This is why we write books

Review by: Australwind on June 24, 2012 :     
I received The Traveler's Companion as a LibraryThing Member's Giveaway and it finally gave me some hope for the future of writing and self publishing! This was definitely the sort of complexity and depth I was looking for - a book that would have stood tall amongst its fellows on the shelf in a library or bookshop.

Each of the main characters was well developed, including the clone/robot Angela, to a level where you are invited to like or hate, trust or fear, engage with their internal struggles as they are played out on the page.

The science of this science fiction seemed well researched and presented in a manner that was not too complex nor distancing of the reader. I found the underlying theme of the power of love, grief and loss as untapped sources of human creativity within this "world" to be quite resonant especially given I am an artist. The concept that this power could be harnessed to replicate our world including those we love in another Zone is not too great a reach from the bounds of possibility and this therefore made the story a whole lot more accessible.

Nice work, Mr Chater.