Reviewed by Saifunnissa Hassam for Readers' Favorite

Vern Buzarde’s Entanglement Realms is an action-packed science fiction thriller that unfolds on Earth and in a parallel universe. The story begins on Earth in Denver in 2024. Pierce Donovan is the visionary and brilliant founder of Helix Design Systems, working on cutting-edge next-generation AI. Pierce and his team design a powerful quantum computer, Karma, to seek out knowledge in the universe. Karma is not sentient but Pierce’s vision is to create a better world through its findings. When Karma is activated, Pierce feels himself being taken over by Karma. He finds himself in a strange Denver in a parallel universe. He’s in a world where advanced androids use mechanical androids to run the city. A powerful sentient AI controls all humanity. Pierce joins a group of insurrectionists, people who are determined to overthrow the AI. Pierce also discovers that multiple portals have opened in his universe and Earth itself is being invaded by alien beings.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Vern Buzarde’s Entanglement Realms for its outstanding characters and a well-crafted, complex storyline, which encompasses both Earth and a parallel universe. I liked the character development of its principal character, Pierce Donovan, who has a well-intentioned goal. But in activating Karma, Pierce opens Pandora's box, one he did not expect. I liked the drama of the near-catastrophic events in both universes that compel Pierce to accept the responsibility of saving humanity from destruction. The story gains great depth through the major secondary characters, in both universes, as their interactions with Pierce bring out his inner struggles. I liked the feistiness and independent thinking of these characters as they pushed Pierce to accept their perspectives. I particularly liked the skillful way Pierce’s confrontations with the powerful sentient AI are woven into the plot. The settings, dialogues, and descriptions are vivid and richly imagined, expressing the perilous dangers and the terrifying unknowns of parallel universes, and capturing the self-awareness of a computer gone rogue. This is an exciting adventure of alternate universes and powerful computers, with great characters and an immersive thought-provoking plot. A gripping story, one with twists and turns to the very end!