The novel “Teleport 2: Into the Darkness” by Joshua T. Calvert was published for the first time in 2023. It’s the second book in the Teleport series and follows “Teleport“.
James Hamilton finds himself on a mission unlike any he’s ever faced. Rescuing a group of scientists who ended up in a dangerous location tests his abilities like never before. Encountering a native population is a great short-term help, but James knows that much more is needed to return home.
The region where the travelers can somehow recover is strange, with a forest seemingly immune to the radiation and storms that represent the main dangers. The decision they have to make is difficult, but the ruins of a city may represent the only real hope.
“Teleport 2: Into the Darkness” continues the Teleport trilogy, picking up where the first book left off. It’s a single, comprehensive story divided into three books that must be read in their entirety to fully understand the plot and its protagonists.
Despite the dramatic opening, with the protagonists in a life-threatening situation, Joshua T. Calvert’s choice is to include a series of flashbacks that recount episodes from their past. In some ways, the author reintroduces them and explores some of their personality traits. This can help us get to know them better and even remember their individual personalities, but it’s a choice that significantly slows down this initial part.
This second book gets to the heart of the protagonists’ story when important discoveries are made. The existence of the teleportation system had already opened up a cosmic dimension in the first book, which focused on that very ancient yet extremely advanced system. However, only in this sequel do we begin to fully understand its spatial and temporal scale.
Another section where the pace slows is an infodump that concentrates the major revelations. It’s literally a lesson in extremely broad cosmic history. Joshua T. Calvert also seems to be seeking pseudo-scientific justifications for the events of the cosmic story being told, but it’s best not to try to assess its plausibility. The impression is that the author is exploiting the vast amount of information he provides to hide potential inconsistencies.
The protagonists make numerous discoveries, yet some crucial questions remain to understand the grand cosmic story they’ve become embroiled in. There are many ramifications, including some connected to the history of humanity, but in some cases, they raise more questions than answers. This can leave the reader unsatisfied, and is at least partly a problem with the middle books of a trilogy, as the author must leave parts of the story to be developed in the final book. In short, it’s a case in which you have to hope that the final part of the story offers satisfying answers.
Like the first book, “Teleport 2: Into the Darkness” has an open ending after the various revelations, awaiting what is hopefully the grand finale. This confirms that it makes sense to start the series only if you’re willing to read it all. The second book goes far beyond the theme of the mysterious object and is still the type of story full of twists and adventure. If you appreciate this type of story and aren’t too concerned with scientific plausibility, you might like the Teleport series. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
