Transmentation Transience - (Formation Saga) by Darkly Lem (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From bestselling authors Darkly Lem, Transmentation Transience is the first book in a vast, multiverse-spanning epic where power, ideology, and ambition collide across infinite worlds.

Over thousands of years and thousands of worlds, universe-spanning societies of interdimensional travelers have arisen. Some seek to make the multiverse a better place, some seek power and glory, others knowledge, while still others simply want to write their own tale across the cosmos.

When a routine training mission goes very wrong, two competing societies are thrust into an unwanted confrontation. As intelligence officer Malculm Kilkaneade receives the blame within Burel Hird, Roamers of Tala Beinir and Shara find themselves inadvertently swept up in an assassination plot.

Meanwhile, factions within Burel Hird are vying for greater control over their society in a war of cutthroat machinations--at a heavy price. Elsewhere, two members of rival societies lay their own plans for insurrection--with ramifications that will ripple across the Many Worlds ...

Review Quotes

"[Transmentation Transience] is deeply engaging, enveloping the reader in complex, multiversal political intrigue...We're invited to experience intermeshed realities, and feel the impacts reverberate like a stone rippling water."

-- "Ancillary Review of Books"

"[A] wondrously innovative debut...Lem's masterful world-building is both sweeping and detailed, with believably delineated planets, ecologies, cultures, and governments. Sci-fi readers will be eager for a swift return to this setting."

-- "Publishers Weekly"

"An ambitious blend of world-building and complex storytelling...[Transmentation Transience] is a novel exploration of the science fiction genre which will appeal to the lovers of deep and complex sci-fi books."

-- "Fully-Booked"

"One of the utter joys in this novel is seeing how the actions of one character impact on another in a different universe, and watching the slow untangling of the various threads so that by the end, they make a coherent picture...Tangled, explosive, sly, intricate, infuriating--and magnificent. This is a shared world to keep an eye on, and a trilogy that is sure to challenge and delight."

-- "Alexandra Pierce for Locus"

"An absolutely mind-bending science fiction novel set in a complex multiverse. This book is dense (like a rich, tasty cake is dense), it is intricate, it is at times jaw-droppingly strange (and I mean that as a sincere compliment), and it kept me hooked through all its twists and turns by telling a vast and complex story through the singular lives of several different people. The close focus on the motley crew of characters, from bureaucrats and spies to academics and fighters, makes the story feel both vast in scope as you glimpse the immense multiverse through their eyes, and intimate, because you see the impact of ruthless political feuds and violent power struggles on the people caught up in the midst of it all. With body-hopping multiverse travel, fights in taverns, robots and aliens, harrowing escapes through multiple universes, fantastical worlds, and lots of intrigue and betrayals, this book is heavy with ideas. It also manages to have a real sense of humour and pack an emotional punch as characters ponder the nature of identity, love, existence, fate, and the nature of the universe itself."

-- "Maria Haskins, author of Six Dreams About the Train and Other Stories"

"Transmentation Transience is mind-bending sci-fi at its absolute best. A gorgeously told story about a multiverse where political strife, body-hopping, and existence are intricately interwoven alongside questions about the very nature of the universe."

-- "Veronica G. Henry, bestselling author of The Canopy Keepers"

"Transmentation Transience is more than the sum of its parts, engaging the mind and the heart with a perspective that is simultaneously farseeing and intimate. This gorgeous novel is action-packed, full of fascinating ideas and unforgettable characters. I can't wait to see where these authors take us next."

-- "Kate Heartfield, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Embroidered Book"

"Transmentation Transience is what you get crossing The Expanse television series with Iain M. Banks's Transition: a varied cast of characters trying to survive in a multiverse where the person next to you may not really own the body they inhabit. Action, political intrigue, and exploration of what makes up a soul combine in this debut novel for a complicated and worthwhile ride into a new multidimensional series."

-- "Betsy Aoki, video game producer and author of Breakpoint"

"A 'speculative history' regarding the multiverse...The five authors comprising Darkly Lem brilliantly paint these ancient worlds."

-- "Booklist"

"Dion Graham narrates a sweeping entry into a new series featuring an intriguing multiverse...Graham maintains an intense yet soft-spoken narration for the narrative, allowing the masterful world-building to pull listeners in...A great start to a new series is complemented by Graham's skilled use of tone and inflection."

-- "AudioFile"

"I greatly enjoyed the novel...Transmentation Transience, like any good book, brought me briefly into its universe."

-- "Reactor"

"This propulsive epic introduces readers to an unstable multiverse populated by spies, warrior-lawyers, politicians, summoners, students, botanists, revolutionaries, and more. In this elaborately woven plot, there is something for everyone: interdimensional travel into new bodies, sleep transfer, workplace drama, and assassination. Rich with action, adventure, humor, and memorable characters, Transmentation Transience is mind-bendingly entertaining."

-- "Rebekah Bergman, author of The Museum of Human History"

"Uniquely refreshing...A sprawling, many-toned novel about reality-hopping politics and intrigue, at once a spy novel, a space opera, and a planetary romance slice-of-life story."

-- "Jake Casella Brookins for Locus"