Introduction: As I started The Everything Theory and blasted through the first few pages I kept thinking to myself “Wow, so this is what award winning writing is like!”. The ferocious pace of the opening chapters (and indeed the whole book), the extensive research that is on display (without showing off) and character descriptions that are some of the best I’ve read, really left an impression. There is real artistry in the physical descriptions of people and their background and personality. Never does the author halt the narrative to fill in back story; every description, mannerism, fear, fault or feature of a character is seamlessly woven into the action. This is story telling efficiency at it’s best. Something is always going on, there is never a natural point at which to stop as the action jumps around from one exciting story thread to another, never taking a moment to catch it’s breath. It’s a sprint to the finish, and a very enjoyable one.
What It’s About: Luke Canning is an Australian boy in his late teens who unwittingly stumbles into a world of international conspiracy, intrigue and adventure. When Murray, amateur astronomer and Luke’s best friend, discovers that a planet (Eris) is on course to enter our solar system in the near future, a series of radical and life changing events are put into play. Astronomers all across the world are dying as an unseen and powerful force seeks to keep the information regarding the planet’s path hidden from the public. Now that Luke Canning too knows about Eris and it’s trajectory, those same forces have him in their sights. That’s the plot synopsis but the book (to me at least) was all about ancient civilizations and the many unexplained man-made structures and technologies that are beyond humanity’s current level of understanding and construction. The book calls into question the idea that human culture is one linear timeline from caveman to Bill Gates. That perhaps humanity has risen and then been all but wiped out, needing to start again many times during the Earth’s long history. And the author provides some compelling, real world evidence to support the claim in the book. As I was reading on my laptop I kept a search page up in a browser just to see for myself all the incredible structures and artifacts mentioned in the book. This underlying theme is incredibly thought provoking and it asks us to reevaluate the way we think about human cultural evolution, it’s really a lot of fun.
Who Should Read It: The potential readership for The Everything Theory is quite broad. It’s a great Young Adult story full of action, suspense and highly relatable subjects like loss, fear, awkwardness and growing up. But this book is also a great read for anyone interested in archaeology, history, science, astronomy, anthropology, ancient texts and especially those who enjoy their conspiracies, alternative takes on history and even UFOs. As a fan of alternate takes on human history (I enjoy books like The Secret History of the World), ancient texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana (both of which are mentioned in the book), and mysteries and cover ups of all kinds I thoroughly enjoyed finding out about all these unexplained inventions, structures and ancient passages. Some of which I was familiar with, but many were knew to me. The sheer amount of research that has gone into this book, and the wealth of information that’s on display is really impressive, and it makes The Everything Theory a joy to read, I just love learning while I read fiction!
Closing Comments: The Everything Theory is extremely easy to recommend both as a YA fiction and to anyone into the subjects mentioned above. The writing is slick and the action and story development gives the term fast paced a whole new meaning. Dianne Gray has written a real cracker here that I really can’t imagine anyone not enjoying. I’ll definitely be checking out the author’s other works. Go ahead and read the sample at your preferred online book store and find out the “real” history of humanity as told in The Everything Theory! All up I’m happy to give The Everything Theory 5/5
The Everything Theory can be purchased for between $2.99 at the stores below, simply click the button to to go to the book’s page. Be sure to check out Dianne Gray’s blog and follow her there as well by clicking here!
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