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Jul 11, 2022 James Blakley rated it it was ok

“The View From Here” tag line “What would you do if you found yourself on or in another world? Do you have the skills and knowledge needed to survive or to make sense of what you see?” whets the appetite for a gritty survival story set either in another dimension co-existing with Earth’s or on another world that connects to Earth via a tunnel through space and time. However, the book is more of a dreamy fantasy than science fiction.

To freshen up the “fish out of water” trope, author Leon Stev “The View From Here” tag line “What would you do if you found yourself on or in another world? Do you have the skills and knowledge needed to survive or to make sense of what you see?” whets the appetite for a gritty survival story set either in another dimension co-existing with Earth’s or on another world that connects to Earth via a tunnel through space and time. However, the book is more of a dreamy fantasy than science fiction.

To freshen up the “fish out of water” trope, author Leon Stevens introduces an older hiker named Thomas as the main protagonist. Not bad, until Thomas mouths almost Andy Weir-style dialogue when he says, “I’m going to totally MacGyver this thing,” and “[grabs] a T-shirt, duct tape, a plastic bag and … knife” (to solve a problem). And an equally shoot-from-the-hip hiker, April, serves as Thomas’s tour guide through an otherworldly land of water that tastes like wine, with wacky constellations above (“The Tower,” “The Twisty Snake,” “The Giraffe,” and others), and redwoods and desert scrub coexisting below.

Despite a surreal sense of place, to be sure, this story lacks the necessary suspense and thrills of a true adventure. Things crawl along until the appearance of indigenous being “Flick,” the third character. Until then, both humans’ tones become interchangeable (except for gender), with one wisecrack after another trying to liven up the exposition. Interacting with a totally different being helps the pace pick up, but there’s still no reason to believe anyone is in any imminent danger. In fact, there’s the sense that there’s no real antagonist in this “survival story.” Thus, what essential “skills and knowledge [are] needed to survive?"

“The View From Here” affords a 2-star outlook for good editing and its poet-author’s ability to create a palpable sense of place. But if you’re expecting memorable or unique characters, you’re out of luck. If your idea of “survival” is a gripping test of the fittest or “sci-fi” as Arthur C. Clarke originality or meticulous Isaac Asimov plotting, then “The View From Here” will also disappoint. If you want wise-cracking hiking posing as a trek, this might be to your liking.
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May 02, 2022 Leon Stevens added it · (Review from the author)

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