He has just graduated high school and he has come up with a plan, first he gets his friend Marie, Joey, Rick and Clara to help him with a project to raise some capital. There is danger of the government or some entity finding out about the gate.Ĭharlie's Uncle Max died and left him a ranch that contained the gate, and now that Charlie is 18 the ranch is his. Charlie Newell has a gate to an alternate Earth where humans never evolved.

Wildside (1996) 316 pages by Steven Gould. Oh yeah, and there is one more secret revealed by Steven Gould at the end. The remainder of the book details the clever and desperate ways in which the ‘Wildside Investments’ members try to evade capture, rescue those imprisoned and keep the gate out of the hands of those who would abuse it. Of course the secret can’t withstand too much scrutiny, and despite engaging lawyers and planning carefully, the military and other more sinister government organizations slam down hard. Charlie comes up with a plan to make some money for himself and his four friends, by selling passenger pigeons to zoos and then panning for gold in the virgin territory. For people of a certain age this book will evoke fond memories of Heinlein’s Farmer in the Sky and Tunnel in the Sky, and while it has a definite YA feel to it, this book is a riveting read for all ages. The door leads to a short tunnel and another locked door…through which is an alternate Earth where no humans developed. When 18yo Charlie Newell inherits his uncle’s farm after he has been missing for five years, he moves in and discovers a mysterious locked door in the barn. Overall a really good book, with a great first half and solid wrap-up, even if it couldn't sustain greatness the whole way through. He sets up a base on the other side, the 'wild side.' I loved the meticulous planning that went into setting up bases and reaching his destination (gold-filled rivers of Colorado) through a series of steps.īut of course, something this good can't stay a secret forever, and once they are discovered, things get crazy quickly. It just so happens that Charlie is a pilot, and so after selling a few extinct pigeons to raise some cash (really!) he sets out to explore the new world via airplane.

At the same time, Charlie is very careful not to expose the world to outsiders, having a healthy fear of what the government would do if they discovered it. He recruits his friends to explore the world and make themselves rich while learning more about it.

As usual, I loved the world building and wasn't sure about how the author chose to wrap things up.Ĭharlie Newell inherits his uncle's farm after graduating high school, and discovers a portal to another version of Earth, one where it seems like humans have never evolved. The first 60% of the book definitely was. This book is really close to a 5-star for me.

Steven gould jumper series