Unparalleled

When I started reading this book, I thought uh-oh, this is either time travel or groundhogs day. A few pages in though, I was happy to realise that it was neither. Stuart Milton, the protagonist, has woken up completely out of sync with his surroundings, clueless about where he is. What follows is most unpredictable and the suspense build up is exciting.

The writing, from the word go, is fast paced and so a lot of action constantly. I felt almost breathless with Stuart's distress at trying to understand what was happening. He knows he has a wife but can't find her. On top of this his brother too, knows nothing about Lauren. I enjoyed this book as it deals with a concept that I feel many of us wonder about (I know I do), that of parallel universes. The author has created a convincing scenario where Stuart Milton along with his psychiatrist Dr Carson, employ various means to get to the bottom of his experiences – even hypnosis. The technology being developed , the Harmoniser, by the scientists is the substance of morality dilemmas. Scientists at Oxford only mean well with their work and are trying to send Stuart back to the life he knew but it's the Chinese (hmm??!!) who are the antagonists here and want to take over the equipment for their own personal use. The buildup to the climax of the story where destruction of the Harmoniser is inevitable leaving Stuart stranded in this universe is nail biting.

The use of many narrators to tell the tale is a tough exercise but done very well. I like the multi-dimensionality that this brings to the narrative. The story moves forward but not exactly in a linear fashion with this writing technique as so much more ground can be covered. I read this book close on the heels of Recursion. The race to control the science in both is quite believable as is the science itself and even agonizing for all the moral dilemmas these stories can present. What if we actually do get there some day? Its for all this that science fiction is enthralling. For a debut author to be able to draw parallels in my head with an established one is quite a recommendation I believe.

I will definitely recommend this sci-fi to any enthusiasts of the genre. The author has also left options open for at least one sequel which I hope he is working on.

I was provided this book by the author and Booktasters in exchange for a review.