InterWorld – Neil Gaiman (2007)

InterWorld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves, published in 2007, is the first book in the InterWorld trilogy, a science fiction and fantasy series that explores the vast multiverse through the eyes of an ordinary teenager with extraordinary potential. This imaginative narrative blends quantum theory with adventure, following a protagonist who discovers that the fabric of reality is far more complex than he ever imagined.

Plot Summary

A boy once got lost in his own house. Joey Harker, fifteen years old and geographically cursed, could barely find his way around his neighborhood, let alone through worlds. But that one misstep on a school assignment – a strange urban scavenger hunt masterminded by his eccentric teacher Mr. Dimas – set him adrift in something much bigger. One foggy turn, one street crossed, and Joey found himself in a version of his hometown where nothing made sense. The McDonald’s arches were green tartan. The cars gleamed with strange colors. And most unsettling of all, his house belonged to a family that looked just like his… but with one jarring twist: in this world, he had never existed. There was no Joey. Only Josephine.

What began as confusion quickly warped into a quiet panic. Even his mother, now with a mechanical arm, looked at him like a stranger. A girl stared down from the staircase – a girl with his face, his age, his family. Reality had cracked, and Joey had fallen through it.

Outside, the air tore open and a figure stepped through – silver-faced and armor-clad, a stranger who knew Joey’s name and wore a mirrored mask that bent his own face back at him. Joey tried to flee, but they weren’t alone. Three eerie figures hovered above the street on glowing discs, wielding crackling nets and flat voices. Their purpose was cold and clear. Joey was prey.

He ran. And something in him, something buried deep, tugged at the seams of the universe. Without knowing how, Joey Walked – slipped from one world into another, from reality into possibility. The figures vanished. His pursuer – the silver-faced man – vanished too. Greenville reassembled around him. A normal day, a regular sidewalk. Only Joey had changed.

He sought answers from Mr. Dimas, the one adult in his life unpredictable enough to perhaps believe the unbelievable. But Dimas looked at him as if he’d seen a ghost. Joey Harker, he said, had drowned a year ago. There was a memorial, a speech, tears. The teacher who always believed in bending the rules now found himself staring at a boy who defied all of them.

Before explanations could untangle, the world turned dark once more. A woman of ice and venom appeared, her spell drawing Joey forward like a fish on a hook. Lady Indigo, she was called, her power laced into every syllable and shimmer of air. She was not alone. Scarabus, a man inked with living tattoos, and Neville, whose body rippled like jelly, stood with her. They took Joey. And he followed, helpless, because the spell had hooked into his soul.

They brought him aboard a flying ship with sails that drank starlight and hulls that creaked in silence. The Lacrimae Mundi floated in the Nowhere-at-All, a realm beyond stars, between places, where nothing familiar could anchor the mind. On board, Lady Indigo spoke of boiling down Walkers – people like Joey – into essence, to power ships and expand HEX’s magical dominion across dimensions. Scarabus summoned the ship with a tattoo. Neville muttered about war. Joey, enchanted and mute, waited obediently in the Lady’s quarters, aching to please the one who would end him.

But someone was coming. A glimmer of silver arrived, not as an enemy, but a rescuer. Jay – the masked figure from before – slipped onto the ship disguised as Scarabus, now incapacitated and hidden beneath a coat. Jay’s presence burned like a beacon, his mind tethered to Joey’s across realities. When Lady Indigo lifted the enchantment for a moment, Joey found his voice, his will, his strength. They ran.

They didn’t make it far. The real Scarabus appeared, tattoos flaring, a serpent stirring on his arm. Lady Indigo raised a green flame. Neville drew his jelly-flesh sword. Around them, pirates gathered in the rigging with blades flashing under alien stars. Trapped, wounded, Jay and Joey did the only thing left: they jumped.

They didn’t fall. They Walked.

The In-Between was no place, all places, a corridor of possibility lined with shimmering threads. They landed in another version of reality, another flicker of the multiverse. Jay explained: Joey was a Walker, one of the rare few who could step from world to world. InterWorld – an organization outside time, formed by Joeys from different dimensions – had been watching for another recruit. HEX, a cruel empire of magic, and Binary, a sterile regime of cold science, hunted Walkers. Each sought to control the multiverse. Only InterWorld stood between them and domination.

Joey joined. At Base Town, surrounded by hundreds of himself – Joeys who were girls, who had wings, who had silver skin or tattoos of light – he trained. He learned to Walk with intention, not fear. He learned to fight, to fly, to belong.

But the war waited for no one. When another young Walker was taken by HEX, Joey disobeyed orders and tried to save him. The rescue failed. The boy was gone. The cost of failure carved into Joey something heavier than any physical wound. Still, he refused to give up.

Joey’s gift wasn’t strength or speed. It was his stubborn hope. Even when he was lost in himself, manipulated, abandoned, or terrified, he kept walking forward. He learned that he didn’t have to be the best version of himself, or the smartest, or the strongest. He only had to be willing.

In the silence after his return, he stood before the Old Man, the commander of InterWorld. He had disobeyed, but he had learned. He wasn’t a boy anymore. Not quite.

There were still a thousand battles ahead, across a thousand Earths. The war between HEX and Binary raged in shadows and stars. But Joey Harker had chosen his side. He knew who he was now, no matter what world he stood in.

He was a Walker.

Main Characters

• Joey Harker: Joey begins as a directionally challenged, unremarkable high schooler but transforms into a multidimensional traveler – a “Walker” – capable of navigating the parallel Earths of the multiverse. Initially insecure and often bewildered, Joey’s journey is one of rapid growth, fueled by a desperate need to understand his fractured identity and the truth about his world(s). His evolution is central to the story, as he wrestles with autonomy, responsibility, and self-worth across alternate realities.
• Jay: Jay is a more experienced version of Joey from another Earth. With knowledge of the multiverse and the organization InterWorld, Jay acts as a mentor and rescuer, providing critical information and support. His world-weariness, tactical mind, and underlying vulnerability add complexity to his role as guide and protector. His connection to Joey hints at the deeper unity and diversity of the multiverse.
• Lady Indigo: A chilling antagonist from the HEX faction, Lady Indigo manipulates magic with cruel elegance. Her hypnotic control over Joey during his capture illustrates her malevolent influence and the seductive power of dark magic. She epitomizes HEX’s sinister intent to dominate the multiverse by draining the power from Walkers.
• Mr. Dimas: Joey’s eccentric social studies teacher, Mr. Dimas uses unconventional methods that provoke thought and unpredictability. He is one of the first adults to believe Joey’s incredible story and represents a link to Joey’s fading sense of normalcy, making his reaction to Joey’s reappearance both poignant and disorienting.
• Scarabus and Neville: These surreal and grotesque figures serve Lady Indigo aboard the HEX ship. Scarabus, with his animated tattoos, and Neville, with his translucent, jellyfish-like skin, add nightmarish flair to HEX’s forces. They embody the dark science-magic fusion that powers HEX’s dominion.

Theme

• Identity and Self-Discovery: At its core, InterWorld is a coming-of-age tale. Joey’s navigation through the multiverse is a metaphor for his internal journey toward understanding who he is. Facing alternate versions of himself and discovering that his identity is both unique and part of a collective challenges his understanding of self.
• Choice and Free Will: The story repeatedly examines the power of choice – whether to obey, to run, or to fight. Joey’s autonomy is tested when he is manipulated by HEX’s spells, only to reclaim control at a pivotal moment. His decisions ripple across realities, emphasizing that even one individual can have vast impact.
• The Battle Between Science and Magic: The binary conflict of science (Binary faction) and magic (HEX) represents extremes of ideology. InterWorld, the organization Joey joins, seeks balance – protecting freedom across dimensions. This struggle is not just external but internal, as Joey must choose between indoctrination and individualism.
• Multiverse and Parallel Realities: The concept of the multiverse is not just a backdrop but a vital force shaping every plot point. The existence of countless Joey Harkers across dimensions raises questions of fate, potential, and the nature of reality. It’s a motif that allows exploration of “what ifs” on an epic scale.

Writing Style and Tone

Gaiman and Reaves combine crisp, fast-paced prose with bursts of introspective narration, creating a voice that is youthful yet emotionally rich. The first-person perspective grounds the surreal events in Joey’s adolescent consciousness, allowing the reader to feel the whiplash of his discoveries. Dialogue is sharp and often witty, maintaining tension while delivering exposition smoothly.

The tone oscillates between whimsical and ominous, reflecting Joey’s shifting grip on reality. There’s a persistent undercurrent of awe and dread – the sense that wondrous things are possible, but so are terrible ones. The writing is cinematic, with vivid imagery of fog-bound streets, shimmering interdimensional portals, and the eerie beauty of the Nowhere-at-All. The metaphysical becomes visceral through grounded storytelling.