caedocyon's review
4.0
This was so much damn fun. One of those books that seems like a strange, intense dream you just had. I read the entire thing in less than 24 hours without picking up any other books, which is pretty unusual if you know me.
Graham is a thirty-something guy who works in a mailroom and seems to have OCD. When a woman on the street slips him a note reading "Someone wants you dead," who can he trust? The pace of exposition throughout the book was excellent---it's not an exaggeration to say it kept me on the edge of my seat, even though after a few chapters I had a pretty good idea of what was going on with the science. (To their credit, one or two of the Annalises did have me doubting briefly.) Luckily, there's a LOT more to the mystery than that.
One thing that bugged me was the "natural selection isn't sufficient to explain the course of evolution," because NO. "Bzzzzt," as Annalise would have said. I can forgive it because it's necessary for the science this book runs on to make sense, but it still bugged the hell out of me. If you'rea creationist into "intelligent design" and you read that and punched the air, you're still wrong. Even if it was true, it still doesn't make a ton of sense,
Spoiler
Slightly bent the laws of the universe for a happy ending, but I'm grateful it didn't just leave me devastated. Oh well.Graham is a thirty-something guy who works in a mailroom and seems to have OCD. When a woman on the street slips him a note reading "Someone wants you dead," who can he trust? The pace of exposition throughout the book was excellent---it's not an exaggeration to say it kept me on the edge of my seat, even though after a few chapters I had a pretty good idea of what was going on with the science. (To their credit, one or two of the Annalises did have me doubting briefly.) Luckily, there's a LOT more to the mystery than that.
One thing that bugged me was the "natural selection isn't sufficient to explain the course of evolution," because NO. "Bzzzzt," as Annalise would have said. I can forgive it because it's necessary for the science this book runs on to make sense, but it still bugged the hell out of me. If you're
Spoiler
because why should resonance favor life (and ultimately, intelligent life) over inert sludge or non-sentient life? It seems like the resonance should work in reverse there: the first universe with life should get squished by the rest of them.kejadlen's review
3.0
Actually 3.5 stars. Enjoyed the premise, although some parts were a bit far-fetched.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
3.0
Graham Smith does not speak, does not have friends or family, and never, ever, wavers from his daily rituals. Any deviation from his routine makes reality shift and change around him. Coworkers disappear, his apartment changes, his parents are suddenly alive and just as suddenly vanish again...And so every day he walks in precisely the same way along the sidewalk, ties his shoelaces in exactly the same way, and sticks sticky notes to everything, to remind him of what he did and when.
It's a lonely, enclosed life--and it is abruptly burst open by a wild-eyed young woman who tells him his life is in danger. review tbc.
Available for free http://chris-dolley.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=40">here.
It's a lonely, enclosed life--and it is abruptly burst open by a wild-eyed young woman who tells him his life is in danger. review tbc.
Available for free http://chris-dolley.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=40">here.
fbone's review
2.0
This was one long, boring book. Writing was competent. It's a parallel universe tale where one unsuspecting man is caught in the middle. Nothing new with the rare sci-fi elements. No surprise ending. Very forgettable.
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