Review by Fae Liesl Enchantee -- Worldlines by Adam Guest

[Eunice Geres]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Worldlines: A Many Worlds Novel by Adam Guest is a sci-fi/fantasy novel based on a fictional scientific theory called Many Worlds Theory. This theory generally means that for every action a human does, the infinite number of outcomes will create different worldlines, which basically means that a person can have an immortal life based only on his or her perspective.

Gary Jackson, a guy who got hit by a lorry when he was young, committed a crime when he was lucid dreaming. The problem is, his girlfriend's mother who suffered from dementia, saw what he had done in his lucid state. In another worldline, Gary Jackson, a physics student, murdered his girlfriend at a friend's birthday party. The problem is, he had no recollection of doing it. As Gary realizes that the worldlines his professor talked about at the university exists, he started looking for an explanation to prove his innocence.

The author, Adam Guest, did an excellent job of executing a plot-driven novel while simultaneously keeping up with a complex character. One of the prevalent problems in sci-fi novels, from what I’ve observed in other works, is that the author can only focus on the plot and not on the complexity of the main character and other supporting characters. That’s why almost all the sci-fi books that are not well-known are mostly plot-driven only. But with Adam, he made an epic storyline that will keep a reader on edge every single scene, all the while keeping up with different versions of all the characters from every worldline.

I liked every aspect of this book except for two minor details: One, there are too many sentences missing their respective commas. And two, I hated how the main character, Gary, is so much opinionated. There are exactly four instances where I thought he was so opinionated, and I will discuss one for the sake of my argument. The part I’m going to talk about is when his sister came out as a lesbian. He said that he supported his sister, and he can see her really happy with her partner and her choice of fashion, but after he said that, he still thinks that his sister can do better than that. I know he has his own opinions, and that he wants what’s best for her, but I think he has no right to think that she can do and be better if she’s not gay.

I listed eight grammatical errors. The use of profanity is very minimal, which I think is just alright since it’s an adult novel. There is no erotic scene, but there are some references about sex, which again I think is just alright since it’s an adult novel. I really enjoyed Adam’s writing. The plot is well-written, and so are the characters. The whole theory in which the plot is based upon is explained really well. And for those reasons, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.

I would recommend this book to people who love sci-fi novels. This book is an interesting novel that will surely capture the hearts of science lovers out there. The changing of worldlines is not confusing, but I know there are people who don’t like that, so I don’t recommend this book to people who don’t read the chapter titles.

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Worldlines
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[d_poloni]

I loved how different this was for a sci-fi! I agree with your statements about Gary. He's not the most likable character, is he?

[WardahEbrahim]

Good point about the plot vs the character

[Justine Ocsebio]

I was just about to write my review on this book and I particularly noted that thing with her sister coming out as a lesbian and dramatically changing from “prim and proper” to more “goth-like”. And said in the same paragraph, “Donna seemed happy, but I always thought she could do better.” I, too, find that opinion perplexing.

Your review is honest and very detailed. Great job!

[Eunice Geres]

I was just about to write my review on this book and I particularly noted that thing with her sister coming out as a lesbian and dramatically changing from “prim and proper” to more “goth-like”. And said in the same paragraph, “Donna seemed happy, but I always thought she could do better.” I, too, find that opinion perplexing.

Your review is honest and very detailed. Great job!

I was actually taken aback too by his statement about his other sister where he also said that she can do better than being photographer

[monserrat_21]

I reviewed this book a few months ago and I still think about the Many Worlds theory occasionally, I found it fascinating! The author did a great job with the plot and the characters, I agree. I will always feel bad for Blue line Gary! Great review.

[Nehal Mitna]

I found the concept fascinating too. The writing style made reading this book all the more interesting!!

[rahilshajahan]

This book is in my To Read list. Seeing so many positive reviews, I should give this one a read.

[xsquare]

I read this book before and loved it for the reasons that you listed: it's not only the plot that's great, but the characters as well. The missing commas also irked me. Thanks for the great review!

[Kibet Hillary]

The most fascinating aspect of the story is that it is Gary himself trying to resolve the issue, which makes it somewhat hard to believe him, but it is good to read that he has his friend, Sinead, and the professor also knows about the Many Worlds Theory. Many thanks for the fascinating review.