Branches: A Novel

I was drawn to this book because the description compared it to Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, which is one of my all-time favorite books. There are definitely some similarities between the two multiverse novels, but Branches is different enough that it still felt fresh and interesting.With the re-election campaign of an unnamed male authoritarian president shaping the events in Branches, this novel has a more political undercurrent than Dark Matter. However, its primary focus is on a family of three, and how different decisions could change their fates.The science doesn’t get too technical and, with its contemporary setting, there isn’t a lot of world-building in this novel. This well-written story focuses on the decisions of one man – a husband, father, and son – and his slow realization of the impact his choices have on the people he loves.Branches was intriguing, observant, confusing, repetitive, and even funny (the paint colors!) at different points. One thing it never was: boring. It held my attention and made me think and feel.I recommend this for science fiction and political thriller fans alike. Fans of Blake Crouch and of a story told across multiple timelines will enjoy this one.However, if you don’t want reminders of the 2016/2020 presidential elections embedded in your fiction, you may want to hold off on this one for now. As for me, I will definitely be picking up the second installment of this series.

I quite enjoyed this book! Although the reason for the main character to be hopping around alternate timelines seems a bit strained, the actuality of what happens is brilliantly portrayed. It provokes the reader to assess their own life, and what they might change if offered the possibilities. It is an absorbing read, and kept my attention all the way to the unexpected ending. Just shows that we do not need aliens, explosions or zombies to explore science fiction.Read it!

It's a Matrix-like story but without the costumes and high-wire fighting. Ordinary Joe, whose family car is a Kia, confronted with a choice that involves coloured pills and variations of reality. Wachowski Brothers meet Roger Zelaszny.It started well, in my view. The premise was good. You then expected the pace to pick up. Alas, it didnt. Johnson has a strong command of the language and confidently wields a casual writing style. But I think he overdoes it with detail and veers off into little bits of descriptive irrelevance and soliloquy too much. At first it's interesting, then it starts to grate and quickly becomes deadening. By a third of the book, I was like, "Can we just get on with the story?"The political references (shading Trump) were overdone and I think he could have still crafted a solid tale otherwise.All this is not to say the book is bad. Rather it could have been much better. It is well rendered, in terms of book structure, layout and grammar - good copyediting. There are no obvious punctuation errors, etc. It therefore comes as professionally published.A teeny weeny voice in my head keeps asking whether a better developmental editor might not have taken this book to rarefied heights.

This science fiction novel is a fast-paced page turner that artfully reveals its mystery with a new hook every few pages. I did not want to put it down, and I did not stop thinking about it after I finished it.The action of the novel initially revolves around the re-election of an unnamed but recognizable bombastic leader pulling the country rapidly into authoritarian dystopia. The cerebral protagonist obsessively weaponizes social media as his primary tool to impotently rage against the indifference of all those who quietly acquiesce to or actively participate in the rapid deterioration of democratic freedoms and the militarization of the police. It is a fiction that hit very close to home. (The pandemic also makes a brief, but entertaining, cameo appearance.)The science fiction of the story centers on the main character's dizzying journey through a series of alternate realities in which events have played out differently from the reality he has known. With each reveal of a new reality come new chances for the hero to discover truths about how his own choices have interacted with external events in shaping the contours of life for himself and his family. These insights in turn lead to surprising and inspired decisions about what is worth pursuing in this life. It contains a profound lesson for those who spend time wishing things were different from what they are.All in all, this is a gripping story that is very relevant to the present day. I highly recommend this work and look forward to reading what this author does next.

I read this entire book in under 24 hours. And I blew off work on a Friday afternoon to finish it because I just HAD to know what happened in the end. In addition to being eerily prophetic in some ways given the events of 2020 and early 2021, Branches did two things that I value from anything I read: 1) It made me think about my own life and the choices I make, and 2) it made me think about the broader universe and how we're all connected. I found it to be imaginative, thought-provoking and entertaining. As someone who is often caught doomscrolling, I thought the author showed some deft writing and a pretty wry sense of humor as well. Despite the serious subject matter, there were definitely sentences that made me LOL. Branches is an interesting peek behind the "what if" curtain, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

What a wonderful read. Following the steps of this author’s story through multiple timelines was so fun. What a great way to tell a story, capturing the thoughts, emotions, hypotheticals, fears, etc. that connects so many of us during a strange chunk of our own bizarre place in time. You cannot choose your own adventure per say but all the excitement from a story like that exists in this heartfelt tale. Very well written. Adam Peter Johnson’s mother would be so proud of him. Can’t wait for him to write another! Enjoy!!

This book was a complete and utter surprise of the astoundingly good variety. The blurb keeps things a little vague and nebulous, offering a tease about alternate realities and contemporary political commentary. It does cover those themes (hardcore Republicans may want to give this one a miss for now, at least until 2020 has simmered down a little), but at it's heart it's the story of one man and his family, and how all the variables in the multiverse can - and can't - make a difference. It is a story of emotional discovery and depth that left me breathless by the last fateful word.This was one unpredictable ride. It's thoughtful, grown up, and above all, intelligent. The sci-fi is light and simple - reality-hopping parasites and drugs - but the message is complex. Deep. Emotional. As we flow through the different realities, some good, others less so, we learn more about the narrator's life and relationships. He encounters different versions of everyone he knew, and different variables mean every interaction is a minefield of possibilities.I adored that it wasn't your usual young guy messes with realities and sets the world on fire to prove (or disprove) the butterfly effect. Our narrator is a proper adult with a wry sense of humour and a self-awareness that's rare, especially in indie published books. Where he starts off - blaming the election of "Him" (a name never mentioned, but c'mon, you know who he means) for all his woes - and where he ends up is a slow and steady unravelling of beliefs that at times can be heartbreaking to watch.His relationships with his wife Meredith, his son, his parents and colleagues all get explored, as do new encounters with characters that highlight problems in Western society and low-level simmering of tensions and resentment. It's all very topical, and handled in such a deft way that doesn't feel like you're being bludgeoned by the author's morals. Being an adult book, it deals with some pretty dark things, and there's always the possibility that things won't turn out well just because it's a work of fiction. Not all stories can have a happy ending.I did get a tiny bit confused at an inconsistency or two, but later on some are definitely intentional. The perils of crossing over multiple realities in a few seconds will probably do that to you (stepping through "branches" isn't like a portal, it just happens randomly).This is sci-fi with both brains and a heart. It's clever and sad and deeply reflective of time times we live in, as good science fiction should be. It's through the mirror darkly, and makes you stop to think. There may be variables in this world you can't change, things that make you unhappy. But there message here is that maybe, just maybe, we should look for the constant and try to change that instead.A brilliantly insightful debut novel.

The tale of a man who is faced with an impossible choice: play it safe and keep the life you’ve always known but aren’t happy with, or take a chance on fate to find a different life, the one meant for you. The catch? It may not be a better life and it could possibly be a whole lot worse. This is a great concept like hybrid love child of The Matrix, Groundhog Day and The butterfly Effect.This also felt very politically current. Albeit just slightly heavy on the political side so if you’re a Trump fan, you might want to keep on searching for your next read, but for everyone else this could be a great read for you!The high point for me was I was not sure where this was going to go and that kept me invested. Johnson peppers his novel with clues that keep me diverting along lots of different branches of possibility much like his protagonist. I also sensed a good few clues about what may be in store for book two that have me hooked!All in all, a great little indie gem that made me hug my husband and son a little more tightly tonight!

This is the review I wrote straight after reading the book:Well that was weird. Enjoyable? Yes. Thought-provoking? Yes. Engaging? Yes. Recommended? Yes.But definitely weird. (4 stars)Several weeks later, I would add that the book has stayed with me, especially the ending, which the author gets absolutely right. He has something important to say and on reflection, I think it deserves 5 stars. It's a great book.

Phew, okay here goes. I picked this up as part of our Indie Book Club monthly read. I like dystopian fiction and the premise of the book intrigued me.This is the story of a man who is struggling with headaches and finds out that they are a result of him being in the wrong multiverse. He has been drifting for months through hundreds, maybe thousands of an infinite number of multiverses each subtly different but the change so gradual, so close to his own he never really noticed.By taking a pill each day for a week he can drift back to his ‘own’ multiverse and be where he is meant to be. The thing is he is not sure if that will be better or worse than where he is now – or if indeed there might be a multiverse more appealing than his own. A world where things are more positive and his life better. Maybe it could end up a whole lot worse?Okay, admit it, that does sound intriguing right? The trouble is I found it a struggle to read and DNF’d it at about 60% in. Now it is unusual that I would review a book I DNF’d but since it is part of my Indie Book Club review I feel I needed to make an exception.It is a shame the book did not gel for me because it is well written. APJ can write that is for sure. It is told in an over the shoulder kind of first-person narrative. I enjoyed the structure and the language of it, it was just that I found the story dragged. It did not hold my attention and I think that is because I just did not care for the main character. I couldn’t even tell you his name or recall if it is mentioned at all.The MC is intelligent but is like Joe Mundane. In other words boring. He has an overriding obsession against ‘Him’ Him being Donald Trump and the different multiverses we get to experience him in, from a police state-like oligarch to deposed president. I found it was like a stuck record only every time I unstuck the record it played the same song in a different bar. I didn’t much care for it and found the whole thing one long, never-ending crisis of monotony.I felt more affinity for Meredith his wife and his young son. His dead mother taught him the values of standing up and choosing aside, of being morally present, yet he displays none of those traits in my view.Now before I get all doom and gloomy you must remember. This is just how I feel. I don’t like Oreo biscuits but my wife loves them. That is the same as any book. There will be those a story appeals to and those that it does not. So I would urge anyone to make up their own mind. The writing is professional and well constructed so this book may well appeal to you and I would urge you if the premise sounds like your kind of ‘Oreo’ that you to ‘Take a Look Inside’ and decide for yourself.

My problem with multiverse stories is that in an infinite universe it is hard to make plot choices that matter, even death becomes meaningless - so the answer is to focus the drama on character, which Branches does well.In Branches, a quantum parasite in the protagonist's brain is sending him drifting through increasingly darker versions of his own timeline, a neat concept that is well woven into the plot.I found the main character relatable, though I did not like him, and I do not feel that I was supposed to. In a way, his unlikeable traits are what drive much of the story.I finished it in two sittings with some slower parts skipped, and I found the dialogue and character work to be well done and engaging, with the big emotional moments landing well and feeling earned.Would recommend, a good read that I think most people would enjoy.