Book Info: Genre: Speculative FictionReading Level: AdultRecommended for: Fans of speculative fiction, those interested in quantum physicsTrigger Warnings: kidnapping, violence, attacksMy Thoughts: Since I was reading the books by Dolley I'd received in exchange for a review, I decided to go ahead and read this one, which I've had since well before those others. This is a really good book with a really cool idea. The problem is I can't tell you much about it without ruining the surprise of discovery for yourself. It deals with some pretty intense quantum theories, but in such a way as to be highly readable. This quote will give you a bit of a hint: “Take away the observer and the world unravels. Without observation there can be no substance and without ritual there can be no cement.”Graham is a really interesting and well-done character, as is Annalise in all her incarnations. Ray makes a good minor foil, and Adam Sylvestrus is chilling as the main Big Bad. This book will not be for everyone, but if what I've revealed intrigues you, I can only recommend you check out this book for yourself. I haven't checked recently to see if it is still in the Baen Free Library, but that place is a treasure trove, so it's a great place to check out regardless. Highly recommended for fans of speculative fiction dealing with quantum theories.Disclosure: I picked up a copy of this book a few years back from the Baen Free Library. All opinions are my own.Synopsis: Graham Smith is a 33 year-old office messenger. To the outside world he's an obsessive-compulsive mute—weird but harmless. But to Graham Smith, it's the world that's weird. And far from harmless. He sees things others can't . . . or won't. He knows that roads can change course, people disappear, office blocks migrate across town. All at night when no one's looking. The world's an unstable place, still growing, sloughing off layers of reality like dead skin. One day you drive by, and it's changed. Annalise Mercado hears voices, all from girls calling themselves Annalise. Sometimes she thinks they're spirit guides, sometimes she thinks she's crazy. But then they start telling her about Graham Smith and the men who want to kill him. That's when they meet. So begins the story of two people whose lives are fragmented across alternate realities. And how the hold the key to the future of a billion planets. . . .
I enjoyed this book a lot. I don't remember why I chose it but congratulate myself on a lucky find. This book is quite something: an intriguing story that's different to the vast majority of other books, quite a feat!The only thing is that I almost didn't finish it. I ALMOST put it down and didn't pick it up again because it has such a slow start.And even once you get past the slow start and you develop some ideas of what it be like and that those ideas might be what gets you through... you could easily be wrong.Because the story does not follow predictable lines. Now, I enjoy stories about individualism and I root for underdogs, and for heroes who look nothing like hero material, so Graham is a great character. And it is such fun that he doesn't start out as a great character, as someone you would WANT to root for, far from it: he seems anxious, pernickety, a bit ridiculous and altogether just... a bit too much.And the aggregate almost is. Of Graham. Except you get him, Graham, most of the time - whereas you don't get his side kick that often, but the essence of her is there.I really enjoyed the story because it is about the triumph of the normed, the normal, under stress, in dire straights - and still coming through: winning against all the odds.That's a story I really love.It's got a nice ending - I enjoyed the whole book. Just try to get past the slow beginning.
What do You think about Resonance (2005)?
What an interesting book. One person able (unknowingly) to flip between dimensions and another able to communicate with "others" in different dimensions.The only thing that bugged me was that about two thirds of the way through you could already guess in which dimension it was going to end. The ending was also rather abrupt, but these points do not detract from making it an excellent read.What is quite interesting is that Dolley is from England, yet the spelling in the Kindle version I read was American (two words that caught my eye were rumor and pedophile).
—Bigal-sa
ResonanceChris Dolley****An interesting book. Starts in a very confusing and tempered but tension filled situation that gradually escalates and clears up, ending with a very memorable climax. Very exciting with a clean and clear prose. Ideas and the nature of the situations do create confusion that might make it less interesting to some readers.The beginning opens up with the introduction to our protagonist Graham Smith which initially appears to be insane with his obsession to his routines and inability to fit in with the society he belongs to. But then stranger and stranger things happen: people disappear and reappear, roads appear overnight, dead people returns; very strange events that makes anyone question the sanity of his world instead. A great puzzle that demands to be solved and which the story answers satisfyingly in a great conclusion with an exciting chase to find answers.The story is greatly complemented by the clear, clean and direct prose that propels the story and makes it easier to follow even with its very confusing events and situations. A prose that makes our brains focus on the story instead of anything fancy. A big plus for me.The negative(or positive, depending on views) is in the very core of the story itself. Everything in the story: the setting, the characters, the events... the whole world; is a big puzzle that demands patience and perseverance to see through. There are certain passages which are very hard to understand or just makes you loose your footing but soon would be cleared up if you just continue reading a bit more.Well planned and thought-out book, filled with excitement and a very big mystery to solve. A very good and solid piece of fiction.
—Rosver
Graham Smith does not speak, does not have friends or family, and never, ever, wavers from his daily rituals. Any deviation from his routine makes reality shift and change around him. Coworkers disappear, his apartment changes, his parents are suddenly alive and just as suddenly vanish again...And so every day he walks in precisely the same way along the sidewalk, ties his shoelaces in exactly the same way, and sticks sticky notes to everything, to remind him of what he did and when. It's a lonely, enclosed life--and it is abruptly burst open by a wild-eyed young woman who tells him his life is in danger. review tbc. Available for free http://chris-dolley.com/index.php?opt....
—Wealhtheow
