In 2016, Tom Barren lives in a techno-utopian version of Earth powered by an infinite energy engine created in 1965. In this reality, human progress never stalled, resulting in flying cars and teleportation. Tom is an underachiever who, after a personal tragedy, uses his father’s experimental time machine to travel back to the moment the engine was birthed. His interference causes a malfunction, stripping away the utopia and stranding him in our actual, messy version of 2016. Tom must decide whether to restore his perfect home world or live in this broken timeline where his family and identity are fundamentally altered.
Readers of speculative fiction and alt-history choose this book to see how tiny historical pivots dictate the trajectory of entire civilizations. It appeals to those interested in the mechanics of the grandfather paradox and the philosophical tension between technological perfection and human imperfection. The reader finishes with a concrete understanding of how grief and personal choice influence the architecture of time, leaving behind the trope of a singular, fixed destiny.
Escapist; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Curious Generalist. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2017
- Language
- EN
