The Space Between Worlds

The many worlds hypothesis is an exciting place to start a story concept - that is exactly where Micaiah Johnson begins with The Space Between Worlds. Cara, our protagonist, is a traveler. Someone who is able to travel safely between worlds. The key requirement for a traveler is that they be dead on the world they are travelling to - a nice way of getting around some of the paradoxes that the many worlds theory has. In the world of this book, there are 380 worlds that are similar enough to the datum Earth for people to travel to. Cara is dead on 372 of them. Cara also has a secret. She may not be who everyone thinks she is.

The semi post-apocalyptic setting creates for an interesting world and subset of worlds for things to occur over. The interaction between the various worlds is carefully explored and the main protagonists are developed in interesting ways. The relationships are well developed and add some real color to the story. From the abusive relationship of Cara's former partner (which clouds her view towards him on all other worlds) to the strange and sinister manipulations of the corporation that employs her to travel between worlds, these are all fascinating a at times brutally real. The most heartbreaking is reserved for her relationships with her coworkers, both her mentor and her handler.

This book is the best take on the many worlds idea I have read so far. Thoroughly engrossing and a highly recommended read

Do you ever procrastinate while reading a book because you know you'll be sad when it's over? That was this book for me. It had all of my favorite archetypes represented in the story. A strong but complex female lead, dystopian fantasy an sci-fi rolled into one, fighting, complicated romance, all of the characters served a purpose, and the setting was so unique and specific that I could see it in my mind as I read it. I hate when female characters are written to be naturally good and wholesome and perfect. Cara's character was far from all of these descriptions which made her great in all the ways that mattered. The author has a way of writing very complicated connections between her characters, but as a reader, I understood the relationships despite the varying rough history Cara had with each. I want an entire book series on the house and Exlee because that character was magic. If you love the fantasy genre and you've been looking to add some diversity to your bookshelves, this is the one.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. It kept me interested and the pace was good. The characters didn't bore me at all. I liked the writing style besides some areas that gave off a YA feel.

The audiobook made that worse since the narration made the characters sound immature, I wasn't a fan, so I recommend just reading it yourself.

Cara is a traverser. She travels to different versions of Earth to collect data. She can travel to any other Earth as long as she is dead there already. Cara is unique because she is dead on 372. She only has 8 doppelgangers left.
Most of the worlds hold a different version of her life of hardship and suffering. But, they are mostly the same. Except for one. One of the doppelgangers dies and Cara can't help but think something isn't right. She sets out to find answers and finds more than she could've imagined.

This is a great book! There were so many plot twists that I didn't see coming. When I could find time to read, I didn't want to stop. This was such a breath of fresh air! So unique, so well written. I just really enjoyed myself.

I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.