Here was a book that rubbed me the wrong way. It has been a while since I was disappointed in a sci-fi/fantasy book. The ideas behind the story were great, but I just found myself poking holes in what has happening through my whole read.
I guess it started with the protagonist, who I think was supposed to seem street-smart, clever and resourceful. To me she came off as childish, petulant and self-centered and more like an early teenager than a mature adult. Once you decide you don’t like the main character, it becomes harder to accept other propositions by the author.
It seemed to me that the overarching idea of being able to access the multiverse, and visit many different planets, was reduced to a something like a paper delivery person. Most trips to other multiverses are not even described in the book. There is a lot of potential missed here – hundreds of alternate realties – but in the end the story focuses on just two or three, and the same two towns, over and over.
While the story was complex and full of surprises, it seemed like the writer deliberately held back information to make a bigger impact later, and after a few times it felt like a parlor trick. The writing style was not very descriptive – focusing on the feelings of the characters and telling rather than showing.
So this was a disappointment for me. By the luck of the library draw I am back to reading the second book in the Collapsing Empire series – The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi.
