Synopsis:
The Race for Reality Has Begun.
The galaxy of Yokkun’s Depth has been settled since time immemorial. There is only one frontier left, and it’s a one-way journey: to pierce the skin of existence and delve the countless younger universes beneath.
Running through these universes is the fabled Well, a fissure formed in the distant past into which horrors have been flung for millions of years. Amongst their number was an impossibly ancient sorcerer, cast down to the wastelands of a thousand apocalyptic worlds, never to return.
Until now.
Whirazomar is crossing the stars in the belly of a sentient spore, hoping she can make it to the Well before her masters’ rivals realise what she’s hunting: somewhere far below them, a hapless explorer has drafted a map of reality. A map that the exile is sure to seek out. A map so valuable that a kaleidoscope of beings will run the gauntlet of every universe to get it, even at the cost of their lives.
Review:
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Immeasurable Heaven is an imaginative sci-fi with a diverse and fascinating cast of characters (none of which are human.) The worldbuilding was unique, and the concepts explored in this book were really interesting.
I liked the idea of multiple layers of reality, and the rules the author set in place for exploring them. A traveler can only ever move down, to what are considered “younger” layers, but never up (or so it’s believed.) When someone travels to a different layer, they’re transformed to fit in with that layer’s people, often becoming a completely different species. The idea of sentient, nearly omniscient beings inhabiting the very stars (and governing the universe) was a pretty cool idea too. And the countless types of sentient species featured, many of which were unlike anything I’ve read about previously, was a lot of fun. I especially liked the various modes of communication that were mentioned; some species used light displays, some used touch, some used pheromones… It was creative and really well done.
But I had a tough time with this book. There were so many names, species, ideas, and titles presented in the first 20% or so that it was incredibly difficult to keep track of what and who was being referenced. It was a classic case of too much information being given too quickly. On top of that, there were so many POVs in that first section (some of which didn’t show up again), that the story was difficult to follow.
After that initial 20%, it did get easier. After that point, the sections devoted to any one POV were much longer, and there were fewer overall to keep track of.
Overall, I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, and I think that’s what kept me reading.
The Immeasurable Heaven is on preorder and will be available July 15, 2025.
Leave a Reply