very original first book, maybe of a series? (the next book contains some of the same charaters and themes). here a poor culture inhabits a post-apocalyptic desert, both violent and religious, and suffering from extreme class disparities with the highly technological city next door: in this era we can recognize the similarities of both. but the lens widens to visit alternate worlds in which the characters and the state of play only differs slightly, with hidden portals that connect them, and thereby we are in a very different play, in which doppelgangers are almost but not quite the same owing to minor changes in circumstances. and moving between the worlds, the protagonist changes in response even to small changes with family history, so all the worlds remain dynamic and social constructs can change too. ( )

Sci-fi is a little out of my usual zone, but I wanted to branch out, and was drawn to the concept/setup. Intriguing concept, but personally didn't find the execution particularly compelling or unique (though maybe it is for sci-fi...can't speak to that).

This is sorta Sliding Doors meets Mad Max. The whole time, I felt like the author wanted to explore things like belonging, class, and male aggression/misogyny, but tried to wrap it in a booktok-y skin and something got lost in translation.

This took me awhile for me to read through and I had to work a bit to finish although it's not a particularly high page count. I struggled to like or even particularly care about any character (that's true of a lot of sci fi for me to be honest) which made it harder to relate or want to stick around in their world. Or rather worlds, since this is a multiverse situation.

I wasn't especially interested in or buying into the relationships either (and I mean any of them) which is part of what didn't work for me. This plot probably works best if you perceive 'stakes' on the outcome and honestly, I didn't much care. There's a lot of time invested in the setup, but the payoff of the story (when the action and tension heats up a little) is fairly close to the end (final 30 pages, maybe?)

Wasn't my thing, but the author is worth keeping on your book-dar, especially if this is her first. If you're drawn to this or just want to try something new--give it a whirl. ( )

Conceptually, this was clever but the execution lacked finesse. There was too much explanation of things that had already been covered and it really bogged down the narrative. The characterizations were weak and I kept losing track of who was who. ( )

I liked it. The main character is a little cold at first, but it's an interesting world, so that didn't bother me in the beginning. And she becomes more likable as time passes. Romance was present, but low-key, I liked the way that was done. Interesting to see the different angles of various characters in the different worlds.

Recommended to me at Queer lit, a book store in Manchester, UK. ( )

Book club pick ;), and a mixed bag with some redeeming qualities

I enjoy parallel universe stories. One of the premises of the book, that you can’t visit worlds where the other you is still alive, was very interesting (and logical ;)). This makes people on the edges of society, people with lower life expectancy, very valuable to the powerful corporation that exploits the multiple worlds. Good punch! The themes of privilege, identity, capitalism, colonialism, class, racism, and lone tech geniuses get explored in all the ways they deserve, but without preaching.

The author is very good at describing relationships and connections between people, there are passages that are poignant and true. But awkward worldbuilding (I still have so many questions!), and a plot that shuffles and meanders meant that I couldn’t’ invest enough of myself in either the story or the characters. Things happened. Then some other things happened. There were revelations about this and that character (I liked those). It’s been a while since I’d read a novel of 300 pages that felt quite that long. I think The Space Between Worlds would have been a much better book if it focused more on the characters and relationships and less on worldbuilding/plot.

The ending was nice, even though it felt like a lot of sudden handwaving.
( )