Genre: Dystopian
Science Fiction
Description:
Estrel
Beck steps off a train in the big city to go to an important meeting, and finds
his unlovely, humdrum life going haywire. He is reliving the same day over and
over, with no memory of any of the iterations. What will happen to him if he
can’t break the loop? How did this happen to him, and why? There are people who
seem to know him: are they friends or enemies? All he has are questions. And a
few jottings on a disintegrating paper napkin.
Author:
Phil Oddy is a British author living in
North Hertfordshire (which will only be a meaningful nugget for you, dear
reader if, like me, you live in the UK). He juggles gainful employment, family
and writing with volunteering for things like building websites for literary
festivals, so he’s not afraid of much. Echoes is Book 1 of his trilogy
‘Entanglement’. Book 2 (Entrapment) is available and Book 3 (Eclipse)
should be available this month (March, 2025). So since sending us Book 1 for
review Oddy has finished and published two more books. He is really on a roll.
If the ‘Entanglement’ trilogy floats your boat, you can binge all three.
Appraisal:
For this first book in the trilogy Oddy has developed a
protagonist who is passive, unambitious and incompetent. In the opening
chapters of the book he is a grumpy lump of unformed clay, constantly tired,
never liking to complain, never wanting to be noticed. This, obviously, has to
change as the book goes on. He never becomes 007. But he does discover some
self-esteem. Nevertheless, if the book has a weakness it is Estrel Beck,
because he is also the narrator, so we learn the whole story through him: he is
wimpy, he vacillates, he repeats himself more often than the story can really
bear, and he often contradicts himself. I rather wanted to give him a good
shaking at points.
It is giving away nothing not in the blurb
to tell you that the central quest for Beck is to stop looping. The people whom
he meets and who appear to befriend him have other agendas, however. Sometimes
Beck’s needs coincide with those of his friends: more often not.
Trinity is a dour city. Its people work hard
but live dull, joyless lives. Oligarchs rule. Violence is meted out by these
alpha-dogs. There is also in-fighting between them. There is a resistance
movement attempting to take down the cynical government. Much of the book is
concerned with these various machinations, into which Beck is drawn, spat out,
and drawn in again – all the while the plotting cleverly keeps his tatty but
oh-so important paper napkin to the fore. This part of the book is pacy stuff. It
begins to look as though Beck has a role in the revolution, despite not knowing
there was one until he started looping. Will he finally find his niche in life?
One thing irked me from the moment the
character appeared. Clar is consistently referred to as ‘they’. This leads to
some tortuous prose and occasionally spills over onto other characters in a
most confusing way. No reason for this clunky exposition is ever
offered. You will have to draw your own conclusions.
In summary, the book has an intriguing
premise. It ends in a satisfying way, while still providing a goodly set up for
two more volumes to come.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
Some adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ***
Three Stars
Reviewed
by: Judi Moore
Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words
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