Finity

John Barnes

Lyle Peripart is a physicist professor at a University of Auckland. In this alternate Earth story, Hitler won World War II and Riechs have split up most of the world. It is now over 100 years later. He accepts a job with a private industry studing the abduction theory. His life gets crazy from then on as impossible things keep happening. He soon discovers himself in the middle of a major fight. And the United States seems to have disappeared.

I found this novel confusing and hard to follow. It was readable, and I finished it, but I never really kept up with the story. As the different scientific theories are presented, I was quickly lost. I understood the general even if I didn't understand the specifics, so still was able to follow where the story was trying to go.

Even within 25 pages of the end I was still asking myself "huh?" I couldn't figure where this story was going and what final outcome was even desired. I think the reason for the disappearance of everyone in the United States was explained, but not to my satisfaction.

I had heard good things about John Barnes and had hoped for more. If you haven't read his work, don't start with this one. This was readable, so I'm sure some of his other work is better.