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Starts off well but declines precipitously once our merry band leave the Sanctuary. The world-building is inconsistent as is the narrative voice as is the writing, the pacing... Here's a question: you have your wunderkind draw up a battle plan for defeating an enemy city. Before you can execute the plan, the wonder child runs off to the enemy city: do you proceed with your battle plan or draw up a new one? I mean, come on! Perhaps I'll read the next one; purely to see if the author reveals what Cale found in Lena's stomach.

Definitely not a feel-good story. Takes a while to get going, but once the momentum is built, this is a cracking read. Poor Wade: what chance did he really have?

Decent, but quite not enough to elevate to very good. Characters - especially Banecroft, are somewhat clichéd. Not without promise however. I'll give the second book a read and take it from there.

This is how I imagine the early days of The Fortean Times went

Yeah, it's a silly premise but it still gets pass marks. Takes a while to get going, is a little confusing at times and the end fizzles out somewhat, but Lyle, Helen and the other characters are reasonably well delineated and there's the Mandela effect thing too. Not the worst multiverse caper, though you will read better.

"American foreign policy is horrendous 'cause not only will America come to your country and kill all your people, but what's worse, I think, is that they'll come back 20 years later and make a movie about how killing your people made their soldiers feel sad" - Frankie Boyle. Given the above, Mason seems more decent, self aware and more switched on about the war from the get go than many others. Mostly compelling, but there's only so much helicopter talk one can take. Not a cheerful read - how could it be? - but not without humour, honesty or humanity.