FARM POND

In Frisbie’s lighthearted fantasy, a group of Colorado friends suddenly find themselves in a surreal world brimming with fantastical creatures.

As this story opens, a unicorn named Mr. Corny shows up at Eve’s townhouse—and it’s just the first in a series of peculiarities. It seems Eve inadvertently took something of Mr. Corny’s when she was on an outing to a local pond with Malcolm, a former neighbor to whom she’s recently grown closer. That may be the reason why she, Malcolm, Eve’s cat, Gruffy, and Eve’s black Labradane, Peacemaker, find themselves transported to In-Between Land, which features portals to other worlds (including “Nowhere,” aka Earth), as well as regular appearances by such mythical beings as Weewuns (gnomes) and shapeshifting witches. In due time, Peacemaker embarks on a “mysterious quest,” and many others follow; he may be the “black dog” prophesied to confront an “infinite evil.” Around the same time, an imprisoned demon that once tormented In-Between Land works out a way to free itself and wreak havoc once again. All the while, Eve and Malcolm hope that someone can help them get back home. There’s a lot happening in Frisbie’s quirky story, which includes a bevy of recognizable creatures, including ogres, Sasquatches, and reptilian baddies. However, much of the narrative is confusing, as even Peacemaker doesn’t know his quest’s purpose or destination. Most jarring, though, is the presence of “the author,” who refers to himself in the third person, interrupts the narrative to provide background details, and is constantly surprised by his own characters (at one point, he’s “awestruck by” and “unable to describe” someone). Fortunately, the In-Between Landers and Earthlings face off against the aforementioned demon, which aids in stabilizing the story. Some images are unforgettable, including a villainous leader made up of “a community of like-minded and spineless malcontents fused into a massive blob” and Malcolm wearing his bathrobe throughout his In-Between Land adventure (the friends’ arrival was quite abrupt, after all).

A tongue-in-cheek, metafictional, and gleefully bizarre tale.