Quantum Coin by E.C. Myers.
Ask and you shall receive. When I reviewed the first book in this series, ‘Fair Coin’, I hoped that this would not be the last of Ephraim and his parallel world adventures. Thankfully, E.C. Myers heeded my call or perhaps knew the potential of the universe he created, and set to work on ‘Quantum Coin’.
A year has passed and Ephraim has stopped travelling throughout the multi-verse, settling down to a normal teenage life with girlfriend Jena. However, when her duplicate from one of the parallel worlds drops in unexpectedly, he’s forced to flip the coin yet again in order to save not just his universe, but all of them.
Myers raises the stakes with the second book in this series. In the previous book, the author took us sideways and kept familiar elements almost as a reassurance but in ‘Quantum Coin’, he flips us backwards and forwards and moves at a pace that leaves no room for distraction. For a young adult novel, it’s unforgiving, you need to really keep focused and it certainly doesn’t patronise or over-simplify for its audience.
Although the action mostly focuses on Ephraim, there is more of an ensemble feel to this book. Analogs Jena and Zoe clash over the lead character, while the original Nate features more than he did in the first book, creating a nice team effort.
Again, Myers shows he has the ability to do what so many authors aren’t able to: provide a satisfactory ending to a book. Everything comes full circle, although as with my review of the first book, I hope that this is not the last we see of Ephraim.
This is a must-read for anyone who enjoyed ‘Fair Coin’. Although I certainly would recommend against anyone thinking that they can just jump straight into this book without reading the first one. Trust me it’ll be worth the wait.
Aidan Fortune
September 2012
(pub: Pyr/Prometheus Books. 324 page small hardback. Price: $16.95 (US). ISBN: 978-1-61614-682-5)
check out websites: http://www.pyrsf.com/ and www.ecmyers.net