Book Review: Points of Origin by E. S. Fein

Book Blurb

Amero wakes from an eerily familiar dream in an unfamiliar bed.

Within hours, he is forced onto an experimental craft and jettisoned across the galaxy alongside a mysterious, potentially homicidal man named Hann.

Finding themselves in a strange yet familiar spacetime, the men are told by suspicious entities to hunt for Points, strange objects no larger than one's thumb, which are spread across the cosmos by unknown means.

The purpose of the hunt is unknown. The purpose of the Points is unknown.

All Amero wants is to return to his dead-end life. All Hann wants is to hunt down and destroy those responsible for his predicament.

It will take a journey to the end of time itself and beyond the boundaries of every universe to know the truth--to witness the light behind the veil...for better or worse.

Overall Analysis of Points of Origin

Points of Origin by E. S. Fein is like stepping into a calm ocean, only to find yourself completely unprepared for the sudden drop that plunges you six thousand feet into the depths below. Having read some of his other works, I was ready for the existential dilemmas and hard, unforgiving science fiction that lay ahead, but for the uninitiated, know that what the blurb reveals is only a single drop in an ocean of deeply cerebral sci-fi.

The novel follows the universe-spanning journey of Amero and Hann, two characters so deeply at odds it’s often hard to tell which one is meant to be the protagonist. Distancing themselves from a dystopian, fanatically religious regime that condemns their existence as members of the LGBTQ+ community, you might expect them to find solace in each other’s company, but instead, the reader is met with a mounting tension that runs deeper than what one would anticipate between two strangers, leading to speculation that perhaps there is more to their identities than they let on.

What I found to be Fein’s greatest strength in this novel, perhaps even more than the intricate, mind-bending worldbuilding, is the characterization. Each character moves through the story convinced that logic and truth are on their side, a dynamic that feels reflective of our own world. Even more compelling is the portrayal of Amero, whose decision-making remains profoundly human. Despite facing consequences that ripple across an incomprehensible scale, he responds not as a mythic hero, but as a person: emotional and flawed. He is tethered by human impulses, which adds a personal element to this otherwise intensely metaphysical, reality-bending adventure.

What I truly appreciate is that Fein takes the time to unpack the metaphysics of the world he’s created. As someone who can barely wrap their head around the concept of time zones, I found his explanations complex enough to be fascinating, yet accessible enough that even I could follow along without needing a master’s in theoretical physics. That is not to say I didn’t have to backtrack and reread a few times.

Final Thoughts

This is the fifth book I’ve read by E. S. Fein, and he continues to impress. It’s hard to believe this is his debut, as it reads like a novel of a seasoned career author. Yet, this is a book that requires your undivided attention. This is an undertaking for those who want to slowly digest a complex tangle of philosophical and transcendental ideology rather than binge some light-hearted speculative fiction. This book is intellectually stimulating while also remaining entertaining. It’s a bit like taking shrooms: You can perceive the familiar, but Points of Origins unwinds your interpretation in surprising and unique ways.