47 - A book featuring a parallel reality

[L Y N N]

My first reaction: "Say what?!?" LOL

Popsugar is listing One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Actually, I think Fates and Furies would also work for this prompt as well as prompt #48 A book with two POVs, but I could be wrong...

What others?

Listopia is here

[poshpenny]

I read One Last Stop and don't think it fits here honestly. That's more of a weird time travel/loop kinda thing

I do love me some quantum fiction! Woohoo!

I've read and can confirm parallel realities:
The Midnight Library
Dark Matter
The Space Between Worlds
The Fold
Where the Hell is Tesla?
Finna and Defekt

Have not yet read:
All Our Wrong Todays

[Brandon]

Star Trek has some goodies for this one.

Q-Squared by Peter David
The Sorrows of Empire by David Mack
Rise Like Lions by David Mack

[Therese]

I'm thinking that The Chronicles of Narnia is going to cover a lot of prompts for this year, or next rather.

[Jen W.]

I think A Thousand Pieces of You works for this one.

[Brandon]

Jen wrote: "I think A Thousand Pieces of You works for this one."

Absolutely! Any book in the trilogy will work, although only the first really works as a standalone book for me.

[Theresa]

The Phantom Tollbooth
Maybe a Jack Finney novella - I remember one where if you turned the right corner in Grand Central...must look for that.

Also The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop
Rivers of London and any of that series.

I would include Harry Potter and A Discovery of Witches, and any book where a magical world or fantasy world coexists with real world but more or less hidden.

Also Anonymous Rex / Casual Rex - 2 detective stories where dinosaurs still live ...in disguise.

[Piajensen13]

The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman and Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett's collaborative books starting with The Long Earth.

[Nadine in NY]

I LOVE books about parallel realities, but I don't read very many.

This year I have borrowed Finna from the library at least three times so far. Clearly, the universe is telling me to read it in 2022 for this category.

[Conny]

The Invisible Library would be a perfect fit for this prompt and a great way to check out this amazing and criminally underrated series :)

[Debbie]

A big chunky book, but sooooo interesting is 4 3 2 1 by Paul Aster. It actually has 4 different threads of life, and you see how small choices in the MC's life and environment affects his timeline. No time travel or magic or anything, just different lives. I kept a bookmark with the different timelines in my book as I read to keep them straight, but it was so neat.

[Jacqie]

Conny wrote: "The Invisible Library would be a perfect fit for this prompt and a great way to check out this amazing and criminally underrated series :)"

I like that idea! Doors of Eden by Adrian Tschaikovsky also features parallel worlds.

[Rachel]

Debbie wrote: "A big chunky book, but sooooo interesting is 4 3 2 1 by Paul Aster. It actually has 4 different threads of life, and you see how small choices in the MC's life and environment affec..."

In a similar vein, would The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett also fit here?

[Angie]

How is "parallel reality" defined?

Is it an alt-world the characters get dropped into (like in Stranger Things)?
Is it a reality that exists within our reality but is different (like in Harry Potter)?
Is it a time-traveling (like in Outlander) or time repeating thing (like in Groundhog Day)?

Or maybe all of these apply?

[Nadine in NY]

Angie wrote: "How is "parallel reality" defined?

Is it an alt-world the characters get dropped into (like in Stranger Things)?
Is it a reality that exists within our reality but is different (like in Harry Po..."


The definition is up to you. To me, a parallel reality is another plane of existence that exists in parallel with mine. In your three examples, the closest one is Stranger Things, although in that other plane of existence, no one seems to exist, so it's not quite the same as what I'm picturing. Another "me" and another "you" exist in a different reality, where some things are different but many things are the same. It's part of the "multiverse" theory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralle...

This is played with a lot in the Loki miniseries on Disney+ Any chance there is a graphic novel that covers that same story?

This is also a big part of the third season of the Dark Netflix series. If only that show were a book, it would be perfect.

[Nadine in NY]

Lynn wrote: "My first reaction: "Say what?!?" LOL

Popsugar is listing One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Actually, I think Fates and Furies would also work for ..."


Fates and Furies doesn't fit here, it is just two different POVs of the same reality. (And WOW I did NOT like that book. Everyone was so awful and miserable and SMELLY. I see you did not like it, either. We agree!! )

[Angie]

Nadine wrote: "Angie wrote: "How is "parallel reality" defined?

Is it an alt-world the characters get dropped into (like in Stranger Things)?
Is it a reality that exists within our reality but is different (li..."

This was helpful! Thank your for the thorough response and link.

[Kim]

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird will also fit here.

[Jill]

Kim wrote: "The Two Lives of Lydia Bird will also fit here."

That is the book I have slotted for this prompt.

[Brooke]

and it's sequel would work

[Karen]

Angie wrote: "How is "parallel reality" defined?

Is it an alt-world the characters get dropped into (like in Stranger Things)?
Is it a reality that exists within our reality but is different (like in Harry Po..."

I am actually thinking of this in terms of class stratification, upstairs/downstairs, rich/poor - and I immediately thought of a book about US History - Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic by Erskine Clarke.

[CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph]

I am considering The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (which is also set in the 1980s) or the latest Seanan McGuire Wayward children book Where the Drowned Girls Go (which can be read in 1 setting, probably, based on my experience with the rest of the series).

[poshpenny]

I'm with Nadine and the multiverse definition.

[John]

Another one would be The City & the City by China Miéville.

[Angie]

Karen wrote: "I am actually thinking of this in terms of class stratification, upstairs/downstairs, rich/poor "

I like the way you think, Karen. I can work with this. This would reduce the number of SFF books I need to read this year, so bless you.

[Rachael]

I'd say any from Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series or Nursery Crimes series could work, if you count it as taking place in a reality parallel to our own. I'm sure some of the Doctor Who books feature parallel realities too

[Anna]

Black: The Birth of Evil

[Marie]

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer that I just finished reading would work....wish I picked it up a month later.

[Jennifer]

Does the entire wayward children series work for this prompt?

Crystal wrote: "I am considering The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (which is also set in the 1980s) or the latest Seanan McGuire Wayward children book Where the Drowned Girls Go..."

[Debbie]

Karen wrote: "Angie wrote: "How is "parallel reality" defined?

Is it an alt-world the characters get dropped into (like in Stranger Things)?
Is it a reality that exists within our reality but is different (li..."

So, then some of those companion books written about old classics would work? (I'm a SFF fan and love time travel / multiverse writing, but for others...)

- Gone with the Wind: The Wind Done Gone or Ruth's Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind?
- Pride and Prejudice: Longbourn
- Jane Eyre: Wide Sargasso Sea
- The Illiad: The Firebrand
- Below Stairs, a memoir that may have inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey
- The Madonnas of Echo Park, which follows Mexican immigrants in the service industries
- Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive, which I know has been getting a lot of press lately because of the movie

[Marie-Eve]

Marie wrote: "A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer that I just finished reading would work....wish I picked it up a month later."

You can always read the next ones in the serie ;)

I will probably go with A Million Worlds with You as i read the previous two. I am trying to read books i already own this year before i start buying others so this could work!

For those who havent read it, The Starless Sea would fit in opinion.

[Jane]

Do you all think an alternate history book would qualify? (I'm thinking Ha'penny by Jo Walton, which is the second in a series I started for another challenge.) There are no parallel universes within the book, but the story is set in an alternate timeline that clearly diverges from ours.

Also, if anyone hasn't read it yet, The Golden Compass very easily qualifies.

[Jacqueline]

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow is great for this prompt as well.

[Nadine in NY]

Jane wrote: "Do you all think an alternate history book would qualify? (I'm thinking Ha'penny by Jo Walton, which is the second in a series I started for another challenge.) There are no parallel ..."



This is one of those categories that can really be stretched to suit the reader. For me, an alternate history would only qualify if our actual history were also part of the story. You can't have "parallel" without two lines. One line is just a line.

[Britany]

Just realized one of TJR's backlist would fit perfectly and I'm so happy that I have a good pick for this prompt now.

Maybe in Another Life

[Bryan]

Try A Measure of Serenity for this one: 47 (parallel reality).

https://camcatbooks.com/Books/A/A-Mea...

[Ron]

I'm barely starting on The Wheel of Time series but I think it would be a good fit. I looked up some information on the series and it talks about Mirror Worlds that deal with the "what if" paths in life but that can be accessed somehow.

So for that, I'm going with The Wheel of Time Series 1-15 Books Collection Set Pack (Book 1-14) By Robert Jordan

[poshpenny]

Middle grade series The Greystone Secrets fits

The Strangers
The Deceivers
The Messengers

[Drakeryn]

The Space Between Worlds is perfect for this prompt. The premise is that scientists have found a way to travel between a handful of closely-connected parallel worlds, but you can only go to a parallel world if the "you" in that world is dead. The main character is a Black woman from the slums who died in most worlds, but is alive in ours and therefore makes the perfect worldhopper. It's an interesting exploration of "what-ifs" in life and how decisions large and small can change the course of one's life.

[poshpenny]

I'm going to try The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent

If I like it I'll probably go for #1 in Customer Service: The Complete Adventures of Tom Stranger

[Nadine in NY]

Drakeryn wrote: "The Space Between Worlds is perfect for this prompt. The premise is that scientists have found a way to travel between a handful of closely-connected parallel worlds, but you can on..."


Thanks for that rec, that book looks good. I love this category, but I feel like I haven't really settled on what to read for it. Maybe I'll read this!

[Dana]

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

[Dana]

I have listened to Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon by John August today and gave it 4.5 stars.

[Courtney]

I recently read Before the Coffee Gets Cold and was thinking of that for this challenge and Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café as a book about the afterlife, unless they might be a better fit somewhere else!

[Solana]

I selected Midnight Library for this one! My first 2022 read. I really enjoyed it.

[Ron]

Solana wrote: "I selected Midnight Library for this one! My first 2022 read. I really enjoyed it."

Read this one at the start of last year. I certainly loved it.

[Aleksandra]

Suni wrote: "What about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass?"
I'd say it definitely works, plus it's short and absolutely amazing!

[Ellie]

Saw in a round up of 2022 releases, Emily St. John Mandel's Sea of Tranquility described as involving parallel worlds.

[L Y N N]

Nadine in NY wrote: "Lynn wrote: "My first reaction: "Say what?!?" LOL

Popsugar is listing One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Actually, I think Fates and Furies would a..."
You are so right! Thanks for correcting me. Although I kinda consider two people's interpretations of the same events as 'parallel realities' it technically is not... And yay! We agreed!!

[L Y N N]

I think 11/22/63 would qualify... At least it would for me! But I am known to bend prompts as I please!