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The Walls of the Universe (2009)

por Paul Melko

Otros autores: Ver la sección otros autores.

Series: Universe [Melko] (1)

MiembrosReseñasPopularidadValoración promediaMenciones
3051685,331 (3.66)17
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.… (más)
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» Ver también 17 menciones

Mostrando 1-5 de 16 (siguiente | mostrar todos)
While the story is well written and the premise is an interesting one, I had real difficulty relating with the protagonists, as I found a number of their decisions and actions to be rather abhorrent. I can appreciate the literary skill of the author, but I don't know that I will read anything else by him. ( )
  shadrachanki | Jun 8, 2018 |
One John was a complete dickhead at the beginning and ended up maturing into a better man.

Another John was a naive farmboy who grew into a very smart and capable man.

Both stories are a side of a multisided coin and it is quite the coin! ( )
  BookstoogeLT | Dec 10, 2016 |
The world-building premise of this book (multiple iterations of the universe as a result of following different paths at various decision points throughout history) is one I find fascinating, and I found the book to be well written. I wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, I found the protagonists to be rather unlikable and one-dimensional, and that made it incredibly difficult to get invested in the story. ( )
  shadrach_anki | May 30, 2014 |
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. ( )
  FlanneryAC | Mar 31, 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 (like when John Wilson drags a woman and child into another universe and conveniently forgets this while trying to determine the radius his device works in) 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! ( )
1 vota richardderus | Sep 29, 2012 |
Mostrando 1-5 de 16 (siguiente | mostrar todos)
The Walls Of The Universe is a really fast, entertaining read, with nice, crisp prose. (At one point, Rayburn hits a guy with a tire iron, and he falls "like a suit off a rack.") The little character touches, and the parallel between the two Johns' stories in the two alternate universes, add a lot to the basic idea. But it's also refreshing to see a book about travel between universes where nobody's trying to change the course of history or build an empire — just make a fast buck. Highly, highly recommended.
añadido por PhoenixTerran | editario9, Charlie Jane Anders (Dec 11, 2008)
 

» Añade otros autores

Nombre del autorRolTipo de autor¿Obra?Estado
Paul Melkoautor principaltodas las edicionescalculado
Foster, JonArtista de Cubiertaautor secundarioalgunas edicionesconfirmado

Pertenece a las series

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Título canónico
Título original
Títulos alternativos
Fecha de publicación original
Personas/Personajes
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Lugares importantes
Acontecimientos importantes
Películas relacionadas
Epígrafe
Dedicatoria
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
For Stacey,
of course
Primeras palabras
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
The screen door slammed behind John Rayburn, rattling in its frame.
Citas
Últimas palabras
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
(Haz clic para mostrar. Atención: puede contener spoilers.)
Aviso de desambiguación
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés. Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
This is a novel. Do not combine it with the novella of the same name.
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Idioma original
DDC/MDS Canónico
LCC canónico

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Wikipedia en inglés (1)

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.

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