Goldenhead

by Annalinde Matichei

"They say your imaginary friends aren't your real friends.But who stands by you when you lose your physical body?"Did you have imaginary friends? Live in imaginary worlds? Were you sure they were really imaginary? Of course you weren't. Goldenhead crosses the barrier between the "real world" and the world they told her was just her "imagination". She meets the friends she dreamed, and finds that some of them thought they were dreaming her.In an anime-style body in an all-girl world, she finds herself among a group of three loyal friends, each separated from her "real" body and each looking now like an anime schoolgirl.They also discover that their new reality is threatened by a terrible evil, and that each of them has unique powers to help them fight that evil. They are launched on an adventure spanning multiple realities. An adventure that is sometimes terrifying, that brings them into contact with many kinds of being, from warrior-maids to sorcerous musicians to tree-spirits; and places from ancient villages to modern cities to ships of the sky.But among all the things they discover, the most beautiful is a depth of love and friendship, of loyalty and kindness, that formerly they could only dream of.____Annalinde Matichei’s first book, "The Flight of the Silver Vixen" was hailed by the book "This rare and exhilarating book is undeniably a must-read" - Inside a Dog"As a science fiction fan I adored this book" - Everything to do with Books"It’s a fun, all-girl, swashbuckling adventure that makes you giddy with joy" - Bibrary BooklustGoldenhead has all the verve, power and intelligence of "The Flight of the Silver Vixen", while going deeper into the realms of fantasy and imagination

197 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 12, 2011

About the author

I am a visitor to your fair world.

Not an entirely voluntary visitor, I fear, but that is not your fault. I am making the best of things. I have found kindred spirits from my homeland - or worlds like it. I am making my way here by writing about my own people - and peoples like them.

Currently I am also writing about people like myself: people who find themselves stranded in strange places; people who live lives on more than one plane; people for whom waking and dream, flesh and virtuality, intertwine so closely that only the wisest of the wise can distinguish between them, though fools may believe they can.

Possibly by this stage you have decided that this little biography is imaginary. Quite the reverse is true. I was tempted to write an imaginary biography: one that dull people would have believed. I could have named some place on your world and said that I came from there (and in a certain sense it might have been true). I could have told you of schools I attended and employment I have held (but that would have been pure fabrication, since I have done neither).

Instead I have decided to tell the truth. Make of it what you will.

Reviews

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is set in the same universe as The Flight of the Silver Vixen, but it is not a sequel to it, although one of the characters features briefly. This story is a slightly different genre, a sort of science-fictionalised portal fantasy rather than space opera. It is also rather different in tone and makes direct reference to anime, which I found a little jarring. Something about it creeped me out a little; I think it was partly that the main character is age-ambiguous, which made it some of her interactions with adult characters read a little oddly. The adults also don't seem to have the qualms one would expect about letting children do their fighting for them. As with Silver Vixen, this was clearly intended as the first in a series; unlike Silver Vixen, I'm not sure I'd bother to read any more of these.

[Sascha Broich · Rating 3 out of 5]

The over formal speech hinders the story to flow.