Echoes of Oblivion Review

 I thoroughly enjoyed Echoes of Oblivion by Charleston Lim. Echoes of Oblivion details a chain of events that drastically change the life of university student, Robert Fletcher. Robert inadvertently changes the world’s history when he uncovers the research of a dead professor.

Echoes of Oblivion is a science fiction novel that I have a hard time placing into a secondary category. It is sometimes a mystery, and at others a thriller, but I feel that it is always thoughtful and insightful. The journey is not breakneck in its pace, but instead takes its time, always allowing the reader to read calmly and carefully. I never found my palms sweating, but numerous times did I want to keep reading to see what would happen next.

It is hard to pin down exactly why I found this book so easy to read. I think part of it is the formatting. I can’t think of a time when I ever encountered a block of text (such as this one). Which is to say, I believe Charleston avoids overly descriptive scenes or jarring exposition. Reflecting, I believe that Charleston nearly always addressed scenes and topics from the protagonists’ point of view. Perhaps due to this, the text seems to reflect the protagonists’ thought processes, with its natural pauses and rhythms. 

These pauses and rhythms did actually irk me from time to time. In my literary journey, I have become accustomed to lines of dialogue attributed to an individual being grouped in a paragraph. Not so with Charleston’s writing. No, with Echoes of Oblivion, a single character may speak uninterrupted from one paragraph to the next. However, this is a minor pet peeve of mine, and something I’m sure will not bother other readers as much.

If the book is guilty of any other faults, I found it contained what I considered a few tropes and cliches, but the plot was not one of them. Perhaps I am not as well-versed in science fiction as I would like to believe, but I often found it quite difficult to ascertain where the plot would be headed next.

I apologize for not revealing more of the premise, but it seems each step of the story has its own twists, turns, and reveals, so I’ll leave it to the reader to enjoy it themselves. I will note, however, that the book does end on one particular type of cliche that I thought fit wonderfully.

In summary, I believe you will enjoy this book. I am probably giving my biased opinion as one who enjoys fantasy, science fiction, and mystery, but I believe that this book can find its way into anyone’s library.

Length: 313

Perspective: 3rd person, limited

Tense: past

Kindle Unlimited: No

Where to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Echoes-Oblivion-Charleston-Lim-ebook/dp/B0F4P67XYJ/