Oliver Bell and the Infinite Multiverse by Jake Swan

Reviewed by Ian Colford

Jun 23, 2025

It takes a special kind of imaginative superpower to create an entirely original universe, populate it with quirky, one-of-a-kind characters who seem to belong naturally to that world, and to do so both persuasively and entertainingly. Jake Swan accomplishes this feat in his madcap romp of a novel, Oliver Bell and the Infinite Multiverse, a book that presents the surreal tale of mild-mannered mathematician Oliver Bell’s quest to save existence as we know it from forces of supreme evil bent on destroying everything.

Oliver’s adventure begins in, of all places, Halifax, Nova Scotia, during a late-night study session in Dalhousie University’s Killam Library. A protest taking place in the city turns violent, and Oliver finds himself under attack. Oliver is working to complete his thesis in computer coding, but the crisis set in motion by rapidly spreading chaos and seemingly indiscriminate destruction places him and his work under threat. Swan’s tale gathers further momentum once Oliver discovers his apartment building has been reduced to a pile of smouldering rubble, meaning he’s lost everything he owns, including the backup copy of his thesis. But his despair is short-lived as he is soon kidnapped by Teddy and Emma, a pair of demon hunters, who sedate him, and in his unconscious state whisk him off to Florida under the suspicion that he’s possessed by an evil entity.

In Florida, Teddy and Emma consult with Bert (a retired cardiologist who also goes by the name “Death”) and Carmella, elderly Jews with special powers, one of which is Bert’s ability to sense that Oliver is not in fact possessed by a demon but rather has become “host” to a supernatural being, called Mayhem, that takes the physical form of a puppy.

Yes, a puppy.

Eventually, we learn why all of this is happening. Teddy and Emma are hunting the all-powerful fiend Amon, who has learned of Oliver’s computer code, which—though Oliver’s goal was always innocent: to enhance the experience of gamers—in the wrong hands could be used to annihilate the universe. Amon wants the code, and since the only physical copies were destroyed during the protest in Halifax, Amon plans to force Oliver to provide it from memory. From this point, the story zigs and zags as the characters plunge through various levels of the multiverse, in search of Amon and in attempts to save each other from a variety of grisly fates, all while life on Earth—or “the secular plain,” as it’s called—grows ever more unstable in response to Amon’s meddling.

Oliver’s story is complex. The rules governing transference between the layers of the multiverse are intricate. Crucially, however, the story’s inner logic remains consistent throughout. The violence is frequent and often depicted in graphic, bloody, and sometimes hilarious detail. Despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, Oliver Bell and the Infinite Multiverse is a fast-moving entertainment that over 300+ pages retains the suspenseful but blithely irreverent qualities that Swan establishes at the outset. Absurdities abound. The banter among Oliver’s gang of do-gooders never fails to amuse. Oliver’s initial disbelief in his new situation, his blundering confusion as he learns more, and his gradual realization and acceptance that the plain of reality he inhabits is multifaceted beyond his wildest imaginings, draw us to him in sympathy.

In a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer at the beginning of the novel, the author urges the reader to resist taking the book “too seriously,” because it was “written by an idiot.” If this is meant to lower expectations, the reader needn’t worry. Oliver Bell and the Infinite Multiverse represents a triumph of the imagination. Jake Swan has written a novel that provides shocks, surprises and laughs on every page. The book is emphatically not for all readers, but anyone with a finely tuned sense of satire and an appreciation of the absurd will find plenty to enjoy.

About the Author

Jake Swan is a writer, physician, occasional fisherman and all around dumbass. Jake lives in New Brunswick with his wife, Chrissy, their son, Jack, and Stella, their rescue mutt from South America, whose biography would be undoubtedly much more interesting than this one, which Jake, coincidentally, wrote in the third person. He isn't sure how he feels about it.

About the Reviewer

Ian Colford was born, raised, and educated in Halifax. His reviews and stories have appeared in many print and online publications. He is the author of two collections of short fiction and two novels, and is the recipient of the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award for Evidence.