The Door to Far-Myst starts off slow but turns into an enjoyable journey through Far-Myst.
Imagination is what is lacking in the world of Rupert Dullz. His days consist of listening to his grandmother cough, raking leaves and going to a boring school in Graysland. A strange man named Pie O’Sky comes to Graysland and challenges the children to find a way to open the door to Far-Myst. This must be done with imagination, which these children know nothing about. The parents are horrified when they hear about this and Rupert’s father forbids him to try to open the door. Rupert will not give up his chance to go to Far-Myst and he is the child who imagines the key that opens the door.
He travels by air balloon to Far-Myst with Pie O’ Sky. He is flabbergasted with all of the different sights. He soon finds out that Far-Myst is in trouble and he may be the only one that can save it. His adventures get better as the book continues. He finds out that he is the only child in Far-Myst. All of the other children have vanished but no one knows for sure where they are. They have their suspicions that the villain Murkus has taken the children to destroy Far-Myst’s imagination. Murkus has his creatures, nightwingers, kidnap Pie O’Sky. Once he finds out there is a boy in far-Myst from another land, he demands that Pie O’Sky tell him who he is. Dream Weaver stays with Rupert to keep him safe while Murkus tries to find out who this boy is and to capture him. Rupert starts realizing that he can use his imagination to make things happen that can help Far-Myst but Murkus uses fear to make Rupert’s imagination suffer. They search for a way to stay safe and to help far-Myst. Dream Weaver does not seem to believe that Rupert can save Far-Myst but everyone else, including Queen Chroma, believe that Rupert can save them. The tale of Rupert Starbright will continue in the next book, The Secret of My-Myst, in March 2012.
The author is a little long winded with some of the descriptions in the book. For instance, a pile of leaves is described in a whole paragraph and really does nothing for the book. These descriptions stall the story and make it hard to pick up. The book needs more drive, a little more action but is overall a very good story. I believe one of the morals of the story is “Let your imagination run and you can open doors you would never believe exist!” I would be interested to see what a child would take from this book. Would it be to use your imagination? Or maybe they would find more interest in saving the world? Maybe listening to your parents is not always the best? I do not know how a child would view the book but I look forward to reading more of the adventures of Rupert Starbright! This would definitely be a good book to have a child read or to read to a child. I think that this book would be well suited for the 7-11 year old range. Get ready to embark on a magical journey with Rupert Starbright and happy reading!
-Valerie Bowman
