Caught in a Moment by Martin Dukes

Title: Caught in a Moment
Author: Martin Dukes
Publisher: Parola Press
Publication Date: February 1, 2012

Caught in a Moment is the story of Alex Trueman, a teenager who daydreams himself unwittingly into the strange world of Intersticia. This is a world outside of ordinary time, that exists in the slender intervals between instants. From Alex's point of view the world around him freezes into immobility. At first it seems the he alone is free to wander the hushed streets with their motionless cars and people. But he is not alone. Alex soon discovers that he shares the world with others. There are a few dozen fellow daydreamers who share his fate. There is plump, bespectacled Will, pretty brunette Kelly, and the rebellious outcast Paulo. Presiding over them all is the enigmatic Ganymede, and irascible vagrant who distributes food to his dependents and sets them perverse tasks to perform in return.

Alex soon finds that he has rare skills in Intersticia. Most uniquely he can affect the motionless world of 'Statica' around them. He can open doors, help himself to food, and move objects. But this forbidden activity soon sets him on a collision course with Ganymede in which the very existence of Intersticia is put at risk.

Okay, that was totally awesome. Seriously. When I started this book, I wasn't sure what to expect, because it seemed like it might be some kind of odd science fiction. But when I got about thirty pages in, I realized that it is nothing like what I first assumed.

For one, it's more of a modern day fantasy novel. Every bit of this book just screams fantasy, but not in a (as my dad would say) unicorns and rainbow farts kind of way. It definitely presents it in a more modern, less dragon-y kind of way, and I honestly enjoyed it. Thankfully, it wasn't a fantasy where none of the words made sense--the author took the time to make us mere mortals understand it.

All of the characters were well developed, and the plot was very good. The writing was good too--it seemed very descriptive, and I really could imagine every bit of the story, and the progression. It was just a bit hard to hold onto the idea of a fantasy world, though, no matter how well written it was. It was just a bit confusing, but not enough to take away from the story.

Back to the characters--I liked the character of Alex quite a bit. He seemed like a nice guy, and I kind of like reading about guy main characters once in a while. For instance, while I was reading this book, I started thinking about how there are so very few books that appeal to boys out there, and I think that this one would. It would actually probably appeal to boys more than girls, honestly.

All in all, Caught in a Moment was a very imaginative debut that really makes you think differently about fantasy as a genre.

*This book was provided by the author for review.
   

They couldn't remember. They had simply appeared in Intersticia, with no inkling of what they had been doing in Reality. But some of them were. Such was the spectre that stalked Intersticia. ~ Pg. 57