Dan Kamin's debut novel, Ruby of the Realms, shows his knowledge of good books and study of good timing. Every twist in this story -- the focus is a lovable dog named Ruby who is sucked into separate planes of existence at the behest of a blue bunny -- comes at precisely the right time.

Unfortunately, the imagination behind each new world and its various inhabitants fails to give his readers any more than a well-paced navigational system for discovering his imagined realms. The characters are flat, the excessive exposition doesn't draw in the audience and the action holds no suspense.

In short, Ruby of the Realms flaunts Kamin's abilities as a good reader and a good student, but falls far from the mark when it comes to good writing.