The Frequency of Long Shadows is a captivating blend of poignant insight and humor, presenting a fresh take on the impacts of multiverse travel. At its heart, the book examines the tantalizing possibility of discovering a world where one could fully realize their potential—and what it might mean if everyone could.

The narrative centers on Orson, a naturally inquisitive protagonist whose social awkwardness makes him a perfect lens through which the reader explores an alternate world. In this reality, Russia never acquired nuclear capabilities, setting the stage for imaginative world-building that both intrigues and immerses the reader. Orson’s personal journey and character growth are skillfully intertwined with interesting tidbits about how things have gone differently in this "branch".

My favorite character is 8008, an Artificial Detective Partner whose charming humor and investigative skills provide both levity and thought provoking questions about the nature of intelligence and sentience. While the romance is a minor subplot, its subtle handling hints at promising developments in future installments of the series.

Overall, The Frequency of Long Shadows poses thought-provoking questions about individual potential and the boundless progress that could be achieved if the brightest minds from every possible world were brought together. This engaging mix of speculative fiction, humor, and introspection makes for an unforgettable read.

The Frequency of Long Shadows is richly imagined, but often too intellectual and emotionally guarded to feel immersive. I admire what it’s doing — but I didn’t feel pulled in.

It's a novel that fires on all technical cylinders - world-building, check. Intricate themes, check. But it still left me feeling... bored. It feels like more of an intellectual exercise than an emotional journey.

The premise was exciting - a father-son trip across the multiverse! But the early chapters are slow and heady. It's heavy on set-up and theory before you get a sense of what really matters emotionally or narratively.

The father is also a mystery for much of the book and their relationship feels buried under theory and setup so their dynamic feels kind of clumsy. I don't feel the love or the hate or anything in between.

So if you want something that requires careful reading and explores high-concept ideas, then The Frequency of Long Shadows might be your thing. But if you're a character-driven reader or need urgent stakes, then this one might feel slow.

I tend to be more of a fantasy reader than sci fi, but this book surprised me for the better.

I think of it as having a fantasy payoff (emotional, surprising, heavy-hitting ending, slow burn romance) with a sci fi setting (alternate history, interdimensional travel, robot detective, political conspiracy). The science parts are accessible and the world building is detailed, but the characters have depth and the book is not actually about the sci fi parts. Orson goes an adventure to another dimension, which happens to be a post-scarcity version of America, and falls smack into the middle of a political conspiracy, finding himself and making friends along the way.

The Frequency of Long Shadows feels more like a poignant coming of age that is ultimately about finding your place in the world vs heavy sci fi, and this was a big positive for me. I was not always sure where the political intrigue was going, but it pulled me along and I could not put it down when it came to the last few chapters. Mind-blowing ending that I was not able to predict, and satisfying romantic developments left a good impression; I hope the author doesn’t take too long with the next book.

The book started slow for me, but it picked up well once we hit the alternate reality. I liked the world-building and the shifting POV. Some of the connection to the current political environment was well-done because it was understated and not "in your face".

I got to about 114 pages and decided to DNF this book. First things first; I could have finished for it was a readable book but my preference is not too many details in the actual story. And this book has very specific details and science that is just too much for my reading tastes. The book went to slow because of that reason for me and I just couldn't care what happened anymore. If the book cut out most of the details and went straight to the point, the story would of been intriguing enough for me to continue. I would only suggest this book for readers who like the minute details of a story.

An interesting premise of an alternate United States, one where it has truly become a global power and conquered the globe. This political thriller follows Orson Fletcher as he tries to navigate this new world and untangles webs about his father and the state of this world.

This story will interest fans of political intrigue and alternate realities. I'd be interested in seeing this author pursue similar themes in future stories.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the concept of a neurodivergent author at first because it seemed more like an attempt to use recent Internet trends to define a character but as the novel progressed it was a key reason for decisions by other characters. I also wasn't the largest fan of the father character but again, the framing from the protagonist made sense in the end. I also enjoyed the world building (lots of Merchant Princes vibes) and the interesting political dynamics. I will flag some of the political dynamics don't make sense particularly in driving urgency or danger as mostly one side is involved until the end despite many characters underscoring the importance of balance and peace between the two major parties (also the writing in the beginning should be clearer on the two sides).