Review by Venah Gitahi -- Worldlines by Adam Guest
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Venah Gitahi
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Review by Venah Gitahi -- Worldlines by Adam Guest
[Following is a volunteer review of "Worldlines" by Adam Guest.]
Worldlines explores the many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory and the effect interaction between parallel worlds could have on the individual experience. The protagonist, Gary Jackson, unexpectedly upends his own life and has to come to terms with the facts both as the world sees them and as he knows them to be, as well as deal with the aftermath. The set of characters is spread over several similar worlds linked by an incident that affects Gary's outlook and life in significant ways.
The pacing in Worldlines is good, with information arriving as the reader needs it. The subplots feel realistic, original and consistent for the characters involved. The world-building is precise and well-done. There are no major plot holes and the story is neatly tied up, with questions the reader may have quite satisfactorily answered. The crisis point is great, though not entirely unexpected. The general flow of ideas and information is, on the whole, acceptable.
There was no over-arching plot tying the whole tale together apart from a pretty shaky drive for justice. The story simply explores events as they occur. While the events are rather interesting, they cannot in and of themselves carry the plot or make it exceptional. In all it feels like an extrapolation of a hypothesis that, to be more sensational, added on an emotionally-charged action into the journey. The negative depiction of the character central to the crisis point feels unintentional and prevents significant emotional attachment. The writing style is a little too conversational and casual, especially during the exposition, and the narration's register seems to suddenly switch slightly in places.
The editing was sub-par. Issues with sentence continuity, tenses and punctuation were frequent. There was a noticeable overuse of the words 'however' and 'whilst', especially where different words would convey the intended meaning in a much better way. Rough transitions and stilted word use disrupted the flow of the story. Two instances of bad exposition stand out: the very first paragraph of the story which should perhaps have been used as a blurb, and the meeting among the three scientists of which the first-person limited narrator was not a physical part.
The neat ending is an aspect I disliked. The more improbable zones of the implied probability space in the universe went unexplored except for the main conflict. Nothing is left in suspense or unknowable. There's no what-if to hold on to because every scenario is covered, mostly in a predictable manner. The reader leaves the story and promptly forgets about it.
I rate Worldlines by Adam Guest 3 out of 4 stars. The premise of the story is fascinating but its execution only adequate. It could stand to push a little more at its boundaries in order to be more compelling. The editing was a disappointment and rather detracts from the story.
I would recommend this to fans of realism and minimalist world-building in sci-fi and fantasy.
******
Worldlines
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Worldlines explores the many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory and the effect interaction between parallel worlds could have on the individual experience. The protagonist, Gary Jackson, unexpectedly upends his own life and has to come to terms with the facts both as the world sees them and as he knows them to be, as well as deal with the aftermath. The set of characters is spread over several similar worlds linked by an incident that affects Gary's outlook and life in significant ways.
The pacing in Worldlines is good, with information arriving as the reader needs it. The subplots feel realistic, original and consistent for the characters involved. The world-building is precise and well-done. There are no major plot holes and the story is neatly tied up, with questions the reader may have quite satisfactorily answered. The crisis point is great, though not entirely unexpected. The general flow of ideas and information is, on the whole, acceptable.
There was no over-arching plot tying the whole tale together apart from a pretty shaky drive for justice. The story simply explores events as they occur. While the events are rather interesting, they cannot in and of themselves carry the plot or make it exceptional. In all it feels like an extrapolation of a hypothesis that, to be more sensational, added on an emotionally-charged action into the journey. The negative depiction of the character central to the crisis point feels unintentional and prevents significant emotional attachment. The writing style is a little too conversational and casual, especially during the exposition, and the narration's register seems to suddenly switch slightly in places.
The editing was sub-par. Issues with sentence continuity, tenses and punctuation were frequent. There was a noticeable overuse of the words 'however' and 'whilst', especially where different words would convey the intended meaning in a much better way. Rough transitions and stilted word use disrupted the flow of the story. Two instances of bad exposition stand out: the very first paragraph of the story which should perhaps have been used as a blurb, and the meeting among the three scientists of which the first-person limited narrator was not a physical part.
The neat ending is an aspect I disliked. The more improbable zones of the implied probability space in the universe went unexplored except for the main conflict. Nothing is left in suspense or unknowable. There's no what-if to hold on to because every scenario is covered, mostly in a predictable manner. The reader leaves the story and promptly forgets about it.
I rate Worldlines by Adam Guest 3 out of 4 stars. The premise of the story is fascinating but its execution only adequate. It could stand to push a little more at its boundaries in order to be more compelling. The editing was a disappointment and rather detracts from the story.
I would recommend this to fans of realism and minimalist world-building in sci-fi and fantasy.
******
Worldlines
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Steel Reign: Flight of The Starship Concord by Braxton Cosby
