Weekly Reader: Cryptic Spaces Book One: Foresight by Deen Ferrell; Captivating Science Fiction and Fantasy Combines Mathematics, Magic, and Time Travel to Make An Incredible Journey

 Weekly Reader: Cryptic Spaces Book One: Foresight by Deen Ferrell; Captivating Science Fiction and Fantasy Combines Mathematics, Magic, and Time Travel to Make An Incredible Journey 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: One could describe Deen Ferrell’s Foresight, the first book in the  Cryptic Spaces series, as the Thinking Person’s Fantasy Adventure. It is the kind of book that shows characters with supernatural gifts, but instead of citing them as magic or psychic abilities, they are more symptoms of an intellectual deep thinking mind. It is a captivating journey of the mind and spirit.

Willoughby Von Brahmer is an eccentric teen prodigy with some very unique gifts. He can see numbers and patterns all around him and because of that, he can recognize mathematical equations and solutions. He is obsessed with looking at what he calls “the spaces between,” those areas of emptiness between solid objects like alleys between buildings, the cracks on a cement or painted surface, or the space between leaves on a tree branch. These spaces seem to tell him something and make him feel like he is being observed. He is also responsible for solving the Riemann Hypothesis, a mathematical equation once thought unsolvable. 

Unfortunately, Willoughby is something of a social misfit. He has very few friends, does not always get along with his seemingly normal family, has questions about his missing father, and gets tongue tied around girls. Even a picture of renowned violinist Sydney Senoya makes him flush with embarrassment and nervousness. In fact, his only friend is Antonio, a talkative friendly barber who dispenses some brotherly advice to the kid genius. Willoughby is definitely someone who lives inside his own head more than anywhere else.

Willoughby soon comes to learn that inside his own head is not the safest place to be either because he is starting to see people appearing and disappearing through those in between spaces. Some are even watching him and want to harm him. He also sees certain numbers shine more than others like they are pointing him towards a code or a specific pattern.

He follows the number patterns and between spaces to the headquarters of Cryptic Spaces, a secret society that travels through time, and studies and solves mysteries and puzzles that have eluded experts for centuries. Willoughby is invited to join this group by its enigmatic leader, H.S.  The offer is tempting and before he knows it, Willoughby finds himself onboard a windjammer, The Absconditus, heading for the high seas with the other Cryptics. They include Antonio who is not just a barber but an architectural genius, Sydney, who has a hypnotic mesmerizing way of playing her violin and a gift for languages, Dr. James Arthur “Dr. J” Washington, the kindly physically fit medical doctor, Dr. Hugh O’Grady, a nervous expert on string theory, and T.K., the cabin girl assigned to watch this band of genius misfits. The Cryptics' latest assignment is to travel back to the 16th century and encounter the famed seer, Nostradamus but unfortunately they are not alone. They are being followed by another more sinister group that has been very interested in their doings since Willoughby joined them and are hot on the trail of the young math genius.

Cryptic Spaces is a book that activates the mind and imagination by fusing science and magic, reason and romance to make a perfect blend of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Adventure. While mathematical concepts are explained in detail, they are done in a way that is not only understandable but poetic. There is something genuinely beautiful about the concept of someone seeing mathematical patterns that form in the air and realize how connected everything is by a specific design and structure. It's a visually appealing thought that makes Cryptic Spaces not only a good book to read but a beautiful work to imagine. When the characters discuss for example the Golden Mean, they reveal that they are able to capture the golden strings that it emits and travel along the streams through time.

Even if you aren't a Math person, you will still find this book to be a work of art and imagination.

There are plenty of awe inspiring moments spread throughout the book. How does H.S. convince Willoughby that he is on the level and the Cryptics really do time travel? Why show him a Jurassic era sea complete with plesiosaur of course. There are some interesting possibilities about the alleged prophecies of Nostradamus and how exactly he knew so much about the future, possibilities that had better be followed up on.

The way that characters travel through those in between spaces is an interesting concept. It's like that person that you barely see out of the corner of your eye and they quickly disappear. These abilities are impressive but could make one doubt their sanity. Of course it doesn't help that you're not paranoid. Those characters that pop in and out of your line of sight really are trying to recruit or kill you!

Foresight is the typical first book in the series where the core characters meet, get to know each other, show their special gifts, and ongoing conflicts are introduced that trail throughout the series. Romances bloom and friendships are made. The Cryptics are a fascinating bunch with diverse talents and peculiarities. Sometimes they make others suspicious. H.S.’s motives are particularly questionable and characters wonder more than once what his real goals and intentions are. There is also an attack and betrayal comes from a familiar face. Most of this is routine for a first book. But with a concept like this and a fascinating ensemble like the Cryptics, the formula works well.

Cryptic Spaces combines the reason of mathematics, the imagination of fantasy, the wonder of science fiction, and the thrill of adventure to make one of the best books of 2023.