Review: Crossings by Alex Landragin

I was so excited about Crossings by Alex Landragin because of its premise alone. This is a novel that can be read in two entirely different ways. You can read it straight through from beginning to end, or you can follow a choose your own adventure style set of directions that send you bouncing through the book in a non-linear order. Each approach promises a distinct reading experience.

When it came time to decide how I would read it, I asked my partner what he thought. His response: You can always read books front to back, but how often do you get to jump around? That was all the convincing I needed, so I committed to the unconventional route, fully assuming I would return later to read it the traditional way.

Spoiler alert: I will not be doing that.

In hindsight, I think I made a mistake by choosing the nonlinear path first. Reading the Baroness’s sequence early on made the structure of the alternate reading order feel obvious, and once that curtain was pulled back, I lost any real desire to experience it again. The constant jumping also created a bit of disorientation and not the intriguing kind. The kind where you are never quite sure where you are in the story or how much is left. That uncertainty, combined with revisiting the same scenes from different points of view, made the book feel far longer and more drawn out than it actually is.

That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book!

Alex Landragin is one of the most visual storytellers I have read in a long time. His writing unfolds like cinema. He guides the reader across countries and through time with such vivid, textured imagery that at times it felt less like reading and more like watching a meticulously crafted film play out in my mind. His depictions of specific places and historical moments are so richly detailed that you almost begin to wonder whether what you are reading could somehow be real. There is a deliberate blurring of fact and fiction that feels intentional, unsettling, and deeply immersive.

Despite my frustrations with the structure and pacing, I cannot deny the ambition of this book or the skill behind its execution. Crossings is daring, strange, and unapologetically intellectual.

I would recommend it to readers who love alternate history or speculative fiction, especially those who enjoy stories that challenge their sense of reality and ask them to sit with uncertainty. While it was not a perfect fit for me, it is the kind of book that will absolutely resonate with the right reader, and I appreciate it for taking a risk that few novels dare to attempt.