What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World by Henry Clark (review)
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A mysterious sofa appears on the country road outside the Underhill Mansion where Fiona, Freak, and River wait for the bus on the edge of Hellsboro, the coal-seam fire that haunts the outskirts of the small town of Cheshire. Further exploration reveals that the mansion's eccentric owner, Alf, is a visitor from another universe named Indorsia, the couch is part of a seven-piece sentient computer system-slash-furniture set named Guernica, and Alf is trying to entrap Edward Disin, the Indorsian CEO of a corporation that has been sneakily introducing mind control devices to the citizens of Cheshire to eventually take over the universe. Fiona, Freak, and River band together, chasing down a cat who ran off with a domino to which Alf 's dead sister's memories have been downloaded, commandeering a hot-air balloon shaped like a toilet to get to an abandoned chemical plant in the center of Hellsboro, and knocking out a few minions wearing dog-shaped hats on their quest to shut down Disin's portal between Indorsia and Earth and save the world. This clever story self-consciously and irreverently follows in the footsteps of classic quest tales, quietly dropping homages to The Lord of the Rings and A Wrinkle in Time along the way. A [End Page 9] deus ex machina conclusion makes the explosion-filled ending significantly weaker than it could be, but compelling backstories make readers root for the characters, and the gang's good-natured bickering and sharp perception will make budding science fiction fans feel like they've been welcomed into a circle of friends for this whirlwind adventure.
