"The Unity Game" is science fiction with philosophy
WHAT IF THE EARTH YOU KNEW WAS JUST THE BEGINNING?
A New York banker is descending into
madness.
A being from an advanced civilization is
racing to stay alive.
A dead man must unlock the secrets of an
unknown dimension to save his loved ones.
From the visions of Socrates in ancient
Athens, to the birth of free will aboard a spaceship headed to Earth, The Unity
Game tells a story of hope and redemption in a universe more ingenious and
surprising than you ever thought possible.
Metaphysical
thriller and interstellar mystery, this is a 'complex, ambitious and
thought-provoking novel' from an exciting and original new voice in fiction.
Reviews for The Unity Game
“A complex, ambitious and thought-provoking
novel.” ~~ Kirkus Reviews
“Elegantly written, expertly
crafted and a moving message. I found this book very hard to put down. Moving
and poignant.” ~~ Lilly, Amazon US
reviewer
“An engrossing, unique, and
totally bizarre tale! I could not stop reading it once I started. Such a beautiful
take on the afterlife, and its connection to those still living. A unity game,
indeed!”~~ Brenna,
Goodreads reviewer
About the Author
Leonora
Meriel grew up in London and studied literature at the University of Edinburgh
in Scotland and Queen’s University in Canada. She worked at the United Nations
in New York, and then for a multinational law firm.
In
2003 she moved from New York to Kyiv, where she founded and managed Ukraine’s
largest Internet company. She studied at Kyiv Mohyla Business School and earned
an MBA, which included a study trip around China and Taiwan, and climbing to
the top of Hoverla, Ukraine’s highest peak and part of the Carpathian
Mountains. She also served as President of the International Women’s Club of
Kyiv, a major local charity.
During
her years in Ukraine, she learned to speak Ukrainian and Russian, witnessed two
revolutions and got to know an extraordinary country at a key period of its
development.
In
2008, she decided to return to her dream of being a writer, and to dedicate her
career to literature. In 2011, she completed The Woman Behind the Waterfall,
set in a village in western Ukraine. While her first novel was with a London
agent, Leonora completed her second novel The Unity Game, set in New York City
and on a distant planet.
Leonora
currently lives in Barcelona and London and has two children. She is working on
her third novel.
My Review:
This is a very striking book, following three main timelines
(and a partial fourth). I say ‘following timelines’, but for good reason some of
the chronology shifts about. The easiest line to follow, at least to start
with, is that of David, a Canadian gone to the dark side in the financial world
in New York. He is thoroughly obnoxious, and the book’s first draw is to see
how he will get his comeuppance. Then there’s Alistair, who has recently died:
his afterlife suits him very well, challenging his intellect, endorsing his
life choices, uniting him with his beloved wife and allowing him to watch over
his wayward granddaughter. Thirdly, there’s a being on a dry red planet, whose
apparent malfunctions allow it to experience emotions far beyond those it had
ever expected. Inevitably these three threads are finally linked in a plot
involving alien interference on Earth and an explanation of life and death and
overall existence in a way that I found convincing within the plot but
ultimately rather disheartening. The writing is good and the links between the
plotlines come together nicely, and the ideas in the book will certainly live
with me: there is a good deal of intellectual meat to chew over. Be warned:
there is also a good deal of explicit and sometimes violent sex, which will not
be to everyone’s taste
No comments:
Post a Comment