Paraworld Zero

By: Matthew Peterson

Narrated by: Matthew Peterson, Alicia Peterson

Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Simon Kent is just an ordinary teenager trying to cope with the loss of his parents and the bullies at school . . . or so he thinks. After meeting an outspoken girl with strange hair that changes colors with her mood, he is swept into a futuristic world filled with dragonlike creatures, vast technology, and enslaved giants.

But Simon also stumbles upon a secret: He can perform magic in this parallel world! While fighting mystical creatures, unraveling an ancient mystery, and even experiencing his first kiss, Simon discovers that he, an outsider from Earth, is the only person who can save the high-tech planet from an impending doom.

Parallel to Simon's adventures is a mystery involving a catlike spy and a magical swordsman who both struggle to maintain peace among the paraworlds. But evil lurks in unexpected places, and few people can be trusted. Their paths ultimately lead them to Simon: the one boy who might be able to prevent the biggest assassination attempt in the known paraverse.

Winner of the National Indie Excellence Awards
Winner of the London Book Festival
Two-time Winner of the Los Angeles DIY Book Festival
Finalist in the ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards
Two-time Finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Honorable Mentions from the Hollywood, New York, New England, and Beach Book Festivals
Fallen Angel Reviews Recommended Read
Flamingnet TOP CHOICE Award

©2008 Matthew Peterson (P)2008 Parallel Worlds

Critic reviews

Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, 2nd Place, Audiobook category

"Over 100 unique character voices are present in this stirring audio adaptation that the whole family can enjoy, perfect for long car trips. Highly recommended." (Midwest Book Review)

Embarrassingly awful

The storyline could actually be interesting, but its hard to tell, because the writing is neither logical or clear. Character development is spotty. Simon as the main character has the most development, but not much other than he feels sorry for himself and has no backbone. Other characters get thrown in for no apparent reason as they don't move the story along. An example of this is an Indian cabdriver (Abu? - like the monkey in Aladdin? Was that supposed to be funny?). This was a cringe inducing element in the story as the author made Abu into an insulting caricature that stereotypes Indian nationals. Not funny in the least.
The author narrates his own book and frankly, he shouldn't have done so. His opening chapter is read in a saccharine, sighing voice that is overly sentimental and s-l-o-w, s-l-o-w, s-l-o-w! His voicings for characters is irritating (Simon - self-pitying), (Mr. Trudle - inconsistent), (Lord Valen, a "wannabe" Darth Vader with asthma is just bizarre).
The author's wife does a better job with her voicings, Tonya is believable, but Mrs. Trudle is shrill and unpleasant, and Tabitha has a fake English accent which comes and goes unexpectedly.
I have to wonder who proof-read this book to check it for inconsistancies and character development. Who listened to the acting before putting it into production?
This book was written for children, but frankly, children deserve better than this.
I gave it 1 star because Audible wouldn't let me give it 0 stars.

Horrible narration

This is the first audiobook that I've ever purchased where it was just too painful to finish. The author should stick to writing, he's an amateurish narrator and wrecks his own book by his sighing, overwrought voice. I'm shocked that any publisher/producer would have allowed him to narrate his own book.

I'll listen to other books by this author if they use a professional narrator.