{"id":525,"date":"2024-09-30T11:05:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T11:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=525"},"modified":"2024-09-30T11:05:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T11:05:00","slug":"book-review-the-sum-of-all-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=525","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Sum of All Things"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Sum of All Things<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Seb Doubinsky<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Science Fiction \/ Satire<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9781946154392<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 200 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Meerkat Pres<\/a>s<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>Buy from Amazon<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Peter Hassebroek<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong>An intricately woven plot about saving Earth\u2019s freedom with disparate, personable characters<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In a not too distant future (the Internet and Google Translate are still current), Earth is on its way to yielding its freedoms to the Subliminal Empire. Other planets have already done this, and one escapee from Planet X (Vita) is determined to not let Earth suffer her planet\u2019s fate. To her advantage is the formula for the liberating, reality-altering Synth, which is:<\/p>\n

\u201c. . . a DNA-based drug that you could control as you wished. You could turn it on or off as you pleased, behave totally normally, and no test could detect it\u2026 With it, you could live wherever you wished, in a universe that was simultaneous with the reality surrounding you.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vita\u2019s mission takes her to the city-state of Samarqand, which lies geographically and ideologically between the Western Alliance and Chinese Confederation. A convergence of events\u2014including a dying king with an uncertain, polarizing succession; a culturally controversial discovery threatening a museum opening; and terrorist activity\u2014could destabilize Earth enough to precipitate its Subliminal Empire subjugation.<\/p>\n

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Vita isn\u2019t working in isolation. She\u2019s supported by a liaison officer who gets her in touch with Thomas, a bookstore owner who, like Vita, is a refugee and Synth user. Thomas in turn is linked to an ensemble of POV characters, including his lab researcher wife, his policeman friend and protector, a poetess and her lover, and a newly hired museum director with a dubious past. There\u2019s also the Egregorian Society to which Thomas and the policeman belong, which has interests that coincide with those of Vita\u2019s agency.<\/p>\n

The interconnectedness of elements, characters, and intrigues come into focus in a plot that on the surface might seem unwieldy for so short a novel. Yet the story never seems unclear or cramped. The pace is leisurely to start, but the poetic economy of often very brief chapters effectively amps up tension to propel the conflicts forward. Their symmetry brings cohesiveness in a prose showcase of the author\u2019s apparent poetic talents.<\/p>\n

Brevity in such an involved plot means character development can only go so deep. Nonetheless, each person is rounded out in subtly artful ways. Such as on Vita\u2019s initial visit to Thomas\u2019s store when she purchases a few books: \u201cShe put her loot on the desk and took out her wallet. He checked the prices and rounded the sum down.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The rounding down is a seemingly throwaway detail but one that reveals Thomas\u2019s unselfish, accommodating nature. It also conveys Vita\u2019s thriftiness as someone who\u2019d note this\u2014and she does it again later when wanting to sell the books back. It\u2019s ironically humorous too because the books she returns are about UFOs, and Vita (from an earth perspective) lives in a spaceship. Other incidents (i.e. domestic bickering) with the other characters establish the humble humanity that grounds them in the grander story.<\/p>\n

This was my introduction to the City-States Cycle, despite it being book 10. I didn\u2019t know what came before or which characters might be recurring, but never felt as if I needed to know. I put my faith in the author and wasn\u2019t disappointed. No doubt those who have read previous parts will be more familiar with certain aspects\u2014for instance, the technical workings of Synth\u2014but enough is provided via concise exposition to make it clear and enjoyable as a standalone work.<\/p>\n

The Sum of All Things<\/em> is a deftly packed & poetic novel that you\u2019ll be glad you picked up.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Buy from Amazon<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

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<\/span>Buy from Bookshop<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

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Thank you for reading Peter Hassebroek<\/em>\u2018s book review of The Sum of All Things <\/em>by Seb Doubinsky! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: The Sum of All Things<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sum of All Things by Seb Doubinsky Genre: Science Fiction \/ Satire ISBN: 9781946154392 Print Length: 200 pages Publisher: Meerkat Press Buy from Amazon Buy from Bookshop Reviewed by Peter Hassebroek An intricately woven plot about saving Earth\u2019s freedom with disparate, personable characters In a not too distant future (the Internet and Google Translate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}