“A Kavalier & Clay for the Comic-Con Age, this is a bighearted, inventive, exuberant debut.” —Eleanor Henderson, author of Ten Thousand Saints "Proehl creates worlds within worlds within worlds, all of them full of surprise and wonder." —Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Valerie Torrey took her son, Alex, and fled Los Angeles six years ago—leaving both her role on a cult sci-fi TV show and her costar husband after a tragedy blew their small family apart. Now Val must reunite nine-year-old Alex with his estranged father, so they set out on a road trip from New York, Val making appearances at comic book conventions along the way. As they travel west, encountering superheroes, monsters, time travelers, and robots, Val and Alex are drawn into the orbit of the comic-con regulars, from a hapless twentysomething illustrator to a brilliant corporate comics writer stuggling with her industry's old-school ways to a group of cosplay women who provide a chorus of knowing commentary. For Alex, this world is a magical place where fiction becomes reality, but as they get closer to their destination, he begins to realize that the story his mother is telling him about their journey might have a very different ending than he imagined. A knowing and affectionate portrait of the geeky pleasures of fandom, A Hundred Thousand Worlds is also a tribute to the fierce and complicated love between a mother and son—and to the way the stories we create come to shape us.
Download and start listening now!
“Narrator MacLeod Andrews’ warm voice…acts out each character, imbuing them with believable personalities and emotions. His performance is a treat for listeners as they fall in love with Alex and his exploration of the hundred thousand worlds that are intertwined with his own. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“A tribute to the pleasures of fandom—as well as to the special connection between a mother and her only child…Equal parts great American road-trip narrative and coming-of-age novel, this brilliant story from a debut novelist is a treat for the diehard nerds and fans among us.”
— Refinery29“Proehl’s touch is both sensitive and assured…but its steely strength lies in its recognition that we’re all constantly growing up, no matter how old you are…You will add Proehl’s smart, flawed, and thoughtful characters to the list of those who can save us and our dreams.”
— Amazon.com“Proehl has done an excellent job of integrating all of the story lines and creating memorable characters to populate them.”
— Booklist (starred review)“Anybody up on superheroes and X-Files will have a lot to love here.”
— USA Today“With enthralling characters and tons of heart, this read (much like a good con) has something for everyone.”
— BustleBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Bob Proehl grew up in Buffalo, New York, where his local comics shop was Queen City Bookstore. He has worked as a bookseller and programming director for Buffalo Street Books, as a DJ, and a record store owner. He was a 2012 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Fiction and a 2013 resident at the Saltonstall Arts Colony. He has written for the 33 1/3 book series and worked as a columnist and reviewer for the arts and culture site PopMatters.com.
MacLeod Andrews is a multiple Audie, Earphones, and SOVAS award-winning and Grammy-nominated narrator with hundreds of credits to his name. Perhaps best known for a cinematic approach with full characterizations and intimate deliveries in series such as The Reckoners, Sandman Slim, and Warriors, he’s also been noted for his straight reads ranging from memoirs to modern classics. When not doing books you can hear him in video games, cartoons, commercials, podcasts, and reading you the news on Apple News +. Or check out one of his films.