The Empty World Series

The Empty World Series are four YA science fiction adventure books where characters from our world are transported to a planet light years from Earth through a portal built by an ancient alien technology developed before humans walked the Earth.

If Portal Through the Pond (Empty World Series Book 1) holds the theme key to David K. Anderson’s other three books in the series, the underlying message is simple—we all have the ability to overcome our disabilities and rise to greater heights.

Portal Through the Pond does an amazing job motivating readers to become absorbed into Anderson’s creatively designed world. After Christy Walker’s grandmother dies from cancer, Christy is bequeathed the truth about her grandfather’s death. In a letter she is only permitted to read, she is given photographs, paintings, and letters written by her grandfather after his supposed death, describing and showing an unearthly world. Christy then learns that the pond on her family estate doubles as a portal to another world.

When Christy’s friend Rob is pushed into the pond by a bully at the same moment the portal opens, Christy feels responsible. So the young teen pulls together a rescue plan to save Rob and perhaps find her grandfather and bring him home.

Author David K. Anderson wrote Portal Through Time with an audience of teens and adults in mind. Both teen and adult characters are well-developed keeping readers caring about what happens to them.

As a deafened reader, I really appreciated the deaf character, Danny Lake. When Christy and Danny find themselves in a world where wind noise could easily kill, Danny’s knowledge of American Sign Language comes in very handy when communicating with the natives.

As a parent, I felt for Christy’s Danny’s and Rob’s parents who groped hopelessly to understand why their children mysteriously disappeared. Their efforts to find their children are heartwarming.

If Portal Through the Pond is any indicator of what Anderson’s other three books in the Empty World Series have in store for readers, its’ a highly recommended book to begin a love affair with this author’s work.

About the Author

David K. Anderson has expressed himself in drawings, sculpting, and writing since his early youth. As an adult, when he’s not writing, he works for a New Hampshire non-profit organization that provides resources, supports and services for individuals with disabilities. Anderson, a father of three adult children, lives in NH with his wife.