Cover Image: The Space Between Worlds

The Space Between Worlds

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Member Reviews

Sadly, this was a DNF from me.

I really enjoyed the premise of the book. I liked how there were different Earths and people on Earth 0 discovered how to travel between them. The higher numbered Earth the further away the likeness to Earth Zero was. The main character travelled between the Earth but could only travel to Earths where she herself had died. Up until this point I was enjoying it.

I got to page 138 and I was confused. In each Earth the main character was either called her name, a version of her name or something completely different!!! This was the same for all the characters, although some kept their names?! Also I couldn't keep track of which Earth was which.

🌍🌍🌍

This was not the right time for me to read this book, I think I will pick it up again in the future but at a time when life isn't so complicated and I can concentrate (and probably make notes!)

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While the premise of this sounded really great, I attempted to read it 3 times and just couldn’t get absorbed into the writing style or the story

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Excellently structured to keep the multiple possible outcomes alive until the end stages collapse into singularity. The revelations of character should be predictable in a multiverse, but the storytelling masks the approach.

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Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

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Thank you for my eARC of this book!
I am relatively new to sci-fi and have historically favoured fantasy as I find it a bit easier to read. This was an absolute joy however. The concept is brilliant and the execution is done so well. I felt myself stopping and pondering a few times whilst reading and am still thinking about it after reading!

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Long delay as I didn't realise it was being archived so quickly. Now out in paperback and we have it in store!

A book about alternate realities, with discovery of the ability to move between them. Catch is that you can only move to realities where the other you doesn't exist, so 'traversers' likely to be from the lethal wastelands and who's counterparts are likely to be dead are much sought after. One such is Cara, only alive in eight of near 400 realities. Near the start of the tale it is found that one of the other Cara's has been killed...

On the surface a business, collecting information, data, Cara is now thrown into something different, investigation of the nature of her reality and background, of the secrets of the multiverse.

A dense, compellingly plotted narrative with flawed and believable characters, that not all is what it seems quickly becomes apparent though the twists and 'reveals' come in ways that keep the outcome a mystery. An excellent novel, gritty, revealing of character and human nature in all it's flaws, highly recommended.

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Science fiction and fantasy are genres that are often grouped together, but whilst I read a lot of fantasy, it is a rarity for me to read sci-fi. I dabble occasionally, but I often find that I struggle to fully connect with the story. Right from the lovely dedication to the author’s grandma and an undisclosed “you” – which made me chuckle but feel sad at the same time – The Space Between Worlds has a very human feel that is sometimes lacking in sci fi books

Micaiah Johnson has created an intricate web where not only are there the different worlds of the multiverse, there are different incarnations of the same people. It is a multiverse full of interesting twists, and I can imagine it was tricky to keep track of everything while writing. It really is a very clever story, and I enjoyed every page.

I don’t know how well I would cope knowing that there were hundreds of other versions of me out there. I have a feeling that finding out about them and how they died would become something of an obsession!

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Multiverse stories are something I either love or hate - I have really enjoyed some in the past, and others I felt incredibly let down by. In the case of The Space Between Worlds, I felt Micaiah Johnson handled this really well and came up with a compelling and intriguing story. A big part of this is that Johnson uses the idea of multiverse travel not as the central driving plot of her story, but as the background. Instead, she maintains a focus on her protagonist Cara and Cara's relationships. For those expecting a more hardcore sci-fi novel, a la Isaac Asimov, this might be somewhat disappointing, but, for me, I actually preferred the human touch we get from staying with Cara.

This isn't to say the book is all introspection - there is plenty of intrigue and worldbuilding, and the struggle Cara goes through to not just survive, but thrive in her post-apocalyptic version of Earth is gripping. The society is set up well, and the ending was a little unexpected for me, but still something that worked really well. This is an amazingly accomplished debut, and I will definitely be looking forward to reading more books from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

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I've tried a couple of times to read this now, but unfortunately I just can't get into it. I think this is mainly due to the plot, which I found quite convoluted and the fact that we aren't given any explanation behind the concept of the parallel worlds, and how it all fits together. Don't get me wrong, I did want every little detail explained to me but a bit of exposition goes a long way. Instead I found my brain trying to piece together the logical aspects of the world's and this distracted me from the plot.

I also found every secondary character to be extremely stereotypical or underdeveloped. Especially the antagonist. I never felt as though there was a real threat to the story and also at times the writing just feels a little young for the narrative and dark themes.

I wanted to love this. I really enjoy parallel universe/multiverse plots in hooks, but this one just didn't stand out for me.

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Going into this i had some expectations on how ‘scifi’ it was going to be and those expectations were not met. Considering the plot and the synopsis, i feel like this book is slightly mis-sold. So it was a bit disappointing in that regard. Just wish it was more hardcore scifi and bit more on the mystery side.

I also had a hard time connecting to the main character and to the story. I just could not bring myself to care enough, just felt sort of apathetic about everything. I was however curious enough to finish the book.

This could be just a me thing rather than the book’s fault. I do not think this is an inherently bad book and i would recommend for people who want some light scifi.

Also, I did appreciate the conversation this book had about socioeconomic differences and discriminations in the world.

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Really clever scifi story with some great characters and a really good plot. It had a feel of a contemporary mixed with the scifi and you can quickly become engrossed in the relationships portrayed. A really unique feel to this one.

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This book has such an interesting concept. I love a little bit of sci-fi especially if there's a bit of romance thrown in too. I requested this from Netgalley but I also got this beautiful edition from Illumicrate in my monthly box.

If you aren't a big sci-fi person I would say that this is a great book to ease you into it. It's not too heavy on the sci-fi in my opinion.

The world-building in this story is amazing. I loved seeing Cara jump between worlds. It was so cool to see how the worlds were the same but different. The little things that changed had a big impact on the wider picture. I found this fascinating.

Cara is such a complex and interesting character. I really liked her. I'm really struggling to explain without giving away too many spoilers but Cara is so much more than she initially seems.

I also really love Cara's sister. She is such a good character. She's also super smart.

My only gripe with this story is that I wanted to see more worlds. We only get to see a handful of the 300 odd worlds that Cara can visit. I'd love to see some novellas or spin-offs that show us more. This book had such a satisfying ending that I wouldn't want to see anything that happened to the universe after but I would definitely be interested in the past.

I really enjoyed this debut from Micaiah and I can't wait to see what she brings next!

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This was beautifully narrated by Nicole Lewis, as the main character but I never felt the other named characters in her world were anything but real.

Veronica Roth touched on 'self' in Chosen as did Fringe, and the Long Earth series opened up the idea of an infinate multiverse. The author uses them together as a platform for the story. Don't be fooled the real story is very modern, it's about privilege and power.

Cara is a 'traverser', she travels to different world's where she does not exist (never born or died). She is coloured and comes from Ash town, she is only valuable for how many world's she can visit. She lives in the walled city of Wiley so she can do her job and is only there on a work visa. Most of the inhabitants of Wiley are established and have a history of living there. There is little diversity unless you have power and money as her 'watcher' Del has. Jean, her mentor earned his citizenship and his family is all in Wiley but we are made clear that it's never secure as those in power can dismiss you and get you exiled or worse if you cross them.

Places are named well and Ash is what you expect, a place of desert, used up resources and a fight for survival.

I received a free copy from netgally.com for my fair and honest review.

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Unfortunately I couldn't finish this book. This is nothing against the book. I have had trouble connecting with a lot of books since I had covid in January. It's a problem with me rather than the book. Love the concept and wish the author great success with the book.

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I'm surprised that this book seems to have so many poor reviews, as I thought it was very good.
I love science fiction, and after a lifetime of reading it I love to find something original, unusual, and using new concepts. This book had all of those, and it was a great read. It did take a little bit to work out what was going on, but I do prefer books where everything is not laid out on the first page. I did believe that there were several twists in the plot, from who the main character actually was, to the relationship with Dell. I liked the way that the characters were explored, showing how much they can be altered by their surroundings.
All in all, I found this to be a great read, and one that will stick in my memory more than some have. I look forward to seeing what else this author may produce, for a first novel it was exceptional.

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Easily one of my favourites of 2020!!
The Space Between Worlds is a sci-fi thriller that follows Cara who is a ‘world-walker’(someone who travels to different multiverses to collect data). Although the technology in this world is quite advanced (duh), you can’t travel to a world where your doppelgänger is already dead. Taken from Ashtown (the wastelands), she has a chance to become a citizen of Wiley City, and finally feels like she belongs. But her doppelgängers are dying under mysterious circumstances, and she discovers a conspiracy that could endanger her and her home Earth.

I absolutely LOVED this book😭The relationship between Cara and Dell (her ‘handler’ of sorts), was full of yearning, and although I wanted more of them, I couldn’t read fast enough every time they interacted. The plot itself was full of twists and turns! I loved how Cara dealt with all the situations she faced- she was determined to find her place in the world, and I thoroughly enjoyed how the mystery of the other multiverses unfolded.

The writing was so beautiful. I was hooked on every word and was practically tabbing every other sentence🥺 The world building was so vivid. The difference between the rich Wiley City and Ashtown where the heat could basically burn you alive, was so exciting to read. And the way Cara navigates between both, trying to survive, made me root for her.

I haven’t read such a good sci-fi in a while, and I’m so glad I picked this up 👏

If you’re looking for a book with a great sapphic relationship, commentary on identity & privilege, with tons of action in a multiverse setting, I HIGHLY recommend this book✨

Definitely one of my favourites of the year!

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This was a refreshing delight. It has simple and elegant world building and rich fascinating characters. While you may often find yourself asking the book "why are the smart people doing such dumb things", you are rewarded when the threads start to entwine and all that plotting and scheming pays off.

Recommended for fans of time travelling and alternate dimensions

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The Space Between Worlds is a beautiful visceral novel that i recommend everyone read.

The worldbuilding is fascinating, with a large part focused on the parallel worlds. You can tell the author put great thought into her worldbuilding from the risks to traversing worlds, to how some worlds can be travelled to and not others, to how you can move between them. I've really never come across any book like this before !

The main character, Cara, is a fantastic POV character. She can travel to almost every parallel world, and she's someone who's incredibly strong because she's experienced so much heartache in her life and has no choice not to be. We can also see how the characters around Cara are also wonderfully real. Importantly, i like how even though this story is set in space, Cara faces real-world struggles that many can relate to -- struggles faced by the poor, as well as BIPOC who live in predominately white societies.

Highly recommend!

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There are many things I could say about The Space Between Worlds - but mainly what I’d like to do is kick myself over not picking it up as soon as I could.

This book as a marvel.
A masterpiece.
A heart-wrenching, gut-punching, grit between your teeth piece of story telling that grabs your hand at the first page and did not let go - even when it starts to hurt.

Cara is a incredibly likeable character even with her flaws and her issues, and she has humour in spades. Humour which clearly springs from a place of pain. But one which makes her, to me at least, very approachable.

I honestly held my breath whenever her and Dell had a moment, which they had many off, I may have lacked some oxygen by the time I got the end of this book.

The world building as well held me in awe, and the writing style is fresh and so unlike the many scifi’s Ive picked up this year - mainly because I actually felt like this is a book you can understand even if the technology is not with us yet.

This book holds a piece of my heart and I cannot wait to see what more the author has in store for us.

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A decent read with a gripping storyline and characters that it’s almost impossible not to root for. It wasn’t my favourite read but would recommend to fans of the genre.

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