Review by m1n -- Worldlines by Adam Guest

[m1n]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Worldlines by Adam Guest is a thrilling mixture of crime, science, relationships, psychology, and the nature of reality. If that sounds complicated, it is! But the writing is so good that the reader is drawn in and will want to know what happens next.

In Worldlines we meet three Gary Jacksons, each from different Worldlines, or realities, existing simultaneously. In one of these he is a physics student to whom an awful thing happens in which he is implicated. But it's something he doesn’t remember having any part in. How could he have forgotten? Because of this, he investigates the theory of ‘Many Worlds’, which his tutor had spoken about, to discover whether he is innocent and what really happened. Was it the actions of another version of himself?

The two other Gary’s include one who has had a bad accident. Due to the amount of time he has to spend in bed, he has taught himself to do lucid dreaming. This is great, but then a relative with dementia claims to have witnessed a crime. Gary knows that he committed this in one of his dreams. Which makes him wonder if he can control reality beyond his dreams?

The novel is well structured by having fairly short chapters that follow each of the different realities. Narrating the different worldlines in separate chapters helps show how each situation evolves over time. It also gives each of ‘the Gary’s’ a chance to show their lives as three different people, not just photocopies.

The novel gives good, detailed information about science topics, such as the Schrödinger's cat paradox, that link with the novel’s main premise: the nature of reality. However, this doesn’t weigh the novel down or make the story difficult to understand. Instead, it takes it away from just being pure fantasy and makes it more exciting.

I would recommend this title to anyone who enjoys elements of thriller, science, fantasy, and romance. To me, the heart of the book is about trying to understand a complicated universe without becoming cynical or jaded. This is shown in how one of the Gary’s tries to forgive Marcus, who used to bully him at school. Gary decides he must do this because his best friend is going out with Marcus. The book shows the complexity of human relationships, even without separate other realities.

I very much liked it! However, I do think some readers might find it too close to science fiction/fantasy. I would say give it a chance, it’s very interesting and I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

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Worldlines
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