Review by NerdyVicky -- Worldlines by Adam Guest

NerdyVicky · Post by **NerdyVicky** » 14 Mar 2021, 19:23

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

3 out of 4 stars

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Worldlines by Adam Guest is a sci-fi and suspense novel based on the Many Worlds theory which postulates that we have over one reality because we live in a parallel multiverse. This essentially means that for each universe, there are different outcomes for our actions.

Gary “Gaz” Johnson is a physics student living a normal life in England, has a stable relationship with his beautiful girlfriend, a loving family and a best friend who would do anything for him. However, Gary’s life took a bad turn when he was told he murdered his girlfriend at his best friend’s birthday party, with party guests as witnesses to the crime. He has no recollection of committing the crime and is certain something is not right, even when he was shown physical evidence. It turns out another Gary from a different worldline interacted with his present worldline through lucid dreaming and possessed him to commit the crime. It then became the responsibility of the other Gary to save the first Gary from going to jail for a crime he did not commit. The author distinguishes the major worldlines by naming them Blue, Black, Green and Red.

Personally, I do not enjoy sci-fi, mostly because the setting is usually in a fantasy world and sometimes the world building gets out of hand. However, with this book, I did not encounter those problems at all because the author set the book in a realistic England. Also, the author explained the premise without going into scientific jargon and wasting words. I confess I find the premise so interesting that I couldn’t help but wonder how my other self in an ultimate universe was faring.

Another thing I appreciate about the book is the deftness of the author with characterization. For each of the worldlines, the author created variants of the same character that are suited to the worldline. That the reader is reading about the same person but seeing a different side of them because of their environment or the circumstance surrounding them is impressive to me.

It disappointed me when I didn’t get the definite ending that I wanted. But on a second thought, I think the fact that there were several endings to the story seems to work in its favour. That way, the story can keep to its premise and readers can choose the ending they want. Although the constant repetition of facts in the story across the different worldlines made it seem boring at first, but by the middle of the book the pacing picked up.

To conclude, this might not be a book that will keep you at the edge of your seat, but it will sufficiently pique your interest and hold it to the end. Also, as this is the second round of review, the author seems to have taken all corrections from the first review seriously as there are no errors and it appears to be professionally edited.

I give this book three stars out of four.

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Worldlines
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Marcel Cantu · Post by **Marcel Cantu** » 04 Apr 2021, 08:04

The setup to this book sounds very engaging and interesting to think about! I really enjoyed reading your review, thank you!

Dimi1 · Post by **Dimi1** » 05 Apr 2021, 02:12

It seems like an intriguing book leaving cliffhangers. Thank you for an interesting review!

NerdyVicky · Post by **NerdyVicky** » 07 Apr 2021, 07:48

Marcel Cantu wrote: ↑04 Apr 2021, 08:04 The setup to this book sounds very engaging and interesting to think about! I really enjoyed reading your review, thank you!

Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed reading it.

NerdyVicky · Post by **NerdyVicky** » 07 Apr 2021, 07:49

Dimi1 wrote: ↑05 Apr 2021, 02:12 It seems like an intriguing book leaving cliffhangers. Thank you for an interesting review!

It is an interesting book, especially if you are into science fiction. Thank you for your kind reply.

Bigwig1973 · Post by **Bigwig1973** » 05 Aug 2021, 14:46

I've read and reviewed this book and I found it difficult to describe the book for readers. I like the approach you took; it was concise but still had the essential information! It's funny that you wonder how your other self might be doing

I also appreciate that you pointed out that book is set in England. I think some other readers may be a bit leery of fantasy worlds, so this was a good point to mention.