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One Level Down
Trapped in a child’s body, a resourceful woman risks death by deletion from a simulated world. With her debut novella for adults, Mary G. Thompson (Wuftoom) has crafted a taut, ultimately hopeful story that deftly explores identity and autonomy.
“Brilliant and beautiful! One Level Down is a perfectly executed gem of a book. Deeply satisfying and completely mesmerizing, it’s full of depth, heart, and thought. A remarkable achievement!”
—Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
Ella is the oldest five-year-old in the universe. For fifty-eight years, the founder of a simulated colony-planet has forced her to pretend to be his daughter. Her “Daddy” has absolute power over all elements of reality, which keeps the colonists in line even when their needs are not met. But his failing experiments and despotic need for absolute control are increasingly dangerous.
Ella’s very life depends on her performance as a child. She has watched Daddy delete her stepmother and the loved ones of anyone who helps her.
But every sixty years, a Technician comes from the world above. Ella has been watching and working and biding her time. Because if she cannot make the technician help her, the only solution is a desperate measure that could lead to consequences for the entire universe.
“Brilliant and beautiful! One Level Down is a perfectly executed gem of a book. Deeply satisfying and completely mesmerizing, it’s full of depth, heart, and thought. A remarkable achievement!”
—Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
Ella is the oldest five-year-old in the universe. For fifty-eight years, the founder of a simulated colony-planet has forced her to pretend to be his daughter. Her “Daddy” has absolute power over all elements of reality, which keeps the colonists in line even when their needs are not met. But his failing experiments and despotic need for absolute control are increasingly dangerous.
Ella’s very life depends on her performance as a child. She has watched Daddy delete her stepmother and the loved ones of anyone who helps her.
But every sixty years, a Technician comes from the world above. Ella has been watching and working and biding her time. Because if she cannot make the technician help her, the only solution is a desperate measure that could lead to consequences for the entire universe.
196 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2025
17 people are currently reading
4438 people want to read
About the author
Mary G. Thompson
11 books161 followersMary G. Thompson is the author of Wuftoom, which Booklist called “impressively unappetizing and absolutely unique,” and other novels for children and young adults. Her contemporary thriller Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee was a winner of the 2017 Westchester Fiction Award and a finalist for the 2018-2019 Missouri Gateway award. Her short fiction has appeared in Dark Matter Magazine, Apex Magazine, and others. Mary is originally from Eugene, Oregon, where she attended the University of Oregon School of Law. She practiced law for seven years, including five years in the US Navy JAGC, and now works as a law librarian. A graduate of The New School’s Writing for Children program, she lives in Washington, DC. Find her on the web at http://marygthompson.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 20, 2025
This has an interesting premise that really didn't go anywhere...or, it attempted to go somewhere but then the last 50 pages of the novella flew by at such a rapid pace that it gave me mental whiplash and made everything fall apart.
There were attempts at asking big ethical and philosophical questions but you're not given any time to contemplate them because they all cropped up at the end as we whirled toward wrapping up the story.
I read this because it was picked for the very first sci-fi book club at a very new bookstore in the next town over to me and while I'm VERY excited to finally have an in person book club...this is gonna be interesting to talk about. Wish me luck LMAO
UPDATE: Book club went really well! Nobody really enjoyed the book, so we had a really great hour long discussion of various things. At least something positive came out of this.
There were attempts at asking big ethical and philosophical questions but you're not given any time to contemplate them because they all cropped up at the end as we whirled toward wrapping up the story.
I read this because it was picked for the very first sci-fi book club at a very new bookstore in the next town over to me and while I'm VERY excited to finally have an in person book club...this is gonna be interesting to talk about. Wish me luck LMAO
UPDATE: Book club went really well! Nobody really enjoyed the book, so we had a really great hour long discussion of various things. At least something positive came out of this.
April 10, 2025
At first I was a little worried that this would be icky weird, but I promise it was not! It was just good-weird, which we all love, right? What if everything was just a simulation? Only, even in a simulation, sometimes the wrong dude is in charge (and he is probably some terrible white guy who is not really smart but thinks he is and he just ends up ruining everything, sounds familiar...). And Ella has to bear the brunt of it, being the perma-daughter to this madman.
It is as thought-provoking as I'd hoped, if not even more so. I mean, haven't we all wondered if we were secretly stuck in a simulation? (And like, not a well-organized one at that.) It is likely a more helpless feeling than things just being all random, honestly. I couldn't stop thinking about it all! Plus, the story itself is so entertaining and readable, because obviously you need to know what becomes of Ella, how things got to this point, etc. So many questions! And they're all answered satisfactorily, though the author does leave room for revisiting the world someday, which she mentions she'd like to do (and I would like her to, also).
Bottom Line: One of my favorites of the year so far, incredibly thought provoking while still being immersively entertaining.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
It is as thought-provoking as I'd hoped, if not even more so. I mean, haven't we all wondered if we were secretly stuck in a simulation? (And like, not a well-organized one at that.) It is likely a more helpless feeling than things just being all random, honestly. I couldn't stop thinking about it all! Plus, the story itself is so entertaining and readable, because obviously you need to know what becomes of Ella, how things got to this point, etc. So many questions! And they're all answered satisfactorily, though the author does leave room for revisiting the world someday, which she mentions she'd like to do (and I would like her to, also).
Bottom Line: One of my favorites of the year so far, incredibly thought provoking while still being immersively entertaining.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
March 6, 2025
What a wonderful novella! Excellent on every level. I may be rating this particularly highly because I’ve read some real stinkers recently, but man, it’s so nice to read something by an author that has a good grasp of basic concepts like “pacing” and “dialogue that doesn’t read like it was written by an alien who doesn’t quite get what humans speak like”.
The concept and worldbuilding are strong (even more so with the twist halfway through). I loved Ella as a character. The way she reacts to the horror of her situation was just chilling, and I’ll have to pass this along to a friend who is very interested in children’s rights, because Ella’s experiences line up with things I’ve heard from her. The supporting cast is well done; they obviously aren’t as fleshed out as characters in a novel would be, but they work for what this is. I particularly like the ambiguity of Phil’s character, which I won’t get into deeply here for spoiler reasons, but she does a really admirable job of making a character who objectively sucks but has a reason for why he sucks. The story is perfectly paced and works great as a novella (though to be clear, I would absolutely read a novel about Ella and/or this world). It can be a bit explicit with its theming at times, but I found that forgivable. I hope Thompson writes more in this setting, or at the very least writes more for adult readers.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
The concept and worldbuilding are strong (even more so with the twist halfway through). I loved Ella as a character. The way she reacts to the horror of her situation was just chilling, and I’ll have to pass this along to a friend who is very interested in children’s rights, because Ella’s experiences line up with things I’ve heard from her. The supporting cast is well done; they obviously aren’t as fleshed out as characters in a novel would be, but they work for what this is. I particularly like the ambiguity of Phil’s character, which I won’t get into deeply here for spoiler reasons, but she does a really admirable job of making a character who objectively sucks but has a reason for why he sucks. The story is perfectly paced and works great as a novella (though to be clear, I would absolutely read a novel about Ella and/or this world). It can be a bit explicit with its theming at times, but I found that forgivable. I hope Thompson writes more in this setting, or at the very least writes more for adult readers.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
April 22, 2025
The ending of this strange sci-fi was so rushed it was like the author couldn't be bothered to finish it. Everything interesting about this story happened off-page.
February 24, 2025
Thanks you to NetGalley and Tachyon for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This is a nice short book which makes it quick to read, perfect to fit into a short time gap in your busy life.
I believe this is Mary's debut adult novella - it would be interesting to see how it stacks up against her works for younger readers
It is such a bizarre but powerful short story. It is hauntingly real. I mean, I know we don't live in a simulated world, but this idea that humanity is getting closer and closer to destroying the Earth, it's not really out of the realm of possibilities, and that's what makes it unnerving.
Ella's "daddy" is terrifying. I'm not saying he's outwardly a monster or scary, but it's what he thinks, what he does, what he has done, and how he treats his "daughter" that makes him a villain in my mind.
It is an odd point of view, because Ella is actually 58 years old, but in this world she has to act like a 5 year old, and so her POV straddles the young and old which was interesting.
I can't say I really understood what was going on. I think if it had been longer it might have been better, because it would have given more time for explanation. I know with a novella you have to get right into the action, which is usually fine, but I think if it's a sci-fi or fantasy book, you need that extra space to explain where we are and what's going on, you can't assume a reader will understand it instantly.
I'm all for a bit of a weird story if it has purpose, but there were just a few too many oddities in this for me to fully lose myself in. But it's an unique short story that I think sci-fi lovers will enjoy.
This is a nice short book which makes it quick to read, perfect to fit into a short time gap in your busy life.
I believe this is Mary's debut adult novella - it would be interesting to see how it stacks up against her works for younger readers
It is such a bizarre but powerful short story. It is hauntingly real. I mean, I know we don't live in a simulated world, but this idea that humanity is getting closer and closer to destroying the Earth, it's not really out of the realm of possibilities, and that's what makes it unnerving.
Ella's "daddy" is terrifying. I'm not saying he's outwardly a monster or scary, but it's what he thinks, what he does, what he has done, and how he treats his "daughter" that makes him a villain in my mind.
It is an odd point of view, because Ella is actually 58 years old, but in this world she has to act like a 5 year old, and so her POV straddles the young and old which was interesting.
I can't say I really understood what was going on. I think if it had been longer it might have been better, because it would have given more time for explanation. I know with a novella you have to get right into the action, which is usually fine, but I think if it's a sci-fi or fantasy book, you need that extra space to explain where we are and what's going on, you can't assume a reader will understand it instantly.
I'm all for a bit of a weird story if it has purpose, but there were just a few too many oddities in this for me to fully lose myself in. But it's an unique short story that I think sci-fi lovers will enjoy.
April 11, 2025
For a rather short book, One Level Down tackles some really huge questions about the nature of reality.
The stage in which those questions play out is a tiny human colony in a not too distant future far from Earth. Or so it seems.
Because the colony of Bella Inizio both is and isn’t what it seems – and neither is founder Philip Harkin’s five year old daughter Ella. Come to think of it, Harkin isn’t exactly what he seems, either.
There’s a lot of that going around, like Russian nesting dolls, because that’s what Harkin’s Bella Inizio is, the smallest doll in a nest of simulated worlds built and maintained by Clawhammer Corporation and their rival, Pocket Parts.
As has been seen in plenty of SF stories, colonization is not easy. Golden worlds turn out to be tarnished, Class M planets turn out to have predatory inhabitants, worlds that looked perfect from light years away are discovered to contain deadly pathogens that can’t be seen from space.
That’s the case of the original Bella Inizio. The rich veins of precious minerals combined with a pristine ecology drew the colonists in – and the deadly gastrointestinal disease killed them off. Then Clawhammer swept in – as they did on so many other colony worlds – and made a deal with the remaining inhabitants. They bought the mineral rights to the planet, and in return set the colony up in a pocket universe, created to match the colonists’ requirements, safe from the disease that nearly wiped them out but locked away forever in a microcosm of the universe they once explored.
Except that Bella Inizio was owned in its entirely by one single homesteader – Philip Harkin. And his requirements for the pocket world were specially weighted in his favor and under his control – especially control of his daughter Ella, who had remained trapped, under his thumb, at the mercy of his fists, and perpetually five years old in body but not in mind – for the entire 58 years of the pocket world’s existence.
While she watched her father exert his life and death power over anyone who defied him in any way – but especially over anyone who questioned his treatment of Ella herself.
But Ella had plans and dreams of her own – plans that did not include staying trapped. And she had managed to gain just enough knowledge of the world outside to know that her opportunity was coming – if she could just figure out a way to seize it – and be free.
Escape Rating A-: There are not one but two really big questions that get tackled in this tiny novel. The larger – and more SFnal question – is the one about the nature of reality. The smaller but entirely too real question is about collaboration, and I don’t mean the good, cooperative kind. I mean the traitorous kind that leads to leaving one miserable and desperate little girl in the hands of a monster so that everyone else can have a happy life.
The universe of Harkin’s Bella Inizio is based on a conceptual framework that the universe is a seemingly vast simulation – a ginormous pocket world that is nested within an even bigger pocket world and could conceivably have an infinite number of small pocket worlds nested within it.
This idea gets played with from an entirely different angle in Brenda Peynado’s recent novella, Time’s Agent – but those pocket dimensions are discovered and not made-to-order. It could also be imagined as the kind of holodeck bubble that Moriarty is trapped in in the Star Trek Next Gen episode Ship in a Bottle. Or perhaps the computer simulation that is utilized in the Doctor Who episode Forest of the Dead.
In other words, this concept has been played with before, this time combined with more than a bit of corporate greed and an even more SFnal solution to the dangers of colonization than was faced in Mickey7.
What tips this particular story over the edge into both WOW and SCARY at the same time is the human dimension. Harkin is abusive to both his daughter and to the other colonists, who are, in their turn, abusing Ella as well so as not to upset their own personal applecarts. Or, to be more charitable – for certainly really awful definitions of charitable – are making the best of their own terrible situation by leaving her to suffer in worse. The way that the reader’s sympathy for them is stripped away at the end was rather breathtaking in its audacity.
As is Ella’s righteous takedown of the whole big ball of wrong in the surprising – but absolutely justified – conclusion.
Originally published at Reading Reality
The stage in which those questions play out is a tiny human colony in a not too distant future far from Earth. Or so it seems.
Because the colony of Bella Inizio both is and isn’t what it seems – and neither is founder Philip Harkin’s five year old daughter Ella. Come to think of it, Harkin isn’t exactly what he seems, either.
There’s a lot of that going around, like Russian nesting dolls, because that’s what Harkin’s Bella Inizio is, the smallest doll in a nest of simulated worlds built and maintained by Clawhammer Corporation and their rival, Pocket Parts.
As has been seen in plenty of SF stories, colonization is not easy. Golden worlds turn out to be tarnished, Class M planets turn out to have predatory inhabitants, worlds that looked perfect from light years away are discovered to contain deadly pathogens that can’t be seen from space.
That’s the case of the original Bella Inizio. The rich veins of precious minerals combined with a pristine ecology drew the colonists in – and the deadly gastrointestinal disease killed them off. Then Clawhammer swept in – as they did on so many other colony worlds – and made a deal with the remaining inhabitants. They bought the mineral rights to the planet, and in return set the colony up in a pocket universe, created to match the colonists’ requirements, safe from the disease that nearly wiped them out but locked away forever in a microcosm of the universe they once explored.
Except that Bella Inizio was owned in its entirely by one single homesteader – Philip Harkin. And his requirements for the pocket world were specially weighted in his favor and under his control – especially control of his daughter Ella, who had remained trapped, under his thumb, at the mercy of his fists, and perpetually five years old in body but not in mind – for the entire 58 years of the pocket world’s existence.
While she watched her father exert his life and death power over anyone who defied him in any way – but especially over anyone who questioned his treatment of Ella herself.
But Ella had plans and dreams of her own – plans that did not include staying trapped. And she had managed to gain just enough knowledge of the world outside to know that her opportunity was coming – if she could just figure out a way to seize it – and be free.
Escape Rating A-: There are not one but two really big questions that get tackled in this tiny novel. The larger – and more SFnal question – is the one about the nature of reality. The smaller but entirely too real question is about collaboration, and I don’t mean the good, cooperative kind. I mean the traitorous kind that leads to leaving one miserable and desperate little girl in the hands of a monster so that everyone else can have a happy life.
The universe of Harkin’s Bella Inizio is based on a conceptual framework that the universe is a seemingly vast simulation – a ginormous pocket world that is nested within an even bigger pocket world and could conceivably have an infinite number of small pocket worlds nested within it.
This idea gets played with from an entirely different angle in Brenda Peynado’s recent novella, Time’s Agent – but those pocket dimensions are discovered and not made-to-order. It could also be imagined as the kind of holodeck bubble that Moriarty is trapped in in the Star Trek Next Gen episode Ship in a Bottle. Or perhaps the computer simulation that is utilized in the Doctor Who episode Forest of the Dead.
In other words, this concept has been played with before, this time combined with more than a bit of corporate greed and an even more SFnal solution to the dangers of colonization than was faced in Mickey7.
What tips this particular story over the edge into both WOW and SCARY at the same time is the human dimension. Harkin is abusive to both his daughter and to the other colonists, who are, in their turn, abusing Ella as well so as not to upset their own personal applecarts. Or, to be more charitable – for certainly really awful definitions of charitable – are making the best of their own terrible situation by leaving her to suffer in worse. The way that the reader’s sympathy for them is stripped away at the end was rather breathtaking in its audacity.
As is Ella’s righteous takedown of the whole big ball of wrong in the surprising – but absolutely justified – conclusion.
Originally published at Reading Reality
August 19, 2025
This book is just ok for me. I really didn’t like it. I just couldn’t stay interested in this book. It had mixed reviews, but since I didn’t have to pay for the book, and borrowed it, that was a plus. I’m glad it was short. 2.5 rounded to a 3 stars.
October 10, 2024
If I thought there was truly no way out, I know what I'd do.
Perfect for fans of The Matrix, One Level Down by Mary G. Thompson is sci-fi thriller that centers around Ella, a fifty-eight year old trapped in a five-year-old's body. Trapped in a simulated world where her father has total control over the elements of the simulation and possesses the power to delete other colonists at a whim, her very survival is dependent on her performance as child. Anyone who tries to help her is deleted. Her only way out is the Technician from the outside world that shows up once every sixty years, the only one unaffected by her father's control. This time, if she can't gain the Technician's help, she may have to take a drastic step that will impact her world as she knows it.
This book was nothing like I expected it to be, diving straight into the meat of the story in the very first chapter. Once I picked it up, I was unable to put it down, finishing it in one sitting. Thompson's careful approach of the main character Ella is incredibly well done, giving the reader insight into the unfortunate reality Ella has live for almost six decades. The world-building was seamlessly blended into the story, complimenting the quick pacing of the book. I admit, when I saw the page count, I expected this to be a multiple book series, but I was pleased with how the story wrapped up, and the ending was incredibly satisfying, if not a bit heart-wrenching as well. By the time I read the last page, I was hungry for more, and I hope the author has intentions of expanding this universe, as well as the ones in the book (haha).
Thompson's One Level Down is a cautionary tale about the dangers of letting technology fall into the wrong hands, and how power imbalances allows the choices of the elite few to affect the many, as well as a testament to the kindness and compassion of humanity even in the face of fear. With compelling characters, exceptional world-building, and complex technological ethical dilemmas, One Level Down will continue to haunt you long after you've finished it, and leave you wanting more.
I was fortunate enough to receive an e-ARC of this book thanks to Edelweiss, so a big thank you to them!
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June 16, 2025One Level Down by Mary G. Thompson is a thought-provoking science fiction about simulated universes through the eyes of an element, a girl named Ella, who was created within one of them. Ella has been trapped in a five year old’s body for fifty-eight years. Her father, referred to as ‘Daddy’ throughout the book, designed her in the image of his real daughter who died at that age and does not want her to grow older. When she questions him or acts out of character for a 5 year old, she is punished. In a universe where everyone else seems to enjoy freedom from aging and disease, she is trapped.
In less than 200 pages, One Level Down presents rich world building that sucked me in. I felt for Ella and the act that she has to put up. She thinks fondly of her step mom, Samantha, who stood up against Daddy and called him out for the life he had sentenced Ella to. But Daddy is a very powerful being in this universe. In his contract with the company that built their simulated universe, he gave himself control over all human beings in the system. Thus, he can create elements like Ella and also delete people like Samantha.
There have been others who have tried to help Ella in their unique ways. Her teachers do not want her to be intellectually stuck as a 5 year old too. But that has come at a cost. Daddy has exercised his powers and taken away people they love to punish them for helping Ella. As a result, Ella feels isolated and no longer involves people in her plans should harm come to them. Every sixty years, a Technician from the real world comes to check up on the universe. Ella wants to take a chance to convince someone who is not affected by Daddy and get the Technician to free her from her existence.
One Level Down is an interesting story about a woman fighting for her freedom and what she does with it when she finally succeeds in getting it. It is also the story of people of her simulated universe who finally rise up against Daddy and the imbalance of power he exercises as the founder.
The story speculates on a world where simulated universes are possible and the technology that allows for them by bending the laws of physics. Mary G. Thompson sets the stage for questions like would the ability to create a simulated universe mean we are in one too? What kind of beliefs would people develop if they lived in a universe that had simulated universes? What kind of universes would people want to live in if they had the choice?
I would love to read more about Technicians and the Academy. I hope Mary returns to these worlds.
This review was first published on my blog. Check out the author interview there.
- Kriti, Armed with A Book | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
In less than 200 pages, One Level Down presents rich world building that sucked me in. I felt for Ella and the act that she has to put up. She thinks fondly of her step mom, Samantha, who stood up against Daddy and called him out for the life he had sentenced Ella to. But Daddy is a very powerful being in this universe. In his contract with the company that built their simulated universe, he gave himself control over all human beings in the system. Thus, he can create elements like Ella and also delete people like Samantha.
There have been others who have tried to help Ella in their unique ways. Her teachers do not want her to be intellectually stuck as a 5 year old too. But that has come at a cost. Daddy has exercised his powers and taken away people they love to punish them for helping Ella. As a result, Ella feels isolated and no longer involves people in her plans should harm come to them. Every sixty years, a Technician from the real world comes to check up on the universe. Ella wants to take a chance to convince someone who is not affected by Daddy and get the Technician to free her from her existence.
One Level Down is an interesting story about a woman fighting for her freedom and what she does with it when she finally succeeds in getting it. It is also the story of people of her simulated universe who finally rise up against Daddy and the imbalance of power he exercises as the founder.
The story speculates on a world where simulated universes are possible and the technology that allows for them by bending the laws of physics. Mary G. Thompson sets the stage for questions like would the ability to create a simulated universe mean we are in one too? What kind of beliefs would people develop if they lived in a universe that had simulated universes? What kind of universes would people want to live in if they had the choice?
I would love to read more about Technicians and the Academy. I hope Mary returns to these worlds.
This review was first published on my blog. Check out the author interview there.
- Kriti, Armed with A Book | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
April 16, 2025
Do we live in a simulation? One Level Down offers a story regarding that possibility which is interesting, fun, and a fairly quick read. Checking in at just over 160 pages, it's easily something you can tackle in a weekend. The length makes this one I may revisit again as knowing how things unfold, it'll be fun to go back and see what new hints I can pickup. The length is also a bit of a drawback - the ideas are big, but there isn't a lot of room to really explore them or to build up the needed to tension to really have the story be extremely impactful. The prose is a bit straight forward - not necessarily a bad thing - but it's missing the poetic flare that I love....that desire to re-read paragraphs because of how it was written. All said, I'm glad I picked it up and hope Thompson will expand on this work in the future.
September 3, 2025
Kort boek maar hij is echt fantastisch geschreven. Het lukt de schrijver om je mee te nemen in een compleet nieuwe matrix achtige wereld, zonder dat het al te ingewikkeld wordt. Je komt een goed aantal karakters tegen, maar ik was niet in de war over wie ze waren en hij was ook gewoon echt leuk.
April 21, 2025
Interesting read. Opens up all sorts of moral questions. Is this the fate the human race has to look forward to? And if so, it's a scary future.
August 28, 2025
not good
March 31, 2025
Dope sci fi novella. My first by Thompson but certainly not my last. I definitely hope she’ll do more in this realm and also want to check out the short story from Niclaus’s POV.
In One Level Down we follow the colony of Bella Inizio. It’s tough to summarize without spoiling some bits of the story, but Bella Inizio is a distant colony from Earth which was colonized by Phil Harkin. Unfortunately there was a virus on the planet and Phil’s wife and daughter both died. He has managed to recreate the daughter, Ella, in a simulation, but has restricted her to being a 5yo forever. So she’s a 58yo woman having to attend kindergarten and play dates every day, and she’s miserable.
There’s a LOT of fun here with simulated realities and different universes. Humanity has reached a level of space travel only previously conceptualized and the possibilities are endless not only in terms of extraordinary worlds, but the horrors possible are also perpetual. While not all of the characters were likable, they were all relatable. No one was horrible simply to be antagonistic, which I appreciated. This was a shorter novella but packs quite a bit of possibilities within its covers. Definitely recommend to the sci fi crowd. Nothing was too abstract and I had a fun time with this one.
In One Level Down we follow the colony of Bella Inizio. It’s tough to summarize without spoiling some bits of the story, but Bella Inizio is a distant colony from Earth which was colonized by Phil Harkin. Unfortunately there was a virus on the planet and Phil’s wife and daughter both died. He has managed to recreate the daughter, Ella, in a simulation, but has restricted her to being a 5yo forever. So she’s a 58yo woman having to attend kindergarten and play dates every day, and she’s miserable.
There’s a LOT of fun here with simulated realities and different universes. Humanity has reached a level of space travel only previously conceptualized and the possibilities are endless not only in terms of extraordinary worlds, but the horrors possible are also perpetual. While not all of the characters were likable, they were all relatable. No one was horrible simply to be antagonistic, which I appreciated. This was a shorter novella but packs quite a bit of possibilities within its covers. Definitely recommend to the sci fi crowd. Nothing was too abstract and I had a fun time with this one.
March 8, 2025
What a strange, fascinating story. I couldn’t put it down.
January 4, 2025
There was a time in my life during which I did not want to read new authors. I was very happy reading works by those writers whose work I was not only familiar with, but comfortable
with. And why not? At that period of my life, when I was discovering science fiction, discovering who I was as a reader, there was plenty of material written by the authors I loved. I was just discovering them, and there were worlds to be explored. Of course, I grew older, my tastes expanded, and to be honest, those favorite authors of mine were either not writing books any more or were slowing down considerably. So I had to expand and adapt. And new writers become the lifeblood of the field. They become the authors that newer generations of readers cut their science fiction teeth on. The circle of life, I guess.
There are new authors, and then there are new authors to me. Mary G. Thompson is one of those new authors to me, and my understanding is that "One Level Down" is Thompson's debut novel for
adults. She has primarily been a writer of science fiction and fantasy for children and young adults. "One Level Down" is a terrific novella, and a heck of a way to kick off her adult writing career, should she decide to continue to do so.
Ella is a 58 year old woman living in a 5 year old's body. She lives in a simulated world on a planet to which some of the inhabitants of Earth have traveled to in order to start a new life away from the decaying Earth they grew up on. I suppose I ought to back that up a bit. They came to this planet, but there was a plague of sorts killing the colonists. They came here originally to live a life on a planet where they could live out an ideal existence. Because of the plague, Ella's father Phil - known as Daddy to her - and the leader of the colony struck a deal with the company that makes pocket alternate universes to create a simulation of the town that he wanted every one to live in. Every 60 years a technician from that company comes to the town to make sure everything is working correctly and fix things that aren't.
Well, things aren't working okay. Sure, there are the usual things. Socks have gone missing (no mention of Tupperware(r) or any other household item familiar to us), birds have disappeared,
things like that. The technician can easily fix those elements (the software folks reading this can and should interpret the word elements as you would expect - objects created by code that somehow got deleted). But there is something going wrong that is much more serious. Phil wants to keep the town the way he remembers things from the past. People who cross Phil get killed, deleted from the simulation. Phil is the only one in the town that has the power to do that, and he uses that power to keep people in line. The one other thing he wants to stay as it was in his memory is his daughter Ella. He wants her to be five years old because that's how he remembers her in his memory of perfection.
But as previously stated, Ella is 58 years old. She has the intellect of a 58 year old and the experiences of a 58 year old, but she always has to act 5 years old around Daddy. Ella is afraid of what Daddy will do not only to her but to her adult friends that are helping her, letting her read books to educate her, providing her with adult experiences. Phil has ultimate power, and she and everyone else is afraid of him.
The clue, of course, is that Ella is 58. A technician is due shortly to come and iron out the issues in the town. Ella knows that, and sees the technician as her way out of the nightmare Daddy has created for her. And the arrival of the technician is the place at which the story's true meaning and intent kick into high gear. "One Level Down" is not just a story of a despotic leader using fear to hold his subjects in line. It's a story that explores the possibilities of life in simulated universes - and whether the real world really is a "real world".
"One Level Down" is, as I said previously, a terrific novella, one which I would highly recommend to readers. It's well written, the characters are well developed, and it does make readers think about the nature of existence. I'm eagerly awaiting the next adult science fiction story from Thompson. I guess I might want to explore her YA work as well.
with. And why not? At that period of my life, when I was discovering science fiction, discovering who I was as a reader, there was plenty of material written by the authors I loved. I was just discovering them, and there were worlds to be explored. Of course, I grew older, my tastes expanded, and to be honest, those favorite authors of mine were either not writing books any more or were slowing down considerably. So I had to expand and adapt. And new writers become the lifeblood of the field. They become the authors that newer generations of readers cut their science fiction teeth on. The circle of life, I guess.
There are new authors, and then there are new authors to me. Mary G. Thompson is one of those new authors to me, and my understanding is that "One Level Down" is Thompson's debut novel for
adults. She has primarily been a writer of science fiction and fantasy for children and young adults. "One Level Down" is a terrific novella, and a heck of a way to kick off her adult writing career, should she decide to continue to do so.
Ella is a 58 year old woman living in a 5 year old's body. She lives in a simulated world on a planet to which some of the inhabitants of Earth have traveled to in order to start a new life away from the decaying Earth they grew up on. I suppose I ought to back that up a bit. They came to this planet, but there was a plague of sorts killing the colonists. They came here originally to live a life on a planet where they could live out an ideal existence. Because of the plague, Ella's father Phil - known as Daddy to her - and the leader of the colony struck a deal with the company that makes pocket alternate universes to create a simulation of the town that he wanted every one to live in. Every 60 years a technician from that company comes to the town to make sure everything is working correctly and fix things that aren't.
Well, things aren't working okay. Sure, there are the usual things. Socks have gone missing (no mention of Tupperware(r) or any other household item familiar to us), birds have disappeared,
things like that. The technician can easily fix those elements (the software folks reading this can and should interpret the word elements as you would expect - objects created by code that somehow got deleted). But there is something going wrong that is much more serious. Phil wants to keep the town the way he remembers things from the past. People who cross Phil get killed, deleted from the simulation. Phil is the only one in the town that has the power to do that, and he uses that power to keep people in line. The one other thing he wants to stay as it was in his memory is his daughter Ella. He wants her to be five years old because that's how he remembers her in his memory of perfection.
But as previously stated, Ella is 58 years old. She has the intellect of a 58 year old and the experiences of a 58 year old, but she always has to act 5 years old around Daddy. Ella is afraid of what Daddy will do not only to her but to her adult friends that are helping her, letting her read books to educate her, providing her with adult experiences. Phil has ultimate power, and she and everyone else is afraid of him.
The clue, of course, is that Ella is 58. A technician is due shortly to come and iron out the issues in the town. Ella knows that, and sees the technician as her way out of the nightmare Daddy has created for her. And the arrival of the technician is the place at which the story's true meaning and intent kick into high gear. "One Level Down" is not just a story of a despotic leader using fear to hold his subjects in line. It's a story that explores the possibilities of life in simulated universes - and whether the real world really is a "real world".
"One Level Down" is, as I said previously, a terrific novella, one which I would highly recommend to readers. It's well written, the characters are well developed, and it does make readers think about the nature of existence. I'm eagerly awaiting the next adult science fiction story from Thompson. I guess I might want to explore her YA work as well.
October 28, 2024
This one only made sense upon reading the author notes at the end. And that was Problem Level One.
Problem Level Two was that the setup still didn't make sense. We have a 58-year-old child (not a typo) stuck with a "daddy" in a strange land. Although she's lived a long life, she still thinks and acts like a child, for some reason. There are "doll" people (some of whom look strangely like our lead) and people who dis/appear. Our lead just wants to get away from "daddy," who can "delete" people.
Eventually she's visited by some kind of overseers who are "human." They can take people in and out of .... wherever. And also travel around the universe in a spaceship.
We, the reader, are supposed to realize that this is a multiverse of simulations. The impossible faster-than-light travel and creating something out of nothing were supposed to key us in. But with such a fantastical and vague setup, anything could go. So, for me, these "hints" simply didn't work.
The duplicates still didn't make sense to me by the end of the book. People's bodies (?) are in literal graves, but this is a simulation (?). I still don't know if anyone was "real" let alone what could power this whole situation.
The presentation of Ella, our lead, was weird and skeevy. I couldn't grasp why she was portrayed so young and the whole dynamic with "daddy," who was sometimes putting on the titular act with breakfasts and pancakes and so on, and sometimes a wild tyrant physically abusing the "girl" ... and all the while keeping her under his control. Apparently, lots of people knew they were in a simulation and were having the time of their lives playing with it, but not Ella. She's not totally locked down in the house, either.
In the end, there's just too many plot holes, too many oddities and discomforts, and too little sense. I've added a star to encourage the author to keep going and make it better next time.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Tachyon Publications for the advance copy.
Problem Level Two was that the setup still didn't make sense. We have a 58-year-old child (not a typo) stuck with a "daddy" in a strange land. Although she's lived a long life, she still thinks and acts like a child, for some reason. There are "doll" people (some of whom look strangely like our lead) and people who dis/appear. Our lead just wants to get away from "daddy," who can "delete" people.
Eventually she's visited by some kind of overseers who are "human." They can take people in and out of .... wherever. And also travel around the universe in a spaceship.
We, the reader, are supposed to realize that this is a multiverse of simulations. The impossible faster-than-light travel and creating something out of nothing were supposed to key us in. But with such a fantastical and vague setup, anything could go. So, for me, these "hints" simply didn't work.
The duplicates still didn't make sense to me by the end of the book. People's bodies (?) are in literal graves, but this is a simulation (?). I still don't know if anyone was "real" let alone what could power this whole situation.
The presentation of Ella, our lead, was weird and skeevy. I couldn't grasp why she was portrayed so young and the whole dynamic with "daddy," who was sometimes putting on the titular act with breakfasts and pancakes and so on, and sometimes a wild tyrant physically abusing the "girl" ... and all the while keeping her under his control. Apparently, lots of people knew they were in a simulation and were having the time of their lives playing with it, but not Ella. She's not totally locked down in the house, either.
In the end, there's just too many plot holes, too many oddities and discomforts, and too little sense. I've added a star to encourage the author to keep going and make it better next time.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Tachyon Publications for the advance copy.
April 29, 2025
What's interesting about One Level Down, is that sometimes, even with a great idea, it really just has to be a novella. Here we are introduced to a simulated world, copied from a planet with which many colonists had a bad experience. Their attempts to tame the alien world floundered with microbes and disease and so the remaining homesteaders bought a simulation of the world as an ideal and all went to sleep into it. And they lived and grew, all except our lead character Ella, who has been trapped in the body of a five-year-old for fifty-eight years. Her father runs the colony and simulation, and in their grief and urgency to retreat to its safety, allow him a few additional privileges which he has, over time, abused. So, people who disagree have disappeared, and Ella is forced to remain five, and for her own safety, to pretend to him that she is still five. But an opportunity arises when the company that runs the simulation sends a technician for some maintenance, can Ella convince him to help her?
It's possible that this could be told as a mystery, that we don't know the nature of Ella's problem, but Thompson rightly sees that as a waste of a vibrant protagonist's voice. And once we are in Ella's head, there really is no other way to tell the story. Not least as none of the above actually contains the big idea at the heart of One Level Down which was both cleverly handled and surprised me with its overall consistency. But also once revealed, there isn't far to go, so I was genuinely surprised again that Thompson found a third place to go for a very satisfying ending. It is a novella; it is mainly an exhibition of ingenuity and plot mechanics, though Thompson gives Ella enough depth for the reader to root for her. One of the best sci-fi novellas I have read in a while.
It's possible that this could be told as a mystery, that we don't know the nature of Ella's problem, but Thompson rightly sees that as a waste of a vibrant protagonist's voice. And once we are in Ella's head, there really is no other way to tell the story. Not least as none of the above actually contains the big idea at the heart of One Level Down which was both cleverly handled and surprised me with its overall consistency. But also once revealed, there isn't far to go, so I was genuinely surprised again that Thompson found a third place to go for a very satisfying ending. It is a novella; it is mainly an exhibition of ingenuity and plot mechanics, though Thompson gives Ella enough depth for the reader to root for her. One of the best sci-fi novellas I have read in a while.
March 3, 2025
A familiar concept with a twist
Ella lives with her Daddy on Bella Inizio, a beautiful planet, together with other colonists from Earth. Ella is five years old. She’s been five years old for 58 years. You see, this is a simulated virtual universe. And her Daddy, who had lost his family, has administrator privileges. This is very creepy, very scary, very twisted. Among other things, this is a story about grief that turns people into monsters, emotional abuse, misuse of power, and people that look away.
”As long as I act the part, he loves me. When I stop, he doesn’t. That’s it.”
”Who cares what the universe is like? It only matters if you can explore it. Otherwise the universe is nothing but a room in a house and a locked door.”
There are those who would help Ella, but they are putting themselves at risk. But maybe there is someone who can and would help?
There are interesting twists towards the end that I liked very much.
This author writes children’s/YA books, and this is her debut novella for adults. I felt that it landed somewhere between YA and adult fiction. It was a very smooth landing, and it fit the story. The afterword was interesting, it’s nice that the author told the readers so much about her writing process and her thoughts.
Thanks a lot to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this arc!
Ella lives with her Daddy on Bella Inizio, a beautiful planet, together with other colonists from Earth. Ella is five years old. She’s been five years old for 58 years. You see, this is a simulated virtual universe. And her Daddy, who had lost his family, has administrator privileges. This is very creepy, very scary, very twisted. Among other things, this is a story about grief that turns people into monsters, emotional abuse, misuse of power, and people that look away.
”As long as I act the part, he loves me. When I stop, he doesn’t. That’s it.”
”Who cares what the universe is like? It only matters if you can explore it. Otherwise the universe is nothing but a room in a house and a locked door.”
There are those who would help Ella, but they are putting themselves at risk. But maybe there is someone who can and would help?
There are interesting twists towards the end that I liked very much.
This author writes children’s/YA books, and this is her debut novella for adults. I felt that it landed somewhere between YA and adult fiction. It was a very smooth landing, and it fit the story. The afterword was interesting, it’s nice that the author told the readers so much about her writing process and her thoughts.
Thanks a lot to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this arc!
August 26, 2025
I am generally not a fan of novellas (short stories are even worse): At best, they develop a great idea, but you barely get to build a connection to the cast and plot before it's over. One Level Down by Mary G. Thompson has the same problem - and yet I would highly recommend the book.
The premise of the book is creepy: One Level Down follows Ella, a woman forced to perpetually live in a child’s body on the planet Bella Inizio in a simulated universe controlled by her father and creator, Phil Harkin.
Ella, Phil and the other inhabitants of Bella Inizio have been living in their simulated reality for decades. But while everybody else grows up, Ella is condemned to remain trapped in the body of a child and - although her mind has grown up - to not show any outward signs of growing up. And while all the world’s other people seem to know about Ella’s situation, nobody appears to be willing to help, living under fear of the simulation’s creator and owner, Phil Harkin.
Ella’s predicament is not the only weird thing happening on their simulated world which seems to beset by weird glitches: Things disappear (socks first, larger things including entire trucks follow) and now animal species appear to go missing as well. And despite seemingly having ultimate control, even Phil Harkin seems unable to fix some of the simulation's problems. As the people of Bella Inizio wait for a simulation support engineer to arrive, Ella hope that the arrival of this real person in their simulated world will open up a path to escape her captivity.
Mary G. Thompson’s science fiction debut builds up a complex world: Not only is there Bella Inizio, the simulated planet with its complex society, there is also an outside world - what people think of the real physical world - where simulations find their physical home in computers and data centers. And as Ella is plotting her possible escape, there is the question of where she can really go.
Beyond the simulation hypothesis, however, this is largely a story about finding (or not finding) freedom in the face of daunting oppression. And it is this part of the story that is truly gripping: Reading One Level Down made me truly root for Ella, wonder where she could possibly go and - through every one of her interactions - who might get hurt next for consciously or inadvertently helping her (or simply treating her like the grown up person she really is inside a child’s body).
Unfortunately, the ending of the book appears to have been cut short as Thompson never truly reveals the full nature of the universe beyond Bella Inizio. And this brings me back to my problem with novellas: While some authors try to pack too much into one book, Thompson missed an opportunity to move on the next level (up or down) and I hope she decides to do so in another book. The universe she has created is too rich with too many themes only partially explored to have the story end with the final pages of One Level Down.
For more simulated worlds, also check out the following books (links to my reviews included):
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei: The Deep Sky plays in a very real world - a spaceship. But what people experience may not be so real as they largely experience their life through augmented reality devices. I wasn’t a big fan of this book, however.
Eversion by Alastair Reynolds: Eversion starts off with a group of explorers onboard a (true and proper) ship searching for a hidden artefact. Only to fail and die. A similar scenario plays out repeatedly as the main character and the reader very gradually realize what is actually happening.
Deja Vu by Peter Cawdron: I have mentioned Cawdron’s First Contact series repeatedly - and Deja Vu was one of the better (although slightly confusing) books. The book starts of with an astronaut reliving his own death - over and over and over again each time with slight differences - to gradually realize that this death isn’t something current but a distant memory that is being replayed again and again in a simulated world.
Fall, or Dodge in Hell (Neal Stephenson): Not the first simulated world book in sci fi history, but the first book ever reviewed by Futureboy. Fall… starts with Dodge dying. Really dying. We then follow dead Dodge as he very gradually creates a new world from scratch. Highly recommended.
And then, there are the early ones (although I haven’t read either of these two stories - probably should) that have helped to mainstream simulated world plots in science fiction and ultimately paved the way not only for One Level Down, but also most famously for The Matrix films:
Time Out of Joint is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick and first published in 1959. It follows its protagonist in a 1950s town as he gradually realizes that his world might be less than real.
Simulacron 3 was written by Daniel F. Galouye and first published in 1965 and takes the simulation theme one step further: In Simulacron, the people running a simulation begin to wonder if they, in turn, are simulated as well.
For more sci-fi reviews (and to get them before they make their way here), check out my Futureboy Substack where you will find the original version of this review.
The premise of the book is creepy: One Level Down follows Ella, a woman forced to perpetually live in a child’s body on the planet Bella Inizio in a simulated universe controlled by her father and creator, Phil Harkin.
Ella, Phil and the other inhabitants of Bella Inizio have been living in their simulated reality for decades. But while everybody else grows up, Ella is condemned to remain trapped in the body of a child and - although her mind has grown up - to not show any outward signs of growing up. And while all the world’s other people seem to know about Ella’s situation, nobody appears to be willing to help, living under fear of the simulation’s creator and owner, Phil Harkin.
Ella’s predicament is not the only weird thing happening on their simulated world which seems to beset by weird glitches: Things disappear (socks first, larger things including entire trucks follow) and now animal species appear to go missing as well. And despite seemingly having ultimate control, even Phil Harkin seems unable to fix some of the simulation's problems. As the people of Bella Inizio wait for a simulation support engineer to arrive, Ella hope that the arrival of this real person in their simulated world will open up a path to escape her captivity.
Mary G. Thompson’s science fiction debut builds up a complex world: Not only is there Bella Inizio, the simulated planet with its complex society, there is also an outside world - what people think of the real physical world - where simulations find their physical home in computers and data centers. And as Ella is plotting her possible escape, there is the question of where she can really go.
Beyond the simulation hypothesis, however, this is largely a story about finding (or not finding) freedom in the face of daunting oppression. And it is this part of the story that is truly gripping: Reading One Level Down made me truly root for Ella, wonder where she could possibly go and - through every one of her interactions - who might get hurt next for consciously or inadvertently helping her (or simply treating her like the grown up person she really is inside a child’s body).
Unfortunately, the ending of the book appears to have been cut short as Thompson never truly reveals the full nature of the universe beyond Bella Inizio. And this brings me back to my problem with novellas: While some authors try to pack too much into one book, Thompson missed an opportunity to move on the next level (up or down) and I hope she decides to do so in another book. The universe she has created is too rich with too many themes only partially explored to have the story end with the final pages of One Level Down.
For more simulated worlds, also check out the following books (links to my reviews included):
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei: The Deep Sky plays in a very real world - a spaceship. But what people experience may not be so real as they largely experience their life through augmented reality devices. I wasn’t a big fan of this book, however.
Eversion by Alastair Reynolds: Eversion starts off with a group of explorers onboard a (true and proper) ship searching for a hidden artefact. Only to fail and die. A similar scenario plays out repeatedly as the main character and the reader very gradually realize what is actually happening.
Deja Vu by Peter Cawdron: I have mentioned Cawdron’s First Contact series repeatedly - and Deja Vu was one of the better (although slightly confusing) books. The book starts of with an astronaut reliving his own death - over and over and over again each time with slight differences - to gradually realize that this death isn’t something current but a distant memory that is being replayed again and again in a simulated world.
Fall, or Dodge in Hell (Neal Stephenson): Not the first simulated world book in sci fi history, but the first book ever reviewed by Futureboy. Fall… starts with Dodge dying. Really dying. We then follow dead Dodge as he very gradually creates a new world from scratch. Highly recommended.
And then, there are the early ones (although I haven’t read either of these two stories - probably should) that have helped to mainstream simulated world plots in science fiction and ultimately paved the way not only for One Level Down, but also most famously for The Matrix films:
Time Out of Joint is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick and first published in 1959. It follows its protagonist in a 1950s town as he gradually realizes that his world might be less than real.
Simulacron 3 was written by Daniel F. Galouye and first published in 1965 and takes the simulation theme one step further: In Simulacron, the people running a simulation begin to wonder if they, in turn, are simulated as well.
For more sci-fi reviews (and to get them before they make their way here), check out my Futureboy Substack where you will find the original version of this review.
April 23, 2025
Ok I think this is the only context I'm ever gonna enjoy reading a book where the protagonist calls the main male character "Daddy" lmao. It's a super original little novella, following a 58-year old woman trapped in the body of a simulated 5-year old inside a simulated world, but it still went places I didn't expect.
I really liked the length and pace of this, and I would love to see a sequel set in the same world
I really liked the length and pace of this, and I would love to see a sequel set in the same world
May 23, 2025
Not too tough to draw parallels between the man in the story who has too much power and the people IRL who have too much power. A straight forward story that has some rather clever sci-fi plot ideas. Kudos to the author for an interesting story and for resisting the temptation to stretch this into a full-length novel. By keeping it short, I was able to enjoy the story and the characters, without having to wade though a bunch of useless garbage (Hello half the books I read!). This would be a great pick for book club - lots of book-world vs real-world topics to discuss.
August 23, 2025
Short enough that I finished it even though it was an awful mess. The first half is especially bad, all that The Matrix stuff. Simulated worlds, simulation with simulators. Then there’s the poorly written adult in a child’s body. Massive time jumps occur, and it’s still a lousy story, but at least different. Author then reviews her book positively in an afterward. I wish her well, but will not be reading anything else she writes. I don’t give one star reviews often, so believe me when I tell you I hated this nonsensical booklette.
July 25, 2025
For me this book was okay. There was some segment where I feel like the author was rushing and skipping certain parts and it feels like we're just time traveling back and forth. As a chronological person having sudden movements into different timelines with in the book kind of disorients me and makes me confuse about where in the story I am
September 4, 2025
Haven’t touched a sci fi since 2013 and damn I suddenly remember why I loved them so much. Such a short book yet packed with a solid plot, characters with depth and a world built so vivid I could see the whole novel in my head.
10/10 recommend if you’re looking for something quick , not too tense yet exceptional thought provoking to read.
10/10 recommend if you’re looking for something quick , not too tense yet exceptional thought provoking to read.
December 1, 2024
This is a hell of a novella about terms and conditions and the absolutely fucking terrifying things people are capable of given power over things - like say denying birth applications and keeping the program of your daughter perpetually at 6 years old when you've been running the simulation the colonists were in for the last half century or so. Fucking nightmare. This centers on the girl who's been kept at a physical age of about 6 while her mental age is closer to, say, 52, and navigating all the layers of reality as she knows them with the help of the techs who come in to check on the simulation.
June 17, 2025
4.25/5 ⭐️
Amazing world building. Thought provoking. Perfect for fans who love the matrix and the idea of being in a simulation. I felt the ending wasn’t flushed out and a bit rushed but I enjoyed the novella nonetheless
Amazing world building. Thought provoking. Perfect for fans who love the matrix and the idea of being in a simulation. I felt the ending wasn’t flushed out and a bit rushed but I enjoyed the novella nonetheless
August 22, 2025
4+/5 - A quite frankly horrifying concept that was really well executed and I couldn't look away from. I found this a really compelling read and ended up finishing the book in essentially one sitting. I'll definitely be checking out this author's other works
August 30, 2025
I thought this was an excellent novella. I picked this up because of the Goodreads Lighting Reads challenge and didn't even read the description. I just liked the cover. I'm glad I did. It was quick but contemplative, easy but deep, and most important, entertaining to read. Highly recommend!
September 4, 2025
Very short read. It was a really weird book but not a bad one. I felt like it was a bit rushed and could’ve had a better written ending. There was wayyy too much left unexplained that it ruined bit of the story for me.
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