A River Called Time

January 4, 2021
Set in a dystopian London separated into haves and have nots, this mystical coming-of-age tale from Newland (The Gospel According to Cane) offers its protagonist a view into myriad alternate worlds. Markriss Denny, a young resident of a poor district in the Outer City of Londinium with the unusual ability to astral project, aspires to earn his Excellence certification and gain entry to the monolithic Ark, home to the elite Inner City. But once he’s in, he learns that the working poor within the Ark suffer inhumane conditions, and, in his new job as a reporter, Markriss must choose whether to lie for the corporate rulers or to tell the truth of the disenfranchised. Fighting against the pods that give the Ark’s inhabitants artificial dreams, Markriss uses his power to embark on a dream quest that brings him into different versions of Londinium (one of which is present-day London), allowing him to meet the repentant inventor of the pods, to find (and lose) his soulmates, and to uncover the truth of his unusual power and stratified world. Newland smoothly incorporates elements of Egyptian mythology into his layered, multicultural world, and though the climax feels somewhat unearned, the fragmented timelines and multiple versions of Markriss are skillfully handled. This is sure to please fans of thought-provoking speculative fiction.

February 1, 2021
In an alternate London in which colonialism never existed, the Ark holds the promise of salvation, but at what cost? Markriss Denny grows up in the city of Dinium, dominated by the Ark, built to provide sanctuary from the crumbling, polluted world outside. For most, admission to the Ark is an impossibility, but Markriss' mother pushes him to succeed in school, a pursuit that distances him from Nesta, his best friend, but does result in a one-way ticket to the Inner City. There, Markriss learns that the Ark is not the haven advertised, that it contains deep inequalities that mirror the world outside. Markriss, nevertheless, is content with the role laid out for him until a strange encounter on the astral plane--similar to ones he experienced as a child--reveals that he has a rare ability to "move between spiritual and physical states." He's told by an ancestor that there's another being like himself, but one who's evil, whose existence threatens everything. Given the task of finding this "dark spirit," Markriss begins a journey between parallel Londons. Incorporating African cosmology, and in particular Kemetism, Newland explores a noncolonial London that adopted African beliefs and values, juxtaposing this alternate--yet also flawed--London with our own. On the heady levels of twisting timelines and spirit planes, this novel excels, revealing Markriss in all the worlds he traverses. There is little time left, however, to explore his connection to other characters, including the pivotal women in his life and Nesta. This is an ambitiously imagined book that, by removing the European lens on African cultures, creates a new reality that allows us to question how we view our own. Complex and multilayered, this novel opens the door to the possibilities of noncolonial worlds.

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February 26, 2021

In a dystopian London parallel, the Ark is a structure built to provide a haven for the aristocracy, but it is revealed to be much more disturbing. Markriss Denny has worked hard to win a spot inside the Ark. His enthusiasm wanes immediately when his assigned job revolves around political uprising and government deception. Markriss's only path ahead is to embrace a newly discovered secret: the ability to leave his body and experience parallel universes beyond physical limitations. Newland's (The Gospel According to Cane) premise and his alternate world, in which Africa was never colonized by Europe, are both intriguing, but Markriss is a difficult protagonist to connect with and the plot is slow, never quite reaching the potential teased from the beginning. Newland's writing is stylish but tends to be overly descriptive, making the explanation of Markriss's travels to parallel universes confusing and hard to follow. VERDICT Library collections should pass on this one.--Carmen Clark, Elkhart Public Library, IN

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