''In Other Worlds'' is a 1985 novel by American writer

A. A. Attanasio Alfred Angelo Attanasio, born on September 20, 1951, in Newark, New Jersey, is an author of fantasy and science fiction. His science fiction novel ''Radix'', winner of the French literary award, the Prix Cosmos 2000, was also nominated for the ...

, the second in his

Radix Tetrad ''The Radix Tetrad'' is a group of four science fiction books by A. A. Attanasio. The first novel, the Nebula Award-nominated ''Radix'', was published in 1981, and the last novel, ''The Last Legends of Earth'', was published in 1989. All four bo ...

. It contains humans, zōtl, Rimstalkers, other spatial dimensions, and time-travel/temporal distortion as do other novels in the Radix series, though they are re-envisioned.

Plot

Carl Schirmer's life is transformed when he is turned into energy by an eighth-dimensional being and transported to a faraway world at the edge of a

black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...

. What follows is a thrilling ride similar to

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

involving a woman from the end of time, a man who can live off sunlight, and an alternate, paradisaical Earth in which World War II never happened.

Characters

*Carl Schirmer: An

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

who is abducted and transformed by the Eld Skyle. A reluctant hero who soon learns to wield a laser baton, fly a rocket ship, and find true love. *Eld Skyle: An eighth-dimensional life-form who feeds on the imperfections of other life-forms, transforming them into idealized versions of their former selves. *Evoë: A denizen of the strange world the Eld Skyle brings Carl to. *Zee: A friend of Carl's who discovers key secrets to the universe.

External links

*{{Isfdb title, id=759 1985 American novels American science fiction novels 1985 science fiction novels