The Blurb:
At the age of twelve, Kal sprang from the starting block into the pool, his teammates cheering him on. He felt the rush of the air, the crash of the water, but he never finished the heat. He awoke two years later on a world that was Earth, but also not Earth, and discovered that he could never return home. After four years of exile, he can finally escape into the metaxia, the unspace between universes, and realize his dream of exploring alternate realities. Supremely advanced cultures and natural wonders of immeasurable beauty await him. However, there exist also worlds mired in social decay, and those filled with dangerous, exotic forms of life. Armed only with defensive nanotechnology and a computer pad, Kal travels from one alternate Earth to another. Navigating the infinity of possibilities, he embarks on a new kind of voyage, a voyage along the catastrophe of notions.
My Review
Voyage is a thought-provoking science fiction novel. With playfully energetic and intelligent writing, Bonelli proves young adult science fiction can be full of adventure yet, still serious and thoughtful. He builds intricate societies each with their own environment, government, and philosophical values as the protagonist Kal visits multiple Earths through the metaxia.
Bonelli’s style is easy to read. He puts his technical data in the plot in an easy to understand way without bogging down the story with extraneous details.
Readers should know that by design this novel is episodic. It is was originally released as episodes which have now been bound together. There is a story that weaves its way through the novel, but it is secondary to the worlds which Kal and his brother Tria are exploring.
Voyage Embarkation is a brilliant debut novel.
Finally: I love the beautiful illustrations by Aubry K. Andersen.
ZB's Blog of Awesomeness 