The Space Between Worlds

Reviews

1. 

   Christopher Shamburg – July 28, 2024

   Best scifi novel I’ve read in years…
   Totally enjoyed this book. There are elements of Vonnegut and Toni Morrison, but with faster pacing than either of them. This is a great concept, well thought out, with fascinating world building, fast plot and great characters.The logistics of travel between parallel universes can get tricky….but describing that travel is only available among worlds with similar frequencies, the plot can move in a smart and creative pace…and can have some fun twists…like you can only travel to a world in which you are dead.The dystopia of Earth Zero gives just enough information to make it fascinating and not cumbersome–letting the reader collaborate in some of the blank spots.The plot moves fast with action, insight, and ideas.

2. 

   Dennee – July 28, 2024

   Complex, but a very good and thought-provoking read
   The “space between worlds” in the title refers not just to the temporary void in which Cara finds herself whenever she is assigned to go to a parallel world but to the space between the two cultures on each of these worlds. These versions of Earth have all devolved into a society of stark Haves and Have-Nots. The wealthy and educated live in Wiley City, under a dome, while the rest live in an arid, mostly dessert landscape of rough living that has pretty much devolved into something like the dystopia from Mad Max films. Although the culture there has more structure than it first appears; it is a society where power is actually, for mutual survival, pretty much balanced three ways between the Ashtown Emperor Nik Nik, with his army of “Runners” and their large weaponized vehicles; the “Rurals,” a more spiritual community that manages to grow all the area’s food on a fertile strip outside of Ashtown; and “The House,” which is not just a bordello, but a genuine comfort-house for the injured in spirit and body. It took me about 60 pages to comprehend all this, but once I did, I loved the book and didn’t want to put it down.Earth Zero is the only one where travel between parallel universes has been developed, for reasons that will gradually become clear and form an important part of the plot. Earth-Zero Cara, originally from the Rurals, has become a “traverser” for Wiley City’s Eldridge Institute, run by a rich Elon-Musk type who invented the process of traveling between the worlds. Cara is one of their best traversers, and if she can stay out of trouble another six months and pass an exam, she can become a permanent Wiley City resident. That’s a big If, though. Her job is to go to parallel worlds where her counterpart has already died–one big and life-threatening organic barrier to crossing over is that two versions of a person can’t be on the same planet at the same time–and once she’s there, to download data from data ports that have previously been set up by earlier traversers, and then to return quickly to Earth Zero. But strange things can happen, and the curious traverser can discover a lot about herself and the counterparts of people s/he knows on Earth Zero. For Cara, it’s like a study in Nature vs. Nurture, because people can turn out differently–or sometimes they can suppress parts of themselves they don’t want others to see.The “space between worlds” concept is also present in Cara’s relationships with people, especially with her handler Dell, but also with her sister Esther and with Nik Nik. This book is complex, but it’s a very good read.

3. 

   A RobertsKindle Customer – July 28, 2024

   I Wish I Read This Sooner!
   I’m kicking myself for buying this book then letting it sit for far too long. Ms. Johnson has a spare, eloquence that fits the desert motif of this story. Caralee, a worlds traversing, opportunistic “desert rat” embodies the perspective of the “have nots” but who made it to security beautifully. The first thing that hit me was how exactingly descriptive the landscapes, houses, rooms, etc are and how they jump off the page and into your mind’s eye. It’s light, texture, shadow, color, expression all forming such precise scenes. The second was language and how Caralee listens, really listens, like a survivor does, to each word, checking for phrasing, anomalies, anything not right.I think my favorite part is how unflinchingy honest Caralee becomes with herself as she comes to know who she really is and what that means for herself and her life. This is not a pretty world, in any sense, well, Wiley City is superficially, but the having and keeping of power does not change in any world. Which of course, history proves in blood, over and over.This a book about identity, belonging, place, home, class. It’s about whether one embraces all of oneself and reconciles ill fitting parts or denies parts and what the consequences of those choices become.Highly, highly recommend!!

4. 

   Lisandra – July 28, 2024

   Assim q entendi q esse não era o romance q eu não sei pq esperava q fosse e comecei a aproveitar o livro pelo q era, um comentário profundo sobre os problemas do mundo e dos indivíduos q tem q sobreviver nele, lindamente escrito, então pude enfim começar a amar essa história e personagens e cada um deles vai te cativar e ao menos te fazer sorrir e pensar se não querer abraçar e guardar num potinho. E sério a escrita é incrível, o livro deve ter mais parte marcada do q não ksksk até os agradecimentos foi lindo! Não sei como lidar c esse livro.

5. 

   Chara – July 28, 2024

   This has quickly become one of my all time favorites. Layered and powerful writing. So so very lovely. A must read for sure.

6. 

   Anna – July 28, 2024

   This book was better than I expected