Review of Worldlines
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- 6eyed
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Review of Worldlines
Worldlines follows the story of Gary Jackson, or rather, multiple instances of Gary Jackson. Over time, the author includes a total of five different parallel universes, referred to as worldlines by the characters in the book. In these worldlines, Gary's life has taken a different turn depending on the outcomes of certain events. Sometimes the difference is as insignificant as his girlfriend, Michelle, missing a mutual friend's birthday party. In one worldline, the Black Line, Gary was a victim of an accident in which he was hit by a lorry while crossing the street. Whereas in other worldlines Gary is a university student with a good relationship with his family and a good social life, Black Line Gary suffers from PTSD, depression, and lasting physical trauma which limits his mobility. Due to his accident, Gary teaches himself to lucid dream in order to experience a form of freedom from his injuries as he sleeps. However, one night, he finds himself lucid dreaming and commits murder in the dream. At first, he believes this is harmless. That is, until his friend's mother, a dementia patient named Mary, claims to have seen him committing this crime and describes his dream exactly. Gary begins to question whether he has truly committed a crime in a different worldline. If he has, what will he do if he has accidentally sentenced his other self to a lifetime in prison?
Adam Guest is an incredibly efficient storyteller. Though his writing covers five different instances of Gary, all with their own variations of Gary's family and friends, I never felt confused or lost in the complexities of the different worldlines. Guest does an excellent job at establishing the foundation of Gary's life, then introducing the reader to the different outcomes his life could have taken. Because the story takes place at the same time in all the worldlines, there is some repetition when Gary takes the same actions or describes the same places. However, I felt that this was also done purposefully and efficiently. By showing the reader Gary's thoughts in different worldlines, the reader gains a deeper understanding of how Gary is different or the same in each worldline.
Something I especially loved about Guest's writing is that he made sure to include little details that made me wonder how else different worldlines influenced one another. For example, on a visit to the hospital, Gary swears that the nurse is different from the one he saw the day before, but she claims she is the same nurse. There are many other details like this that can easily be overlooked, but, if noticed, cling to the mind of the curious reader.
The only thing I disliked about the entire book was that, at times, Gary can be a somewhat judgmental protagonist. For example, he is quick to judge his sisters across multiple worldlines, claiming that they can "do better" even though all his sisters are doing is pursuing the goals that make them happy. However, this did not detract from my investment in the story.
Worldlines combines the thrill and suspense of crime novels with the imagination of sci-fi fantasy. The plot is very well organized, and the characters are written with depth, hooking the reader into both characters' lives and the fantastical concept of parallel universes. The book is professionally edited, with only a few minor errors. Thus, I see no reason to give Worldlines anything less than four out of four stars. If you enjoy suspenseful stories with science fiction twist that will make you ponder the true nature of the universe by the end, then you will surely enjoy this book.
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Worldlines
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