This is a winner—an extravagantly imaginative and cunningly constructed adventure that tackles the age-old question of where ideas come from. Joey gets an invitation by a weird stranger named Frendric to enter a secret tunnel, which leads him to an unsettling, dangerous and thrilling world—and his long-lost friend Ben.
PW Cross knows what his readers will like—hidden worlds, crazy characters, and danger! Miracle of miracles, it all pays off with a ending I didn't seem coming, but had me slapping myself and saying, "Of course, what else could it be?" I had been too absorbed in the journey to think too much about the odd little details of this parallel world that actually end up meaning something. It had me thinking for days afterward about inspiration on an uncanny scale, like 14 year-old Philo Farnsworth envisioning lines of television transmission while hoeing rows of potatoes at his family farm. Those how'd-they-ever-think-of-it moments often likened to snatching inspiration out of the air. Joey and Ben (along with a rowdy cast) do just that, but it's a lot of work along the way. Incidentally, the title The Idea Miners: The Lost Lake Dig makes me wonder if this is the first in a series. One can only hope. Bravo, Mr. Cross!