Join Andy and Serenity as the Worlds of Light take the next generation of McKessons through a Magical turn!
Size: 906 KB (171,970 words)
Genre: Science Fiction
Sex Contents: No Sex
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction
Review by manddscott [other reviews by manddscott]
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
This is the third book in the Worlds of Light series. To me, this book was reminiscent of the Warlock series by Christopher Stasheff, a sci-fi/fantasy author who I greatly enjoyed reading when I was younger.
For plot, an A (8). The main downside is that there were parts that I felt were too compacted. As a reader, I saw it go from point A to point D with no idea how it got there.
For technical score, a C (6). If it were strictly grammatical issues, it would get a B (7), but the story changes POV between several characters throughout, with no indication that the character has changed until you've read a paragraph or more sometimes. There needs to be a header at the top of each section denoting not only which character's point of view that is being told from, but also where they are located, as the story would jump between Earth and other realities.
For personal appeal, an A (8). This could easily jump to a 9 or even a 10 if they fixed the issues which brought down the technical score. Overall, a fun read. Be warned that you need to have read the first couple of stories in the series in order to follow this one.
Review by NC-Retired [other reviews by NC-Retired]
Reviewed:
Just because you or I cannot sense it does not mean that it is not someone else's reality.
And that's really what this entire universe is about. An alternative reality. Well, an infinite number of alternative realities.
This review is about the entire universe created by Sealife and not just about this one story of the 11 in the universe.
Sealife wrote these stories going on 6-8 years ago. I'd read them back as they were published and I remember thinking they were just OK.
But they're better than just OK. I've certainly not read the 37,000+ stories available on SOL, but having been a paid subscriber for 12-14 years I have had the opportunity to read many of the stories that are rated at 8+. Most of the stories with an 8 or better rating are good. Some few are great and only a select few are fantastic — these are in that later category. Abso-fucking-lutely FANTASTIC!
No, no, no. They've got all the usual amateur grammar and punctuation mistakes. The mistakes are not so egregious as to severely detract from the overall story, but they are there.
Nope, the characters are not so well presented as to make you sympathetic or give you a longing to be that character. I'd rate the characterization just a bit above average, with several of the more prolific authors here on SOL much more adept at describing a character.
For me, the thing that sets this universe apart is plausibility. No, not probability. Plausibility.
We humans are severely limited in our ability to sense the world around us. Our ears are limited to a narrow set of frequencies we can detect. Our sense of smell has (probably) dulled over eons of evolution. Our natural eyes see only a limited amount of the electromagnetic spectrum. Our sense of touch is, well, confined to our skin that we cover with clothing. But most of all is the limitation of our brains. We're not evolved to detect and process information outside a set of very narrow parameters that governed our ancestors ability to survive in a hostile environment lit solely by our sun.
But as limited as our brain is, it also gives us humans the ability to create tools that allow us to see energies beyond those physical senses that evolution has granted us. We're only a few decades into space flight, yet our machines have imaged Pluto. Our machines have peered into the vast universe and allow us to see 13 billion+ years into the past. We know that what we can see is not all there is, dark matter and black holes are but two examples.
I'm not a mathematician, but apparently those that are can see suggestions that this universe, our reality, may not be all there is. Perhaps there is more.
Sealife, in the eleven stories of this universe, has created wonder. I wonder if there is more that what I or we can sense?
Magic? No, not slight of hand that is called magic. But real magic? Nah, probably not, but just because I can't sense it does not mean that it does not exist.
Light. Yes, I can see light. But it is possible that there is more than just some photons and that 'more' is Light. If you could sense it then why not be able to manipulate it also just like we do today with photon based light? LEDs anyone?
FTL travel? That's been a mainstay of SciFi for a century or more. As I understand conventional physics, it's probably not possible. But the stories in this universe do cause me to pause and wonder if there's some reality beyond what we mere humans can sense, something that we cannot understand today that will make it possible?
Bottom line? I enjoyed the stories of this entire universe. They're not perfect. Some are better than others. But it's taken me a couple weeks to read all eleven and I can say that my (somewhat limited) holiday reading time has been well spent with this series.
Sea-Life's last blog entry says that his muse has left the building. Too bad that, but at least the muse was there for this universe.
I read these on my Kindle. If you're not able to download the stories for offline consumption, then please subscribe so you can. I think you'll enjoy them as I have, and for an author, isn't providing enjoyment for the reader their main objective beyond adequately telling a story?
