Sometimes it’s fun to just randomly pick out a new story to read from out of the ether. I did that this week when I picked up this little SF novella Parallel by Anthony Vicino. He’s the author of a blog I check out from time to time: One Lazy Robot. This is the first work of his that I’ve read, and it was a lot of fun!

Parallel is a nice bundle of clever science fiction ideas all thrown together in one short tale. It starts when two friends open a rift into a parallel dimension linking Earth to a much bigger cosmos (cosmi?) than they personally bargained for. I don’t want to give away too much, but to say it’s an explosive and entertaining story that will leave you wanting much more of this world and the culture it brings with it. I don’t know if Mr. Vicino has plans to develop the worlds of the Alliance more in any future work, but the fragments given here do tantalize.

All in all the pacing of the story is quick. The dialogue between the friends Hari and Gerald is corny enough to have the ring of truth between guys, and it helps the reader engage. There is a lot here from plot lines to just scene dynamics that could use fleshing out. The writing is a little unpolished, but its charisma goes a long way. You have the time to check this out. It’s worth it.

Parallel on Amazon

5 stars out of 10