This story was filled with mystery - so many twists and turns and my jaw was on the floor several times throughout this novel! I loved the characters and the detail put into the writing.
I've never read a book about time travel before and I really enjoyed the concept.

I did find myself getting lost a few times but when I did I managed to pick up again easily. I hope to be able to read more from this author!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the opportunity of being able to read and review this!

Hooked from the very beginning it doesn't let up! I loved this book - the time travel aspect is in one of my favorite books of all time and this absolutely reminded me of it. The concept was strong and extremely interesting. I will definitely be checking out more by Bellin.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

I absolutely loved this book. The characters grabbed me immediately and the book was hard to put down. Wonderfully gritty and well written.

3.5 stars. A solid time travel story with an especially interesting explanation for time travel. I didn't like Miriam or Vax, which made it a little difficult to get into at first, but I eventually got super interested. The only problem with the book was that there was definitely some Man Writing Woman going on. Other than than, I really enjoyed reading this book.

A LOT of novel

Once when I was a postdoc at MIT, I heard physicist Alan Guth speak in the Physics Colloquium. Guth was known for having invented the idea of Cosmic Inflation, that the universe exploded in size just BEFORE the Big Bang, setting the initial conditions for the Big Bang. (Versions of this idea are now mainstream physics.) In his Colloquium, he discussed the possibility that inflation could start anytime, anywhere, from quantum fluctuations. This, he showed us, would lead to the creation of a new universe. He then asked how we might see this. And he showed us that since the new universe would be entirely unattached to the one in which it began, there would be no observable consequence in the universe in which it originated.

I was bemused. It felt to me as if he had walked down to the front of the room, pulled his hand out of his pocket and there unfolded an entire new universe. He then folded the new universe back up in his hand and put it back in his pocket, leaving nothing to show for it. That is how I felt on finishing Myriad. Myriad is of course a time travel novel. This recalls something from Jasper Fforde's First Among Sequels.

‘I was thinking of doing a self-help book for SF novelists eager to write about time travel. It would consist of a single word: don’t.’
--First Among Sequels, Jasper Fforde

(First Among Sequels is the fifth book in series that heavily features time travel, so it is obvious that Fforde doesn't take his own advice too seriously.)

I am not going to summarize the plot of Myriad. It is one of those giant time travel hairballs in which children travel back in time and kill their parents, and parents kill their children, and people meet different versions of themselves. And somehow in the end it all wraps up rather neatly. I don't fully understand everything that happened. A lot is explained by the time you reach the end of the book, but much is left unexplained. This, honestly, didn't bother me. A lot of modern Science Fiction has these giant tangle plots in which it is almost impossible for the reader to understand what just happened. Fine -- I'm used to it. In fact, these days, I'm almost disappointed if I understand a Science Fiction novel the first time I read it.

What bothered me more was that many of the people in Myriad are horrible and do horrible things to each other. It was difficult to like any of them. (To be sure, that was partly because many of the main characters came in multiple versions, and even if one version was a nice person, there was usually also another version who was awful.)

The literary genre "Horrible people being horrible to each other" is not one of my favorites. Myriad, alas, is a sterling example. Couple that with the sheer effort required to read and understand it, and you end up with a book that is difficult to enjoy. (Or, at least, it was so for me.) Still, it deserves points for creativity.

I thank NetGalley and Angry Robot for an advance reader copy of Myriad, by Joshua David Bellin. This review expresses my honest opinions. To be released 23-May-2023.

Myriad by Joshua David Bellin is a fast-paced, mind-bending sci-fi thriller that will leave readers guessing until the very end. The story centers around Agent Miriam Randle, who works for LifeTime, a private law enforcement agency that undertakes time travel to prevent crimes from occurring. Miriam is haunted by the memory of her twin brother’s unsolved murder and has taken on the persona of Myriad to cope with her feelings. But when a routine assignment goes wrong and Miriam commits a murder, she finds herself caught up in a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of LifeTime.

Bellin’s writing style is engaging and fast-paced, pulling the reader in from the first page. The story is filled with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing, and the time travel aspect adds a unique dimension to the plot. The concept of rearranging the past to prevent crimes from happening is intriguing, and Bellin explores the moral implications of this idea in a thought-provoking way.

Miriam is a complex and interesting protagonist, struggling with her grief and the weight of her responsibility as a time traveler. Her partner Vax is a perfect foil for her, adding humor and levity to the story. The secondary characters are well-drawn and add depth to the world-building, which is detailed and immersive.

Myriad is a thrilling read that will appeal to fans of sci-fi and thrillers. Bellin’s writing is strong, and the story is well-crafted, with plenty of action and suspense. The time travel element adds an extra layer of complexity to the plot, making this a standout read in the genre. Overall, Myriad is a must-read for anyone looking for a mind-bending, action-packed thriller.