Review of The Futility of Vengeance

[Jeffrey S Brown]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Futility of Vengeance" by Adam Guest.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Often, when a person speaks of wanting justice, what they really want is vengeance. The victim feels maltreated, while the other party, entity, government, or what have you, seems to escape the situation without any consequences. The victim desires the perceived perpetrator to suffer at least to the degree that they have, or they will not have closure and justice is not served.

The Futility of Justice is the second book of the Worldlines series featuring Gary Jackson. A theory in quantum physics is that anything is possible in an infinite multiverse, creating multiple versions of one’s self, dependent upon actions taken or not taken by individuals, including those within a lucid dream. During these dreams, the dreamer may take over ‘their’ body in another worldline, leaving the conscious character with no knowledge of anything they may have done. In this case, Gary, the dreamer, murders his girlfriend in front of a roomful of witnesses with no consequences to himself but substantial effects on other Garys that now exist because of the dream. In some worldlines, the dream defense works, resulting in acquittal but with public vilification and Gary’s incarceration in others. Gary feels unjustly treated in both circumstances and wants the dreamer Gary punished, too. But how do they do it, and what purpose does it serve?

The author, Adam Guest, does an excellent job of keeping multiple similar but distinct storylines separate while providing an understandable explanation of the manifestation of a theoretical concept. The implications of worldlines offer fertile ground for extrapolating and exploring any number of storylines using the same characters and effectively making them immortal. The editing keeps the story moving well without any substantial errors interrupting the narrative flow. The characters are believable and well-developed in each worldline, maintaining interest and evoking sympathy. The multiple storylines, though, are also the only problem with the book. It becomes challenging to keep track of the characters and their relationships. I wanted a diagram to remember who was doing what and where, so I wasn’t so often confused.

The book suits young adults and adults, though strong language exists. I look forward to reading more from this series and recommend it with five out of five stars.

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The Futility of Vengeance
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