The Broken Universe (384 Pages)

Paul Melko has written a very interesting "what if" science fiction novel.  I love "what if" books! Authors who dream up these think about known facts in the sciences, in things we take for granted in living our lives, and they stretch them. Most people remember Alfred Hitchcok's movie, The Birds, developed from a short story by Dauphne du Maurea which poses the question what would happen if all the birds in the world, tired of seeing their species being caged by humans,  turned against that human race? In this story, Melko asks the question, What if there are duplicate universes out there? He further stretches this question to ask what if humans could visit these twin planets in alternate universes? Although I will admit that I got a little confused as a John Prime and a John Ten and a John Home were introduced ( and every other character has a duplicate as well! ) I eventually just ignored trying to keep them separate, and this helped quite a bit. It does seem that it is ridiculous to assume that there is no other inhabited planet "out there." The young men and women in this novel are in early years of college. They are in the process of starting a new business. They are bright and most of them are caring individuals. There are many "bad guys" in this book and the young people must deal with them. The book moves fairly quickly, and I found it to be fascinating in the scientific information the book reveals. Boys, in particular, should find this book a good read.