A number of years ago I read an incredible novel. I’d love to locate it and re-read it, but I can’t remember the name or author. Surely someone here on the dope can help me.
The plot was that a man awakes to find himself in a small room with another man. The room appears to be an office. There seems to be no way out or in. The other man seems to know more than he reveals. Eventually the lead character discovers that he is dead. When you die an exact copy of the area where you died appears in the afterlife. I believe these areas are reffered to as cubes or squares. Now dead you are still essentially mortal. You can die again and if you do you reappear in another random cube. You can move from one cube to another by finding the spot where they connect and willing yourself through the passage. He has some interesting adventures as he travels through the cubes.
I know it sounds odd, but it was quite good. Can anyone help me?
Someone at SFF World asked if it might be Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys.
“A mysterious, alien artifact is found on the Moon and discovered to be deadly to anyone who enters it. With the help of duplicating technology, people are sent in to investigate it, usually dying within seconds of the last explorer. In this way, the artifact is mapped out little by little.”
But this sounds like the opposite of the OP. Instead of an area being duplicated, the dead person is duplicated.
I remember Rogue Moon. Doesn’t sound like it to me, but I don’t recognize it otherwise. Could it mebbe be What Dreams May Come, later made into a Robin Williams movie? What Dreams May Come - Wikipedia
Tell us more about the novel. When did you read it, as nearly as you remember? How old was the copy of the book? Was it paperback or hardback? Approximately how long was the book? What did the cover look like? Did the cover describe the book as a science fiction novel? (I wonder if this was sold as a mainstream novel.) Do you remember the names of any characters? Is there anything else specific you can remember about the novel?