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Aug 21, 2017rpavlacic rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I am not normally a fan of science fiction. But when I read the book flaps of this book on display at the library, I thought it deserved a shot, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Written by two leading authors - one, a science fiction writer, and the other, primarily a historical fiction scribe - "The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O." describes what happens when a linguist of ancient languages has a chance encounter with an operative of a secret military division, who is trying to bring back the art of witchcraft, which somehow declined during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, before disappearing all together during the 1851 World's Fair. To do so, the protagonist and several other operatives must travel back in time, repeatedly and undoing history, to tilt events in the favour of witches - and building a network of witches crossing through time who are willing to cooperate with the messengers from the future. But in so doing, going back to the same places over and over, multiple parallel universes are created and the rush is on to save time as we know it before everything collapses. The story is told from the perspective of several characters, e-mail threads and even an epic poem about a day in the life of a Viking visiting a Walmart that is simply hilarious. Not a one day read, but the reader will enjoy it if he or she manages to keep track of the often contradictory plot lines.