Review by LeDiplomatique -- Worldlines by Adam Guest

[LeDiplomatique]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Many World Theory states that there are other universes with life similar and parallel to our own. In the universes (worldlines), all possible outcomes to all possible scenarios play out simultaneously. Worldlines: A Many Worlds Novel is a book that tells the story about the lives of Jackson Gary in four different worlds. The worlds are differentiated using different color names; the Blue Line, Black Line, Red Line and Green Line. Gary Jackson is a young man in his 20s. Two major incidents shape his life; an accident/near accident and a lucid dream which impacts other versions of him in the other worldlines.

Worldlines: A Many Worlds Novel is written from the perspective of Gary Jackson, who is the main character. The main themes of the book are infinity, love, murder, fate, consciousness-travel and worldline connectivity. It is narrated from four dimensions, by four different versions of Gary from each of the four universes. Each version of Gary explains his own perspective of the story but they all interconnect in the fact that a 12-second incident happening in one universe impacts all the versions in the four universes in different ways.

In a lucid dream, Black Line’s left-handed Gary, who is Sinead’s boyfriend, travels to Blue Line and stabs Michelle out of bitterness that she rejected him. Consequently, Blue Line Gary, boyfriend to the deceased Michelle, is imprisoned for the crime even though he knows nothing about how the killing occured. To rectify the mistake, Black Line Gary travels in another lucid dream and possesses the body of Red Line Gary, accordingly communicating to the Red Line version of Michelle in an attempt to save Blue Line Gary. Red Line Michelle and her crew manage to send a message to Betty Cohen, a solicitor in Blue Line, who in turn represents Blue Line Gary in court. Meanwhile, something similar is happening to Green Line Gary. Which version of Gary will be imprisoned and which one will be acquitted for the murder of Michelle? Read this amazing book to find that out.

Adam Guest’s tone portrays an author who believes and understands Many World Theory deeply. This is shown in the creativity of the story and the fact that it is believable and convincing on the existence of other worldlines besides our own. The plot is excellently woven in all the dimensions. The characters are greatly developed. My favorite is the Black Line Gary Jackson due to his empathetic personality. When he realizes that his mistake could impact other worldlines, he takes it upon himself to rectify it using a lucid dream. This, he does while knowing that the drug he uses to make his mission possible (Angel Dust) could have detrimental effects on his physical well-being. I love the ‘placebo effect’ Sinead adds to this event.

The story might be ‘somewhat’ confusing if the reader does not understand the theory. All the same, it is interesting and gripping once you understand the direction of the book. The language of the book is not too technical. I most love the hidden humor of the book. For instance, during a court session, Elsie Lamb throws her legal files across the courtroom to prove the absurdity of Many World Theory. Moreover, I am fascinated by the idea that the characters’ consciousness could drift to neighboring worldlines through dreams and hallucinations. I did not like anything least.

The book does not contain profanities and erotic scenes. However, I came across some errors. This book is recommendable to readers who wish to understand Many World Theory. I also recommend it to those who love dramatic stories. I will not rate it 2 stars because Adam Guest has done a great job in dramatizing the story. I will not rate it 4 stars because he did not provide an introduction to the subject matter. This made the book quite confusing before I could understand what it was about. I had to read and reread to understand why the character of Gary was described in different versions. Therefore, an introduction would have been very helpful. Due to this omission and the presence of a few errors, I rate Worldlines: A Many Worlds Novel by Adam Guest 3 out of 4 stars.

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Worldlines
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