This book is an odd one â I liked the premise, and while there is one easily-guessable/telegraphed âtwistâ, itâs not the actual twist that you get slapped with on the last ten pages, so that part is all good.
However.
The main plot exists in two layers of framing plots: The investigatorâs report on what happened, and her son reading the report after she disappeared. I generally like nested structures that play with multiple levels of footnotes and commentary, so itâs not a problem in itself, but: The son is such a whiny asshole it seriously detracted from my reading experience.
One or zero framing layers wouldâve been so much more preferable. I guess you canât make the twist work without frame, but just the investigative report wouldâve worked so much better imo, because after a while, itâs hard to be sure if the whiny bullshit dudebro attitude the actual protagonist shows is author bias or characterisation (and to some degree itâs got to be on the author, tbh).
Plot summary
Beware: full spoilers! Also probably incomplete and possibly incomprehensible.
Three levels of plot: innermost plot is about a scientist inventing teleportation, and his final test going “catastrophically wrong”. Next is the psychonalyst-ish lady investigating this on behalf of The Department. Finally her son, reading her partially-finished report after she disappears.
Big plot twist is not that the second of the scientistâs twin sons is replicated, itâs that he kept teleporting him to work out the kinks.
