Book Review: A Space Between Worlds Vol. 1: Conception

A Space Between Worlds Vol. 1: Conception. J.D. Woodson. Royal James Publishing, October 18, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 275 pages.

A Space Between Worlds is a story of life and death, reincarnation and regeneration. In a world—or rather, several worlds—of fantasy and shadow, the two principle characters must delve into pasts they did not know they harbored in order to save themselves from an endless cycle of death and forgetfulness. At least, this appears to be the goal. Although the concept of J.D. Woodson’s novel is original and captivating, it is not clear what exactly is gained when this cycle is broken or how remembering their pasts will help this goal.

Unfortunately, the lack of clear goal results in a somewhat directionless plot that is bogged down even further by the scant amount of exposition. 

For a book that revolves around a rich fantasy setting, the numerous fictional worlds lack detail, color, and depth, as well any distinctive or meaningful characters. Even the recurring characters seem unconcerned with relationships and goals unique to the settings they find themselves in, which renders the worlds almost meaningless. Only near the end of the book does a newly created world get a singular history, backstory, and folklore. While it is certainly one of the more enjoyable parts of the novel to read, all of that exposition is delivered in one twelve-page spread and the world it describes is one the reader never gets to truly see, as the book ends before any real interaction with it happens.

The dialogue, at times, can feel like a string of soliloquys more than interplay between characters, as much of it takes up a paragraph or more of one character speaking at a time. When questions are asked, many of the characters stall for a sentence or two by insulting the other character’s intelligence and expressing disbelief that they do not already know the answer to the question that was asked, which slows the pace. There are some clever deliveries and interesting personalities hidden in the dialogue, but it can be hard to find underneath the repetition, the vagueness, and the needlessly flowery language.

Fantasy novels can be excellent vessels for beautiful, archaic language, but A Space Between Worlds often tries too hard. J.D. Woodson is an eloquent writer, but when nearly every sentence is crafted to be long and rich in vocabulary, the effect is daunting and runs the risk of confusing readers. Many descriptions would have been better served by a straightforward delivery, and the dialogue especially would have been more effective if it had not sought to mimic the prose. With the exception of one character who was given a trademark phrase “I’ll say” and a lighter to play with in between dialogue, most of the characters sound the same. Many of the problems concerning the lack of exposition and distinctiveness might have been fixed with the tweaking of language.

J.D. Woodson has an enviable imagination and was clearly born to be a storyteller. A Space Between Worlds, Vol 1: Conception is his debut novel, and while it makes many missteps, Woodson clearly has the drive and the creativity for a bright future. A Space Between Worlds is for anyone who loves the interplay between past, present, and future, and for anyone with an appreciation for philosophy.