Official Review: Worlds Apart by Stephen B. Pearl

[ananya92]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Worlds Apart" by Stephen B. Pearl.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Worlds Apart by Stephen B. Pearl is a book in the fantasy genre. It will appeal to readers who like fantasy with a dash of science fiction.

Alcina knows that the society in general is slightly prejudiced against people like her, but it looks like her being a Wiccan might get her separated from her eight year old son, Tim. Alcina and her coven attempts everything, magical and non-magical, to stop Tim’s father from taking him away. On another planet, in a different world, Marcus is desperately trying to find a way to save the world from chaotic magic which would soon engulf his world and kill everyone in its path, like his parents. After years of illegal research and experimentation, Marcus has at last found a way to solve the problem but to test his theory he needs to travel to another world and prove his theory to the government. Marcus and Alcina’s paths cross and they both decide to help each other. Will Alcina succeed in keeping her son with her? Will Marcus succeed in saving his world before it’s too late?

The alternate universe in this story is literally an alternate universe, where everything is as opposite as possible. Starting from the Harry Smith: Boy Engineer books to electricity being defined as, “A mythical belief that under certain circumstances electrons can flow through the inter-molecular spaces and could possibly cause effects”, Marcus’s world is as inverse as possible. At first, I thought the fantasy world in this book was a bit cliché, but the author is picturing a world, which was once joined but got separated, with the magical elements escaping to the other world and the non-magical populace remaining on earth. The author has explored various concepts in this story: tolerance of different religious and spiritual beliefs, respect for our environment and respect for life in general.

The story switches between the two worlds and is written from multiple view points. There are shorter narratives which crisscross the main story of Alcina and Marcus. The central theme though, in this story, is love. It’s not just the romance between Alcina and Marcus, but between minor characters like Paula and Henry. The extent to which Paula is ready to go to keep Henry with her is heartwarming. The same can be said for what Marcus does to save Alcina.

The characterization is pretty good. Marcus and Alcina are independent, intelligent and honest people, who don’t give up their beliefs in the face of danger. The side characters also have substantial parts. Tim is a perceptive child whose character brings up the humor quotient in the book. Wilbur is another fascinating character with his experiments to prove the existence of electricity and not giving up on love even after four broken marriages. However, I don’t quite agree with how the author normalizes Bill’s rather regressive choice of a life partner and portrays a totally cool, smart and intelligent Deb who would rather prefer to follow orders from her husband.

Apart from that slight annoyance, the book is immensely engrossing since the author has strategically placed the different elements of magic, romance, humor, religion and philosophy into the storyline with amazing flow. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy intertwined with romance, plus a little didactic bit as well. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars.

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Worlds Apart
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[StephenBPearl]

Thank you Ananya, I'm glad you liked my work.

[ananya92]

Thanks

[debo9967]

The book seems really interesting. Nice review.

[ananya92]

Thanks

[bluemel4]

Worlds Apart looks like it is a very complicated story. I am glad to hear that it all flows well and comes together. I will put this on my to-read list.

[ananya92]

Yeah, the book is worth a try

[Jesska6029]

I really liked this review. Great explanations and details. Nice work!

[ananya92]

Thanks