Transmentation | Transience

Reviews

“This propulsive epic introduces readers to an unstable multiverse populated by spies, warrior-lawyers, politicians, summoners, students, botanists, revolutionaries, and more. In this elaborately woven plot, there is something for everyone: interdimensional travel into new bodies, sleep transfer, workplace drama, and assassination. Rich with action, adventure, humor, and memorable characters, Transmentation | Transience is mind-bendingly entertaining.“

“One of the utter joys in this novel is seeing how the actions of one character impact on another in a different universe, and watching the slow untangling of the various threads so that by the end, they make a coherent picture…Tangled, explosive, sly, intricate, infuriating—and magnificent. This is a shared world to keep an eye on, and a trilogy that is sure to challenge and delight.”

“[A] wondrously innovative debut…Lem’s masterful worldbuilding is both sweeping and detailed, with believably delineated planets, ecologies, cultures, and governments. Sci-fi readers will be eager for a swift return to this setting.“

“A ‘speculative history’ regarding the multiverse…The five authors comprising Darkly Lem brilliantly paint these ancient worlds.”

“Transmentation | Transience is mind-bending sci-fi at its absolute best. A gorgeously told story about a multiverse where political strife, body-hopping, and existence are intricately interwoven alongside questions about the very nature of the universe.”

“Transmentation | Transience is more than the sum of its parts, engaging the mind and the heart with a perspective that is simultaneously farseeing and intimate. This gorgeous novel is action-packed, full of fascinating ideas and unforgettable characters. I can’t wait to see where these authors take us next.”

“An absolutely mind-bending science fiction novel set in a complex multiverse. This book is dense (like a rich, tasty cake is dense), it is intricate, it is at times jaw-droppingly strange (and I mean that as a sincere compliment), and it kept me hooked through all its twists and turns by telling a vast and complex story through the singular lives of several different people. The close focus on the motley crew of characters, from bureaucrats and spies to academics and fighters, makes the story feel both vast in scope as you glimpse the immense multiverse through their eyes, and intimate, because you see the impact of ruthless political feuds and violent power struggles on the people caught up in the midst of it all. With body-hopping multiverse travel, fights in taverns, robots and aliens, harrowing escapes through multiple universes, fantastical worlds, and lots of intrigue and betrayals, this book is heavy with ideas. It also manages to have a real sense of humour and pack an emotional punch as characters ponder the nature of identity, love, existence, fate, and the nature of the universe itself.”

“Transmentation | Transience is what you get crossing The Expanse television series with Iain M. Banks’s Transition: a varied cast of characters trying to survive in a multiverse where the person next to you may not really own the body they inhabit. Action, political intrigue, and exploration of what makes up a soul combine in this debut novel for a complicated and worthwhile ride into a new multidimensional series.”

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