Echoes Across Infinity

by Cole Hastings

Genres: Fiction

335 pages, Paperback

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. :)

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. Been a long time fan of the Cole’s YouTube channel and picked up this book to support him. But after reading 180 pages of the 362 (I believe from memory) I can say that the book isn’t engaging and the book heavily under utilizes it’s interesting world. The entire premise of the book is shifting into an alternate reality but outside of small schizophrenic episodes into the world we don’t get a proper exploration into the world until half way in. The first half of the book is shallow self help/development wrapped in a training arc to prepare our main character to finally be able to enter the parallel reality. But while I respect the desire to put self help into the book, it tries to cram in too many ideas of mindfulness, doomscrolling, brain rotting and overall physical fitness that aren’t thoroughly fleshed out as the majority of the book is spent on exposition for items and concepts that only make the main plot drag on longer than it has to.
Practically all the dialogue between the two largest characters are “hey whats this thing?” Followed by “glad you asked let me explain in way too much detail”
I really wish the best for Cole and I will read his future writings as I’m still a fan of his work but this book just wasn’t it for me

[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!)

[Sean Peppel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a truly great debut novel. I've been a fan of Cole's for a couple of years now, not die hard in the sense that I immediately watch every video he uploads, but when his videos come up on my home page I tend to watch them. When he first announced that his book was out, I paused the video immediately to order it.

I will not say that I think this book is perfect, there were a few times that the plot just tended to happen here and there, but it wasn't enough to take me out of it. My only other comment, not necessarily a complaint, is that I think some of Cole's biases/world views come through the pages and can be a little on the nose, but as I am inclined to agree with him that wasn't necessarily something that bothered me too much.

I think for a debut novel, Cole does a great job of setting up an interesting narrative, that left me on the edge of my seat. Most of the Quantum Physics is pretty comprehendible, and I didn't feel lost at any point. It made me really want to reread Blake Crouch's "Dark Matter," and I consider that a good sign.

I loved the characters of the story, Elliot is perhaps the most believable twenty something year old I've ever read, and the journey that he goes through is something I think most young men should keep in mind (myself included). I don't want to go too deep into the other characters in fear of spoiling things. :P

Overall, quite a great book, especially for a debut novel. I think it's something worth reading, especially if you are a guy in your teens or twenties. I'm excited to see where Cole's writing career goes from here. :)

[Zion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll start off on what I thought could be done better, the last third of the book felt like it was skimming through a lot of things I would've loved to see more fleshed out, I wish we could've had more dialogue between Jasper and Elliot when he was explaining things about the parallel world to him.

That's my main gripe about it.

I really enjoyed the lessons this book tries to teach, though I admit I probably would've enjoyed it more if I hadn't watched the video he introduced it since it added a bias I looked at it with 😭

Especially about trying to find an answer to what his mother was going to tell him, the acceptance of doing continuing on knowing she won't be there, that part of her lives in him and those who knew her like his dad.

I look forward to what you make next Cole, this is a great debut.

[Evan Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for a debut novel.

“Echoes Across Infinity” has some interesting commentary on philosophy, spirituality, and self improvement wrapped up in a super creative sci-fi narrative. The prose was thoughtful; it’s clear he knows how to write very well.

However, the dialogue and characterization were really rough at times. There were moments where I felt like I was reading a first draft. Also, there were a lot of plot lines had potential, but most of them kind of just fizzled out.

A week ago, I saw a YouTube video Cole made. He plugged his book at the end of it, which is why I bought a copy. Overall, I’m glad I supported him. He has some solid ideas, and I hope he keeps writing.

[Nathan Haislip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been watching Cole Hastings on YouTube since 2020 and thoroughly enjoy his content. This book encompasses much of what he produces online, like personal growth, the challenges of Gen Z, the negatives of human nature, and how are modern society exploits it. I read the entire book thinking of the author himself narrating the book and it fit very well! It felt easy for me to relate to Elliot on a personal level as someone who has lost a parent and finds it difficult to relate to and converse at times with the other parent. Watching him grow and mature was very satisfying. I found the Other to be a very interesting concept and I wish that it would have been able to be explored further. Regarding the antagonist of the story, I tried as best I could to view him in a different light than what was portrayed in the book. I feel as if he "could" have been somone who had humanity's best interests at heart, but simply succumbed to his ego and the desire for praise and ultimately became the villain at the end of the day. I would like to add that I do think that all of the characters in the story are fairly three-dimensional. I wish i could have given this book 5 stars, because for a debut novel, I feel it almost deserves it for me. Now what I would have liked to see differently was mainly the ending. It felt a little rushed. I think the book deserves to have maybe 50 or 100 pages more in order to fully wrap up the story. For example, rather than stating what had happened to the main character returning to the Other at the end and deciding not to return, maybe it should have had him return and experience this along with the reader in the real time, if that makes sense. I find that this works better almost always. Plus, that way it could be used as an opportunity to get more closure with Elliot's love interest. It just felt as if the climax and falling action happened very quickly, and more time to flesh out the ending would have been very nice. However, at the same time, the message was received at the end aside from the critic. Just my own personal opinion for the next book. I am looking forward to reading Cole's next book in the future!

[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.

[Ender Erimhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book perfectly blends Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Self-Help into a captivating story. I finished it in about a week and loved every page of it. This book provides a good stepping stone into fiction for readers who are usually into self help.