raechsreads's review against another edition
5.0
The Walls of the Universe is an amazing book about traveling the universe, well universes. The story is about John and John, actually John Prime. John is your average high school student and farm boy until suddenly he's confronted with himself - John Prime. Prime lets John in on a little secret - there are more universes than just our own, more than one of you (well John in this instance). Prime coaxes John into trying out the universe traveling device, so that he can visit the other universe's, just like Prime has been doing for about a year. There's a misunderstanding between the two that John realizes as soon as he's left, thus the book takes on the telling of John and Prime.
Paul Melko wrote an amazing story about the possibility that for every choice you make in this universe, there's universe where you made the other choice. It's that thought that makes the book so appealing. With this novel, there are thousands of other Earth's, each unique, each depicting a different outcome than our own. I definitely recommend this book for any reader who enjoys thought provoking stories and those who enjoy adventure in the unknown.
Paul Melko wrote an amazing story about the possibility that for every choice you make in this universe, there's universe where you made the other choice. It's that thought that makes the book so appealing. With this novel, there are thousands of other Earth's, each unique, each depicting a different outcome than our own. I definitely recommend this book for any reader who enjoys thought provoking stories and those who enjoy adventure in the unknown.
grandgranini's review against another edition
5.0
Reminded me a bit of my favorite Diana Wynne Jones book, "The Homeward Bounders". Hero gets forcibly removed from his own universe and has to travel a series of parallel worlds to find his way home. It's a very nice genre piece with a distinct young adult vibe, and it gets top marks for plot alone, and the fact that I read the whole thing in one sitting.
michalski19's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really outstanding novel. It got a little more complex in the last half or last third, but that helped build the world out more. It was a very straightforward sci-fi story and good characters overall. I’m gonna have to pick up the second novel very soon.
luffy79's review against another edition
1.0
one of those books which taught me patience. Patience to finish most books that I found tedious and patience to curb my irritation when an expectation of mine is not met. By that I mean that the start of this book was very firmly science fictiony. But as the story unfolded it became entangled in a sort of thriller. And I couldn't deal with the fact that the author had changed direction for his story. I thought, and I do think, that the author had a bright idea for his book but ran out of ideas quickly. 1 star.
loonyboi's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. Light, very clever and enjoyable. It takes the concept of dimension hopping and does some pretty original things with it.
Not the most complex novel you'll ever read, but definitely clever and worth reading. Makes for great travel/vacation reading.
Not the most complex novel you'll ever read, but definitely clever and worth reading. Makes for great travel/vacation reading.
gmacken's review against another edition
4.0
Fast, frantic fun.
This book reminds me a bit of Stephen Gould's "Jumper". Melko takes a simple, classic SciFi idea (travel between parallel realities in this case) and drops it on the head of his young protagonist. This kick-starts a world-hopping adventure that's hard to put down.
"Walls of the Universe", however, is not completely successful. There are a few false notes to be found. In particular, Melko seems to lose his way about three quarters of the way through the story. The ending wraps everything up a little too quickly, and the climax appears to have been stolen from an action movie from the 1980's.
But this is still a ride worth taking, and I look forward to Melko's future outings.
This book reminds me a bit of Stephen Gould's "Jumper". Melko takes a simple, classic SciFi idea (travel between parallel realities in this case) and drops it on the head of his young protagonist. This kick-starts a world-hopping adventure that's hard to put down.
"Walls of the Universe", however, is not completely successful. There are a few false notes to be found. In particular, Melko seems to lose his way about three quarters of the way through the story. The ending wraps everything up a little too quickly, and the climax appears to have been stolen from an action movie from the 1980's.
But this is still a ride worth taking, and I look forward to Melko's future outings.
hominid's review against another edition
3.0
this book was really a 4, but i can't list it with the other books i've rated as a 4 because, despite a couple frank references to sex, it's basically a juvenile. juvenile as in Heinlein's juveniles (good, by a good author), but also limited in scope.
iguana_mama's review against another edition
4.0
Posted at Shelf Inflicted
I love well-written time-travel and alternate world stories, and Dan said it was fun, so I knew it would be the perfect vacation read.
I was not disappointed at all. This was a very entertaining story about parallel universes, stolen lives, first love, and bullies.
John Rayburn is in his senior year in high school, living a rather uneventful life on an Ohio farm with his parents. A young man (known as John Prime) who looks just like him appears with a device that allows him to travel to other worlds. John thinks he’s full of crap, until he discovers the stranger knows quite a lot about him. Tempted by a desire for adventure, a pocket full of spending money, and Prime’s promise that he would return in 12 hours, John Rayburn toggles the switch forward and embarks on his first adventure.
Meanwhile, John Prime is glad to be rid of the device and ready to settle into his new life. While he’s getting acclimated to classes, moving in on John Rayburn’s crush, Casey, and trying to make money on technology he’s stolen from another universe, John Rayburn finds the device is broken and he’s unable to come home. So he travels a bit, eventually settling into a world where he can blend in and attempt to fix the device. While he’s there, he makes friends, falls in love with an “alternate” Casey, and “invents” pinball.
The best part of the story for me was early on, when John Rayburn discovered various universes, some frightening, and others just…wrong. I enjoyed how both boys led very different lives, yet had to work together towards the end when they encountered travelers from other universes and had to deal with a bully neither could escape from. This part could have been a lot more interesting if the bad guys were not so one-dimensional.
Still, it was a lot of fun and I’m eager to find similar stories.
I love well-written time-travel and alternate world stories, and Dan said it was fun, so I knew it would be the perfect vacation read.
I was not disappointed at all. This was a very entertaining story about parallel universes, stolen lives, first love, and bullies.
John Rayburn is in his senior year in high school, living a rather uneventful life on an Ohio farm with his parents. A young man (known as John Prime) who looks just like him appears with a device that allows him to travel to other worlds. John thinks he’s full of crap, until he discovers the stranger knows quite a lot about him. Tempted by a desire for adventure, a pocket full of spending money, and Prime’s promise that he would return in 12 hours, John Rayburn toggles the switch forward and embarks on his first adventure.
Meanwhile, John Prime is glad to be rid of the device and ready to settle into his new life. While he’s getting acclimated to classes, moving in on John Rayburn’s crush, Casey, and trying to make money on technology he’s stolen from another universe, John Rayburn finds the device is broken and he’s unable to come home. So he travels a bit, eventually settling into a world where he can blend in and attempt to fix the device. While he’s there, he makes friends, falls in love with an “alternate” Casey, and “invents” pinball.
The best part of the story for me was early on, when John Rayburn discovered various universes, some frightening, and others just…wrong. I enjoyed how both boys led very different lives, yet had to work together towards the end when they encountered travelers from other universes and had to deal with a bully neither could escape from. This part could have been a lot more interesting if the bad guys were not so one-dimensional.
Still, it was a lot of fun and I’m eager to find similar stories.
donifaber's review against another edition
3.0
This book did exactly what I would do if writing a book about parallel universes which is following the stories of two versions of the same character that diverge at a certain point. It also very competently embedded the science of the story by making one of the characters a physics student who was trying to fix or replicate the broken device that allowed him to jump from one universe to another. There was more killing it in than I preferred, but even that element brought out an interesting philosophical aspect of the multiple worlds version of reality.
expendablemudge's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3.75* of five
The Book Description: John Rayburn thought all of his problems were the mundane ones of an Ohio farm boy in his last year in high school. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home—the device is broken. John settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it.
Meanwhile, his doppelgänger tries to exploit the commercial technology he’s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik’s Cube! John’s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star.
My Review: Well, THAT was fun! I have a fondness for multiverse stories, and this one's as much fun as H. Beam Piper's Paratime series. It made me think of the Star Trek: TNG episode “Lower Decks,” which shows us for the first time what the actions of the Big Boys look like from the ordinary crewmember's PoV. And like the recent success story Redshirts by John Scalzi, the hero has to figure out what's happening and how to fix it without knowing the big picture.
Why I had to knock a quarter star off the top grade the book could ever reasonably have gotten was the mega-dumb love story part...both John Wilson, the dupe, and John Rayburn or John Prime as he's called in the description above, are world-class bunglers in love. It points up the small inelegance in the book: The characters, while I liked them and invested myself in their antics, didn't always make sense as they rocketed from idea to idea. Things that should've been second nature to any reasonable semi-adult just passed right by them and caused avoidable problems for the author. It would have given him more room to flesh out the other small inelegances, like a messy sense of elapsed in-story time and a few logical gaps that exist.
But heck! What's a little dent and scrape among friends? I can't wait to get the next one in the series!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Book Description: John Rayburn thought all of his problems were the mundane ones of an Ohio farm boy in his last year in high school. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home—the device is broken. John settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it.
Meanwhile, his doppelgänger tries to exploit the commercial technology he’s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik’s Cube! John’s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star.
My Review: Well, THAT was fun! I have a fondness for multiverse stories, and this one's as much fun as H. Beam Piper's Paratime series. It made me think of the Star Trek: TNG episode “Lower Decks,” which shows us for the first time what the actions of the Big Boys look like from the ordinary crewmember's PoV. And like the recent success story Redshirts by John Scalzi, the hero has to figure out what's happening and how to fix it without knowing the big picture.
Why I had to knock a quarter star off the top grade the book could ever reasonably have gotten was the mega-dumb love story part...both John Wilson, the dupe, and John Rayburn or John Prime as he's called in the description above, are world-class bunglers in love. It points up the small inelegance in the book: The characters, while I liked them and invested myself in their antics, didn't always make sense as they rocketed from idea to idea. Things that should've been second nature to any reasonable semi-adult just passed right by them and caused avoidable problems for the author. It would have given him more room to flesh out the other small inelegances, like a messy sense of elapsed in-story time and a few logical gaps
Spoiler
like when John Wilson drags a woman and child into another universe and conveniently forgets this while trying to determine the radius his device works inBut heck! What's a little dent and scrape among friends? I can't wait to get the next one in the series!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.