Omnia: Todo lo que Puedes Soñar

Omnia: Todo lo que Puedes Soñar - Book Review

By Rose Benjamin

Imagine a place that contained every possible object you could imagine... and more. Objects large and small, realistic and impossible, gadgets, edible things, clothes, magical items, and everything else that exists anywhere, during any time period, are stored in Omnia, the great online store. Everything is accessible on the web to buy and have it delivered to you within a short period of time. Or at least, it should be.

Omnia: Todo lo que Puedes Soñar is a novel written by Laura Gallego about a company that is similar to, let's say, Amazon. However, this company is extremely unusual. Running on a system of tubes that transport items around the world and tunnels whose function remains mysterious, Omnia delivers extraordinary objects to anywhere on Earth in a curiously short time.

This book was written in Spanish, but I assume there are translated versions in English. The translation of the title is Omnia: Everything you Can Dream of, Omnia's slogan, which was changed from Everything that Exists (the people running the company seemed to lack some creativity there) when the mysterious tunnels first started transporting objects. The story revolves around Nico (the protagonist) and his quest to replace a stuffed animal for his sister. When something goes wrong in Omnia's warehouse (el almacén) and an item is misplaced, Nico enters a tube and travels to the distant island of Omnia, where objects are stored, received, and sent around the world. Determined to find the wanted stuffed animal, he proceeds to search for one--even though, as everyone has told him, he can never return home.

The story of Nico's journey is fascinating to read and learn about, and the ideas in the story are extremely creative. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction-like stories.

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