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Abacabax
Max Teller is on the run for his life on Abacabax, a world of incredible patterns, danger and beauty that stands on the brink of destruction. Four families, each with unique abilities, are locked in a struggle for power and revenge while dark creatures have united with deadly purpose. Max is lost and alone, not knowing whom to trust and unable to awaken the powers that everyone assumes he has. Armed only with a broken abacus and his unconventional imagination, he must make unlikely allies and battle the growing awareness that he may be the one destined to destroy the world.
362 pages
Published November 13, 2020
2 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 20, 2020
Two of my favorite things in one book: math and fantasy. This book takes the beauty of mathematics and dedicates an entire world to it.
November 23, 2020
I truly enjoyed reading this book. It is not only exciting, comparable to Harry Potter, Star Wars, or Robert Langdon, it also has a great educational value: it inspired me to learn more about mathematics. The reader does not need to know much about math or even like it in order to become captivated by the story – and bewitched by the power of math or the power of recognizing patterns behind the surface. Abacabax reveals patterns (with the help of powerful visualizations) in everything from nature, the landscape, and the tools used by its inhabitants, to hieroglyphics and music. Abacabax seduces the reader to see the beauty and similarity behind different forms. Reckoning tools and capabilities are key to great powers, which can be used to do good or evil in the World. Having read Abacabax, I bought myself an abacus for playing with numbers in a new way.
November 22, 2020
This was a very interesting, exciting and capturing book to read. Something totally different from books in this genre that I have read before. From start to end you are taken in to a world of beauty, magic and mathematics. It is filled with strange, strong characters with different abilities, using their powers for the good and the bad. It is playful, scary, fun and with a lot of surprises. A stunning, breathtaking adventure. A real page-turner - I couldn't put it down!
November 22, 2020
A fascinating story, well written and interesting. I wish it was twice as long. Recommended to anyone with an imagination and mandatory to those with an imagination and an affinity for numbers, systems and maths in general.
February 23, 2021
I loved this book. It's creative, compelling, well-written, and taps into my imagination in a unique way as someone who loves not only fantasy and great storytelling, but also the intersection of mathematics, art and culture. The parallel world of Abacabax is strange and yet familiar.
What really comes through in the details of this hero's journey is Mike Naylor's love of creative thinking. Max Teller, the main character, is the embodiment of "non-traditional", unbounded ways of thinking, particularly about numbers and arithmetic. And his companions each represent different embodied ways of "reckoning", some of which may be familiar (the abacus), and some of which were totally new to me.
But don't be scared of the mathematical influences in this book. In some ways it feels like this book is an invitation to all those folks who at some point in their past decided, or were told, "I'm not a math person" or "I'm not good at math." If there was more math education that took the embodied, free-form, playful approach of Abacabax, there would be fewer such people.
As someone who doesn't fit a traditional mold in terms of my interests or how I think, I felt seen and reflected in the characters and story. Abacabax left me curious to learn more about the world Naylor has created, as well as the human cultures, mathematical puzzles and traditions that inspired it. Can't wait for a sequel!
What really comes through in the details of this hero's journey is Mike Naylor's love of creative thinking. Max Teller, the main character, is the embodiment of "non-traditional", unbounded ways of thinking, particularly about numbers and arithmetic. And his companions each represent different embodied ways of "reckoning", some of which may be familiar (the abacus), and some of which were totally new to me.
But don't be scared of the mathematical influences in this book. In some ways it feels like this book is an invitation to all those folks who at some point in their past decided, or were told, "I'm not a math person" or "I'm not good at math." If there was more math education that took the embodied, free-form, playful approach of Abacabax, there would be fewer such people.
As someone who doesn't fit a traditional mold in terms of my interests or how I think, I felt seen and reflected in the characters and story. Abacabax left me curious to learn more about the world Naylor has created, as well as the human cultures, mathematical puzzles and traditions that inspired it. Can't wait for a sequel!
March 18, 2021
I am always keen to read things that are multi genre or break new ground for me in some way. Man oh man did this book deliver! I bought it for myself to read because I enjoy fantasy and science-fiction books, but when I finished I put it on my kids bookshelf because I know that my young readers will enjoy it as well. At the end of it is a section that teaches how an abacus works and various other non computer based, old world adding tools, which was a real treat because I was not at all eager to put the story down and leave this world. My only wish was that I had read those sections first because it would have given me more insight into the tools that the characters were using. This was a great read and I highly recommend it!
November 20, 2020
It had many words and at least two colors on the cover.
Would read again
Would read again
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews