The Wheel of Nuldoid

By Russ Woody
Pointless Ink, $15.95, 381 pages

Unbeknownst to most “crustoids,” as humans are referred to in The Wheel of Nuldoid, Earth’s rotation is powered by a giant wheel situated in the center of our planet. Specifically, it is powered by crystals that are located in the upper crust, but which are collected every so often by the creatures who dwell around the Wheel of Nuldoid. Nuldoids are rather amicably disagreeable creatures, who love nothing more than to argue and insult one another. Their existence is not known to many, but more than a few notable names in history have journeyed to Nuldoid and seen the Wheel for themselves. Add to this list the name Warren Worst, whose story is told in bright detail in The Wheel of Nuldoid. This book tells of the journey of Warren, Lily, and Leo to Nuldoid to restore the crystal power and save the planet.

This book is an absolute treasure, a story that would be great fun to read to one’s children over the course of many late-night bedtime storytelling sessions. Who knew that such delightful little creatures, full of quarrels and bad grammar, could exist? The world beneath the surface of Earth is full of wondrous things, all detailed with vivid awe. The story is unpredictable, which makes it that much more of an adventure to read; for instance, due to the nature of death in Nuldoid, many characters are killed off completely unexpectedly. This is sad, from a certain angle, but the story continues along so smoothly that the reader quickly becomes engrossed in the next segment of the adventure. The plot twists and turns and snakes around a good bit, leaving you continuously wondering who’s really good and who’s bad. Ultimately, you will be left rooting for our three heroes: Warren, Lily, and Leo. All three are multi-faceted characters who the reader grows to truly care about. The ending is a bit of a surprise, but ultimately extremely satisfying. The Wheel of Nuldoid is a great story to get lost in.

Reviewed by Holly Scudero