Review by ExiledKami -- Worldlines by Adam Guest
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ExiledKami
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- Latest Review: Worldlines by Adam Guest
Review by ExiledKami -- Worldlines by Adam Guest
[Following is a volunteer review of "Worldlines" by Adam Guest.]
Have you ever pondered over an act and speculated on the possible outcomes if things played out differently? What if that action could result in not just another but an infinite number of possibilities? Worldlines by Adam Guest pivots on a fictional storyline where the Many Worlds Interpretation validates itself in a rather distressing yet incredible fashion.
Gary Jackson seems to navigate a normal life with his girlfriend, Sinead and her family, despite the long-term physical injuries he acquired after being struck by a lorry. He practices lucid dreaming as an escapade in enacting his desires that were deprived by his current condition. One night in a lucid dream, Gary murdered a woman out of a personal grudge. Meanwhile, in another Worldline, Gary Jackson, a 21-year old physicist, is abruptly thrown to the floor and restrained as he soon realized that he just stuck a knife in his girlfriend, Michelle's, neck. Sinead's mother, a patient with vascular dementia, accuses Gary of committing a murder, which to his astonishment, is a segment of his lucid dream. He discerns that his lucid-fantasies are now another man's nightmares, as the latter must grieve in jail for a gruesome act; one that is a void in his memory. How can he venture to prove his counterpart's innocence in a secondary reality when the physical evidence is clearly against him?
Worldlines creates a refreshing affair between theoretical physics and fiction. The Many Worlds Interpretation theorizes that an infinite number of outcomes result from a single instance, each of which plays out in individual Worldlines. Gary discovers that lucid dreaming is a medium that not only allows one's consciousness to slip into these alternate realities, but also creates an opportunity for the dreamer to momentarily gain possession of their body in the other Worldlines.
I was intrigued by the simple and straightforward manner in which these intricate topics were explored, especially during the open-minded exchanges between Professor Buzzard and his students. I commend Guest's ability to integrate the multiple experiences of Gary into a smooth and engaging plot without baffling the audience. I liked that the author used colour codes to indicate a switch in the perspective of different Worldlines, though I think it was effortless to notice which version of Gary is under examination. Mentioning the same scenarios in several parts of the book seemed redundant, but this managed to establish the similarity of the characters, despite them being subjected to multiple fates as a result of a single occurrence.
The novel expressed in the first-person perspective allows the reader to grow with Gary throughout his multifold encounters. The lightly humorous moments that unveil via the development of family, romantic and platonic relationships accentuates the fictional theme with a realistic touch. The novel digs into human emotions as it conflicts the reader on whether to think of Gary as the protagonist or antagonist. On one instance, he succumbs to his dark desires and in another, he was engrossed in lamentation for the consequences. I was curious to know what would be the outcome of fact versus fantasy in a court setting. Can one defend a murder with scientific theories while there is footage of the crime scene with the guilty committing the awful deed? I think these ideas presented have the potential of creating a mind-blowing movie adaptation.
After reading this book, I found myself questioning many aspects of the experiences we create based on our choices and the mystery behind making conscious memories in our sleep, even though the central theme of the novel is theoretical. The book was well-edit with a few spacing errors which did not distract my reading experience. I rate Worldlines a well-deserved four out of four stars for the creative and thought-provoking themes presented. The novel contains references of mental disorders, non-borderline profanities and sexually-suggestive themes which will be appropriate for a more mature audience. Lovers of science-fiction or readers with a scientifically curious and open mind will relish this novel.
******
Worldlines
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Have you ever pondered over an act and speculated on the possible outcomes if things played out differently? What if that action could result in not just another but an infinite number of possibilities? Worldlines by Adam Guest pivots on a fictional storyline where the Many Worlds Interpretation validates itself in a rather distressing yet incredible fashion.
Gary Jackson seems to navigate a normal life with his girlfriend, Sinead and her family, despite the long-term physical injuries he acquired after being struck by a lorry. He practices lucid dreaming as an escapade in enacting his desires that were deprived by his current condition. One night in a lucid dream, Gary murdered a woman out of a personal grudge. Meanwhile, in another Worldline, Gary Jackson, a 21-year old physicist, is abruptly thrown to the floor and restrained as he soon realized that he just stuck a knife in his girlfriend, Michelle's, neck. Sinead's mother, a patient with vascular dementia, accuses Gary of committing a murder, which to his astonishment, is a segment of his lucid dream. He discerns that his lucid-fantasies are now another man's nightmares, as the latter must grieve in jail for a gruesome act; one that is a void in his memory. How can he venture to prove his counterpart's innocence in a secondary reality when the physical evidence is clearly against him?
Worldlines creates a refreshing affair between theoretical physics and fiction. The Many Worlds Interpretation theorizes that an infinite number of outcomes result from a single instance, each of which plays out in individual Worldlines. Gary discovers that lucid dreaming is a medium that not only allows one's consciousness to slip into these alternate realities, but also creates an opportunity for the dreamer to momentarily gain possession of their body in the other Worldlines.
I was intrigued by the simple and straightforward manner in which these intricate topics were explored, especially during the open-minded exchanges between Professor Buzzard and his students. I commend Guest's ability to integrate the multiple experiences of Gary into a smooth and engaging plot without baffling the audience. I liked that the author used colour codes to indicate a switch in the perspective of different Worldlines, though I think it was effortless to notice which version of Gary is under examination. Mentioning the same scenarios in several parts of the book seemed redundant, but this managed to establish the similarity of the characters, despite them being subjected to multiple fates as a result of a single occurrence.
The novel expressed in the first-person perspective allows the reader to grow with Gary throughout his multifold encounters. The lightly humorous moments that unveil via the development of family, romantic and platonic relationships accentuates the fictional theme with a realistic touch. The novel digs into human emotions as it conflicts the reader on whether to think of Gary as the protagonist or antagonist. On one instance, he succumbs to his dark desires and in another, he was engrossed in lamentation for the consequences. I was curious to know what would be the outcome of fact versus fantasy in a court setting. Can one defend a murder with scientific theories while there is footage of the crime scene with the guilty committing the awful deed? I think these ideas presented have the potential of creating a mind-blowing movie adaptation.
After reading this book, I found myself questioning many aspects of the experiences we create based on our choices and the mystery behind making conscious memories in our sleep, even though the central theme of the novel is theoretical. The book was well-edit with a few spacing errors which did not distract my reading experience. I rate Worldlines a well-deserved four out of four stars for the creative and thought-provoking themes presented. The novel contains references of mental disorders, non-borderline profanities and sexually-suggestive themes which will be appropriate for a more mature audience. Lovers of science-fiction or readers with a scientifically curious and open mind will relish this novel.
******
Worldlines
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Worldlines by Adam Guest
