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Chris Durston

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Each Little Universe Kindle Edition

by Chris Durston (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 32 ratings

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If Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett had written an earnestly nerdy story in a setting running on the ridiculous logic of Scott Pilgrim, it might have come out something like this.

For two oddball inventors, taking care of an unexpected new arrival - a girl from the stars - is hard enough. Dealing with the things that want her back may turn out to be harder.

A story about love in all its forms (but not a love story), Each Little Universe asks big questions through familiar lenses, treating video games, wrestling, and pop culture with equal gravity to questions about what it means to be human and how we each find a place for ourselves in a big, strange cosmos.

Fans of Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere, American Gods), Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim, Seconds), and Haruki Murakami (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Killing Commendatore) will love this story, set in a world very much like our own but a little more
strange, and the unusual take it offers on life, the human experience, and cats.

Praise from readers: 'Chris Durston refuses to be dull.' - 'You'll laugh. A lot. You might even cry.' - 'If you want to meet some characters that will stay with you for, quite possibly, the rest of your life, I highly recommend this gem of a book.' - 'This is one of the most out-there-in-a-good-way stories I’ve ever had the honor of reading.' - 'It was a great read from open to close.'

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A quirky, refreshing story full of British whimsy ... part fish out of water sci-fi adventure, part irreverent slice of life comedy, and full enjoyable read" - Rory Michaelson, author of the Lesser Known Monsters series

"A fun ride packed with jokes, nerdy references, satire, and little moments that make you think" - Sarah Bell, author of The Murder Next Door

"If you want to meet some characters that will stay with you for, quite possibly, the rest of your life, I highly recommend this gem of a book" - Darby Cupid, author of Cupids & Chaos

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09HPWC43X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Skullgate Media; 2nd edition (October 30, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3833 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 332 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1656968223

Best Sellers Rank: #1,982,503 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #11,528 in Magical Realism
- #75,293 in Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #144,424 in Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 32 ratings

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Chris Durston

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‘Chris Durston refuses to be dull … He doesn’t see the point of writing a story if he can’t take full advantage of the medium and do things within that medium that can’t be done in any other.’

From Devon, in the South West of England, Chris Durston has always wanted to be a writer and only just got around to doing anything about it. Each Little Universe is his debut novel, initially conceived while studying English literature and philosophy at Cardiff University and finally published five years later.

He is now working on too many projects and hopes to have some of them finished before too long; in the meantime, shorter pieces can be found in a range of anthologies and collections. He's also somehow become a founding member of Skullgate Media, an independent writers' collective cum indie publisher.

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4.5 out of 5

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Chris Keck

Quirky Outrageous Fun

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2023

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The plot embraces the bizarre and provides a reason to run with it. The characters provide a cozy slice-of-life experience including puns, cats, and philosophical musings—then train to solve their problems using role playing and video games. There is a fair amount of violence in the middle (although mostly of the professional wrestling variety) but whimsical inventions and surreal negotiations wrap loose threads neatly together by the end.

This would make a fun TV series (possibly animated). I particularly recommend it for readers who enjoyed Stardust by Neil Gaiman or The Hereafter Bytes by Vincent Scott.

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R. W. Reimer

A glazed window onto a small reality

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2020

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I liked this story a lot because of its near-ness to reality. It felt as if it were actually happening, but with a small piece askew. The piece wasn’t a fault, but rather a perspective, and it was interesting viewing it that way.
The characters were fleshed out really well, and I identified with them strongly, like different parts of a personality.
Excited to read more by the author!

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PantsFace

Unique, lighthearted seriousness that feels like hanging out with old friends

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2020

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A very enjoyable read. It gave me a comfortable feeling inside, like when you see friends for the first time in a long time, if that makes sense. The characters all felt like actual people I've known in my life, which was refreshing. The story was unique and kept me guessing, and when it was over, I felt a little sad to say goodbye to the characters. A great mix of fantasy and realism that allows for some real humor, as well as cleverly subtle thought-provoking questions.

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Jayme B.

A quirky philosophical adventure...with nerds!

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2022

This book was the quirky, fun, and cerebral read I needed. Durston does an incredible job at presenting big questions and themes while providing a nerdy and silly sandbox to ask them in. Each Little Universe is, at heart, a story of discovering where you fit in the puzzle that is the universe and how we all are strangely and serendipitously there together. It’s less plot-based and more being a fly on the wall to the curious happenstances of the main cast of characters. After finding a girl who has come from the stars (akin to STARDUST), who is marvelously David Bowie-esque in appearance, our dynamic duo Veggie and TM set about to…well, continue on the merry way but with an extraterrestrial in tow. The humor is delightfully British and pun-tastic. I appreciate how the characters acknowledge their own silliness, and it reminded me a lot of how I am with my friends when we’re goofing around and being ourselves while battling real life dilemmas. It’s not ALL fun and games, though. When they realize the consequences of a life from the stars taking a vacation to Earth, things ramp up into a non-stop adventure. Overall, it is a marvelous story on friendship, philosophy, video games, and life itself. It’s a relaxing read, where you can just sit and enjoy being along for the ride without having to worry about complexities and subplots. I definitely recommend this if you enjoy British humor and tone, nerd culture, or merely reading for the pleasure of the act itself.

Helpful

Chapel Orahamm

Unquantifiably Brilliant

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2021

Bluntly honest here, I have no clue what just happened. I got into this thing expecting to do a review of the structure and style and instead ended up reading the thing in one go and am having a hard time figuring out how to compare it to anything. It's good. It's really good. That doesn't explain much, other than I wish there was more content like it.

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AmphipodGirl

quirky found family have a meandering adventure

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2023

This is a pleasant, whimsical book with lots of slice-of-life and found family vibes. It has lots of cultural touchstones, many of them nerdy in some way or other, including TTRPG, video games, pro wrestling, philosophy and lit crit theory, and David Bowie. I happen to have no strong connection to any of those despite being pretty nerdy myself; the book may have a stronger appeal to people who relate closely to one or more of those topics.

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Erica Warren

Ridiculous and Ridiculously Enjoyable!

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2021

This story is completely ridiculous and I loved it!

It's also utterly hilarious. I got such a profound sense of the author, Chris Durston's, personality because his quirky, unique voice really shines through the characters.

I think the biggest reason this strange book works so well is that it acknowledges its own ridiculousness. Every once in a while you see the characters come back to touch reality for a moment, and it's a bit sobering when that happens.

It's kind of tough to condense this book into a simple explanation for two reasons:

1. The plot is so wildly unpredictable. In terms of what could come next, nothing is off limits. It really is like riding the dumbest roller coaster ever and enjoying every minute of it.

2. While on the surface the characters seem to just float through life playing games and acting like buffoons, there's some really deep stuff happening underneath. A lot of weirdly philosophical thoughts pop up in random, seemingly vapid situations, making you consider those big metaphysical questions and how they relate to not only the characters but also to you. And at the heart of the story is a portrait of love and friendship so deep it makes your heart ache a little bit.

I felt like I knew the characters right from the start, yet my perception of them only grew as the story went on and they continued to surprise me. The dialogue is believable and realistically ungrammatical at times, like how people talk in real life. I love Durston's hilarious turn of phrase; he calls attention to and makes fun of the daily unnoticed stuff of life. I also appreciated that it was jam-packed with references to nerd culture, though I'm sure I missed out on some because I'm not a gamer. There were some other references I didn't quite get, mostly because I'm American and the story is written and set in England, but it didn't detract from the experience.

In summary, this book is just plain fun. You don't care about all the outlandish implausibilities while you're reading. You realize that they don't really matter and opt instead to just relax and enjoy a totally believable unbelievable story. You will laugh. A lot. And you might even cry.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Top reviews from other countries

EAST

Like Terry Pratchett, but with a knife.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2022

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Warning: while I won’t give any specific spoilers in this review of Each Little Universe, I will talk about the tone of this book, particularly in regard to the ending, so if you’re not a fan of even the vaguest of spoilers, this is not the review for you!

It’s taken me a long time to collect my thoughts on Each Little Universe by Chris Durston, but that’s not a mark against the book at all. Far from it. The problem really has been that this book gave me so many feelings that I didn’t quite know how to process them (other than by sending Durston a series of faux angry tweets the night I finished it). But having now stewed over that ending for six months, I’ve come to the firm decision that Each Little Universe is a five-star story for me.

The book tells the tale of flatmates and inventrepreneurs T and Veggie and their encounter with an actual, literal fallen star, Ziggy. Ever enthusiastic about this thing that humans call living, Ziggy is curious to know everything about existing on Earth, from town fairs to table-top role-playing games, to what celebrities are exactly? Thankfully, T and Veggie are more than happy to give her the guided tour, and not just because she happens to be an absolute genius at inventing stuff that people don’t need. However, while things on Earth seem all high rolls and hijinks, Ziggy’s fall from the heavens has set something huge in motion. After all, for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction.

I think the thing I loved most about this book is that it has a kind of lazy pace to it. I’m a slow reader, so that might have influenced this a little, but I found that dipping in and out of the story was like dipping in and out of a conversation with friends. I could join any time I needed to, enjoy a low-stakes game of not-dungeons-and-dragons or not-dark-souls, and then dip out when things got busy again. It was incredibly comforting, and I loved every single one of the characters, including T and Veggie’s extended friendship group. I also very much appreciated the array of on page representation, both LGBT+ and neurodiverse, including a non-verbal character. It was lovely to see, and Durston did a fantastic job of making their little friendship group feel like home.

Of course, as indicated by my blurb, the initial low-stakes vibe does change about midway through. While the capers and silliness stick around, there are flashes of dark reality, a grittier undertone seeping through. I foolishly ignored these hints and prods and ended up getting blind-sided and incredibly weepy over the last chapter (my bad). I was only consoled by the quick formation of a head canon of events that would definitely follow the last page (thank you, years spent writing fanfiction). But it’s an absolute testament to Durston’s writing that I got that emotional. I was fully attached to his set of ridiculous lovelies and if that’s not good writing, I don’t know what is!

There are honestly so many wonderful and poignant bits in this book that I could never list them all, so instead of fussing and faffing and ultimately ruining my point I’m just going to say: I’ve never read a book more ridiculously silly and overwhelmingly heart-wrenching at the same time. It’s a book written with all the comedic inflection of the late great Terry Pratchett, but this Terry Pratchett is holding a knife behind his back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I will never forgive you, Durston, but I will also never forget this book. Thank you very much, [insert expletives here].

Ellen Hennigar

This is one of the most out-there-in-a-good-way stories I’ve ever had the honor of reading.

Reviewed in Canada on April 30, 2020

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It’s indescribably awesome how we just gravitate toward certain people, click with them, and grow close bonds of true friendship with them, eh? Each Little Universe certainly captures that befriending magic right out of the gate and evolves those connections into something wonderfully cosmic. There are many more forms of love than just the often written about sexual kind, and I love how all forms of love get some… er, love in this story.

The main characters, slacker entrepreneur duo TM and Veggie and literal fallen star Ziggy, click in the first chapter and form a beautiful 3-way BFF-ship that becomes the center of this story’s deep universe. And oh man, the trio’s daily lives are anything but normal. But would you really expect normality when one of the people is actually a star (like, the ball of gas in space type star)?

The lovable cast spends most of their time in a rubbish flat dreaming up useless yet innovative inventions, going on freaking cool tabletop RPG campaigns with their quirky crew (Serious points for including a non-binary and pansexual characters, by the way. Representation rocks!), playing parody real world video games (One called “Blackest Spirit’ made me grin like an idiot, I will not lie), and adoring punnily named cats. And those are just a few cool things they do to form those close bonds with each other.

I won’t go into many plot details for spoiler reasons, but I can best say the overall narrative is depressingly inspiring, often diving into the infinity of the universe paradox and other existential crisis fueling topics I personally love pondering. What is life anyway? The author offers a brilliant point that the true definition of life is something our puny brains might be incapable of comprehending.

The author’s writing style is full of fun meta-fourth-wall-breaking humor, superb sarcasm, and tons of glorious geek culture parodies and references. This is absolutely my type of humor so I found it incredibly entertaining to read every word, binge reading about 3/4 of the book in one sitting. Oh and for anyone unfamiliar with UK culture, be warned you’ll miss out on a few good jokes which is seriously unfortunate for you.

I hope many more people get a chance to enjoy the cosmic craziness too! Looking forward to seeing more works from the author in the future.

Too Far Thomas

Fun and thought provoking from start to finish

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2021

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Each Little Universe tells the story of two hapless inventors whose lives are turned upside down by a mysterious woman who claims to be a star. A literal star as well.

I really enjoyed ELU. We start off getting to know the characters, their lives, interests and quirks. And while sometimes it feels like the plot takes a backseat in the early parts of the book I didn't mind this. I loved the world the author set up. I loved spending time with them and wish I had friends like TM, Veggie, Derrida and the rest.

When the plot really does pick up pace in the second part of the book it's a rollicking good ride. As the book reached its bittersweet climax I found myself wanting to spend more time with these characters and hope the author does a sequel.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Chris.

Sarah Bell

Fun surreal story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2021

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This story managed to be both utterly domestic and utterly surreal at the same time, and I mean that in the best possible way.

This was a fun ride, packed with jokes, nerdy references, satire and little moments that make you think. The middle perhaps dragged a little bit, but that might have just been me getting slightly lost by discussions of things I have little interest/ knowledge of (looking at you wrestling!)

I really enjoyed the characters, both the MCs and their friends, and, of course, Ziggy. The story takes the time to let the reader know them and their lives and interests.

I also loved the chapter titles! (I'm a sucker for a good punny chapter title!)

Overall, an interesting read that both give me food for thought and made me laugh.

Overall, a fun

One person found this helpful

Rory

A world of fun

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2021

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EACH LITTLE UNIVERSE is a quirky, refreshing story full of British whimsy.
When a couple of oddball, probably malnourished, definitely struggling inventors meet a suspiciously Bowie-esque extra-terrestrial, adventures ensue. What follows is part fish out of water sci-fi adventure and part irreverent slice of life comedy, and full enjoyable read. The story is full of personality, and whether we're joining the characters in a game of D&D, or averting disaster, sharp dialogue and clear characterisation provides an insightful, fun, and almost-miss-your-tube-stop addictive book. Things hot up when the trio go on a quest for a MacGuffin, propelling the daily delights into a high stakes adventure, making it impossible to put down this story.
Overall, this is a great read - particularly recommended if a combination of STARDUST x HOT FUZZ x HITCHIKERS GUIDE sounds up your alley!

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