Alison LykeRezensionen

Jade Hill and Antigone Pagonis are science journalists invited to observe a physics experiment at the Orion Center. The experiment involves creating two black holes connected by an Einstein-Rosen bridge (a wormhole). The demonstration is set up to teleport a book from one black hole, through the wormhole, to the other black hole. When the mechanism is turned on the lights in the lab go out. When the lights come back the book appears to have been transported. But we are told that the experiment is a failure.

When Jade and Antigone return their homes they start to notice strange things. When they return to the Orion Center the next day the Research Director, Harriet Fletcher, explains that the experiment has had some unexpected effects. It has changed Jade and Antigone, giving them new abilities and has transported Abraham, another of the journalists observing the experiment, to another dimension. Harriet recruits Jade and Antigone to go retrieve Abraham.

After some very cursory training in their new abilities, Jade and Antigone are sent into Abraham's dimension. They find him, but he is happy where he is and refuses to return with them. Upon returning without him they begin to suspect that they are now in an alternate reality. Confronting Harriet she confirms this, but downplays the significance and consequences.

Dissatisfied with Harriet's explanation, Jade and Antigone dig deeper, and discover that they are now able to travel to other dimensions or planes without using the Orion Center's facilities. Soon they are on an odyssey through the "multiverse" in pursuit of Harriet and answers.

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I find it very hard to like this book. I guess my biggest complaint is that the resolution is very much a "deus ex machina", and therefore a disappointing let-down. My next complaint is that the book reads like a first draft. Here's a really annoying example. Early on there are three separate scenes in which we see glimpses of Jade's home and family life. In the third of these comes the main evidence that convinces Jade that she is now in an alternate reality. What is this evidence? It's that Jade's sister no longer has a heart condition. The problem? We only hear about the existence of this heart condition so that we can be told it no longer exists. It was never mentioned in the first two scenes depicting Jade's family. I can only conclude that it wasn't previously mentioned because it only just then occurred to the author that this would be a nice dramatic way to show that Jade is now in an alternate reality. But the author was too lazy to go back to either of the first two scenes to re-write them to include the newly conceived element of this heart condition.

In another spot, Jade's car is described as a "well-kept, late model sedan", and then, no more than a page later, as a "rust-bucket".

There's more, but I don't want to pile on.

Then there's the uneven tone of the book. In parts of it the author seems to be trying for screwball farce, in parts for straight action-adventure.

I would really have liked to know what kind of city Jade and Antigone live in. I hae no idea whether this is supposed to be a giant metropolis or a large town. Likewise, I am given no clue what kind of organization the Orion Center is. I don't know if it is run by a government, or by a university, or a not-for-profit, or a corporation. I also don't know if the center is in the heart of the city, or in a suburb, or in the country; is the center in a strip mall, or is it in its own campus setting? For an entity that plays such a central role in the story, think all of this uncertainty is just inexcusable. It tells me the author just didn't put very much thought into it.

And finally, it just isn't very well written. The prose is just flat. There are a number of malpropisms and just a bunch of awkward phrasing. I know the careers of Dan Brown and Stephenie Meyer have proven that one doesn't need to be a good writer to be successful, but I don't like their books either.

Egy tudományos kísérlet bemutatójára megy két főhősünk (pontosabban főhősnőnk, a regény összes fontos szereplője nő) egy tudományos bemutatóra mennek, tudósok mesterséges fekete lyukakat hoznak létre köztük féregjárattal. Természetesen nem minden megy rendben, és főhőseinknek kell megoldani a problémát, így tulajdonképpen egy alternatív dimenziókban játszódó krimiben találjuk magunkat

Ahhoz képest, hogy tiszta sci-fi-nek indult a regény, elég nehezen indult be nekem. A két főszereplő (különösen Anti) elég idegesítő volt, és a történet igen lassan haladt. A közepén hirtelen jobb lett, de itt a sci-fi mellett több fantasy elem is bejött (lehet, hogy a szerző nem annak szánta, de ha egy szereplő hirtelen csodálatos képességet kap minden magyarázat nélkül, az nem sci-fi). A végére kissé kesze-kusza lett a történet, a multiverzumos regények többnyire ilyenek.

Ahhoz képest, hogy a borítón szerepel a "book one" felirat (amit nem vettem észre) elég korrektül lezárt a történet, nem éreztem azt, hogy egy regény első harmadát olvasom csak.

Nem feltétlenül rossz a regény, de egyáltalán nem éreztem azt, hogy a második kötetet el kell olvasnom.½

Alison Lyke sets up a tough challenge for herself in her book Tripping the Multiverse. She meets it fairly well with a hybrid of fantasy and science fiction. As such, however, her story about moving between multiple universes might evolve into a better movie script than a novel. It's not a stand - alone work but the start of a series, and as such carries plot development, setting descriptions, and character development into the time where the action should be resolving rather than continuing.

The refreshingly original plot focuses on tracking down a renegade scientist who is destabilizing the universe (as it is known to Earthlings). The main protagonists and antagonist are women which is great to see for a book that will draw a primarily younger male audience. That audience should not disengage at all for this casting choice – it's one of the strengths of the book.

Another strength of the book is Lyke's audacity in setting up a plot immersed in a most fundamental realm of physics. She keeps the big picture fresh. In doing so, however, she jumps between science fiction and fantasy repeatedly. She has shape-shifters discussing cosmology and tacking problems that a human being using 23rd Century technology ordinarily would tackle. In the middle of the book, a character changes into a puma and converses with other pumas. Pumas do not do much to enhance the sci-fi aspects of the novel.

A hidden side effect of this hybrid style is that it sets up numerous micro – scale dei ex machinis scenarios. When the technology fails to move the story, bring in a mountain lion. That side effect doesn't help from the standpoint of a frumpy fifty-something year old man, but it should not necessarily bother a younger crowd. I would be challenged to flesh out a story of such theoretical focus, myself.

Tripping the Multiverse by Alison Lyke, a book review
I received a free copy of this ebook as an early reviewer on LibraryThing website.

This story seems to be a combination of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Bill and Ted's Great adventure.
Our heroines, Jade and Antigone (aka “Anti” for good reason), are two alleged science reporters attending a demonstration at what is apparently a machine similar to the Large Hadron collider where Harriet, the experiment leader, is attempting to create, or says they have created a miniature black hole. In fact, what they did was create an Einstein-Rosen Bridge to alternate universes through which one of the other technicians has disappeared. In the process, Jade and Antigone have received extraordinary powers. Jade can shape shift into other people or animals. And Antigone has extremely high sentience similar to ESP on steroids. With these Powers they are persuaded or coerced into going into the multiverse to find the missing technician. They do find him but that is as much as I will say about that little adventure to avoid spoilers. Their next adventure is to find Harriet herself who turns out to be from another universe and who is considered a criminal and was imprisoned on planet Earth because planet Earth, as we know it, is not connected by Bridges through the multiverse. Unbeknownst to the powers that be in the multiverse, we Earth people, albeit in the form of Harriet's persistence, in fact built a bridge to the multiverse and entered. There begins Jade and Anti’s adventures.
The worlds these two women visit strike me as original and quirky and fairly new but somewhat akin to the worlds visited by the hero of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Very alien and plain daffy. The whole story is fairly light-hearted, and I am sure those who like such stories will enjoy this one. I found it a bit difficult to finish mainly because I didn't find anything much likeable about either of the two women lead characters. Antigone is especially well named because she is especially annoying; particularly to Jade, so it does come as a surprise in the end of the story to have them become roommates. What? Now I suppose we get The Odd Couple tripping the multiverse. This is book one after all. I’m glad I got it for free, and that is the only way I would read the next one.

[Disclaimer: I got this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program]
I already read and appreciated Alison Lyke's Forever People. In her new work, the main characters are all women; Antigone and Jade, two science journalists who after a physics experiment obtain incredible powers; Harriet, the head of the research center who actually is not from our Earth; Zofia, a judge and executioner in a parallel universe. Oh, I forgot that Anti and Jade are unwittingly doing a series of trip in the Multiverse, as the book's title says. The first part of the book is a bit lame, and their initial trip seems out of style with respect to the rest; but then adventure happen at a frenetic pace, and the story really takes off. So, bear with the first chapters and you will be rewarded!

Tripping the Multiverse is an engaging science fiction story. The protagonists are two science writers, Jade and Antigone, whose travels through multiple dimensions provide the backdrop to the narrative. It’s also a type of “buddy adventure” story that I feel would make a great movie. I would strongly suggest a change of editors. There are multiple instances where the wrong word or grammatical errors pulled me out of the story. It felt as if the whole thing was written using speech recognition software. The story was compelling enough that I would be interested in the sequel, but I’m hoping the next one will be better-edited. I would add at least one more star if all the errors were fixed.

I loved the premise, got kinda lost in the multiverse but I found it interesting on the whole and worth a read. The author probably needs to do a little editing but other than than that I found the book enjoyable and the vileness vile

Tripping the Universe is the story of two women who gain superpowers from an accident involving a quantum-based experiment. The women, Jade and Antigone (Anti), are science journalists attending an experiment to create a quantum tunnel. The tunnel opens a hole to alternate worlds and give the two the ability to shape change and the ability to find the portals.

Jade and Anti are quested to find someone who disappeared into another dimension during the experiment. After returning home, they find things are subtly different and need to find a way home.

Through their adventures and an instinct that things are not as they seem, they uncover an interdimensional criminal that is destabilizing our dimension. This starts a self-induced quest to hunt down the criminal, wandering among the different dimensions.

The book has a few problems. It feels like minor characters just appear to explain things to the two adventurers. This leaves the book with a deus ex machina feel.

The author uses too many adjectives. Quite often she uses two adjectives and a noun, sometimes more than once in a single sentence. This reads awkwardly and sometimes suggests incidental items have more importance to the story than they actually do.

The pacing of the story felt off. It is always moderately fast-paced. But there are times when it should be slower. A changing of pace would help the story.

Some of the dialog didn’t feel natural. The subject changes too quickly.

The narrator used Anti’s full name at the start of the book. After Anti mentioned her nickname to Jade, the narrator suddenly changed it’s references. Except in one instance the narrator referred to her as Antigone, but there was no rhyme nor reason for that instance.

In their first trip to a foreign dimension, they had to split up. Jade took their universal translator, but Anti was able to communicate without it.

Generally, I think the book could use a stronger editor, especially with continuity.

In spite of these issues, I did enjoy the book. When Anti and Jade were in alternate dimensions, the extra adjectives helped to describe the unique locations. Each place they visited felt odd and unique. The reader will get an immediate feel for unusual cultures and people.

The experiment itself was described in terms of modern technology dropping recognizable terms. This worked well with a suspension of disbelief to help the user get into the story.

When you add interesting minor characters and situational humor, the book becomes an enjoyable and light read. I suspect the author targeted a younger audience, but I will enjoy reading the next installment.½

[Disclaimer: I got this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program]
What could go wrong if some scientist create a way to upload your consciousness in a digital universe, so that when you die - provided you are in a connected zone... - you may live forever? Well, people could decide to commit suicide to go there. Thus, a complicated system is created, where you will get "Node points" which can be used in the afterlife to buy things. Of course, nobody could really be sure that the Paradise, or whatever you want to call it, exists: in the meantime, people illicitly trade points, because it's better to be ready... except for revolutionists which try to cancel all those points. This is the framework for this book, where the protagonist Camille will manage to make a (round) trip to the afterlife, where she finds that things are a bit different from what people are told.
The book has a couple of loose ends, and the ending is quite abrupt: but it is a very nice read. I recommend it to people who like stories packed with action.