Amerika

A few weeks ago, someone stated that dystopian science fiction was simply what is “in” and relevant to our time and that there is no real place for utopian science fiction today. While there are many sentiments I could express to state how misguided such thinking is, I will simply say that it is obvious that person has never read Richard Paolinelli’s, “Escaping Infinity.”

Escaping Infinity is without a doubt one of the most original books I’ve read. I’m sure a few others could arguably compete, but Escaping Infinity is part space opera, part time travel, part fantasy, part first contact, and really just an overall great adventure. Thus making for a captivating story that has its own unique feel.

When I first opened the book, I rolled my eyes a little when I saw I was being forced to read a prologue. Maybe its a little closed minded of me, but I rather hate prologues. I’d much rather just be thrown into a story and forced to figure things out on my own. However, the prologue in Escaping Infinity will definitely go down as a favorite. Unlike most prologues which I feel are a distraction to actually getting into the story, Paolinelli successfully uses the prologue to not only set things up, but keep the reader guessing. As a writer, I love when reading a book teaches me something and I definitely leaned how to do a prologue the right way after reading this book.

Escaping Infinity struck me as a book that is very relevant to our time. A theme of how we respond to challenges is very prevalent throughout. I feel that Escaping Infinity is in many ways, a beacon of hope for how we can come together through tragedy. It is easy to forget in the thick of difficult challenges that these things can bring us together and make us closer than ever before. This book is very much a testament to how we can learn from our mistakes and make our future better than our past.

Tags: review, richard paolinelli, sci-fi