Review of Worldlines

[Kristen Simpson]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Worldlines" by Adam Guest.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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I absolutely adored Worldlines! Adam Guest does an outstanding job navigating the real world settings, scientific complexity, and raw emotional drives of his characters, and these things all blend together to make this book a truly fascinating read! Gary Jackson has a near death experience during his A level exams. Five years later and now a university student, this seemingly innocuous close call is seen by his physics professor as something many worldly. What follows is a chain of events in not only his world, but in other worlds as well that lead to many choices, and many consequences.

The detail in the writing was the greatest aspect of Worldlines to me. Seeing the world through the eyes of the main character I felt at times that I could reach out and step into the worlds involved in the novel. Mr. Guest utilizes imagery to its fullest extent to drive not only the emotional context but the scientific development as well. Being able to read many different stories in one novel done to such detail as what tiling is on what side of a bar is a very refreshing find for me. I was able to fully empathize with all versions of the main character on some level, and every version of the main character felt like their own distinct person with their own challenges and motivations.

The only part of the novel I really had a problem with was the pacing. The first 100 pages or so, while being essential to character development and empathy from the reader toward those characters, felt slow to start moving to the main plot of the book. This to me made the back half feel rushed in some places, which did a real disservice to an otherwise fantastic book. I found myself quite abruptly with another version of the main character, and after being with one for so long, it felt disjunct before I got used to it.

Overall I would give this book a well earned 4 out of 4 stars. The writing, subject matter, character development, and plot are all very well deserving!

If you have an eye for detail and enjoy a good mystery entangled with some theoretical physics and emotional drama then this is an excellent book for you! I would not recommend this book to anyone who cannot multitask or follow different plots at the same time, as it can be a confusing read for someone who is not used to that type of story flow.

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Worldlines
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