A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

Jason was bored with his life and wanted more adventure, but he never expected to fall into the hippo tank at his zoo job and be transported to another world...

Simon & Schuster's Children's Publishing group sent me an eGalley of this book for review (thank you).  It's due to come out at the end of March, 2011.  This is a new series about the Beyonders.  Mr. Mull previously wrote a series about Fablehaven that consists of six books if you'd like to check his work out.

I was not familiar with this author or his previous series when I started reading this book.  I quickly learned he is a popular author and I succumbed to buying the Fablehaven series to read later.

Jason finds himself in an odd world with people who speak English but live in a more medieval time.  He also finds that his response to problems doesn't make him any friends. 

Lyrian is a world that is dominated by a wizard who has broken everyone who dared challenge him.  He doesn't kill them, he wounds them sufficiently so that they are no longer a danger.  Their deformities make them recognizable as fallen enemies and discourage new disagreements.

When Jason finds the locals are angry with him and may hurt him, he escapes in the woods and suddenly finds the Repository of Learning.  The man within is the Loremaster, and he's very glad to have some company.  However, what Jason learns there puts him even more in danger...

This is truly a world with heroes, and they could really use one right now.  By disobeying the Loremaster, Jason is suddenly involved in a quest that is dangerous and his path is unknown.  But he has no choice except to move forward.

As he does, he soon meets another "Beyonder".  Rachel was following a butterfly and found herself in the Lyrian world.  She joins him in his journey.  But the wizard already knows they are there and is sending men and monsters after them.

Mr. Mull creates a fantasy world that is full of danger, has creatures beyond belief, and a history of strong wizard dictators.  He inserts two normal teens who must try to figure out the customs and dangers of their new world as well as how to accomplish their mission.

It's a fast, fascinating read and young adults should love this new adventure series.  There will be more to come.  And that's a good thing.

Happy reading!