A World Away: The Quest of Dan Clay: Book One

A World Away is author T.J. Smith's first book of the Dan Clay's leap of faith saga to save his missing older brother, William, from an evil parallel world. The book cover shows a gloomy castle standing on the top of a mountain surrounded by creepy trees and a bewitched full moon saying to uninvited visitors: beware, beware, beware...! Dan Clay is a high school senior who looks like a nerd. He is smart, shy, wears glasses, and his non-athletic body makes him the perfect target for the two known school bullies, Sur and Malice. When Dan finds his science project trashed all over the school's gym floor, all his dreams of obtaining a scholarship are crushed. He storms out of the gym and wanders around town trying to cool-off his rage. Dan is so absorbed in his thoughts that he, unknowingly, enters the forbidden and mythical Eldritch Forest. It's dark and suddenly Dan realizes he is lost. All of the childhood stories he had heard about demons and mythical beasts among the trees and rocks of the forest start to become real to him. He trembles of fear. He then sits on a fallen tree, looks around and sees a large oak tree. It seems familiar to him, so he walks over to the tree and touches it. Upon touching the tree, his hand penetrates the tree's surface. Curiosity takes the best of him and he places his hand deeper into the tree, when suddenly he hears a loud noise behind him. He gets scared and his glasses fall on the floor. Dan bends down to pick them up when he is pushed into the tree by an invisible force. Dan is confused and after hearing more noises in the forest, he decides to rush back home. He is more amazed and puzzled after he sees his family celebrating William's 18th birthday. Dan quickly analyzes all the events and concludes that the ''tree'' plays a key role in his ordeals. During the first three chapters of the book, Dan is gathering information about his brother, the town's history, and the history of the Eldritch Forest's legend. The author uses Sam White, an old lunatic homeless man, to share with Dan information about Eldritch Forest and the ''world beyond the oak tree''. Dan secretly plans to go back to the forest to rescue William. He decides to seize the opportunity while he prepares to attend an after graduation survival camp. The day of the departure, Dan walks to town with his friend and next door neighbor, Jimmy. At the meeting place, after he registers with the bus driver to go to camp, Dan takes advantage of everybody's distraction and walks to Eldritch Forest. Jimmy notices Dan walking away with his bag. He grabs his bag and follows Dan closely. Cindy, a classmate and friend of them, also notices their odd behavior and not wanting to go to survival camp either, follows them from a saved distance. After sharing enough information about Eldritch Forest with Dan, Sam is suspicious and also has a hunch that Dan might venture to return to the other world to save his missing brother, William. On the day of de

If you love the 'Chronicles of Narnia,' you'll love 'A World Away, the Quest of Dan Clay.' Steeped in adventure, with a unique story line, this Christian adventure is destined to be a hit with Christian parents and home schooling parents, who want to offer their children wholesome literature with no inappropriate scenes or language. The story will also captivate adults, who are searching for a 'white-knuckle' suspense and adventure novel. Definitely 5 stars!

A World Away: The Quest of Dan Clay: Book One Choosing Christmas gifts for my 13 year old grandson and 16 year old Godson has become more challenging. Both young men enjoy fantasy video games as well as reading, but I had no idea how to go about finding the most entertaining and constructive fiction for this age group. When I first heard Mr. Smith discuss his book on Catholic radio, I had a feeling it would fill the bill for both boys. I bought 3 copies as I too wanted to read the book. I was extremely impressed with the elements of suspense which caused me to read much later into the night than usual. It sparked my imagination by using vivid characters and an unusual story line. Not only did I greatly enjoy the book, but both teenagers, who received the book from me for Christmas, enjoyed it so much that they said they are now anxiously awaiting the publication of Mr. Smith's next book. It is my hope that Book Two is available before Christmas 2008. It would save me a lot of shopping time!!

I bought this book for my son. He would stay up 'til the wee hours reading. "Loved" the end. We're waiting for the next book to come out.

Smith has written a unique story with exceptional imagination and creativity. Visiting a world away, creapy creatures, ghoulish characters and fright fill the record of the four characters who face frequent frightening experiences seemingly without end. Not recommended for young readers, I continued to recall C. S. Lewis's style mixed with a slightly milder Tolkien imagination. A great read, I recommend forcing the author to produce books two and three as soon as possible. Buy this for teens and adults.