy of its souls to maintain his brutal control. The result is an imaginary landscape of a broken America—stuck in time and overrun by the heroes, monsters, dreams, and nightmares of the imprisoned dead.

Three people board a bus to nowhere: a New York street kid, an Iraq War veteran, and her five-year-old special-needs son. After a horrific accident, they are the last, best hope for The Commons to free itself. Along for the ride are a shotgun-toting goth girl, a six-foot-six mummy, a mute Shaolin monk with anger-management issues, and the only guide left to lead them.

Three Journeys: separate but joined. One mission: to save forever.

But first they have to save themselves.”

~~~~~
First things first--this book is trippy magical realism wrapped in underworld mythology without any familiar gods. Reading it reminded me a lot of reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods--I just had to go with the flow and hope I liked the ending.

The logic of the story, such as it was, held together. The characters worked together, whether they realized it or not, and there was an underlying connection tying them all to each other. It all fit. The characters, good and bad, were very well drawn and highly individual. The plot itself wasn't surprising, but it was tight--there was no wasted movement, no events that were there just for a Message or because it was cool. There were some interesting budding relationships that weren't explored nearly enough for my taste--in fact, if you're looking for romance, this is not the place to find it--but this is only book one. The best part was Peck's use of a boy on the autism spectrum who was pivotal in moving the plot forward. I really enjoyed how Zach fit into the scheme of things, and Peck wrote from Zach's dispassionate but focused perspective very believably.

The ending itself wasn't very satisfying, but it fit in with the unreal feel of the story. Since it is a book one, there is hope for closure and understanding in the other novels, but this style was just strange enough and the characters didn't resonate strongly with me, so I won't be going back to the series. Not because it isn't well-written--it really is well-done!--but because this isn't my style. I'd give the story 4 stars out of 5. If you like Neil Gaiman's stuff, you will definitely like The Commons.



Gentle Reader Alert: Maybe some PG language, but nothing I can remember. Definitely much cleaner than Gaiman's books for adults.