'The Space Between Worlds' is a beautifully ambitious novel with a fascinating premise, and while it doesn't work perfectly, it still tells a twisty tale that pulls you in and keeps you invested in how everything will end up.

The premise is simple - the multiverse has been discovered, and an eccentric billionaire has figured out a way to travel between parallel Earths. The caveat? You can only travel to another Earth if the version of you in that Earth's universe has died. This has resulted in those who society would usually consider lesser - the outcasts from the wrong side of the tracks - suddenly becoming essential for exploring and exploiting this fascinating new dimension.

The main character, Cara, is dead on all but eight of the 382 Earths so far discovered. Her mother was a drug addict in Ashtown - the gang-ruled slums on the wrong side of town - and rarely gave her daughter the start she needed to survive. Cara isn't always likeable, but she has drive and ambition and her anger at every wrong was all too believable and relatable. I love complex main characters, and Cara's character and motives were delightfully 3D and real. (She's also black and bisexual, just one of many characters of colour and on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum in a brilliantly diverse novel which never remarks on a character's gender or sexuality - truly refreshing).

The supporting cast, from Esther to Nik Nik to Dell, are also brilliantly complex characters, both on Earth 0 and the other Earth's they are encountered on. It's occasionally confusing keeping the different versions of characters on different Earth's straight, but the author does a great job of differentiating and making it as clear to the reader as possible what's going on.

I loved the idea behind this book, and the plot was fast paced right from the start. There's a great deal of exposition - telling rather than showing - but with something this complex and new I'm not sure that was avoidable, and it never makes the book drag as so much still manages to happen. However, that never-stopping constantly-twisting plot is also the biggest weakness. It sometimes moves so fast that the reader can't keep up, and I found myself having to take a moment to remind myself what had happened, who was who, where we were, and how this action fitted into the wider plot. I also found, possibly because of the across-multiple-worlds-with-the-same-characters premise, that it was sometimes hard to figure out the motivations behind actions, which made them less believable. I suspect that this is a book that is easier to enjoy on a reread, when the characters and setting are familiar and it's easier to enjoy the twists and turns without getting lost partway through.

Overall, this is a refreshing and original addition to the sci-fi genre with a diverse and fully-fleshed-out cast of characters - but it's a book that requires concentration to keep up with. 3.5/5 rounded up to 4*.

I didn't know how much I needed a novel about parallel universes and doppelgängers until I read this. But it's about more than just the sci-fi elements it contains; there's nuanced commentary on abuse, classism and race that made this book a very touching read as well as an exciting one. Also, if you like <i>Mad Max</i>, this will be right up your alley.

We follow Cara, a traverser of worlds. She's died in over 300 different parallel universes, making her the perfect candidate to move between them. The worldbuilding in this book is wonderful and interesting and takes a topic (parallel universes and doppelgängers) and grounds it in themes of identity and longing which make it work where usually it falls short. Cara is one of only seven versions of herself to live, then another one of them is murdered and it kicks off a wonderful story about ambition, struggle, murder and politics as well as loss and healing. Ashtown is the <i>Mad Max</i>-esque setting and the rougher half to Wiley City, an extravagant metropolis that treats Ashtown like an unsightly but "exotic" tourist trap. Johnson weaved a wonderful sci-fi universe while also having very meaningful things to say about wealth, poverty and classism that fit in perfectly. Wiley City was difficult for me to picture sometimes but Ashtown is incredibly vivid. Every element not only fleshed out the visual of this setting, but added to the wider themes this story was portraying and it's fantastically done.

Cara is just one of a brilliant list of characters in this book. She's a wonderful main character - torn between worlds, not just literally and even more so than you think at first - supported by many others who all were interesting to read about. There's wonderful romantic tension between Cara and Dell (I have high standards for f/f and this was a really good, tense romance), a powerful sisterhood between Cara and Esther and Jean is a loving fatherly mentor to her as well, but this book also introduces us to nuanced discussions of abuse with the character of Nik Nik. The arc Cara goes through solely regarding her previous abuse is very moving. Antagonists sneak up on you and are genuinely threatening, keep the stakes high and keep you guessing too. There are lots of characters but it never felt overwhelming because it's all tied back to Cara and how these people have influenced her life and what roles they play in other worlds.

Finally, I just briefly wanted to commend the structure of the book. The first third of this book is just really interesting worldbuilding as well as a basic introduction to the tension between Cara and Dell. At first I felt like it was sometimes meandering but then I realised it was just because I could never guess where this book was heading. There are multiple twists and the concept of parallel universes introduces wonderful narrative options for solutions to the hurdles Cara faces, meaning I was even more surprised and impressed by how she solved her problems, or how she approached situations. By the second half, the action really kicks off and the stakes remain very high until the end. When Cara succeeded, I felt relief and when things went wrong I genuinely felt nervous. Nothing felt easy. There are sacrifices and Cara knows, even from the beginning, that she has always been driven but Wiley City won't let her have it all.

Overall, I really highly recommend this. The sci-fi isn't heavily scientific and is very easily digestible for people who aren't into sci-fi because it isn't the focus. There's also moments about the spiritual vs the scientific when it comes to world traversing which are beautiful to read and allow readers to understand the sci-fi concepts multiple ways. The setting feels alive and kicking and Cara is a wonderful mix of driven and confident but also constantly lost at sea, struggling with the idea of being a rare survivor when these universes are suggesting she should likely be dead. To top it all off, it's emotional; it tackles complicated themes and it moved me to tears when Cara could feel at peace with herself. The book knows what is affecting Cara, and makes it affect the reader too. Couldn't recommend this more.