This book is a frontier style science fiction novel, but with a delightful twist. The frontier is all different versions of earth. This book explores the concept of many worlds in a new and unique way. It follows a protagonist on a journey of exploration, but unlike most many worlds science fiction he is not the person to discover stepping between worlds, and most worlds do not have humans already on them, but are instead unsettled wilderness.
My only complaint about this book is that it takes a while to get interesting and there is a lot of character building before anything particularly interesting happens. Despite this when the pace does pick up the book is well worth it, and the reason for the character building becomes apparent. I just wish that the process had been more interesting at the beginning.
The plot of this book is that of an exploratory journey into new frontiers. The main character, Joshua, is approached by an emancipated AI named Lobsang, who claims freedom based on being a re-incarnated motorcycle repair man, to accompany him on an expedition as a backup way of getting home. Joshua is one of the minority of people who have found they don't need a device to step, and he has traveled the worlds more extensively than most. During the voyage they discover non-human races of steppers who all appear to be fleeing back in the direction of our world, and eventually determine what they are fleeing from. This book is more about what is learned on the journey, and exploring the possibilities of a limitless frontier than the actual journey itself. It is a great look at how things could go in a modern frontier when the cost of travel is achievable.
This book will appeal to science fiction fans who enjoy world building, and colonization novels. I bought it because I enjoy reading both authors work, and I was not disappointed.
This book can be found in print or as an e-book at www.amazon.com.
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