Customer Reviews

Regarding Ducks and Universes

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Quantum mechanics is one of the most successful theories of modern physics. It works, but nobody quite knows what it means in a fundamental sense. One popular current hypothesis of its meaning is Parallel Worlds - every time two possible outcomes exist (such as a coin flip - heads or tails), the universe splits and each possibility comes true in one of the resultant universes. With time, the two universes will begin to differ as many choices end up being made differently between the two universes.

This is Ms. Maslakovic's first novel, and she has a PhD in electrical engineering which helps her with the scientific side of the story. She bases her book on a parallel universe splitting off, but in this case a scientist has somehow succeeded in maintaining a connection between the two parallel universes. People can even travel between the universes and meet their alternate self who slowly begins to differ over time, becoming more like a fraternal twin. Our hero, Felix Sayers, is considering writing a mystery novel and becomes obsessed that his Alternate will beat him to the punch, so he decides to travel to universe B. While there, someone seems to be trying to kill him. Is someone, and if so, could it be his alternate?

Hmm. This is not the strongest concept to base a novel, but the book turns out to be interesting, lighthearted and it reads quickly. In fact, perhaps it reads too quickly? It does not seem to me that Ms. Maslakovic has included much character development, and there are not complete enough scene descriptions. I recently listened to the audio version of Masques by Patricia Briggs. In the introduction, Ms. Briggs notes that this was her very first book (and it had not done well), but she is now successful and had been given a chance to rewrite it. Ms. Briggs says ruefully about the rewrite, "Why didn't anyone tell me I needed a few descriptions?" I think that Ms. Maslakovic also could have done quite a bit more description-wise. Finally, there is a romantic entanglement story line that could have been better fleshed out giving emotional depth to the character, but has been neglected by the author. However, is Regarding Ducks and Universes a good book despite all this? Yes. It just means it is 4 stars rather than 5 stars. I look forward to reading her next novel, but more descriptions please!

When Felix Sayers discovered he had an alternate self in a parallel universe, he, who was usually so circumspect, careful and settled in his life as a culinary writer, threw caution to the wind, emptied his savings account to buy passage to San Francisco B to snoop - yes, snoop on his alternate, an activity specifically forbidden by law. But Felix had to know if his alter in San Francisco B had written the murder mystery that Felix of San Francisco A had long been planning, but procrastinating about writing.

Add to this delightfully believable adventure the intrigue of an attempted murder and a dollop of romance, and you have this imaginative, thoughtfully constructed book. A fun read, I recommend it.

'Altrernate Universe' stories are not easy to write I'm sure because they have to make sense, at least on the surface. This one makes absolute sense.

In January, 1986, the universe split into two identical pieces. Each earth progressed in its history and as time passed, they became more and more unlike. However, there is contact between the two earths, and in fact people and things can travel between them! THe protragonist, Felix Sayers, is going to write a book. He knows he is, for sure, he just needs to sit down and DO it. But he is obsessed with the idea that the 'other' Felix might write his book first. So he decides to travel to the alternate earth and find out what his alter ego has accomplished.

Thus ensues mytery, murder, mayhem, and genetically altered pets. It's funny, it will make you smile, and at the end you will be surprised.

The big question is, if there are TWO alternative universes, why not more?

When I received Regarding Ducks and Universes I really had no idea what to expect. The blurb made is sound like a humorous romp with the feel of Christopher Moore. to a certain extent, it is. But what I ended up getting was a light mystery more in the vein of China Mielville.

When we start the book we are in a transporter that allows individuals to travel from Universe A to Universe B. Neither universe is ours although both have a striking resemblance. However, Universe A relies on computers and has a serious inflation problem and Universe B still contains books and personal motor vehicles. Each universe was unique and I found myself being drawn into both of them without really realizing what was happening. Before I knew it I was hunting for more of the little things to see how they compared to each other and our own universe. I also was looking for clues to the mystery the novel was attempting to solve.

Felix A (from Universe A) is our main character and from the moment we are introduced to him, he quickly comes off as a very real individual with real concerns and feelings. The rest of the characters do a decent job of rounding out the cast and some are a bit wacky but overall they all add to the story. Felix A is a bored to death writer who dreams of writing a mystery novel and hopes to find out more about his double (Felix B) and to see if his double leads a better life than he does and if he has been beaten to the punch about his novel.

Another interesting thing about the two universes was how they came to be and how one could travel and communicate between the two. The two universes have a privacy law that far exceeds anything we have here in our universe and really holds the two universes together and to a certain degree, apart. The whole same yet different concept was explored in Mielville's The City and The City and Regarding Ducks and Universes is similar yet, much easier to take in. The rules are quickly established and then the characters look for ways to turn it to their advantage or in some cases blatantly disregard it.

There are many humorous incidents and observations within Regarding Ducks and Universes, which offer a few light-hearted moments. There are a few science fictional elements that make up the story but the core of the story is a mystery. As Felix A (from Universe A) and Felix B (from Universe B) work with and against each other to help different organizations find out just what event lead to the two (nearly) identical universes to become (slightly) altered. I really had no idea just what to expect when I started reading Regarding Ducks and Universes and found myself enjoying the adventure and mystery found within. It is a light read with a lot of great moments and a decent mystery that leaves you guessing until the end. The brilliance that I found in Regarding Ducks and Universes is that there are a lot of mystery in the book, from our character wanting to write a mystery novel, to his love of Agatha Christie, to the mystery contained within the book. The book itself is an enigma, wrapped up in a puzzle and all of it is down simply and without difficulty

I'm obviously a fan of fowl (hence Cluck: Murder Most Fowl and the eventual sequel, Quack), which is why I absolutely jumped at the chance to read a sci-fi book about ducks. How much better than a book about both ducks *and* universes?

What I thought might be silly turned out to be an extremely clever twist on alternate-realities, where tourism between two split universes fosters a variety of interesting plot points. It was quirky and fun, but also sophisticated enough to keep me turning pages. The characters (in some cases, two of each) were also well thought and entertaining, providing enough room for plenty of conflicting motives and a lot of well-placed references to classic mysteries.

I give this five hearty stars for maintaining my interest, while tickling both my intellect and my funny bone.

This is a science fiction mystery romance novel..
or something like that. The main story line is that
at a certain moment of a certain day in a certain place,
the universe split.

The story is woven around two different organizations,
one educational and one for profit agency. The most
important character...make that characters, are Felix
A and Felix B. One from each known universe. The Felix
families also play an important role. The Felixes are not
the only doubles that we meet here. It is all good fun.

This was a very entertaining read. Lots of twists and turns and
questions within questions. I am glad I read it.

For me the author Neve Maslakovic got this right. Lighthearted, well-written and technically accurate not to mention entertaining and amusing. Surely it helps that Ms. Maslakovic has a Phd. in electrical engineering, finishing her doctorate at Stanford's STAR lab (that's a bit of droll understatement like what she nicely weaves into her story). I need more books like this that are sort of uplifting, don't give me a depression headache, and keep my techie side hooked.
I'll be eagerly awaiting Dr. Maslakovic's second novel....

I really liked this book. The dimensional travel sections of the book are VERY soft on the sci fi and, really, the characters and the drama of the book would be just as compelling even if this were just a normal duck-out-of-water story.

What a fun read! I enjoyed the unique plot and the technical dialog. I'm grateful the author didn't use a horribly clichéd phrase that I kept expecting to see (you will think of it too, once you start reading).

I downloaded the sample and was so engrossed in the story it was quite a jolt when the "Please buy to continue reading" page appeared. I quickly purchased it and read through it exclusively - pushing aside my other "currently reading" books until I was finished.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were well developed and the story was interesting. It did start a little slow, but the author managed to hook me within the first one hundred pages. What I enjoyed the most was the explanation of the differences between the two universes, as well as the rules for interaction between the universes. The author created a credible story with some very interesting ideas. Good read. I recommend for anyone who likes a good mystery and some SF.