From the Publisher
Smart, science-driven novel... a reimagined society that's heartening yet provocative... a thought experiment dressed as a love story wrapped in a speculative adventure.
—BookLife Reviews
Keeps the story humming along... A well-developed and compelling parallel-world tale.
—Kirkus Reviews (Recommended review)
A thoroughly compelling, completely absorbing portrait of possibility and realization which operates nicely on both entertainment and philosophical levels.
—Midwest Book Review
Kirkus Reviews
2025-07-08
In Rirdan’s SF thriller, an ex-Special Ops serviceman becomes the unlikely last line of defense of a parallel world built on eco-efficiency and civic engagement.
Ex-U.S. Army soldier Chris Walden doesn’t take his obligations lightly. However, he finds that his recent tour of duty of Iraq pales in comparison to what’s revealed in his friend Ronny’s basement: a portal that allows them to access a parallel world—specifically, a place called Americana. As Chris quickly finds out, Americana’s lush green pastures are in a class all their own; it’s a world with many differences, in which American troops never went to Iraq, agriculture works without pesticides, and residents celebrate Independence Day on March 4. Workplaces run on a communal model, aviation has long been phased out as ecologically unfriendly, and baseball teams, such as the Boulder Sluggers, don’t play for money. It’s the kind of society that’s “one butter churn away from Amish,” as Ronny scornfully puts it, during a break from his latest visit. “It’s likePleasantville with self-driving buggies.” However, the availability of polygamous marriages, which Chris begins exploring with sisters Sandra and Kate Allen, may cause Ronny to revise his opinion. As world-weary Chris gets ready to settle into Americana’s naturalist ethos for good, Ronny only sees dollar signs, and he’s willing to get others involved to exploit his basement portal for profit. Everything that Chris loves is suddenly up for grabs, setting up a classic conflict that readers are sure to find compelling: Just how far will a person go to defend what they love? Over the course of this novel, Rirdan keeps the story humming along, keeping readers consistently engaged without getting bogged down in his parallel world’s day-to-day nitty-gritty, which is always a potential trap awaiting those who write fiction involving parallel realities of any kind. The edgier sexual themes, brought in by the polygamous relationships, may trouble more traditional readers; however, the author handles these issues subtly, and they don’t intrude on narrative’s larger concerns, which are bound to stir up lively discussions about the nature of service and sacrifice.
A well-developed and compelling parallel-world tale.
