Doorways to the Deadeye

–>I received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
This is the tale of Luke Thacker and many others. He's a hobo who finds the code has special meaning for some, and this leads him to Athanasia, a place of memories...

This covers the life of the hobos in the beginning. It's both romanticized and shown bluntly. Even as it shows them free to roam and riding the rails as they wish it also touches on dark subjects often, the hunger, fear, loneliness, and other dangers that they face, such as violence and rape. It captures this time perfectly and is just as enjoyable by itself as it is with the later fantasy elements.

After Luke learns he can read the special code, he discovers Athanasia. There the dead live a second life of sorts, just as they are remembered in life. However people speak of you is how you remain, so some stay stuck in thievery or murderous ways just because that's how their story goes. However, most are quickly forgotten, and something called the pox descends on them and devours them. It does this to all things, even inanimate objects as they are forgotten by the real world.

So as you can imagine, those that are remembered most are the celebrities, world leaders, and other important types in history. Luke has a run-in with quite a few, and I won't spoil which as I found it rather fun having them pop up. They continue to do what they were most known for in life, and some are very concerned about keeping their legend alive and possibly growing it. One such person takes this to an extreme, becoming quite tyrannical in their attempt, which sets up the main conflict in the book. With his ability to freely cross back and forth from Athanasia, and others that are later expanded on, he begins a slow battle against this person to stop them...

This book varies in tone greatly, sometimes it is funny, and sometimes sad, other times it has scenes that would feel right at home in a full-blown horror novel. The characters, and there are many, are all done so well and enjoyable. The story itself has so many layers, and stories within stories. It's actually being told by Daniel Greenberg, who was told by King Shaw, a hobo who knew Luke. He interviewed him for a piece on helping the homeless population and becomes caught up in these tales himself. It jumps around constantly between characters, and years, the real world, and Athanasia. It's hard to bring up everyone and everything, there are so many moving pieces, and it's great.

I found the book to be well-paced and written. I loved all the characters, and the mix of action, drama, and horror. The look at hobos was so interesting, as they were hardly what I would have considered worth reading about, at least before this book. The fantasy elements had so much wonder and terror in them and they were also incredibly interesting. All the historical figures that appeared were often given different takes that you wouldn't expect, which was fun to see and think about. This was definitely worth the read.