New book series

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

So I am on book 6 of a series (which the author says is the last of the story line but not the end of the overall universe).  And I am going to recommend the series to fantasy/sci-fi readers out there.  What is interesting is what caught my eye about the series in the first place was that when I picked up one of the books in the library there was a recommendation from Paul Krugman of all people.  I figured that if my favorite economics/politics commentator likes a fiction series that is more than strong enough of a recommendation for me.

The link is for the latest book, but again it is a 6 book series so you will want to go back to book 1 to start at the beginning.  And this is not the type of series where you can jump in pretty much any where like the Dresden Files books.  No you really need to have read books 1-5 before starting book 6. 

It's hard to describe the books without giving too much away.  The overall plot is simple: there are mirror worlds to ours, with the cultures and civilizations in different stages of economic development.  And there is a group of people who are born with a special ability to cross into the different worlds.  But what the writer does with that power and the consequences and potential of that ability is pretty amazing.   The layered plots and plotting of the characters is on par with anything I have ever read.  By this point (just starting book 6) I almost want to create a visio file to track all of the characters and their different plots and motivations.  And the writer does a really good job of keeping a lot of things hidden, so you don't see the results of a seed planted early in the book sprout until the end.  And every book ends in a pretty major cliffhanger, so be prepared, get all the books at once if possible or place the next one on hold as soon as you get one from the library.

And it is clear why Krugman likes the books because there is some fascinating exploration into the economics of mercantilism versus capitalism.  And some general ideas on politics and the politics of modern revolutions which are also quite interesting to read and explore. 

So, overall a very good and fun series to read, so long as you are into this type of fiction.