"The Man Who Turned Into Himself" by David Ambrose

Ever since ‘Superstition” I’ve been hooked on David, so to speak. Reason? Because “Superstition” defied even the conventional expectations for what some may call a ‘mind-boggling’ novel. But this review is not about “Superstition”. It’s about David Ambrose’s first novel ‘The Man Who Turned Into Himself”. What can I say? For a first novel, the book is good (not exceptional). Having read some of his other works, I can almost see the progression of his writing and creative skills from good, to better. (“Coincidence” and “The Discrete Charm of Charlie Monk” deserve special mentioning).

Like his other novels, “The Man Who Turned Into Himself” incorporates scientific theories, employs extraordinary twists, and leaves the reader in admiration of the author’s bizarre imagination. ‘Rick’, ‘Richard’ and one other nameless character own the center stage of the book. Yes, they are three separate individuals, and yes, they are one and the same man, except all three converge into the mind of each and even physically manifest themselves within the reality of each. Confused? Not to worry, David Ambrose has taken good care of describing how that’s possible by attributing these intricate supernatural occurrences to the world of the quanta (the still little know and much less understood universe of the building block of everything around us). The story is remarkable; I congratulate David Ambrose on his labor. I must say, parallel universes and the resulting human behavior (as a byproduct of mastering the capacity to travel between them) deserved a story of their own and I believe this book is that story. However, despite the exceptional tale and the author’s superhuman attempt to ease the readers into it, something lacked. What lacked was the eeriness with which his latter novels petrify the observers. Who could resist the shivering sensation when Professor Sam Towne and Joanna Cross find themselves in a reality slowly erasing their existence, which they themselves created in the first place (See “Superstition’). Well, this same sensation never quite materialized in ‘The Man Who Turned Into Himself’ and I really really missed it. Regardless, for the lovers of the odd, this book may be engaging enough.

- by Simon Cleveland