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John Rayburn #1
The Walls of the Universe
John Rayburn thought all of his problems were the mundane ones of an Ohio farm boy in his last year in high school. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home—the device is broken. John settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it.
Meanwhile, his doppelgänger tries to exploit the commercial technology he’s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik’s Cube! John’s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star.
Meanwhile, his doppelgänger tries to exploit the commercial technology he’s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik’s Cube! John’s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published February 3, 2009
11 people are currently reading
1236 people want to read
About the author
Paul Melko
20 books47 followersPaul lives in Ohio with his beautiful wife and four fairly wonderful children. He is an active member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, where he sits on the board of directors as the South-Central Regional Director and is chair of the Grievance Committee.
Paul’s fiction has appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, Spider Magazine, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, and other magazines and anthologies. His work has been translated into Spanish, Hungarian, Czech, and Russian. A collection of his science fiction stories, TEN SIGMAS AND OTHER UNLIKELIHOODS, is scheduled for release in 2008. Paul’s work has been nominated for the Sturgeon, Nebula, and Hugo Awards.
SINGULARITY’S RING (Tor Book, Feb 08) is his first novel, the protagonist of which is actually five humans who can chemically share thoughts, allowing them to act as one entity. Strom’s story, “Strength Alone,” (part of SINGULARITY’S RING) made the Nebula preliminary ballot. Paul’s novella “The Walls of the Universe” was nominated for the Hugo in 2007. It is the basis for his next novel.
Paul’s fiction has appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, Spider Magazine, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, and other magazines and anthologies. His work has been translated into Spanish, Hungarian, Czech, and Russian. A collection of his science fiction stories, TEN SIGMAS AND OTHER UNLIKELIHOODS, is scheduled for release in 2008. Paul’s work has been nominated for the Sturgeon, Nebula, and Hugo Awards.
SINGULARITY’S RING (Tor Book, Feb 08) is his first novel, the protagonist of which is actually five humans who can chemically share thoughts, allowing them to act as one entity. Strom’s story, “Strength Alone,” (part of SINGULARITY’S RING) made the Nebula preliminary ballot. Paul’s novella “The Walls of the Universe” was nominated for the Hugo in 2007. It is the basis for his next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
August 15, 2016
Posted at Shelf Inflicted
I love well-written time-travel and alternate world stories, and Dan said it was fun, so I knew it would be the perfect vacation read.
I was not disappointed at all. This was a very entertaining story about parallel universes, stolen lives, first love, and bullies.
John Rayburn is in his senior year in high school, living a rather uneventful life on an Ohio farm with his parents. A young man (known as John Prime) who looks just like him appears with a device that allows him to travel to other worlds. John thinks he’s full of crap, until he discovers the stranger knows quite a lot about him. Tempted by a desire for adventure, a pocket full of spending money, and Prime’s promise that he would return in 12 hours, John Rayburn toggles the switch forward and embarks on his first adventure.
Meanwhile, John Prime is glad to be rid of the device and ready to settle into his new life. While he’s getting acclimated to classes, moving in on John Rayburn’s crush, Casey, and trying to make money on technology he’s stolen from another universe, John Rayburn finds the device is broken and he’s unable to come home. So he travels a bit, eventually settling into a world where he can blend in and attempt to fix the device. While he’s there, he makes friends, falls in love with an “alternate” Casey, and “invents” pinball.
The best part of the story for me was early on, when John Rayburn discovered various universes, some frightening, and others just…wrong. I enjoyed how both boys led very different lives, yet had to work together towards the end when they encountered travelers from other universes and had to deal with a bully neither could escape from. This part could have been a lot more interesting if the bad guys were not so one-dimensional.
Still, it was a lot of fun and I’m eager to find similar stories.
I love well-written time-travel and alternate world stories, and Dan said it was fun, so I knew it would be the perfect vacation read.
I was not disappointed at all. This was a very entertaining story about parallel universes, stolen lives, first love, and bullies.
John Rayburn is in his senior year in high school, living a rather uneventful life on an Ohio farm with his parents. A young man (known as John Prime) who looks just like him appears with a device that allows him to travel to other worlds. John thinks he’s full of crap, until he discovers the stranger knows quite a lot about him. Tempted by a desire for adventure, a pocket full of spending money, and Prime’s promise that he would return in 12 hours, John Rayburn toggles the switch forward and embarks on his first adventure.
Meanwhile, John Prime is glad to be rid of the device and ready to settle into his new life. While he’s getting acclimated to classes, moving in on John Rayburn’s crush, Casey, and trying to make money on technology he’s stolen from another universe, John Rayburn finds the device is broken and he’s unable to come home. So he travels a bit, eventually settling into a world where he can blend in and attempt to fix the device. While he’s there, he makes friends, falls in love with an “alternate” Casey, and “invents” pinball.
The best part of the story for me was early on, when John Rayburn discovered various universes, some frightening, and others just…wrong. I enjoyed how both boys led very different lives, yet had to work together towards the end when they encountered travelers from other universes and had to deal with a bully neither could escape from. This part could have been a lot more interesting if the bad guys were not so one-dimensional.
Still, it was a lot of fun and I’m eager to find similar stories.
September 9, 2011
What if your double from a parallel universe showed up on your doorstep one day? What if said double turned out to be an asshole of epic proportions who shunted you into another universe while he usurped your life?
That's the problem John Rayburn is facing in The Walls of the Universe. His double, John Prime for clarity, tricked him into using his malfunctioning transporter device. Will John be able to fix the wreck Prime has made of his life when or if he can fix the device and make it back home?
The Walls of the Universe was a lot better than I anticipated. Prime and Rayburn contrast in interesting ways. While Prime tries to make money right away by "inventing" the Rubik's Cube in Rayburn's home universe, Rayburn tries to stay out of the way of things in the universe next door while he studies the device... until he accidentally invents pinball.
The villains are invisible for most of the novel and seemed a little tacked on, though the idea of sinister Germans always appeals to me. The supporting cast was fairly well although I can't really see both Johns being so enamored with Casey. Grace was easily my favorite of the supporting cast.
The ending leaves things open for a sequel. It was hinted that John's device isn't related to those of those the enemy use, and the are hints of universe-hopping civilizations that could be used for further stories.
The Walls of the Universe was a fun read and should appeal to fans of dimension jumping, parallel universes, and the like. If you tried Neil Gaimain's Interworld and found it lacking, this might be what you need to soothe your wounds.
That's the problem John Rayburn is facing in The Walls of the Universe. His double, John Prime for clarity, tricked him into using his malfunctioning transporter device. Will John be able to fix the wreck Prime has made of his life when or if he can fix the device and make it back home?
The Walls of the Universe was a lot better than I anticipated. Prime and Rayburn contrast in interesting ways. While Prime tries to make money right away by "inventing" the Rubik's Cube in Rayburn's home universe, Rayburn tries to stay out of the way of things in the universe next door while he studies the device... until he accidentally invents pinball.
The villains are invisible for most of the novel and seemed a little tacked on, though the idea of sinister Germans always appeals to me. The supporting cast was fairly well although I can't really see both Johns being so enamored with Casey. Grace was easily my favorite of the supporting cast.
The ending leaves things open for a sequel. It was hinted that John's device isn't related to those of those the enemy use, and the are hints of universe-hopping civilizations that could be used for further stories.
The Walls of the Universe was a fun read and should appeal to fans of dimension jumping, parallel universes, and the like. If you tried Neil Gaimain's Interworld and found it lacking, this might be what you need to soothe your wounds.
May 25, 2013
Rating: 3.75* of five
The Book Description: John Rayburn thought all of his problems were the mundane ones of an Ohio farm boy in his last year in high school. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home—the device is broken. John settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it.
Meanwhile, his doppelgänger tries to exploit the commercial technology he’s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik’s Cube! John’s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star.
My Review: Well, THAT was fun! I have a fondness for multiverse stories, and this one's as much fun as H. Beam Piper's Paratime series. It made me think of the Star Trek: TNG episode “Lower Decks,” which shows us for the first time what the actions of the Big Boys look like from the ordinary crewmember's PoV. And like the recent success story Redshirts by John Scalzi, the hero has to figure out what's happening and how to fix it without knowing the big picture.
Why I had to knock a quarter star off the top grade the book could ever reasonably have gotten was the mega-dumb love story part...both John Wilson, the dupe, and John Rayburn or John Prime as he's called in the description above, are world-class bunglers in love. It points up the small inelegance in the book: The characters, while I liked them and invested myself in their antics, didn't always make sense as they rocketed from idea to idea. Things that should've been second nature to any reasonable semi-adult just passed right by them and caused avoidable problems for the author. It would have given him more room to flesh out the other small inelegances, like a messy sense of elapsed in-story time and a few logical gaps that exist.
But heck! What's a little dent and scrape among friends? I can't wait to get the next one in the series!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Book Description: John Rayburn thought all of his problems were the mundane ones of an Ohio farm boy in his last year in high school. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home—the device is broken. John settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it.
Meanwhile, his doppelgänger tries to exploit the commercial technology he’s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik’s Cube! John’s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star.
My Review: Well, THAT was fun! I have a fondness for multiverse stories, and this one's as much fun as H. Beam Piper's Paratime series. It made me think of the Star Trek: TNG episode “Lower Decks,” which shows us for the first time what the actions of the Big Boys look like from the ordinary crewmember's PoV. And like the recent success story Redshirts by John Scalzi, the hero has to figure out what's happening and how to fix it without knowing the big picture.
Why I had to knock a quarter star off the top grade the book could ever reasonably have gotten was the mega-dumb love story part...both John Wilson, the dupe, and John Rayburn or John Prime as he's called in the description above, are world-class bunglers in love. It points up the small inelegance in the book: The characters, while I liked them and invested myself in their antics, didn't always make sense as they rocketed from idea to idea. Things that should've been second nature to any reasonable semi-adult just passed right by them and caused avoidable problems for the author. It would have given him more room to flesh out the other small inelegances, like a messy sense of elapsed in-story time and a few logical gaps that exist.
But heck! What's a little dent and scrape among friends? I can't wait to get the next one in the series!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
July 4, 2009
Sci-fi novel in which the possession of a universe-hopping device is apparently just a prelude to lots of boring emo white dude angst. Yawn. This book was published this year, yet it feels like it’s stuck back in the 1960s or something. The two major “technological advances” that are most heavily dealt with are pinball and the Rubik’s cube—does anybody even use a computer? The internet? And, like I said, it’s boring, with one of the two versions of the protagonist spending most of his time worrying about making a living now that he’s stuck with a girl he knocked up—the same girl he knocks up in almost every universe. Okay, forget the internet—has anybody ever heard of CONDOMS?
Points for a very cool “Make my day”-type speech toward the end—delivered by one of the book’s few interesting female characters, no less! But one neat paragraph hardly makes the whole boring book worth reading.
Points for a very cool “Make my day”-type speech toward the end—delivered by one of the book’s few interesting female characters, no less! But one neat paragraph hardly makes the whole boring book worth reading.
March 5, 2016
one of those books which taught me patience. Patience to finish most books that I found tedious and patience to curb my irritation when an expectation of mine is not met. By that I mean that the start of this book was very firmly science fictiony. But as the story unfolded it became entangled in a sort of thriller. And I couldn't deal with the fact that the author had changed direction for his story. I thought, and I do think, that the author had a bright idea for his book but ran out of ideas quickly. 1 star.
November 12, 2010
I picked this book up from the library after it was mentioned in an io9.com article about great sci-fi stories (and that also mentioned the movie rights to this book had recently been sold). Anyway, this book tells the story of a young man in Ohio who is visited one day by a version of himself from another universe. The story is set along the lines of a many worlds theory about universes wherein there are infinite (rather, not infinite but who knows how many) universes coexisting at the same time and some people have transfer devices to travel between them. John, the main character, is visited by John Prime and the plot runs at a fast pace from that point.
This novel started out as an award-winning shorter version of itself and, regrettably, I could tell. I was four star enjoying it for most of the ride and then I completely lost interest during the CLIMAX. When the hell does that happen? I felt like the last 30 or so pages of the book were rushed and the Visigoths and Corrundrum were not as well developed as they could've been.
I also thought the one sex scene between John (Farm Boy) and Casey was ridiculous. It was like two sentences long and completely unnecessary to any part of the story or character development. And, frankly, I couldn't see any real reason why the Johns wanted to be with the Caseys so badly anyway. I know this is sci-fi and not romance, but I've read sci-fi that had better relationship development and this book lacked a little in that area.
I'm giving this book 4 stars because it definitely kept me interested. I thought the author did a great job of creating universes that had slight differences and altogether different options. My favorite part was when John Farm Boy was traveling through the universes one at a time. However, I feel that the book is somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me.
This novel started out as an award-winning shorter version of itself and, regrettably, I could tell. I was four star enjoying it for most of the ride and then I completely lost interest during the CLIMAX. When the hell does that happen? I felt like the last 30 or so pages of the book were rushed and the Visigoths and Corrundrum were not as well developed as they could've been.
I also thought the one sex scene between John (Farm Boy) and Casey was ridiculous. It was like two sentences long and completely unnecessary to any part of the story or character development. And, frankly, I couldn't see any real reason why the Johns wanted to be with the Caseys so badly anyway. I know this is sci-fi and not romance, but I've read sci-fi that had better relationship development and this book lacked a little in that area.
I'm giving this book 4 stars because it definitely kept me interested. I thought the author did a great job of creating universes that had slight differences and altogether different options. My favorite part was when John Farm Boy was traveling through the universes one at a time. However, I feel that the book is somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me.
December 12, 2011
Great concept, but so many problems. It was a real struggle to finish this book.
1) Both main characters are super unlikable. John starts out not so bad, but somewhere along the way I stopped caring about him. Prime starts out an asshole and stays that way, and the love interests are just as bad. By the end of the book I hated every single character.
2) The writing is so bland. When something shocking happens (such as meeting an alternate self, or accidentally killing someone) each character reacts with something akin to "Oh. Ok."
3) Very little actually happens. Pages and pages are spent on designing, patenting, and selling pinball machines and Rubik's cubes, and really WHO CARES? This is not new technology, or in any way interesting, to a reader. Look at Machine Man by Max Barry for an excellent book where the characters engineer and build a ton of stuff in a way that isn't boring.
4) The interesting stuff (singletons, Visigoths) is only glossed over in the 2nd half of the book. I think the book would have been so much better with less time on the characters building stuff and more on the way the other universes work, who the bad guys are, etc.
1) Both main characters are super unlikable. John starts out not so bad, but somewhere along the way I stopped caring about him. Prime starts out an asshole and stays that way, and the love interests are just as bad. By the end of the book I hated every single character.
2) The writing is so bland. When something shocking happens (such as meeting an alternate self, or accidentally killing someone) each character reacts with something akin to "Oh. Ok."
3) Very little actually happens. Pages and pages are spent on designing, patenting, and selling pinball machines and Rubik's cubes, and really WHO CARES? This is not new technology, or in any way interesting, to a reader. Look at Machine Man by Max Barry for an excellent book where the characters engineer and build a ton of stuff in a way that isn't boring.
4) The interesting stuff (singletons, Visigoths) is only glossed over in the 2nd half of the book. I think the book would have been so much better with less time on the characters building stuff and more on the way the other universes work, who the bad guys are, etc.
April 8, 2009
Paul Melko's second novel merges thriller and alternate-universe science fiction almost seamlessly in this fast-paced entry. There's nothing really ground-breaking here; anyone who's read Richard C. Meredith's Timeliner trilogy (At the Narrow Passage; No Brother, No Friend and Vestiges of Time) or even, God help me, watched the TV show Sliders for more than one season, will recognize most of the furniture and settings being used here. But Melko has no pretentions to anything more than a good yarn, and his breezy style is well-suited to catching and holding interest.
Johnny Rayburn's a farm boy in Ohio - a bright kid, though he's made some enemies, including the oafish Ted Carlson - when he meets himself out behind the barn. Actually, this second self is a different John Rayburn, this one a traveller between parallel universes. John Prime, as he (rather arrogantly) calls himself, persuades Johnny to use his interuniversal transfer device - a small thing, about the size and shape of a personal CD player, if they have those in your universe - to skip to the universe next door... upon which Johnny discovers that there's no way for him to get back. He's stranded in time, doomed to go ever onward from universe to universe, until he dies or finds one in which he can bring himself to settle down. As, it seems, John Prime has done in tricking Johnny out of his own universe. Simple - but of course nothing's ever really that simple.
Johnny does manage to find a fairly close analogue of his own Ohio, one in which the folks who would have been his parents are childless and happy to more or less adopt him without any uncomfortable questions. He even tries to settle down, start dating the sweetheart he never had the nerve to ask out "back home," but, of course, Johnny's interrupted. It turns out that there are ways to control one's travel across time; the transfer device is not inherently incomprehensible, either, and Johnny's new goal is to reverse-engineer it before time, for him, runs out.
The book has some flaws, certainly. Melko's usually taut writing is occasionally marred by infodumps, and the whole book reads like the first book in a planned series - several threads are carefully left unresolved, and several mysteries unexplained. Also, the level of violence (especially later in the book) and the moral ambiguity of Melko's characters may be offputting. But all in all I really liked this one, and think it succeeded both in aiming for and in hitting its target.
Johnny Rayburn's a farm boy in Ohio - a bright kid, though he's made some enemies, including the oafish Ted Carlson - when he meets himself out behind the barn. Actually, this second self is a different John Rayburn, this one a traveller between parallel universes. John Prime, as he (rather arrogantly) calls himself, persuades Johnny to use his interuniversal transfer device - a small thing, about the size and shape of a personal CD player, if they have those in your universe - to skip to the universe next door... upon which Johnny discovers that there's no way for him to get back. He's stranded in time, doomed to go ever onward from universe to universe, until he dies or finds one in which he can bring himself to settle down. As, it seems, John Prime has done in tricking Johnny out of his own universe. Simple - but of course nothing's ever really that simple.
Johnny does manage to find a fairly close analogue of his own Ohio, one in which the folks who would have been his parents are childless and happy to more or less adopt him without any uncomfortable questions. He even tries to settle down, start dating the sweetheart he never had the nerve to ask out "back home," but, of course, Johnny's interrupted. It turns out that there are ways to control one's travel across time; the transfer device is not inherently incomprehensible, either, and Johnny's new goal is to reverse-engineer it before time, for him, runs out.
The book has some flaws, certainly. Melko's usually taut writing is occasionally marred by infodumps, and the whole book reads like the first book in a planned series - several threads are carefully left unresolved, and several mysteries unexplained. Also, the level of violence (especially later in the book) and the moral ambiguity of Melko's characters may be offputting. But all in all I really liked this one, and think it succeeded both in aiming for and in hitting its target.
August 7, 2012
Paul Melko’s The Walls of the Universe is an engaging inter-dimensional space romp. Evoking Heinlein’s teen novels, Melko finds a way to re-introduce an old science fiction plot and make it fun again. It’s the characters, situations and story that are the key. His winning recipe includes mixing together physics, engineering, chicanery, toy design, time travel and violence. His imaginative idea - what happens if someone offers you a way to travel to a different universe. Why would you trust this man. Because he is you, your twin, your doppelganger, but from a different universe. So you take his offer and test out his portable inter-dimensional time machine. Once there, however, you cannot get the machine to take you home. And your “friend”, this new you, he is busy taking over your life and using your universe.
John Rayburn is just a typical high school student. He likes a girl named Casey, but is too shy to ask her out. He is very good in science. He has had a run in with a local bully named Carson.
Then he meets himself, literally. Johnny Prime, as he explains, is from a different universe. Prime shows Rayburn a portable time transport machine that he wears under his shirt. With the devise, Prime says he can visit other universes. He dupes Rayburn into trying the machine, but Rayburn cannot get the machine to return him back to own universe.
Prime is a hustler. He may be Rayburn's twin, but he has his own life experiences. He has made different choices and his life is fundamentally different than Rayburn. He is an exploiter. He immediately starts dating Casey. He has a notebook full of items that were not invented in Rayburn’s universe and he is going to “invent” one so he can get rich. He makes a Rubik's Cube. But all is not golden and he has continuous run-ins with Carson and other people who have invented the Cube. He resorts to crime.
Meanwhile, Rayburn ends up in a universe where his parents live, but he is not around. He enters a local college to avail himself of the tools needed to experiment on the devise and learn how it works. While at the college, he meets Grace and Henry, fellow science students, and lets slip an idea for a pinball machine.
One thing leads to another and the three students go into business with each other to build the pinball machine. But Rayburn’s idea soon attracts the attention of other universe travelers- Alarians – beings who are trapped in that universe, but have used Prime’s plan – exploit other universe inventions, to carve out a hugely profitable life. They want Rayburn’s newer ideas and are not afraid to engage in industrial espionage, kidnapping and torture to achieve their ends.
The violence escalates when the Alarians realize that Rayburn has the means and knowledge to travel between Universes.
Rayburn must use all of his smarts, his friends in his new world and reach back for help from Prime to confront the Alarians.
Its a time travel and universe spanning science fiction fun that is reminiscent of what science fiction used to be before it got so serious. The plot sometimes drags as its switches back and forth from Prime's life to Rayburn's life, but overall its a great read. Buy it, download it, read it.
John Rayburn is just a typical high school student. He likes a girl named Casey, but is too shy to ask her out. He is very good in science. He has had a run in with a local bully named Carson.
Then he meets himself, literally. Johnny Prime, as he explains, is from a different universe. Prime shows Rayburn a portable time transport machine that he wears under his shirt. With the devise, Prime says he can visit other universes. He dupes Rayburn into trying the machine, but Rayburn cannot get the machine to return him back to own universe.
Prime is a hustler. He may be Rayburn's twin, but he has his own life experiences. He has made different choices and his life is fundamentally different than Rayburn. He is an exploiter. He immediately starts dating Casey. He has a notebook full of items that were not invented in Rayburn’s universe and he is going to “invent” one so he can get rich. He makes a Rubik's Cube. But all is not golden and he has continuous run-ins with Carson and other people who have invented the Cube. He resorts to crime.
Meanwhile, Rayburn ends up in a universe where his parents live, but he is not around. He enters a local college to avail himself of the tools needed to experiment on the devise and learn how it works. While at the college, he meets Grace and Henry, fellow science students, and lets slip an idea for a pinball machine.
One thing leads to another and the three students go into business with each other to build the pinball machine. But Rayburn’s idea soon attracts the attention of other universe travelers- Alarians – beings who are trapped in that universe, but have used Prime’s plan – exploit other universe inventions, to carve out a hugely profitable life. They want Rayburn’s newer ideas and are not afraid to engage in industrial espionage, kidnapping and torture to achieve their ends.
The violence escalates when the Alarians realize that Rayburn has the means and knowledge to travel between Universes.
Rayburn must use all of his smarts, his friends in his new world and reach back for help from Prime to confront the Alarians.
Its a time travel and universe spanning science fiction fun that is reminiscent of what science fiction used to be before it got so serious. The plot sometimes drags as its switches back and forth from Prime's life to Rayburn's life, but overall its a great read. Buy it, download it, read it.
July 12, 2009
Books with adjectives like "fast-paced adventure-filled thrill-ride" are usually overhyped. Usually. In this case, The Walls of the Universe deserves such tags. It is fast-paced, adventure-filled, and thrilling. I finished it in a day--and it's a fair sized book--because I had trouble putting it down.
All of the main characters, with the possible exception of the villains, are complex. Melko sets up the story so we at first believe it will be John Rayburn versus ... John Rayburn. Another John--called John Prime for the sake of sanity--comes to "our" John's universe and tricks John into taking Prime's universe-hopping device on a test-drive. This is a trap, since the device is broken and can only move forward across universes; John can't go back, and Prime gets to assume John's life there. With this scenario firmly in place, The Walls of the Universe casts Prime as the remote antagonist and John as the stranded hero, struggling to get back his universe and his life.
Instead, the plot turns out to be much deeper, and Prime himself is more than a one-sided antagonist. In the end, Prime aligns himself with John against the more dangerous villains, although he continues to act in a morally questionable manner. John contemplates several acts we would also consider morally questionable has he debates what he'll do now that he's stranded from his own universe.
Some of the minor characters, such as Bill and Janet Rayburn, and Ted Carson and his father, are fairly stock. Good guys, bad guys, move along, nothing to see here. However, this aids Melko's set-up, since we eventually learn that there exist in the multiverse "singletons"--people who naturally have no duplicates in other universes. By portraying some characters as identical or similar in every universe in which John encounters them, Melko emphasizes the "duplication" aspect, which becomes a key part of the story when John confronts the villains.
In a somewhat original twist, Melko's established a cross-dimensional trade on ideas; Prime (and then, reluctantly, John) introduces a popular invention from his universe that's lacking in whatever universe he currently resides, such as the Rubik's cube, SCUBA gear, pinball, etc. This isn't a simple castaway's tale--there are other universe-hoppers, most of them exiles who will stop at nothing to get home. John encounters one such group, drawing attention to himself with the invention of pinball, when he settles down in another universe and attempts to understand the device he has. We're given the impression that portable devices are extremely rare--to the point that some travellers don't even believe they exist or are feasible. Once the villains learn that John has one, and that he isn't an exile or singleton has they believe, just a farm-kid, all hell breaks loose.
The plot never stops advancing, and the dialogue is pretty fun: "You ... mulched him?" being my favourite example. Maybe it's just because I'm a science fiction junkie and am fascinated by the concept of multiple universes, but Melko manages to draw me into the book and keep me there. I love watching how John interacts with multiple copies of people--exemplified by his increasingly irate conversations with Dr. Wilson the physicist--and observing the contrast between John and John Prime. Melko uses the concept of universe-hopping to its full potential, making for a ripe story.
The only part of the book that disappointed me was the dearth of details related to the builders of these devices and the reason so many people get exiled. We get hints throughout the story, of course, including something about people called "Primes" (presumably not related to John Prime) and "paths," but no clear explanation. This has the benefit of keeping the story moving without slowing us down, of course, and I appreciate Melko's pacing abilities. However, it's somewhat exasperating to be kept in the dark! It looks like this is just the first book in a series, fortunately, so we should be learning more.
All of the main characters, with the possible exception of the villains, are complex. Melko sets up the story so we at first believe it will be John Rayburn versus ... John Rayburn. Another John--called John Prime for the sake of sanity--comes to "our" John's universe and tricks John into taking Prime's universe-hopping device on a test-drive. This is a trap, since the device is broken and can only move forward across universes; John can't go back, and Prime gets to assume John's life there. With this scenario firmly in place, The Walls of the Universe casts Prime as the remote antagonist and John as the stranded hero, struggling to get back his universe and his life.
Instead, the plot turns out to be much deeper, and Prime himself is more than a one-sided antagonist. In the end, Prime aligns himself with John against the more dangerous villains, although he continues to act in a morally questionable manner. John contemplates several acts we would also consider morally questionable has he debates what he'll do now that he's stranded from his own universe.
Some of the minor characters, such as Bill and Janet Rayburn, and Ted Carson and his father, are fairly stock. Good guys, bad guys, move along, nothing to see here. However, this aids Melko's set-up, since we eventually learn that there exist in the multiverse "singletons"--people who naturally have no duplicates in other universes. By portraying some characters as identical or similar in every universe in which John encounters them, Melko emphasizes the "duplication" aspect, which becomes a key part of the story when John confronts the villains.
In a somewhat original twist, Melko's established a cross-dimensional trade on ideas; Prime (and then, reluctantly, John) introduces a popular invention from his universe that's lacking in whatever universe he currently resides, such as the Rubik's cube, SCUBA gear, pinball, etc. This isn't a simple castaway's tale--there are other universe-hoppers, most of them exiles who will stop at nothing to get home. John encounters one such group, drawing attention to himself with the invention of pinball, when he settles down in another universe and attempts to understand the device he has. We're given the impression that portable devices are extremely rare--to the point that some travellers don't even believe they exist or are feasible. Once the villains learn that John has one, and that he isn't an exile or singleton has they believe, just a farm-kid, all hell breaks loose.
The plot never stops advancing, and the dialogue is pretty fun: "You ... mulched him?" being my favourite example. Maybe it's just because I'm a science fiction junkie and am fascinated by the concept of multiple universes, but Melko manages to draw me into the book and keep me there. I love watching how John interacts with multiple copies of people--exemplified by his increasingly irate conversations with Dr. Wilson the physicist--and observing the contrast between John and John Prime. Melko uses the concept of universe-hopping to its full potential, making for a ripe story.
The only part of the book that disappointed me was the dearth of details related to the builders of these devices and the reason so many people get exiled. We get hints throughout the story, of course, including something about people called "Primes" (presumably not related to John Prime) and "paths," but no clear explanation. This has the benefit of keeping the story moving without slowing us down, of course, and I appreciate Melko's pacing abilities. However, it's somewhat exasperating to be kept in the dark! It looks like this is just the first book in a series, fortunately, so we should be learning more.
July 16, 2009
I really, really liked Paul Melko's "The Walls of the Universe." The problem is I wanted to love it.
The first third of the novel unfolds at a breathless pace as we meet John Rayburn and his double from a parallel universe, John Prime. Prime has come to John's universe with a device that allows the user to pop from one parallel universe to the next. Prime offers John the chance to explore the next universe over, promising John that he can pop over, recharge the device and just pop back. Little does John suspect that Prime's device only allows you to journey forward to the next universe and not backward and that Prime is looking for a way to steal John's life out from under him.
For the first third of the novel, we alternate back and forth between John's journey and Prime's scheming in John's home universe. Prime has come forward with ideas and inventions not yet seen in John's universe, intending to claim them as his own and take the credit and fortune that comes with them. We slowly see how Prime works his way into John's seemingly ideal life, not only getting the girl John has always had a crush on but also working out the first stages of fame and fortune by introducing the Rubik's Cube to that universe. Meanwhile, John must learn the ropes of travel, eventually deciding to settle down in one safe universe and going to college to try and understand the device.
In the course of the story, Melko allows the reader to both root for and against each John. Prime could easily be a one-note villain, but as Melko explores the character and allows us to get to know him, we become more sympathetic toward him and even begin to pull for him as some of the later events of the story begin to unfold. And while John may be initially be a victim, he eventually begins to take on some of Prime's traits that early on made us pull against him, leaving the reader with some fascinating questions about nature vs nurture. And, like all good sci-fi, he presents the arguments and allows readers to draw their own conclusions.
The book also brings up some interesting ideas about "destiny," as we see John's journey to ending up with the same girl in two universes as well as having to tangle with the same bully in both.
It's once other various inhabitants from other parallel worlds show up that things begin to drift off course a bit. The story tries to expand the concept of the infinite number of universes, each one slightly different than the next, with concepts about people who only exist in one universe and the morality of jumping from one place to the next and trying to cash in. We also find that John's machine is damaged and that through study John is able to reverse engineer a working device to return to our world.
However, once John gets a newly working device, things begin to derail a bit. The problem is these concepts come up so late in the story that they seem tacked on and aren't as fascinatingly explored as some of the concepts and characters early in the novel. It may be that Melko wanted to have some hard science in a character based sci-fi story, but it just feels a bit out of place.
But that shouldn't keep you from reading "The Walls of the Universe." For 300 pages, it's one of the most fascinating, compelling and page-turning sci-fi (or really any genre) novels I've read in a long time. I'm hoping that Melko might return to the universe he's created here and show us the last 50 or so pages are all about setting up a great follow-up.
The first third of the novel unfolds at a breathless pace as we meet John Rayburn and his double from a parallel universe, John Prime. Prime has come to John's universe with a device that allows the user to pop from one parallel universe to the next. Prime offers John the chance to explore the next universe over, promising John that he can pop over, recharge the device and just pop back. Little does John suspect that Prime's device only allows you to journey forward to the next universe and not backward and that Prime is looking for a way to steal John's life out from under him.
For the first third of the novel, we alternate back and forth between John's journey and Prime's scheming in John's home universe. Prime has come forward with ideas and inventions not yet seen in John's universe, intending to claim them as his own and take the credit and fortune that comes with them. We slowly see how Prime works his way into John's seemingly ideal life, not only getting the girl John has always had a crush on but also working out the first stages of fame and fortune by introducing the Rubik's Cube to that universe. Meanwhile, John must learn the ropes of travel, eventually deciding to settle down in one safe universe and going to college to try and understand the device.
In the course of the story, Melko allows the reader to both root for and against each John. Prime could easily be a one-note villain, but as Melko explores the character and allows us to get to know him, we become more sympathetic toward him and even begin to pull for him as some of the later events of the story begin to unfold. And while John may be initially be a victim, he eventually begins to take on some of Prime's traits that early on made us pull against him, leaving the reader with some fascinating questions about nature vs nurture. And, like all good sci-fi, he presents the arguments and allows readers to draw their own conclusions.
The book also brings up some interesting ideas about "destiny," as we see John's journey to ending up with the same girl in two universes as well as having to tangle with the same bully in both.
It's once other various inhabitants from other parallel worlds show up that things begin to drift off course a bit. The story tries to expand the concept of the infinite number of universes, each one slightly different than the next, with concepts about people who only exist in one universe and the morality of jumping from one place to the next and trying to cash in. We also find that John's machine is damaged and that through study John is able to reverse engineer a working device to return to our world.
However, once John gets a newly working device, things begin to derail a bit. The problem is these concepts come up so late in the story that they seem tacked on and aren't as fascinatingly explored as some of the concepts and characters early in the novel. It may be that Melko wanted to have some hard science in a character based sci-fi story, but it just feels a bit out of place.
But that shouldn't keep you from reading "The Walls of the Universe." For 300 pages, it's one of the most fascinating, compelling and page-turning sci-fi (or really any genre) novels I've read in a long time. I'm hoping that Melko might return to the universe he's created here and show us the last 50 or so pages are all about setting up a great follow-up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2012
The 'Multiple Universe' sci-fi story is nothing new. Pretty much every sci-fi show worth its salt had at least one episode dedicated to the subject and one (Sliders) that was completely about travelling between parallel worlds. However, that doesn't mean a new venture into this sub-genre is a bad thing. I think it's great, actually. I just wish it had been done by a more talented writer.
Before I get into my criticisms, lets talk about the good parts of this book. First, I think it is clear that Melko had a good grasp on the 'science' of what he was describing. For the most part he seems to know the 'rules' of inter-world travel, even if he isn't revealing everything to the reader. Second, the book is (mostly) well structured. The story gets off to a fast start (maybe a little too fast) and it pretty much hits all the beats it should along the way to the conclusion. The last quarter of the book is quite strong and sets up a continuing series very well. Despite the problems I have with the book, it is possible I will continue to read the series.
Criticisms (AND SPOILERS) start here. Proceed only if you have read the book, as I will not be explaining the characters or events that happened.
**************************
The first thing that jumped out to me was Melko's poor dialogue. It was passable in parts, but some of it was stilted and boring. The words that come out of these character's mouth sound like they were written by a fifteen year old. Let me be clear, I'm saying written, not spoken. A fifteen year old can speak far more eloquently than these 'young adults'. Anytime the word 'fuck' or its many variations appeared, it felt forced. At first, it was used as another way to show the difference between the two Johns. Later, it just kind of felt shoehorned in, because apparently 'fuck' is almost the only curse ever used. Say what you will about teenagers, when they swear they generally don't shy away from all types of profanity.
This leads to the biggest criticism I have, which is the extremely weak characters. Aside from our two protagonists (John Prime, and John Farm Boy) none of the other characters are given anything to draw in the reader. They aren't even described physically. Grace, who becomes extremely important to the story, is initially described as a 'woman with frizzy hair'. This is how he chooses to describe a female freshman in college. I'm all for women's lib, but I don't know anyone who would refer to an 18 year old girl in a freshman physics class as a 'woman'. For a character who is integral to the story I'd expect a little more detail. We never get it, other than how she changes what she wears after she becomes a millionaire and thats a pretty shallow (and insulting) barometer of character.
Another example is John Farm Boy's Casey (hereon referred to as Casey2). Melko establishes that Casey2 is upset that John FB is keeping things from her, but they make up and everything is fine until he catches her cheating on him, which is a good few chapters later. Much later in the story he comes clean and she reveals it was his secret keeping that drove them apart and they immediately get back together. There is almost zero build up between any of those events. No real hints until just before she's caught cheating, and very little contact between the characters between the break up and the reunion. A reunion that only happens because he is basically forced into it. The result is two very anti-climactic scenes that I found myself not caring about. Those in-between scenes were the perfect opportunity to flesh out those characters (especially Casey2) and find out what made them tick. Unfortunately I think Melko is incapable of writing dialogue worth of those scenes, so they were left out.
This book seems to take the easy middle road, rather than exploring interesting ground. Great stories break their characters down and test them. John Farm Boy is put into a corner twice in in this book. First when John Prime tricks him into leaving his world, and second when his friends are captured and held hostage. Both sections are the most interesting part of the story, and the reason I didn't give this book two stars. But I wouldn't have cared about the dull story if the characters had been well rounded and interesting. Instead, they plodded along, just sort of coasting through life. Just like I coasted through reading. This book took almost no time, as (apart from the science-y stuff) the language was fairly simple. The thing is, the story never once went in a direction I didn't expect. This was a slowly curving road, compared to a (far superior) zig zag story like Ender's Game or Harry Potter. I mention those books, because they were ostensibly written for young(er) readers, but manage to take the reader on a journey on a much more mature journey than Melko could ever manage.
My last critique is far more nit-picky and nerdy, but here it goes. The fucking Metric System? Ok, I get it. Maybe most of these universe's use the metric system so all the characters are going to think that way. Fine. The problem is that the author doesn't follow through. People are described on multiple occasions as being 6' 2" or 5' 1", then later 2 Meters. He also gets it wrong when John Prime remembers being pulled over for thinking the speed limit signs were in miles instead of kilometers. If he was going 60 Kph in a 60 Mph zone, then the only thing he could possibly been pulled over for was going too slow. I admit, this is kind of dumb and pointless thing to complain about, but to me it just shows a pattern of the author's inability to string together a well written narrative.
So, to summarize, I wouldn't recommend this book. The lack of any real emotional connection to the characters (other than John FB) makes it very hard to justify the experience. The story is plotted well, but there should have been far more twists and turns to make the journey interesting. I commend Melko for his effort, and clearly he was aiming in the right direction, I just don't think he has the talent to pull this story off.
Before I get into my criticisms, lets talk about the good parts of this book. First, I think it is clear that Melko had a good grasp on the 'science' of what he was describing. For the most part he seems to know the 'rules' of inter-world travel, even if he isn't revealing everything to the reader. Second, the book is (mostly) well structured. The story gets off to a fast start (maybe a little too fast) and it pretty much hits all the beats it should along the way to the conclusion. The last quarter of the book is quite strong and sets up a continuing series very well. Despite the problems I have with the book, it is possible I will continue to read the series.
Criticisms (AND SPOILERS) start here. Proceed only if you have read the book, as I will not be explaining the characters or events that happened.
**************************
The first thing that jumped out to me was Melko's poor dialogue. It was passable in parts, but some of it was stilted and boring. The words that come out of these character's mouth sound like they were written by a fifteen year old. Let me be clear, I'm saying written, not spoken. A fifteen year old can speak far more eloquently than these 'young adults'. Anytime the word 'fuck' or its many variations appeared, it felt forced. At first, it was used as another way to show the difference between the two Johns. Later, it just kind of felt shoehorned in, because apparently 'fuck' is almost the only curse ever used. Say what you will about teenagers, when they swear they generally don't shy away from all types of profanity.
This leads to the biggest criticism I have, which is the extremely weak characters. Aside from our two protagonists (John Prime, and John Farm Boy) none of the other characters are given anything to draw in the reader. They aren't even described physically. Grace, who becomes extremely important to the story, is initially described as a 'woman with frizzy hair'. This is how he chooses to describe a female freshman in college. I'm all for women's lib, but I don't know anyone who would refer to an 18 year old girl in a freshman physics class as a 'woman'. For a character who is integral to the story I'd expect a little more detail. We never get it, other than how she changes what she wears after she becomes a millionaire and thats a pretty shallow (and insulting) barometer of character.
Another example is John Farm Boy's Casey (hereon referred to as Casey2). Melko establishes that Casey2 is upset that John FB is keeping things from her, but they make up and everything is fine until he catches her cheating on him, which is a good few chapters later. Much later in the story he comes clean and she reveals it was his secret keeping that drove them apart and they immediately get back together. There is almost zero build up between any of those events. No real hints until just before she's caught cheating, and very little contact between the characters between the break up and the reunion. A reunion that only happens because he is basically forced into it. The result is two very anti-climactic scenes that I found myself not caring about. Those in-between scenes were the perfect opportunity to flesh out those characters (especially Casey2) and find out what made them tick. Unfortunately I think Melko is incapable of writing dialogue worth of those scenes, so they were left out.
This book seems to take the easy middle road, rather than exploring interesting ground. Great stories break their characters down and test them. John Farm Boy is put into a corner twice in in this book. First when John Prime tricks him into leaving his world, and second when his friends are captured and held hostage. Both sections are the most interesting part of the story, and the reason I didn't give this book two stars. But I wouldn't have cared about the dull story if the characters had been well rounded and interesting. Instead, they plodded along, just sort of coasting through life. Just like I coasted through reading. This book took almost no time, as (apart from the science-y stuff) the language was fairly simple. The thing is, the story never once went in a direction I didn't expect. This was a slowly curving road, compared to a (far superior) zig zag story like Ender's Game or Harry Potter. I mention those books, because they were ostensibly written for young(er) readers, but manage to take the reader on a journey on a much more mature journey than Melko could ever manage.
My last critique is far more nit-picky and nerdy, but here it goes. The fucking Metric System? Ok, I get it. Maybe most of these universe's use the metric system so all the characters are going to think that way. Fine. The problem is that the author doesn't follow through. People are described on multiple occasions as being 6' 2" or 5' 1", then later 2 Meters. He also gets it wrong when John Prime remembers being pulled over for thinking the speed limit signs were in miles instead of kilometers. If he was going 60 Kph in a 60 Mph zone, then the only thing he could possibly been pulled over for was going too slow. I admit, this is kind of dumb and pointless thing to complain about, but to me it just shows a pattern of the author's inability to string together a well written narrative.
So, to summarize, I wouldn't recommend this book. The lack of any real emotional connection to the characters (other than John FB) makes it very hard to justify the experience. The story is plotted well, but there should have been far more twists and turns to make the journey interesting. I commend Melko for his effort, and clearly he was aiming in the right direction, I just don't think he has the talent to pull this story off.
June 1, 2021
The Walls of the Universe (Universe #1) by Paul Melko is a multiverse hopping story that I thought would be perfect for me. It had a fine start but the longer it went on the less invested I became in John and his duplicate. I was really looking forward to the Ohio setting. Maybe see a few places I recognize, but one thing that grated on me is the fact although it seems to be set in the mid 2000s it comes across much more like it's the mid 1950s instead. I also know that the main character is supposed to be a teen in high school, but I wouldn't have been able to guess that if I wasn't told over and over. Then again maybe that's what teens in the 1950s were like? Like awkward 40 somethings? Either way, the writing style is awkward and it bogs down the story when it shouldn't be losing steam. I won't be back for part two of this duology. Perhaps before the story was expanded into a full length novel the original novella suited it better.
January 22, 2009
Walls of the Universe reads like a golden-age sf adventure tale with a plucky young protagonist, though here there are two instances of him that star in the book, but it's also a thoroughly modern novel in outlook, sensibilities and tone.
Most of the action takes place on two similar universes with our own, around Toledo, Ohio, where John (Original) Rayburn, a senior high school teen with a love of physics, a crush on beautiful cheerleader Casey Nicholson and a problem with snobbish cat-torturer, junior high schooler and all around jerk Ted Carson, meets himself, or more precisely John Prime Rayburn from a slightly diverging world and with a slightly diverging storyline at least up to him getting the device. Prime makes John an offer to try the device and see the Multiverse in all its glory without mentioning the small detail, that the transporter has a problem. It can go only upstream to higher numbered universes, Prime coming from 7433, while John being in 7533.
John - farm-boy - as the well traveled Prime calls him to fire him up to see the Multiverse and incidentally spare Prime the necessity of killing him, is a very believable example of a talented teen with a passion for physics, but also for sports, as well as not being shy of beating the crap out of jerk Ted Carson for his nasty pranks and insults, but being afraid to ask beautiful cheerleader Casey on a date.
Prime has been like that, a year and 100 universes ago, but now he is a ruthless, determined youngster with an overriding goal. Settle with "his" family in a universe that's almost identical to his lost one, get rich by exploiting ideas across the visited universes that are new to #7533 and get Casey here too after sampling her charms in several other universes.
But for now, Prime stops short of killing "himself" when John accepts the dare, believing that he will be back in 12 hours, since the tall but believable tales of Prime mentioned that the device needs that much time to "recharge", and of course when John discovers the painful truth he is devastated.
But plucky youngsters do not give up easily and John starts an odyssey across the Multiverse - upstream for now - to find a way back home and on the way he discovers quite a few things about himself, universe-hopping, makes new friends, gets "new" parents, finds a much more sophisticated Casey and has quite a few adventures. On the other hand Prime's plans start encountering hitch after hitch, including a baby girl, a hasty shotgun marriage and much more. But he is still the ruthless universe traveler and to his surprise he finds a soul-mate in the seemingly shy and unsophisticated Casey of farm-boy's universe.
The story flows very well and I kept turning page after page to find out what's next. The dialog is fun and snappy and the two main characters, John and Prime are very well drawn, both strikingly similar and quite different at the same time. The recurring characters, most notably Casey but Ted Carson and John's parents are also very well done in their Multiverse iterations, similar and different at the same time.
This is one of the main literary strength of the novel, the ability of making the characters believable in the circumstances of being the "same person" though not quite, and here Walls of the Universe could have easily gone astray, but Mr. Melko' skill kept me suspending my disbelief time and again.
The main weaknesses of the novel are the villains who are kind of stock cartoonish, both menacing, powerful and experienced in nasty doings, as well as easily confounded by plucky youngsters, then the nature of the universe traveling device which is straight out of a B-sf movie and is seemingly something not that advanced technologically. Also the larger issues are ignored for most of the novel, Walls of the Universe being John's adventure and Prime's attempt to have a normal life, rather than an exploration of the mysteries of the Multiverse which are only hinted here and there.
There is a character rattling statistics about the likelihood of historical events across the Multiverse, stuff like in how many universes has been George Washington shot for treason - usually - in how many Napoleon united Europe - about 40% of the ones that had Napoleon Emperor - what are some of the hinges of history, but that aspect is only touched upon here and I hope a future novel in this entertaining setting will go there.
I enjoyed this novel much more than I expected, a pure fun golden-age sf adventure with modern sensibilities and I highly recommend it as well as looking forward to more books by Mr. Melko who is finally coming into his own as the great talent his short fiction presaged.
Most of the action takes place on two similar universes with our own, around Toledo, Ohio, where John (Original) Rayburn, a senior high school teen with a love of physics, a crush on beautiful cheerleader Casey Nicholson and a problem with snobbish cat-torturer, junior high schooler and all around jerk Ted Carson, meets himself, or more precisely John Prime Rayburn from a slightly diverging world and with a slightly diverging storyline at least up to him getting the device. Prime makes John an offer to try the device and see the Multiverse in all its glory without mentioning the small detail, that the transporter has a problem. It can go only upstream to higher numbered universes, Prime coming from 7433, while John being in 7533.
John - farm-boy - as the well traveled Prime calls him to fire him up to see the Multiverse and incidentally spare Prime the necessity of killing him, is a very believable example of a talented teen with a passion for physics, but also for sports, as well as not being shy of beating the crap out of jerk Ted Carson for his nasty pranks and insults, but being afraid to ask beautiful cheerleader Casey on a date.
Prime has been like that, a year and 100 universes ago, but now he is a ruthless, determined youngster with an overriding goal. Settle with "his" family in a universe that's almost identical to his lost one, get rich by exploiting ideas across the visited universes that are new to #7533 and get Casey here too after sampling her charms in several other universes.
But for now, Prime stops short of killing "himself" when John accepts the dare, believing that he will be back in 12 hours, since the tall but believable tales of Prime mentioned that the device needs that much time to "recharge", and of course when John discovers the painful truth he is devastated.
But plucky youngsters do not give up easily and John starts an odyssey across the Multiverse - upstream for now - to find a way back home and on the way he discovers quite a few things about himself, universe-hopping, makes new friends, gets "new" parents, finds a much more sophisticated Casey and has quite a few adventures. On the other hand Prime's plans start encountering hitch after hitch, including a baby girl, a hasty shotgun marriage and much more. But he is still the ruthless universe traveler and to his surprise he finds a soul-mate in the seemingly shy and unsophisticated Casey of farm-boy's universe.
The story flows very well and I kept turning page after page to find out what's next. The dialog is fun and snappy and the two main characters, John and Prime are very well drawn, both strikingly similar and quite different at the same time. The recurring characters, most notably Casey but Ted Carson and John's parents are also very well done in their Multiverse iterations, similar and different at the same time.
This is one of the main literary strength of the novel, the ability of making the characters believable in the circumstances of being the "same person" though not quite, and here Walls of the Universe could have easily gone astray, but Mr. Melko' skill kept me suspending my disbelief time and again.
The main weaknesses of the novel are the villains who are kind of stock cartoonish, both menacing, powerful and experienced in nasty doings, as well as easily confounded by plucky youngsters, then the nature of the universe traveling device which is straight out of a B-sf movie and is seemingly something not that advanced technologically. Also the larger issues are ignored for most of the novel, Walls of the Universe being John's adventure and Prime's attempt to have a normal life, rather than an exploration of the mysteries of the Multiverse which are only hinted here and there.
There is a character rattling statistics about the likelihood of historical events across the Multiverse, stuff like in how many universes has been George Washington shot for treason - usually - in how many Napoleon united Europe - about 40% of the ones that had Napoleon Emperor - what are some of the hinges of history, but that aspect is only touched upon here and I hope a future novel in this entertaining setting will go there.
I enjoyed this novel much more than I expected, a pure fun golden-age sf adventure with modern sensibilities and I highly recommend it as well as looking forward to more books by Mr. Melko who is finally coming into his own as the great talent his short fiction presaged.
September 14, 2012
This was a fun book, one that I found fast paced and quite enjoyable. It was an interesting take on the parallel universe sub-genre of science fiction, focusing more on the crossing-between-parallel-universes aspect rather than the better explored alternate history sub-genre (though it is that too).
The action begins very early in the book, something I liked, when John Rayburn, a farm boy high school senior in Ohio, meets his exact duplicate. Well, not exact duplicate, as this individual – who dubs himself John Prime – convinces what I will dub in this review our original John that he is real (not a ghost or hallucination or anything) and that he has traveled from a parallel universe with a deceptively simple looking device. Not to give too much away here, but John Prime manages to convince the other John to give the device a try. The author did a good job of showing that John Prime was worried that he would lose the device; why would our original John come back if he had all the multiverse to explore? Would you?
Again, hopefully not spoiling anything here, deliciously it is revealed that John Prime doesn’t ever want to see the device again and hated traveling. Great foreshadowing for the adventures the original John of the book has to face, for adventures he will face as our original John, for his part, very much wants to go back. And can’t. Ever. The device only goes one way; no return trip to any other parallel universe. He is cut off from his original universe forever while he has no idea what John Prime is up to!
To me a real surprise in the book – and a quite pleasant one at that – is that the book focuses on both Johns, John Rayburn, the original John we got on page one, and John Prime. Though they both settle into different versions of Ohio, they each have to deal with that universe’s parents, unrequited love, bullies, and slight differences in history, technology, and popular culture as well as contend with still larger issues.
Another thing I really liked about the book was it took an idea that my friends and I had wondered about before; what if you were to say “invent” something that did not exist in a particular universe, such as a popular game? John Prime for instance starts the process of “inventing” the Rubik’s Cube in original John’s universe, which as far as John Prime can determine, never had the toy. A great idea, but even better is how the author showed that doing something like that is much, much more complex than it looks. Do you know how to make the thing you are trying to “invent?” Do you know how to describe it to others who say might run your production line? Are you quite sure it does not exist anywhere on that world? What will you do if they say they invented it?
Our original John, less interested in “inventing” things (though he accidentally gets caught up in that too), wants to research the device. How do you do that? Who do you approach if anyone? How do you research a device in a universe that lacks certain tools and equipment? Do you invent it? If you do, how do you deal with any attention that this attracts? Do you even legally exist in this universe?
As fascinating – and realistic – as that all is (well, as realistic as anything can be in these books, though I suspect that the legal issues facing inventors as shown in this novel are not entirely fiction), there are worse problems. John Prime, living a stolen life, and our hapless original John are not the only travelers from other parallel universes. Both Johns attract their attention in different ways and the attention is not very nice at all.
A good book, I definitely plan to read the sequel. The build up to the end was both interesting and surprising. The bad guys came off as somewhat alien and could have been a bit better fleshed out, something I hope that the second book dives into. I loved all the subtle differences between some of the parallel universes (and with some, some very un-subtle ones). I like how also the author snuck in some of the differences with throwaway lines, talking about say makes and models of cars or popular soft drink lines. I also like how the book is more or less from the vantage point of a single person that is more identifiable to the reader than the protagonists of other parallel universe hopping works of fiction (such as say in contrast with the great families of _Conquistador_ by S.M. Stirling).
The action begins very early in the book, something I liked, when John Rayburn, a farm boy high school senior in Ohio, meets his exact duplicate. Well, not exact duplicate, as this individual – who dubs himself John Prime – convinces what I will dub in this review our original John that he is real (not a ghost or hallucination or anything) and that he has traveled from a parallel universe with a deceptively simple looking device. Not to give too much away here, but John Prime manages to convince the other John to give the device a try. The author did a good job of showing that John Prime was worried that he would lose the device; why would our original John come back if he had all the multiverse to explore? Would you?
Again, hopefully not spoiling anything here, deliciously it is revealed that John Prime doesn’t ever want to see the device again and hated traveling. Great foreshadowing for the adventures the original John of the book has to face, for adventures he will face as our original John, for his part, very much wants to go back. And can’t. Ever. The device only goes one way; no return trip to any other parallel universe. He is cut off from his original universe forever while he has no idea what John Prime is up to!
To me a real surprise in the book – and a quite pleasant one at that – is that the book focuses on both Johns, John Rayburn, the original John we got on page one, and John Prime. Though they both settle into different versions of Ohio, they each have to deal with that universe’s parents, unrequited love, bullies, and slight differences in history, technology, and popular culture as well as contend with still larger issues.
Another thing I really liked about the book was it took an idea that my friends and I had wondered about before; what if you were to say “invent” something that did not exist in a particular universe, such as a popular game? John Prime for instance starts the process of “inventing” the Rubik’s Cube in original John’s universe, which as far as John Prime can determine, never had the toy. A great idea, but even better is how the author showed that doing something like that is much, much more complex than it looks. Do you know how to make the thing you are trying to “invent?” Do you know how to describe it to others who say might run your production line? Are you quite sure it does not exist anywhere on that world? What will you do if they say they invented it?
Our original John, less interested in “inventing” things (though he accidentally gets caught up in that too), wants to research the device. How do you do that? Who do you approach if anyone? How do you research a device in a universe that lacks certain tools and equipment? Do you invent it? If you do, how do you deal with any attention that this attracts? Do you even legally exist in this universe?
As fascinating – and realistic – as that all is (well, as realistic as anything can be in these books, though I suspect that the legal issues facing inventors as shown in this novel are not entirely fiction), there are worse problems. John Prime, living a stolen life, and our hapless original John are not the only travelers from other parallel universes. Both Johns attract their attention in different ways and the attention is not very nice at all.
A good book, I definitely plan to read the sequel. The build up to the end was both interesting and surprising. The bad guys came off as somewhat alien and could have been a bit better fleshed out, something I hope that the second book dives into. I loved all the subtle differences between some of the parallel universes (and with some, some very un-subtle ones). I like how also the author snuck in some of the differences with throwaway lines, talking about say makes and models of cars or popular soft drink lines. I also like how the book is more or less from the vantage point of a single person that is more identifiable to the reader than the protagonists of other parallel universe hopping works of fiction (such as say in contrast with the great families of _Conquistador_ by S.M. Stirling).
April 6, 2009
A swift and easy read reminiscent of Heinlein's juveniles without the hard science or moral philosophy.
July 7, 2022
4.5 stars. Really outstanding novel. It got a little more complex in the last half or last third, but that helped build the world out more. It was a very straightforward sci-fi story and good characters overall. I’m gonna have to pick up the second novel very soon.
September 3, 2010
Five out of five stars, but he almost lost one in the last 40 pages.
I bought this book from the author at Context, a science fiction convention in Columbus Ohio.
First the good stuff: It has been a long time since a book has grabbed me and made me want to keep turning pages even though I had a lot of other things that desperately needed to be done. This one did. The combination of the plot and characters I cared about kept me reading. The next issue of Point of Divergence may be a day or two late, but this was worth it.
This book is solidly alternate history, though the histories of the universes involved are generally rather sketchy. Most of them are penciled in with a few well-chosen details--enough to that they seemed solid, but not enough to slow down or overshadow the story.
The bulk of the story follows two versions of a farm boy, John Rayburn as he/they live his/their lives, mostly separately, but with some overlap. The first of those overlaps comes as one version (John Prime) tricks the other into swapping lives with him. Details of the second meeting would involve spoilers, so I'll let you discover that on your own. There are other overlapping characters, including a nemesis and a love interest.
One of the stronger aspects of this novel is the way that Melko approaches the way intellectual property transfers across the realities. That sounds boring stated that way, but he handles it well, technically accurate, realistic, and kind of exciting. Another strength: the way the experiences of the two versions of John shape them into substantially different people by the end of the book.
Now the weakness: Notice that I still gave this one five stars, so this didn't spoil the experience for me. With that in mind, the last forty-odd pages of Walls seemed considerably weaker than the rest. The writing wasn't as smooth. The characters didn't seem quite as in-character. There were a lot of little line-edits that should have been made to tighten it up and make things clearer. The rest of the book was excellent. Those last forty pages or so felt like they had the same potential, but needed one more edit pass for clarity and conciseness.
Again, notice the five stars. I read a lot of alternate history, and this one grabbed me about as thoroughly as a book as been able to grab me in the last year or two, relatively weak ending or no. I'm glad I bought this one, and would buy a sequel if one comes out.
I bought this book from the author at Context, a science fiction convention in Columbus Ohio.
First the good stuff: It has been a long time since a book has grabbed me and made me want to keep turning pages even though I had a lot of other things that desperately needed to be done. This one did. The combination of the plot and characters I cared about kept me reading. The next issue of Point of Divergence may be a day or two late, but this was worth it.
This book is solidly alternate history, though the histories of the universes involved are generally rather sketchy. Most of them are penciled in with a few well-chosen details--enough to that they seemed solid, but not enough to slow down or overshadow the story.
The bulk of the story follows two versions of a farm boy, John Rayburn as he/they live his/their lives, mostly separately, but with some overlap. The first of those overlaps comes as one version (John Prime) tricks the other into swapping lives with him. Details of the second meeting would involve spoilers, so I'll let you discover that on your own. There are other overlapping characters, including a nemesis and a love interest.
One of the stronger aspects of this novel is the way that Melko approaches the way intellectual property transfers across the realities. That sounds boring stated that way, but he handles it well, technically accurate, realistic, and kind of exciting. Another strength: the way the experiences of the two versions of John shape them into substantially different people by the end of the book.
Now the weakness: Notice that I still gave this one five stars, so this didn't spoil the experience for me. With that in mind, the last forty-odd pages of Walls seemed considerably weaker than the rest. The writing wasn't as smooth. The characters didn't seem quite as in-character. There were a lot of little line-edits that should have been made to tighten it up and make things clearer. The rest of the book was excellent. Those last forty pages or so felt like they had the same potential, but needed one more edit pass for clarity and conciseness.
Again, notice the five stars. I read a lot of alternate history, and this one grabbed me about as thoroughly as a book as been able to grab me in the last year or two, relatively weak ending or no. I'm glad I bought this one, and would buy a sequel if one comes out.
October 27, 2017
The Walls of the Universe is the first book I’ve read of Paul Melko’s and I really enjoyed it.
This book is about people traveling between universes, and while in another universe the book might have slowly built to that amazing fact, in ours… the protagonist John, a senior in high school, meets his other self by page 2!
The story starts quick as if to mirror the vigor of its audience which I guess to be the teen/young adult set. But while older, I was willing to get into reading shape for this tale and it became a bit of a page turner for me. It really bought me back to my youth where I could enjoy an adventurous take on an “old” idea.
I really don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll keep this general. I love how we learn just enough about the technology and societies that control it, yet so much more is left to find out. The author has fun with the idea and does a good job keeping the scope focused on a handful of character as the revelations are partially revealed.
I see that he has continued the series in another book, The Broken Universe. In this universe I’ll read a “break” book first before returning to the story, but I know in many parallel universes I couldn’t wait and am already into the second volume.
If you like the idea of parallel universes, being trapped and finding a way home, make this the universe where you read this book!
This book is about people traveling between universes, and while in another universe the book might have slowly built to that amazing fact, in ours… the protagonist John, a senior in high school, meets his other self by page 2!
The story starts quick as if to mirror the vigor of its audience which I guess to be the teen/young adult set. But while older, I was willing to get into reading shape for this tale and it became a bit of a page turner for me. It really bought me back to my youth where I could enjoy an adventurous take on an “old” idea.
I really don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll keep this general. I love how we learn just enough about the technology and societies that control it, yet so much more is left to find out. The author has fun with the idea and does a good job keeping the scope focused on a handful of character as the revelations are partially revealed.
I see that he has continued the series in another book, The Broken Universe. In this universe I’ll read a “break” book first before returning to the story, but I know in many parallel universes I couldn’t wait and am already into the second volume.
If you like the idea of parallel universes, being trapped and finding a way home, make this the universe where you read this book!
April 16, 2009
This is a page-turning sci-fi thriller, with interweaving plots, sub-plots, and overarching conspiracies.
Seriously. Remember The DaVinci Code? Yes, it was historically crap and had flat, unbelievable characters... but what carried that book was the fast-moving plot, unveiling mysteries, and interlocking conspiracies. Take those good elements, add believable and likeable characters, and unobtrusive (but good) science - and then you've got The Walls of the Universe.
I'd definitely recommend this book for those who claim they don't like sci-fi as well. It's there - I mean, parallel dimensions, duh - but it's not the focus of the story. It's the characters - and the settings are all in Ohio.
Alternate universe Ohio, but those elements give this book the ability to appeal to people who would normally shy away from genre fiction. Overall, a great and fun read.
Seriously. Remember The DaVinci Code? Yes, it was historically crap and had flat, unbelievable characters... but what carried that book was the fast-moving plot, unveiling mysteries, and interlocking conspiracies. Take those good elements, add believable and likeable characters, and unobtrusive (but good) science - and then you've got The Walls of the Universe.
I'd definitely recommend this book for those who claim they don't like sci-fi as well. It's there - I mean, parallel dimensions, duh - but it's not the focus of the story. It's the characters - and the settings are all in Ohio.
Alternate universe Ohio, but those elements give this book the ability to appeal to people who would normally shy away from genre fiction. Overall, a great and fun read.
April 8, 2010
3 days. I didn't even add this to my currently-reading section because I finished it before I had the chance. It was awesome, although I had a very long work day after staying up way too late to read it. The science was fun. The characters were awesome. I like that the Johns were complex characters. He starts you off with a good John and an evil John, but then he plays with it, having the "good" John progress as he gets desperate, and discovering a good side to "evil" John, or at least an understanding of where he's coming from. The best part is-he does this all while they still stay in character, if that makes sense. They don't drastically change from good to evil or anything like that. They're just faced with a situation in which they have to make a choice, and it makes sense. Grace seemed like an inconsequential character until the end, where she surprised me with a seriously hard-core, bad-ass, fuck you moment that rocked.
November 18, 2013
I didn't like this book, and none of my book group members did either. However, it did provide quite a bit to discuss, even if most of the discussion was about its flaws.
I found the basic premise intriguing before I started reading. But the execution didn't match the promise. I found much of the writing to be juvenile. The male characters were underdeveloped. The female characters were underdeveloped and often seemed like teenage boy wish-fulfillment. And the plot had some serious issues.
I agree with another reviewer who said The Walls of the Universe started out as a sci-fi novel then got tangled up with a thriller. (I say tangled because by the end the book seem rather confused about what story it was supposed to be telling.)
While The Walls of the Universe is the first in a series, I will not be reading further because I really don't care about the characters or what happens next.
I found the basic premise intriguing before I started reading. But the execution didn't match the promise. I found much of the writing to be juvenile. The male characters were underdeveloped. The female characters were underdeveloped and often seemed like teenage boy wish-fulfillment. And the plot had some serious issues.
I agree with another reviewer who said The Walls of the Universe started out as a sci-fi novel then got tangled up with a thriller. (I say tangled because by the end the book seem rather confused about what story it was supposed to be telling.)
While The Walls of the Universe is the first in a series, I will not be reading further because I really don't care about the characters or what happens next.
March 15, 2009
How can you not like a book with a line like, "You...mulched him?" "Walls of the Universe" has a good time playing with the concept of alternate universe and evil twins. None of the universes featured in the book appears to be our own, which just adds to the interest. The author evolves not one, but two protaganists, demonstrating how every choice a person makes changes that person irrevocably. And then there are those people who a jerks in every universe.
June 8, 2009
Oh, whatever happened to the times I could actually finish my books?
This wasn't bad; there seemed to be a bit of a YA feel to it (young protagonist, sentence structure), which is generally fine and good, and the beginning premise was interesting. But somewhere past the middle point, I sort of stopped caring about any of the characters, and didn't want to endure the potential embarassment of seeing how the all main character(s) get-rich schemes go ka-put.
This wasn't bad; there seemed to be a bit of a YA feel to it (young protagonist, sentence structure), which is generally fine and good, and the beginning premise was interesting. But somewhere past the middle point, I sort of stopped caring about any of the characters, and didn't want to endure the potential embarassment of seeing how the all main character(s) get-rich schemes go ka-put.
December 24, 2017
One star for the first section of the book - essentially the original novella which inspired this novel-length version - which is a good slice of Golden Age-style SF, and which accomplishes everything the ensuing novels fails to; blandly written in short declarative sentences, with unlikeable and largely one-dimensional characters, spurious (at times laughable) dialogue, simplistic plot machinations, and a finale that feels as if it's wrapping up quickly as the imminent sequel looms.
March 22, 2011
J'ai adoré!!!! Captivant avec un rythme haletant et des personnages très interessants :)
Juste une phrase qui décrit le style de ce livre. " Les murs de l'univers est aux univers parallèles ce que Retour vers le futur a été au voyage dans le temps" Aron Warner, producteur de Shrek ( qui a mis une option sur le livre pour en faire un film)
Juste une phrase qui décrit le style de ce livre. " Les murs de l'univers est aux univers parallèles ce que Retour vers le futur a été au voyage dans le temps" Aron Warner, producteur de Shrek ( qui a mis une option sur le livre pour en faire un film)
November 26, 2011
Great multiverse premise but the characters are stilted and unconvincing (especially when they morph from teen entrepreneurs into torture-victim warriors late in the action) and the small-town Ohio of the mid-2000s always seems like the 1950s.
May 6, 2018
Mildly entertaining story based on alternate universe / multi universe theory. Unfortunately, story is so character-oriented that any science gets left way behind. I found the story to be too unbelievable to be good science fiction. Possibly young adults would like this one.
August 10, 2010
Well-written parallel universe story, which is captivating, enjoyable and imaginative. I recommend it for fans of the genre.
August 25, 2025
This is a very good book. As is the sequel. Unfortunately it looks like the author has disappeared, and the series will not be finished.
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