(Found) Scifi book (drug called "slip;" travel between parallel universes)

[Sails345]

It's a full-length book by a little-known author (may be British, may be male) who I can't recall the name of. It may have been published between 2000-2013, possibly earlier but no later. Book is written in english. I think the title is just one or two words, fairly simple and not necessarily descriptive of the plot at all.

I think it's set in England slightly in the future. There's an element of dystopia throughout the book. It starts with the title character being looked after by a pyschiatric nurse, and then he begins narrating the story of what happened to him. There's an illegal drug called "slip" that, when consumed, confers the ability to travel to alternate (or parallel) universes. A key feature that I recall about "slip" is that the pill will slowly replicate itself over time (i.e. one pill becomes two, then three and so on).

The main character also hears about so-called "dead worlds," parallel universes in which there are no living creatures left (sometimes due to apocalypse). Part of the plot also involves someone who is killing off the people who consume these pills. At one point, the main character (who has lost a significant other due to tragedy) travels to a parallel world in which his loved one is still alive, but in which there's also another version of himself. He has to come to the realization that although this person exists there, it's not really his world and he has no place in it.

Thanks for taking a look! I hope this is enough information to go upon; even extensive google searching based on various parts of the plot wouldn't turn up anything. It's possible that this book was part of a very small publication from an independent publisher.

 

[Sails345]

I can't for the life of me find the edit button again (is there a time limit on being able to edit posts?) so I'm going to add some more info that I've thought of here.

There exists only one machine that is able to produce these pills, and its location is sometimes moved in order to prevent the manufacturers from getting caught. I think at one point near the end of the book the machine gets destroyed.

I recall either the main character or other characters (or both) being horrified at the idea of potentially getting stuck in one of the dead worlds due to running out of slip.

One scene in the book describes a group of kids at a boarding school who have some slip and toy with the idea of using it, before actually doing so.

Also, if I didn't make it clear in the first post the main character is an adult (male).

Further clarification: I think I recall that consuming "slip" doesn't allow one to choose which parallel universe they go to; it's random.

 

[tachyon]

Marcher by Chris Beckett

 

[Sails345]

Thank you SO much! This was driving me crazy! That's the book. Title may be changed to indicate it as found.

 

[The Judge]

Thank you SO much! This was driving me crazy! That's the book. Title may be changed to indicate it as found.

Now done!

Now you've found it, do stick around and let us have a review of the book once you've re-read it, together with your thoughts on any other SFF!