A Fractured Infinity

August 1, 2022
Tavares’s ambitious debut asks how far a man would go to hold onto his soulmate. Filmmaker Hayes Figueiredo is plucked from his remote cabin by a team of scientists led by the awkward but gorgeous Yusuf Hassan. In the depths of the scientists’ top-secret Nevada facility lies a strange machine that, they believe, offers oracular predictions of the future—and which contains hours of video that show Hayes building the machine alongside a different Yusuf in a parallel universe where they are happily married to each other. Hayes doesn’t have the answers the scientists hope for, but as he fudges his way onto the team, he grows closer to both the machine and Yusuf. When a crisis leaves Yusuf’s life hanging in the balance, Hayes uses the machine to bring a different universe’s Yusuf—one who lives—into his own world. But this is a stolen future; now the alternate universe Yusuf is dead, and the alternate-universe Hayes is bent on revenge. Meanwhile, Hayes’s actions doom his world to a deadly parade of disasters. After a slow and murky start, Tavares hits the gas, sending the plot rocketing through dozens of fascinating possible Earths. The epic love story forms an intense emotional core and Hayes’s conversational narration charms. Anyone looking for queer sci-fi should check this out.

September 1, 2022

DEBUT Hayes Figueiredo makes documentaries, but in another universe he created the Envisioner, a machine that predicts the future. After the device is discovered in his universe, Hayes is recruited to study it and falls for fellow researcher Yusuf--who he married in that alternate world. When Hayes is forced to choose between a future with Yusuf and saving the rest of humanity, the two flee into a series of alternate realities. Pursued by the version of himself who built the Envisioner, Hayes will have to decide what he's willing to sacrifice for the man he loves. Hayes's and Yusuf's relationship drives the plot and is well-drawn and compelling. Yusuf's neurodivergence is portrayed sensitively, while Hayes is flawed but sympathetic as the parallel worlds concept allows him to struggle with himself and his choices. His filmmaking background influences his narration, adding an engaging layer of meta commentary to the story. VERDICT Multiverse stories are popular right now, and Tavares's first novel will appeal to fans of the concept, along with readers who enjoy science fiction that digs into characters' relationships in a setting that spans worlds. Recommended.--Erin Niederberger

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