Title: Quantum Mortality
Author: Jenesis Prioleau
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 979-8-3694-3341-6
Pages: 344
Genre: Science Fiction
Reviewer: Jason Lulos

Read Book Review

Imagine a reality in which a person’s consciousness never really dies. It simply shifts, like energy, perhaps to other dimensions and other worlds. This is the crux of author Jenesis Prioleau’s imaginative reality in Quantum Mortality. This novel is a unique balance of quantum physics, spirituality, and familial connection. The story begins when tragedy strikes a typical, loving family. What ensues is a series of surreal journeys where chosen individuals aim to restore metaphysical balance in the realms of consciousness.

Kenya and her son Levi, having lost their father, Jiovanni, to an accident one year ago, are getting ready for their day. Levi’s friend, Natalia, arrives to walk Levi to school. Levi is involved in an accident, leaving him in a coma. While in this state, he mentally travels to dreamlike worlds, poetically and beautifully described by Prioleau, where he learns he has an inherited metaphysical gift. His consciousness, untethered to his body in the hospital, roams in this “in-between-worlds” domain where he finds doors with eccentric symbols and cosmic landscapes. Unlike Alice In Wonderland, his guide is not an absurdist Cheshire Cat, but rather a glittering, silver-haired, angelic woman who gives him sage advice like the Oracle at Delphi.

While Kenya prays for Levi in the hospital, she recalls Levi’s incessant drawing in his sketchbooks which contain images of those otherworldly places, ethereal doors, and bizarre etchings. She remembers her mother telling her about the family’s “gift” and realizes that embracing this gift of walking between worlds might be the key to bringing Levi back. But this is complicated when a consciousness switches or gets stuck in another body in a parallel dimension. Can Kenya bring him back or will this be a never-ending journey through the infinite possibilities of the multiverse?

Quantum Mortality is an entertaining read with a dreamlike quality. The scientific aspect of multiple realities is presented in a mythical or even spiritual way. There is an interesting juxtaposition of “normal” reality and the realm of pure consciousness. Levi will be in a fantastical and surreal dimension and then he is stuck in another person’s life, trying to play that role, with the repetitive nature and redundant tasks of daily life. Despite the magical quality of the book overall, this stark comparison between living in a “normal” reality and floating in the dreamlike frontier of pure consciousness is oddly realistic. Ultimately, the substance of the story is held together by the inherent connection of family. Some would say the book ends fittingly. Others might say the book ends with the hint of a sequel. Although the title, Quantum Mortality, suggests a readership primarily in science fiction, the story also has the appealing quality of a family fairytale.   Quantum Mortality is a bold, cerebral sci-fi novel about what happens when science answers questions we were never meant to ask.