What happens when humanity confronts forces beyond understanding, pulling it towards different eternities? One of its own making—the vast synthetic intelligence known as machinu—and another arrived from realms long suspected, but ignored by conventional science: interdimensional entities. The Borderlands of Forever weaves through time, from the near future to the 32nd century, as its characters confront shifting realities. We meet Lila Sandcherry, agent with the Bureau of Sentience Surveillance, who is tracking a cast-off test subject used in dimension-shifting experiments; Circ Larimar, a machine-human hybrid hiding from human persecution while seeking the origin of his consciousness; Phram Kesh, a crewmember on a multi-generation starship searching for the truth behind his voyage; and agents Deximer Crombie and Dillon Treehorse, trekking through cloud forests in an attempt to locate a plant said to bestow dimensional access, the very same plant used by remnant human tribes hundreds of years later to combat the invading machinu. The Borderlands of Forever is a neo-mythic exploration of time, consciousness, science, religion and what it means to be human—and inhuman. The time map and time line within this illustrated novel can be used to explore the Borderlands at will.
Willey has invented some fascinating characters such as the cyborg Circ Larimar, who seeks autonomy from humans, Bureau of Sentience Surveillance agent Lila Sandcherry, an agent on a mission for truth, and Deximer Crombie, a man who has traveled through realms of time and space. But the focus rests heavily on the plot-driven narrative and lush, original world building. Willey’s imagination conjures a future where, for the right price, humans can grow new bodies, essentially never growing old, or their consciousness can be uploaded to a digital utopia. Integration of humans and machines creates unease, conflict, and moral debates as some entertain the possibility of humans entering a total virtual existence. Space travel and menacing alien life forms heighten the stakes, and fans of bold science fiction storytelling will delight in the abundance.
As the story moves from the early 21st century through the 32nd century, Willey meticulously pieces together a complex puzzle through scrupulous details and inventive scene building. Even seasoned readers of hard S.F. may find it takes work to untangle the twisting, expansive journey, though Willey provides a clarifying timeline for aid as well as a time “map” that allows a reader to approach the chapters in chronological order, if desired. This may be advantageous for readers wanting a smooth progression between events. This is an intense, head-spinning survey of the battle for the top rung on the evolutionary ladder.
Takeaway: Sci-fi fans who delight in dense, inventive timelines will relish this thriller of humanity’s future.
Great for fans of: R. Scott Bakker, Neal Stephenson
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A-
