Alternate Worlds - More Books than Time

The Fold by Peter Clines – Science Fiction Done Right

March 1, 2020 by Kathy Leave a Comment

Peter Clines takes a fascinating idea – instantaneous travel – adds a background setting of creeping dread, likable characters, good dialogue and writing to make a fun novel, The Fold. Lead character Mike Erikson teaches high school English but he’s not your typical teacher. He’s brilliant and remembers everything, everything he ever saw, read, heard, felt, thought.

Mike’s old friend in DARPA asks him to check out a group DARPA funds that seemingly has incredible success, yet is frustratingly unwilling to take more steps or widen their discovery. This friend wants to use the technology, called the Fold, to revolutionize travel if it works, or to stop the research funding if it does not. Everyone says the Fold works, that it is perfectly safe. Yet everyone on the project is uneasy and one previous investigator came out of his trip somewhat changed.

Mike learns the Fold actually doesn’t move you from point A to point B, but exchanges you with someone else in a very close alternate reality. Oops. And sometimes, if there are more people around, the alternate reality is not close at all. After one researcher comes through the Fold with radiation burns that are at least a year old, the science team comes clean about what they have and how they developed it. It is true Mad Science, based on the metaphysical ramblings and equations of a Victorian fruitcake.

Now Mike has a problem, because the Fold isn’t shutting down. And it isn’t connecting anywhere benign either.

The plot is excellent. We learn more about the characters throughout the story and author Peter Clines does a very good job with creating characters that we can relate to. The primary hero, Mike, is amazingly smart, in fact a little too brilliant to be completely believable. He comes in from outside the project, armed with his eidetic memory and pattern skills and quickly understands the project. It takes him some time and some inexplicable happenings to see the most likely rationale, an alternate world. Once he does it’s obvious to everyone that the Fold offers great promise and even greater threat.

I did have a little problem visualizing the setting. The scientists built the fold in a concrete building with several rooms. The action takes place in a few of those rooms and in a couple of the alternate worlds. It was the building that I had a hard time visualizing, but that is minor quibble. (How exciting is a concrete building?)

Overall The Fold is entertaining, an enjoyable fast read.

4 Stars

Bright Ruin by Vic James – Harrowing Finale to Dark Gifts Trilogy

October 17, 2018 by Kathy Leave a Comment

Bright Ruin picks up immediately after Tarnished City (which follows right after Gilded Cage, the first book in the Dark Gifts trilogy by Vic James); be sure to read the books together so you don’t lose track of the characters and setting. Bright Ruin is the climax and offers an ending that is meant to offer a path forward to an England that appears to have no future beyond more oppression and cruelty.

The Skilled Jardine family, including daughter-in-law Bouda, have immense talents that they use to achieve and hold power. Bouda is the only one who genuinely cares about the country – and she believes the Skilled are better and should rule and that Slave Days are the obvious and natural outcome.

Their counterpoint family is the Hadleys, mostly oldest Abi and goodhearted Luke. Vic James develops the characters to some extent but what we see in Gilded Cage we see in Bright Ruin, except that Gavar finds a conscience and Abi determination. Bright Ruin includes all the people from prior books, telling the story through Abi, Luke, Gavar, Bouda and Silyen.

** SPOILER ALERT**

England faces the basic problem of “what next”? Do the Equals continue enslaving common people? Do they lighten up a bit and make the slavery less cruel? Do they abolish slavery? The economy and social structure are built around 10 years of slavery for all commoners. You cannot simply end that without some plans for the future. Bouda carries much of the story line, where she continues to insist that Equals should rule and commoners slave, all while she wonders whether that is completely true. Gavar makes his choice because he loves his daughter. Silyen doesn’t really care; he doesn’t like slavery and cruelty but he’s not going to fight to eliminate it.

James had a challenge to wrap this up. She brings in new magic and a mythical figure and an enormous sacrifice from Silyen, whom we would never expect to sacrifice anything (or perhaps he takes this action to follow the wonder king). The result is not completely believable nor completely satisfying.

Overall I didn’t care for Bright Ruin as much as the first novel; I dislike series where the author writes themselves into a corner and then must have a miracle occur to conclude and that is what Bright Ruin feels like.

3 Stars

I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in expectation of a review.

How to Keep the World From Going Sideways – Resonance by Chris Dolley

January 26, 2014 by Kathy Leave a Comment

After reading Medium Dead (reviewed here) I bought Resonance which appears to be Chris Dolley’s best known and most admired book. This book was more challenging to read. It is also harder to review as it is hard to put my finger on what about this left me a little lukewarm.

For one thing I love good science fiction or fantasy, am intrigued by alternate worlds, prefer novels that are well-written with interesting characters and good dialogue. Resonance has all these. Yet it also had traits that I don’t usually enjoy: Obsessive/compulsive behavior in the main character, a character that matures far beyond what we have reason to expect, somewhat confusing setting and middling-good ending.

Overall Resonance is excellent. The writing quality is very good. We see the main character Graham through his own eyes and through his awareness of how others respond to him. Graham knows people think he’s weird, unsocial and probably retarded. What Graham knows is that it’s important for him to follow certain rituals in order to keep the world more or less in running order. Graham has it backwards, it is not the world that flops around but he. Graham moves among alternate worlds.

One interesting side note is how the villain sees the alternate worlds as a source of profit. He isn’t interested in moving goods and people, trading or exploiting, but in harvesting the combined experience of 2 billion worlds to develop breakthrough products. That’s a unique view and probably more realistic way to profit from alternate worlds, if they do exist and if we are ever able to talk to them.

Resonance felt incoherent to me at times. I think that was meant to be the case since Graham would experience the world as constantly changing, but it was unsettling and made it harder to read.

I do recommend Resonance, but be aware that it is unsettling to read and not as fun or as fast as Medium Dead. Be sure you have several hours free and try to finish in a few days.
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