FURNITURE SLIDERS

In Bentley’s novel, a former World War II spy must deal with the effects of a dangerous quantum technology.

“The Mirror,” a piece of quantum technology, can split timelines and take people into different versions of their own histories; it also has dangerous, destabilizing effects. During World War II, spies used the Mirror to conduct missions, even though the device often drove people insane, prematurely aged them, or physically injured them. These people were called “sliders.” Now, in 1947, the war is over, but the Mirror is still out there. Max Calder is one of the sliders, a brilliant operative with street-fighting prowess and psychological acuity. He thinks he’s done with the Mirror, but that changes when he’s contacted by a mysterious woman whom he only vaguely remembers—she’s another slider, named Alicia, who proves to be as brilliant as he is. She warns him that he’s still in danger from the Mirror, and that its creator, Dr. Emil Krane, plans to continue using it without regard for who it might hurt. The two of them travel to Vienna, Prague, and finally Montevideo in an effort to stop Krane and neutralize—or destroy—the Mirror. Along the way, they meet many old friends and foes, encounter treachery and violence, and face the impact of the past. Bentley does a deft job of keeping the many narrative threads straight, and the story flows well, as do its action sequences. The SF elements are solid: the Mirror is described in fascinating detail, and the ideas behind it are explored thoroughly but not overwhelmingly. The spy and noir elements are less successful; Max is so impossibly talented, so antisocial yet simultaneously alluring that he reads almost like a parody (“You were always the best one of us”). But he’s played straight, and that means there isn’t a lot to him aside from clichés. Alicia is similar, though it’s worth noting that she has agency and perspective beyond the role of a romantic interest. This inventive novel displays a lot of potential, and one hopes that in the future Bentley will apply the same complexity to his characters as he does to his physics.

A fun SF action-thriller weighed down by clichéd characters.