Diverging Streams: A Journey Through Time and Alternate Realities
I was very excited to get a review copy of this book from Earl L Carlson. The intriguing cover and the book description drew me right in, and I knew I wanted to see more. I also really love books that travel through time. Read on to hear my thoughts in this spoiler-free review!
Diverging Streams is one of the few books that successfully combines philosophical contemplation, emotional closeness, and scientific imagination. The third edition of this time-slip journey by Earl L. Carlson is a broad investigation of quantum possibilities encased in a profoundly human love tale. What starts out as a sweet teenage relationship in 1952 develops into a lifetime of entanglement across dimensions, timelines, and potential lives.
Fundamentally, the book centers on Haskell and Jennifer, two young teenagers whose naive romance is suddenly destroyed by catastrophe. Carlson’s skill at creating an immersive atmosphere is evident in the first few chapters, which feature frozen rivers, skating rinks in northern Minnesota, and the charged calm of adolescence that makes every little moment shine. Their first kiss, which foreshadows all the book will become, is so vividly depicted that it seems to be suspended in time.
Carlson, however, avoids dwelling on nostalgia. Rather, the narrative jumps ahead twenty years, and a second accident brings the two back together in a startling way: they learn they can travel across time, not just along one timeline, but between them. They are able to leap forward, backward, and “sideways” into different histories when their awareness escapes their body. This narrative jump is audacious, unexpected, and carried out with a self-assured sense of amazement.
This whole concept was mind-blowing to me, and I was drawn into every line, to see what happens next. I also got a kick out of the dedication. I’ve only been to Minnesota once – and it was in the middle of an especially frigid winter.
Carlson treats time as a living, branching organism that is three-dimensional, infinite, and constantly dividing. He bases this theoretical framework on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics. This is something I have studied before in-depth, and I love how the author tied this into the story.
He employs this physics idea as a metaphor for human connection, remorse, and the compelling question of “what if” without than overloading the reader with technical terms. So, you don’t have to be someone who has studied quantum physics to get this story, but if you do have a little background in that, you’ll like it even more.
As the narrative progresses, Haskell and Jennifer start to resemble nomads, seeing significant historical occurrences, catching glimpses of potential lives, and dealing with the emotional fallout from decisions made – and not taken. When the novel focuses on that emotional core – two individuals attempting to figure out who they are in a universe where every variation of themselves exists somewhere – it is at its strongest.
Carlson’s ability to make the unusual seem personal really drew me in. His writing blends intellectual reflection, sardonic humor, and a deep love for his characters. The work has a cadence that feels both contemporary and timeless as scenes effortlessly transition from the hilarious turmoil of a bar fight in Minneapolis to periods of existential contemplation. This also makes it very relatable, as you mesh with the characters themselves and find yourself rooting for them.
Additionally, Carlson’s concentration is on empathy and memory – how a single moment may reverberate for a lifetime and how love can become its own anchor in the shifting currents of reality – while time-travel fiction frequently leans toward paradox and spectacle. This impressed me the most, overall.
Final Thoughts
Diverging Streams is a wonderfully nontraditional story that combines elements of romance, physics experiment, and fate meditation. It’s the kind of book that sticks with you and makes you reevaluate how your own life has turned out and the hidden paths that brought you to this point. Any reader who likes stories that celebrate the human heart and transcend time should have a copy of Carlson’s work on their bookshelves. It is thoughtful, warm, and incredibly imaginative.
5 stars from me! You can get it for yourself on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.