Echoes Across Infinity

by Cole Hastings

Genres: Fiction

337 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2026

Reviews

[Kuntheary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this book was really interesting, and the world-shifting concept was brilliant and very well executed, in my opinion. We gradually come to understand what those visions of a foreign world mean, and we get to experience the way of living in its other world, which kept me engaged throughout the story.

Beyond the world-shifting storyline, this book is also about grief and how we deal with it. It actually gave me a whole new perspective on the grieving process and what it means to move forward from loss, as reflected in these words from Elliot's dad :

"That's when I realized what we're meant to do when we go through suffering. We're supposed to outgrow the version of ourselves that existed when the suffering took place. Otherwise, we'll keep reliving it forever.”

Elliot is far from perfect—which, for me, makes him much more interesting than a character who has everything figured out from the start. We see him grow from being self-centered (really just a young man overwhelmed by his own suffering) to eventually reaching out and finding comfort in his relationship with his dad. In some ways, I think many of us can relate to his earlier self, especially after going through the aftermath of the pandemic ourselves.

One thing I particularly liked was that the person who ends up filling the villain role is actually the one who is supposed to help Elliot overcome his new condition. He's a great example of how far someone can go because of vanity and the desire to be seen (I felt bad for Jasper though).

That said, I don't think the ending regarding Kirk quite lived up to my expectations. It felt a bit rushed, and at one point I had my own theory about how things would end: I thought Kirk would fall into his own trap and die from an overdose or from the effects of the drug he had created to travel between worlds. Even though I was wrong about that, I still didn't expect things to be resolved so easily.

However, I did enjoy the brief glimpse into Elliot's life afterward, and I think it was realistic that he chose not to continue traveling into the parallel reality and living two separate lives—even though his short love story with Aurelia was very sweet. I actually liked how things ended between them and how they chose to remain friends. The situation was handled with respect and Elliot's reaction highlighted his newfound maturity.

One aspect of the story that left me a little conflicted was Lucian's role. I kept expecting there to be some kind of twist involving him—a betrayal, hidden motive, or at least some complication—because he often felt almost too helpful. At times, it seemed as though he would disappear from the story whenever Elliott no longer needed guidance, only to reappear when his mentor role became relevant again.

That said, Lucian is clearly an important and essential part of the story, and without him Elliott's journey probably wouldn't have been possible. I just found myself wishing the book had explored more of Lucian's own experience with the condition or at least let us know or at least find out what experience led him to warn Elliot so strongly to not forget that he doesn’t belong at Prevnar

The main plot definitely places this book in the sci-fi genre, but I also liked how it included some self-help advices throughout the story. That combination made it even more enjoyable to read, and I definitely think this book is worth picking up. :)

[Matthew Entwistle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am likely biased here, as I’ve known Cole Hastings through his “food-for-thought” type of videos on YouTube. And hearing that he was writing his first novel, I’ve never been so excited for the release of a book in my entire life.

For a first novel, the story was engaging and its philosophical nature was something to be admired. For a Gen Z-er like myself, I found Elliot Herten to be a relatable protagonist. His character arc is easy to follow. And I’ve enjoyed the dynamics between him and the other characters in the story.

The novel defied my expectations in both good and alright ways. There was a dynamic between Elliot and another central character in the third act that, at first, I thought was going towards a cliche direction - until it was turned around to demonstrate Elliot’s character development (no spoilers). And I really liked that.

In terms of what could have been better, it would have to be the “Powerful Period of Isolation” section, as there were some elements of the writing in that part of Act One that sounded more like the author talking than the characters themselves. Nonetheless, I did see improvement about this further into the book, where many of the sections came off not as preachy but carrying so much substance that I had to pull out my highlighter.

I would have loved a further exploration of the multiverse in this book. But then again, I can understand that Cole only needed the worlds of Prevnar and our Earth to tell the story that needed to be told.

An excellent book! And I am looking forward to Cole’s future career as a novelist (I would love a spin-off or sequel to Echoes Across Infinity!)

[Ian Kirkpatrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is wild in a bad way.
The plot itself is about Elliot, who loses his mother, is hit hard with depression and grief, starts having hallucinations, and is told by two different adults in his life (one a psychiatrist, one a random dude who comes out of nowhere who was seemingly stalking the psychiatrist's moves because he swoops in when Elliot sees the psychatrist who is his friend's dad btw), and they both tell him it's not grief, he's one of two super special people in the world to be able to see a parallel universe.

The worldbuilding is a mess, with Rome and Greece being mentioned in the alternate universe, but the United States is so totally different to the point humans also look different, but also Elliot thinks he's going to find some parallel version of his mom there. It would've worked better if the alternate world was a slight variation and he ran into his other self and his mom and slipped into that life, but found even if he was "replacing" himself, he didn't fit in, and the life he knew before his mother was lost or whatever.

There's also a bunch of stuff in here that parallels the writer's self-help stuff. The stuff with psychiatry and SSRIs are inaccurate and the villain is both over the top and unnecessary. This story was about supposed to be about Elliot's grief and learning to cope in a healthy way, but you end up with this whole big other plot revolving around a corrupt psychiatrist that was totally unnecessary.

This also definitely reads like a book by someone who doesn't read much. It also reads as a first/early book with a lot of telling in a bad way. Rather than showing the characters growing or liking things or being in the scenes, it just straight up goes, "They liked each other. They did things and had a good time."

It's just really bad in so many ways when it really didn't have to be. Bleh.