Everworld

between 1999 and 2001. It consists of twelve books.

Premise and Plot

The idea of "Everworld" is that, many years ago (said to be near 1,000 years in "Everworld" time), the ruling gods of every pantheon (including Zeus, Odin, and Ra) assembled and agreed to abandon this world, known as the Old World, and create a new one called Everworld. The exact details of why they did this are unknown, though it has been suggested that as humans became more advanced, the gods realized they couldn't control this world anymore, but this is uncertain. In any event, Everworld was created, and the gods went across it, bringing with them every variety of magical creatures, as well as various human worshippers to continue serving them. The barrier between these two worlds was apparently weak for a while, allowing later medieval beings (such as the wizard Merlin) to cross over as well, but by now, is almost closed.

However, there are apparently worlds other than the Old World and Everworld, which are inhabited by alien species unlike anything human or mythological. These species have their own gods, who, for other unknown reasons, crossed over into Everworld. One of these species, the bug-like Hetwans, has a deity called Ka Anor, who, unlike human gods, requires the unusual sacrifice of gods to consume. His servants, meanwhile, have begun a genocidal campaign against the mortal inhabitants of Everworld.

Apparently, certain humans have the power to open a gateway between Everworld and other worlds, including a girl named Senna Wales, a powerful and self-serving witch residing in Chicago. When the Norse god Loki brings her to Everworld, planning to use her to open a portal so that he (and, he claims, the other gods) can escape back and reclaim the Old World, several people she knows get drawn into Everworld with her, and must find a way to keep both worlds safe from evil forces while trying to find their own way home. Over the course of the series these characters get more and more involved in the conflicts and politics of Everworld's supernatural inhabitants, while Senna herself hopes to overthrow them all and rule Everworld for herself.

Characters

* David Levin: The hero and leader of the story. David takes on all the burdens of the group, and has been troubled by his past in which he was cowardly; he must prove himself to be a man. Before being sucked into Everworld, he was smack in the middle of a relationship with Senna Wales. As such, he is most susceptible to the influence of Senna's powers. He shows his courage and bravery before Zeus and other gods. David fights with the Sword of Galahad.
* Senna Wales: The witch who intertwines all the characters, and wants to control Everworld. Senna is David's girlfriend, Christopher's ex-girlfriend, and April's half-sister (they have the same father and different mothers) and has blond hair and gray eyes. She, at times, uses David, Christopher, and Jalil. Her magical power is much stronger in Everworld than in the Old World. Her name was originally Senda (meaning "gateway" in Spanish), but when her mother left her she began to refer to herself based on her father's mispronunciation.
* Christopher Hitchcock: The reluctant clown of the group, Christopher often makes jokes specifically targeted towards the other members of the group (April (sexism), Jalil (racism), and David (anti-Semitism)); he does this to keep the others at a distance, so they won't get to know him. Christopher is on the road to becoming an alcoholic. He can be a jerk one minute, and a kind, caring person the next. Christopher gave up becoming an immortal because he failed to save the life of Ganymede.
* Jalil Sherman: The scientist and sole African-American of the group, he wants to find the "software" on which Everworld runs and control it. In the real world, Jalil is obsessive-compulsive, but in Everworld, he is unaffected. He always tries hard to search for a logical explanation for the many illogical phenomena in Everworld. He and April often butt heads when it comes to religion, but ironically his name means "godlike".
* April O'Brien: The heroine of the group, April is Senna's half-sister; their personalities, however, are directly opposite, and the two hate each other with a passion. April is a devout Catholic, somewhat feminist, and very beautiful with red hair and green eyes. She is in drama club at her real world school, and she is often singing songs from "Rent". April carries her own burdens in the group, and is often the voice of reason next to Jalil.
* Loki: The Norse god of destruction who brought David, Senna, Christopher, Jalil, and April into Everworld. Loki wants to use Senna as a gateway to the Old World to escape Ka Anor. Loki escaped from his prison when he was brought to Everworld centuries ago and at some point in the recent past overthrew and imprisoned Odin. He is also the father of Hel, Fenrir, and the Midgard Serpent.
* Ka Anor: The god-eating deity of the Hetwans who wants to devour all the gods in Everworld before they escape to the Old World. It also is trying to capture Senna, most likely to prevent the other gods from using her to escape.
* Thorolf: A Viking, in whose farm David, Christopher, Jalil, and April spend the night in "Everworld #1: Search for Senna". Died and "ascended" to Valhalla in "Everworld #8: Brave The Betrayal".
* Olaf Ironfoot: A Viking king with an iron foot, Olaf fought alongside David, Christopher, and Jalil against the Aztecs. He engaged Huitzilopoctli in personal combat wielding Mjolnir, before being sliced in half by the god. He is of African descent, likely due to the Vikings' tendency to intermarry with other peoples.
* Sven Swordeater: A young Viking who was stabbed through the cheeks, causing a speech impediment. Sven was also killed by Huitzilopoctli.
* Monsieur Jean-Claude LeMieux: A Frenchman who is brought to Everworld thanks to a nuclear explosion. He lives in and is the mayor of the Greek version of Atlantis.
* Etain: An Irish woman, the half-elf daughter of the Queen of the Elves, who Christopher falls in love with. Etain seems to have feelings for him too; however, the series ends with the implication that she probably married the dwarf-king Baldwin in exchange for his assistance in the war to save Everworld.
* Keith: A violent and suicidal Neo-Nazi who worked with Christopher at an independent copy store for a short amount of time.
* Merlin: The famous wizard who, along with Ka Anor and Loki, is trying to capture Senna, though in his case it is merely to keep either of the others from using her. Nevertheless Senna fears him the most, and refers to him as the most powerful being in Everworld, because while he lacks the power of the average god, his cleverness and imagination give him an edge. His ultimate goal is to bring all the deities and people of Everworld together to stop Ka Anor.

People

Old-Worlders

The Old-Worlders are people who do not live in Everworld and who livein the old world.

The gods

Many gods were in the Everworld series. Nearly all the gods shared similar characteristics such as shape shifting, physical perfection, superhuman strength and immortality. They could only be killed by the weapon of another god such as Thor's hammer Mjolnir or through severe injury. Even then, there is a chance they could heal. Many of the gods had special powers related to their field and some were radically more powerful than others. Nearly all of them were portrayed as being cold and cruel in their attitude toward humans if not outright insane due to their power and long lives. Most are slow to change or act unless they feel immediately threatened allowing the threat of the Hetwan to grow. The gods in Everworld included:
* Greek
** Zeus
** Athena
** Apollo
** Artemis
** Ares
** Dionysus
** Heracles
** Hera
** Aphrodite
** Eros
** Ganymede (eaten by Ka Anor)
** Poseidon
* Norse
** Odin
** Loki
** Baldur
** Thor
** Hel
** Midgard Serpent
** Fenrir
* Egyptian
** Amun-Ra
** Sobek
** Isis
** Khnum (not specifically named, but seen)
* Roman
** Neptune
** Venus
* Aztec
** Huitzilopoctli
** Quetzalcoatl
* Celtic
** Daghda (Eaten by Ka Anor)
** Brigid
* Hetwan
** Ka Anor"This list is not complete"

Vikings

The Vikings are very similar to their real world counter-parts, but in many ways are easier to relate to than other groups of people. A mixture of farmers, craftsmen and warriors that glorify battle, but are trustworthy allies. Among the peoples of Everworld they are easy to get along with and motivate into needed action instead of bickering amongst themselves. They are also the most cosmopolitan of Everworld humans, as they readily accept people of other races into their ranks (African, Asian, etc.) They worshiped Loki for an unknown period of time when he overthrew Odin and other major gods such as Thor and Balder disappeared.

Aztecs

The Aztecs, in their "Everworld" incarnation, are portrayed as an utterly savage and barbaric society. They are first encountered at the end of the first book, "Search for Senna". The Aztecs are known by many names in Everworld, including "The Blood-Drinkers" and "The Heart Eaters." Some groups worship Huitzilopoctli, while others worship Quetzalcoatl.

Coo-Hatch

The Coo-Hatch are strange creatures from an alien world who were abandoned in Everworld. They were originally brought to Everworld by their God of the Flame and Goddess of the Ore. They have large red eyes with blue pupils, two main arms as well as two smaller arms that have more dexterity and are on the sides of their faces. Their mouths are long and tapered. Juvenile Coo-Hatch are small and flighted with needle-like mouths. The juveniles are very fast fliers, covering a space of 20 feet in the length of a human blink.

The Coo-Hatch are also master metal forgers and can create blades sharp enough to cut through any known material; they use this skill to make small throwing blades that are very accurate weapons and tools. In exchange of April's chemistry book, the Coo-Hatch improve Jalil's pocket knife to their quality of metal, giving them a small blade that can cut through anything, the group dubbing it "Excalibur". However, the Coo-Hatch had no knowledge of guns until they used April's chemistry textbook, which helped them to develop primitive cannons. The Coo-Hatch then with the Hetwans help they almost took over Mt. Olympus and defeated the Greek Gods. Later, some of the tribes of the Coo-Hatch team up with the protaginists and develop cannons to use in an assault on the Hetwans (which supposedly takes place after the series end).

Their one true desire is to go back to their forges on their home world, which they cannot do without a gateway like Senna or her mother.

Hetwan

The Hetwan are a race of insectoid aliens. They worship Ka Anor, the dread god of terror, and serve his will to devour all the gods in Everworld. Though aliens, the Hetwan have no high-tech weaponry. They do, however, wield devices similar to long straws (nicknamed "Super-Soakers" by the main characters), out of which they shoot a burning, venomous acid. The Hetwan themselves seem to feel no fear of death or anything. As repeatedly stated by them they exist merely to serve Ka Anor and are absolutely loyal to him.

The Hetwan live in a great city that resembles a giant needle sticking out of a pit ("Junkie Dreamland"), with an assortment of strange creatures from their home world.

The main characters fight the Hetwan often, and most of the peoples in Everworld, though trying to appease them, seem to be their enemies, which is sensible, since Ka Anor intends to kill all of Everworld's gods eventually.

Knights

The knights are classic chivalry men. Self-described as "creatures of myth and legend", their main pastimes seem to be slaying dragons, rescuing young girls, and feasting. Despite witnessing April taking out several trolls, the knights still believe that women should act "womanly"—no fighting, allowing themselves to be looked over and pampered. They are very brave and honor is placed very high on their list. The knights met in the series were all surviving members of the Knights of the Round Table such as Galahad. While they had not aged since entering Everworld they lack the immortality of many other beings. Merlin is often allied with these beings.

Eunuchs

The eunuchs in Everworld are male warriors with big, muscular bodies but with high-pitched voices; this is because they were castrated before they reached puberty.

The symbol on their breastplates is a bloody dagger with two red diamonds. They always say "jewels" when referring to testicles. The eunuchs guard the City of Hel (known only as "Her City"), kidnapping men to inhabit it as Hel's personal harem. (Why Hel's harem requires eunuchs is never explained, but perhaps indicates that her powers over or interest in castrated males is reduced or nonexistent.)

Fairies

The fairies share some characteristics with the wood nymphs. Like nymphs, they are about four feet tall and rather thin. Fairies can move quickly when necessary, though not as quickly as nymphs can. Unlike the fairies commonly portrayed, they do not have wings. Their typical attire is a leather tunic and a tight helmet, and their main weapons are arrows and swords. Different colored tunics signify different jobs within Fairy Land; for example, a fairy wearing a dark blue tunic is part of the fairy version of the IRS and goes around making notes on the various stands within the city, while a fairy in a black tunic is part of the police force.

Fairies in Everworld, also called "leprechauns", are known for their cupidity---Fairy Land, which is very pristine and clean compared to other parts of Everworld, serves as a kind of economic center for the entire world. It has a King and Queen; though it is unclear who has official power, the Queen is portrayed as the brains of the two.

Greeks

In the books, the Greeks are battling the Hetwan to keep Ka Anor from conquering Mount Olympus. They live in the land surrounding the Everworld equivalent of Mt. Olympus. They worship Zeus along with the other Olympian gods such as, Ares, Hera, and Athena. Among the gods of Everworld, Olympus is implied to be one of the most powerful places due to the large number of gods living there.

Egyptians

The Egyptians are a reactionary race living along the Nile. Due to centuries of ritual and inbreeding the Egyptian culture became weak. The Amazons, led by Pretty Little Flower used this to their advantage and proceeded to subjugate and loot Egypt. This ended when the crocodile god Sobek freed the capital and killed Pretty Little Flower, becoming Lord of all Egypt. The rest of the Egyptian gods had become living statues due to the their long lives and dedication to ritual.

Dwarves

Dwarves are a mountain dwelling race. Dwarves stand about four feet tall with extremely stocky builds. Most dwarves have long hair and beards. They are generally seen with chainmail and some sort of weapon. While most dwarves seen are men, often women are mistaken for men, due to their masculine appearance. They are skilled in both mining and blacksmithing.

The dwarves are led by King Baldwin, who resides in his capital of Daggermouth. Beneath Daggermouth is a mining complex known as the Five Hills, each of which produce a different kind of metal. They are known to have close relations to the Vikings, as is evidenced by their metalwork in Viking ships, as well as their reverence for Thor and Baldur.

Mermaids

Mermaids are ruled by Neptune. In the book, there are Mermen as well. The Mermen act as guards and are part of Neptune's army. The Mermaids swim around topless, and much to Christopher's delight, their hair rarely manages to cover their nudity. They live underwater in the Roman version of Atlantis.

Atlanteans

A technologically advanced race living under the Everworld's ocean. They are led by Jean-Claude LeMieux, who serves as mayor of the city. There is Roman and a Greek version of the city.

Irish

In the books, the Irish have embraced technology faster than any other people; in one of their cities, they have electricity and cable cars. This is believed to come to some degree from the telegraph that the main characters brought to Everworld, but also from the goddess Brigid. Their knowledge also may have come from the Druids, who are ordered by colors; the "yellow" druids being those in the study of electricity and technology. The lands of the Irish are protected by the Fiannans, a special order of knights. They are ruled by a number of kings who are ruled by a high king. Merlin is closely allied with them and they attribute his wisdom to maintaining peace in their land for over two hundred years.

ennites

The Sennites are a group of white supremacists Senna brings over from the real world. With modern weapons, they are a force to be reckoned with. At the beginning of the final book, "Entertain the End", with Senna dead, David and the others wonder if the Sennites might forge an alliance with Ka Anor; this forces the four to make a deal with the gods in order to stem the threat.

List of books

* "Everworld #1: Search for Senna"
* "Everworld #2: Land of Loss"
* "Everworld #3: Enter the Enchanted"
* "Everworld #4: Realm of the Reaper"
* "Everworld #5: Discover the Destroyer"
* "Everworld #6: Fear the Fantastic"
* "Everworld #7: Gateway to the Gods"
* "Everworld #8: Brave the Betrayal"
* "Everworld #9: Inside the Illusion"
* "Everworld #10: Understand the Unknown"
* "Everworld #11: Mystify the Magician"
* "Everworld #12: Entertain the End"

External links

* [http://animorphsforum.com/everworld/ RAF: The Animorphs Forum - Everworld Forum] - Everworld Forum

ee also

*The Everworld Experience