"You know what all this is, don't you? This is the immune system of the human soul. Superheroes, space rangers, time cowboys, they are the T cells of the spirit. They are always here to save us. We made them to save us."

A Hundred Thousand Worlds is the story of a mother, who once played a famous role in a sci-fi show. Six years ago, she took her son and fled to New York; essentially kidnapping the kid, though she doesn't see it that way (and neither do I, to some extent). Now, though, she must take her son back to LA to be with his father, or she'll lose him forever. They multiple stops at conventions along the way. 

In a couple different ways, this book proved the theory of that quote above. Val, the mom, uses her character appearances as a mask, as a shield, as an escape from what is happening, what she is being forced to do, and the sadness and the anger that is welling up inside of her. Frazier saves her from it all. And her son, Alex, uses a story that he is creating along the way to help him cope, to help him get where he needs to be and accept what is going on. Everyone uses the stories and characters in the way they need them, in a way that eases the burden. I think that is something we can all relate to, even if comic books aren't their cup of tea. 

Unfortunately, I felt like this story was a little too drawn out. The plot was not very eventful, but rather took the time to delve into the moments and the feelings of several different characters at different stages of the trip. Nothing ever happened. Not that I feel like happenings are necessary; often a whole lot of nothing happens in Literary Fiction, but the pages are taken up with philosophy and explanations of the human condition and mentality. A Hundred Thousand Worlds, though it had its moments of introspection, didn't have the deep thoughts of Literary Fiction, and didn't have the compelling plot of Sci-Fi or a Novel. It felt lacking in both respects. I grew to love Alex, but the rest of the characters I felt rather ambivalent about. And feeling rather apathetic about the whole thing, the language and the locker-room-esque approach to the whole thing tipped the scales unfavorably for me. 

I will give the book this: the descriptions of Val and Alex and the love between mother and son was really rather touching and pulled at the heartstrings. That respect was partially redeeming.

p.s. There were 58 f-bombs. Additionally, a variety of other swears were involved, but none as casually thrown around as the f-bomb. And, like I mentioned briefly, lots of what could be deemed as "locker room" talk. I understand that an obsession with sex and objectification is stereotypical of comic-cons and those who attend them, but I personally, for my tastes, could have done without all of it. Just generally distasteful and crude.