Two strangers, Jaime and Rachel, are drugged and trapped by reclusive author Augustus Fate inside his unfinished novel, forcing them to journey through a series of interconnected fictional worlds—Victorian England, Soviet Russia, a futuristic London—while struggling to reclaim their identities and escape to reality. Blending metafiction, romance, and philosophical inquiry, the story explores fate versus free will, the power of narrative, and the search for authentic selfhood across shifting genres and timelines.

Reader Review Summary

The novel centers on Jaime and Rachel, two individuals who become trapped inside the unfinished novel of reclusive author Augustus Fate after visiting his remote cottage. The narrative follows their attempts to escape through a series of interconnected stories, each set in a different time period and genre, including Victorian Oxford, 1920s Russia, contemporary Manchester, and a near-future London dominated by AI. As they move through these layered fictional worlds, the characters repeatedly encounter altered versions of themselves and others, with recurring motifs such as Rachel’s identity as an artist and Jaime’s shifting roles. The book explores metafictional themes, questioning the boundaries between author and character, fate and free will, and the nature of narrative itself, while incorporating literary references, philosophical concepts, and social commentary on topics like capitalism, feminism, and the role of art.

Readers praised the book’s ambitious structure and the author’s ability to convincingly evoke different genres and historical periods, with several noting the authenticity of the Victorian and Russian sections and the stylistic shifts between narratives. The exploration of metafictional ideas, such as the power dynamics between author and character and the philosophical questions about reality and identity, was highlighted as a strength. Many found the relationship between Jaime and Rachel compelling, particularly the way it evolved across different incarnations and settings. The inclusion of literary allusions, artistic references, and mixed media elements like poetry and drawings was also appreciated, as was the book’s engagement with broader themes such as fate versus free will and the impact of narrative on personal identity.

Criticisms focused on the book’s length and pacing, with multiple readers finding it repetitive, especially as Jaime and Rachel moved through successive narratives with similar patterns. Some felt that the character development was insufficient, making it difficult to connect emotionally with Jaime, Rachel, or Augustus Fate, and noted that the motivations of key characters were underexplored. The Russian section was frequently described as slow or tedious, and several readers found the ending abrupt or unsatisfying, with important events summarized rather than depicted. Others mentioned issues with the prose style, world-building, and a lack of clarity in the mechanics of the book’s central conceit, as well as technical problems in ARC versions such as formatting errors and missing illustrations.

The book has drawn comparisons to works by David Mitchell, Scarlett Thomas, and Haruki Murakami, as well as films like Inception and The Matrix, due to its recursive, genre-blending narrative and philosophical underpinnings. It has been described as both plot-driven and idea-driven, with a focus on the interplay between fiction and reality, and the ways in which stories shape and reflect human experience. The reception has been mixed, with an average reader rating of 3.49 out of 5 from 95 ratings and 41 full reviews, indicating a polarized response to its experimental approach and execution. The novel is positioned within genres such as fantasy, speculative fiction, romance, science fiction, and books about books, and was published in February 2025 by Sam Mills.