Worldmaker

by A.C. Ellis

In a world pocked with gutted buildings, looted stores and packs of computer-implanted wild dogs, one man senses more than mere devastation in his surroundings. He begins to grasp that the biochip in his own skull enables him to change reality at will—a tantalizing prospect until he realizes he isn't the only one with that ability.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1985

Reviews

[Jack Tripper]

(Cover of the 1985 Ace mass-market paperback)

A mind-bender of a read where a man begins to shift between multiple realities, to the point where he can't keep them straight in his head. His life is very different in each. His wife, though technically the same person in the various dimensions, has wildly disparate personalities in them, and their relationship with each other may be broken, or not. In one reality, human life seems to be nearly extinct -- not dead, but vanished into thin air due to some unknown catastrophe. How is all this related to a brain surgery he'd had earlier in life? And are these parallel worlds really REAL, or just delusions?

This reminded me a bit of Daniel Quinn's Dreamer (1988) and Lisa Tuttle's Lost Futures (1992), both of which had similar plotlines to this, though it's not quite as impactful as either, I feel, as the main character -- and thus the reader -- is kept so disoriented throughout that it's hard to develop any real emotional attachment toward him or his plight. Also, I found that the more that was revealed as to the nature of his ordeal, the more my interest waned, though this is often the case for me (I tend to like the mystery more than the answer).

Still, the strangeness of the concept and dreamlike narrative kept me intrigued, and I'd mildly recommend this to those who are fine just tripping out on freaky deaky existential ideas every so often. And for fans of Philip K. Dick.

3.5 Stars.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader]

Unexpectedly good book!
Unexpected because the cover, however awesome of it's time IS a little cheesy, and I had never heard of the author.

This is a dimension jumping type story where our main protagonist had a degenerative disease and became a subject of an experimental process where an organic computer is implanted in the brain in order to prevent memory loss.

We first meet him in a post apocalyptic landscape of empty buildings and dog packs roaming the street: Everyone has just vanished,

There are several interesting science and philosophy concepts this story rests lightly upon, including Quantum Mechanics and the butterfly effect. Despite the conceptual science the majority of the book does read more like an old school thriller than SFF.

Very pleased to have read it.

[Vincent]

Pretty cheesy and dull, I picked it up used for a couple bucks cause the cover looked funny and it was about what I expected it to be. It started off fairly promising but quickly becomes too disorienting for its own good in the second suburban section which I found to be incredibly boring. It picks up the pace and becomes a lot more straightforward in the third and fourth bits and becomes a chase thriller with reality shifting. It’s also pretty predictable and I felt that the last bit when the world is essentially at the whims of the main characters subconscious could have been more interesting. The writing itself isn’t anything to write home about either and the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired but it does its job ok.

[Jenny]

Read this book years ago after finding it on a sale table. The story came back to me and one day I Googled the title, found the book and was able to order a reprint.

The story is mind-bendingly brilliant! Two men have computer chips buried in their brains for various reasons, a side-effect of which is that they can both manipulate and change reality. Apart from being a riveting read, this story is an excellent demonstration of how the many-worlds theory may work. An ABSOLUTE MUST read for SF and fantasy fans.

[Kimalita Lane]

Wonderfully interesting concept however it seemed too confusing to pull off successfully. The story is not so confusing as things were explained but this meant that the plot was oddly paced and the characters undeveloped. It was okay to read.

[Marko]

I have the german edition: Weltenschoepfer