Number of Pages: 310

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Dr. Tamsin Rivers works on a secret project deep under San Siroco, a city that finds itself sinking. But Dr. River’s basement is sinking faster and a reality defying door appears on one of its walls. We follow Tamsin along as she tries to stop the subsidence before it wreaks havoc on her city all while grappling with what is going on in her basement. Both readers and characters are hit with ethical dilemmas and questions about the self and relations to the world around us.

The Good

I personally love Caitlin Starling’s writing style and find it really easy to read even if the subject matter is complex. I personally don’t have the best grasp of high level physics, geology, and communication technology but I was always able to follow along with the few technical portions of this book. Starling also does a great job at setting the scene and mood at every step of the story. The concept of doppelgängers and other dimensions fits Starling’s writing styles perfectly and she really hits the nail on the head with the vibe of this book.

The Bad

There are really only two problems I have with this book. The first is the cover. We see nine people, one original and eight copies, on the front of this book. I was super excited to see how multiple doppelgängers were handled in this book and felt super let down when we were only given one. The other problem I had with the pacing of the book. It was really back heavy and the first part was great for setting the uneasy mood but not great for dealing with the double part of the plot. I would much rather have a chapter or two deal with setting the mood and then have the rest of the book deal with the double problem where we hopefully get more than one doppelgänger in play. I love the concept of the book and the writing of it but I wished we focused more on the body double issue as I think it’s the more interesting part of the plot.

The Favorite (Quotes)

“Anything unexpected now ranges from computer crashes to citywide disasters.”

“You know I bleed.”

“She threatened me. A strange approach to caring about somebody.”

“Don’t confuse my personal affection for you with mercy.”

“Are you dangerous?” “Very.” (We love powerful women.)

“We thought that the absence of noise ment the absence of everything… But that’s not entirely true. If you speak in an empty room, nothing is there to hear you. But if you speak in a silent room…”