PARALLAX

Robinson’s novel follows a misfit group of adventurers as they’re forced to maneuver through a deadly labyrinth in order to save humankind from annihilation.

Silas Keene is a dishwasher at a hotel near the Grand Canyon. Originally from a small town in Maine, he’s attempting to start a new life after fleeing his difficult ex-girlfriend. After seeing a flyer promoting subjects like astral perception, telepathy, and clairvoyance, Silas—who can mentally see distant places via his ability to remote view—attends a meeting in a double-­wide mobile home and is introduced to a small group of highly paranoid people interested in finding those with extrasensory abilities. Realizing they’re being followed by operatives from a mysterious agency, they quickly become entangled in a conspiracy that involves a strange man with red eyes (each with two pupils and two irises), an ancient labyrinth hidden at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and the looming end of the world. (“I’ve seen some shit that is making me reconsider the fundamental laws of reality,” Silas laments.) Robinson’s novel is a highly palatable mélange of SF thriller, mystery, and homage to nerd culture. The pacing is relentless, made even more breakneck by the author’s savvy use of bombshell statements at chapters’ ends. The action is fast and furious, with every chapter containing a jaw-dropping adventure. But the novel’s most notable feature is the deft character development—every member of the small cast is insightfully portrayed via spot-on dialogue. The author inundates readers with nerdom references, from Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru to The Walking Dead to Quantum Leap, and displays an irrepressible sense of humor throughout, which makes the narrative a delight to read (“I don’t know who replaced your hemorrhoid cream with ghost pepper sauce…”).

SF fans and pop-culture enthusiasts will find this witty and cerebral novel unputdownable.