While the premise of the book drew me in, I found myself unable to get lost in the pages. I ended up DNFing this book in the fourth chapter (titled Day 4: One step forward, two steps up). For fans of Doctor Who, the characters amnesia reminded me a lot of The Doctor's regeneration sickness (which I found to be a fun nod), but when the same amnesia continued onto to later chapters it quickly lost its novelty. Overall, it's a funny story that is dialogue heavy. I hope that I can pick this up again and I want to thank the author for allowing me to read it via Netgalley.

Pastborn: Other Worlds and the Magic Within Them marks Mihail Băeșu’s debut science-fiction foray. The novel follows Adam Connor, an amnesiac human who awakens into a dystopian future where humanity has been outlawed by the ruling robot class. Tasked by a foggy prophecy to restore balance to the world, Adam struggles to regain and wield poorly explained magical abilities as he meanders through different realities.

While the text hints at compelling themes of identity, these deeper moments are largely eclipsed by flashy, insubstantial set pieces — including entire chapters spent solving math equations and an endless sequence featuring a minotaur fighting robots. The text’s handling of character dynamics further grates against its own momentum, as the main character is surrounded by a one-dimensional ensemble. The women in the story, specifically, are largely relegated to reductive power-fantasy archetypes defined by sexual compliance and subpar competence.

Băeșu relies on rapid, dialogue-driven comedy to sustain the plot, and although the author exhibits genuine comedic timing, the relentless barrage of absurd banter lacks narrative consequence, plunging the book into a world of indiscernible stakes. Ultimately, Pastborn: Other Worlds and the Magic Within Them displays the architecture of an engaging speculative world, but the execution remains unfinished and in deep need of revision.

I’m about 40% through the book, and I have quite mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I’m really enjoying the dialogue between the characters, which is extremely entertaining, and the situational humor. The dream sequences and the absurd setting are also strong points, and I’m enjoying the pace and progression of the story. The chapters are kind of addictive, and I'm pretty sure I dreamed about the book last night.

On the other hand, I have some issues with the execution. The protagonist is clearly written to be unlikeable, but that doesn’t make the experience any easier for me (I’m simply not interested in seeing him succeed). I’m also not particularly fond of some elements of the magic system, especially the passages related to “energy of specific colors and shockwaves.” Also, the way the female characters have been portrayed so far bothered me quite a bit, as I often felt that they were primarily presented through their sexual appeal rather than being given much depth or agency.

The writing also seems to need some additional editing, as there are a few stylistic inconsistencies that I believe could be polished up.

Right now, I decided that I will not keep reading. The story has elements that genuinely make me curious about what will happen and how it all ends, but I don’t know if that curiosity is enough to justify continuing a read that I'm so divided about.