Summary
When an unfortunate incident ends Ruth’s life, his father Jim couldn’t move on. If he hadn’t been doing what he was doing at that time; if he had been paying attention to Ruth, she wouldn’t have gotten out of the house, chased her ball, and gotten into a car accident. Jim’s guilt and regrets for losing her daughter at such a young age is impacting his daily life.
Then, he meets Mike, his new colleague at Sisco Roofing who turns out to be more than that. Mike shows Jim a place called the “realm of possibility” where he could watch what could’ve been if he had made a different choice on every decision he made. In the realm of possibility, he could change the past and bring Ruth back to life. And so, he did. But with Ruth alive again, things get very complicated, and there are grueling consequences to deal with.
Review
The Realm of Possibility is a sci-fi drama by Dan DalMonte. At first, this book reminded me of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, but that was only during the early part of the story. As I kept reading, this book was totally different from the multi-universe stories and more like a story about changing the past. I have mixed feelings and opinions about this book, both positive and negative.
(1) The concept was highly imaginative. Reversal engineering attempting to alter the past for a better present and future is a very ambitious take that everyone knows will always fail at the end because nobody can change the past. But what made it a very intriguing read is not knowing how, what are the consequences, and how the story will end, (2) This book can be a great topic for debate because people will definitely have divided opinions towards Mike and towards many aspects of this book, (3) You can tell the author’s expertise and dedication on the subject of reversal engineering which he has created fictionally for this book, (4) I like the ending. Couldn’t say more about this to prevent spoilers, (5) The most important thing is that there is a moral to the story.
These are the things I dislike about this book: (1) Very poor editing. There were too many errors in this book that impacted my reading experience. This book should’ve had the pristine editing it deserves, (2) Confusing and conflicting information. There was a part where three days later, Delgado was found with his head and neck resting in a glistening, broad pool of blood. Does blood still glisten three days after? Doesn’t it coagulate and dry? Also, there’s a part when Mike said Ruth died at twelve, but in other parts it was mentioned that she died at eleven, (3) Why did Jim all of a sudden just vanished in the story? Ruth got married without the details of how Jim and his wife reacted to this and they were just gone forever in the story until it ended. And all the while I thought the protagonist was Jim.
Overall, I’m giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. I normally don’t put too much details in my review, but this book really is something that’s good to discuss in a book club because it’s really intriguing. Not just the concept itself, but the flow of the story as well, and the style of writing. There are just so many that a book addict can dissect from a story like this in a technical, philosophical, and creative aspect. I recommend this book to readers who love stories about changing the past.
SheySaints 