This was a wonderfully done novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the plot of this book. I thought the world worked well and had that feel that I wanted in this genre. The characters had that charm that I wanted and worked realistically in this universe. Jinwoo Chong has a strong writing style and am excited for more.

Flux by Jinwoo Chong is a book that starts off very confusing, and it takes a while to get into the story. The author switches between perspectives, holds back key information, and makes it hard to know if the narrator can be trusted. At first, this made me feel lost, but over time I realized this confusion is part of the experience. It mirrors how the narrator feels, adding to the story’s depth.

The plot combines several elements: childhood memories, losing a job and finding a new one, and a strong connection to an old TV show. This show is central to the story—it provides comfort to the characters but also plays a bigger role in their decisions. The book constantly shifts between layers: the TV show, the main story, and the protagonist’s memories. Sometimes these layers are clear, and other times they blend together, making it hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t.

The way the author writes about memory loss and repetitive patterns in life is impressive. The language reflects how time and reality seem to slip away for the narrator. The pacing of the story, however, can feel off—just when you think you understand something, another twist throws you off again.

I didn’t always like the narrator. Their thoughts and actions often reflect patriarchal attitudes, and they use language that felt unnecessary and even offensive at times. Unlike other books where unlikable characters are part of the point, here it felt less intentional. By the end, though, the narrator became more reflective, which made them a bit easier to relate to.

What stood out to me most was the book’s many layers. It’s about the narrator’s personal struggles, the TV show’s story and meaning, and how the two connect. As a reader, you often feel like you understand as little—or as much—as the narrator does, which is both frustrating and fascinating.

Flux is a challenging book that asks for patience. It’s not an easy read, but if you’re willing to embrace the confusion, it’s a unique and thought-provoking story about identity, memory, and the way we escape into other worlds.

Part speculative fiction, part Asian American character drama, Jinwoo Chong’s debut novel Flux is an incredibly complex story filled to the brim with incredible character work details. Despite being billed as a science fiction/time-travel associated story, the sci-fi elements largely take a back seat to Chong’s frank and startlingly good exploration of topics including biracial cultural identity, queer labels, the power of image, Asian portrayals in media, and the ever present theme of guilt. A unique blend of genres, this is easily one of the most ambitiously written novels I’ve read this year while simultaneously being one of the most difficult novels to recommend to others due to how tricky and alienating its presentation can be. While I found it to be an amazing and fascinating read, I acknowledge I’m also the exact match for the type of reader this book is clearly suited for; one that is a critical reader fully immersed in the story, reading between lines.

One of the primary reasons why I believe Flux has such polarizing reviews is due to the complexity of its plot and characters on top of the abstract presentation of the focal company, Flux. Presented from the perspectives of three individuals clearly from different years, the stories have zero hand-holding for the reader and forces you to to keep track of each narrative and characters that have seemingly nothing in common. I’m not going to recap what’s already discussed in the book’s synopsis but of the three characters, Brandon’s perspective makes up the bulk of the story initially. All three stories are incredibly detailed and my brain was both fascinated and sometimes struggled to process all that was happening, which is mostly character and family-centered drama. I am the type of reader that loves and craves complex and high-concept novels so this wasn’t necessarily a problem, but I can easily see the vast majority of readers not making it past the first 50-60 pages and finding many parts slow.

To make matters more interesting, Brandon’s storyline is very unapologetically queer but not in the typical rainbow colored or prideful “yas” manner. The character voice and reactions are entirely millennial and the social commentary is absolutely cutting, more than enough to alienate younger genz/alpha and older readers. His storyline also incorporates elements of being biracial and the complexities of being Asian American on top of being unlabeled yet clearly queer. While I personally felt completely (and at times quite uncomfortably) seen by this novel, I often wondered and worried how the story and content would land with readers outside of these specific groups that I so happen to be in. Pop culture references (RIP twitter), generational ideology, even subtle jabs at ethnic white knighting and being entirely politically correct further cement Flux’s millennial flavor and views.

A good portion of the book also heavily focuses on an in-universe 80’s police cop television show called Raiders. Brandon’s entire story is written in 2nd person directed to the main character of this television show which is an incredibly unique concept. Being from the 80’s, Raiders features intentionally questionable Asian stereotypes but also provides representation, areas that Flux heavily comments and reflects on. The sheer level of detail in Raiders, it’s individual ep storylines, the shift in its production, controversies surrounding it’s main actor, its lasting impact the show has on Bo and Brandon, it is incredible. And Raiders isn’t even the plot’s main focus.

When it comes to Flux’s science fiction angle, the mechanics and speculative fiction elements are quite vague and involve the concept of vast bioenergy that has unexpected effects. Flux’s entire being, its fall from grace, and its founder are unmistakably inspired by Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, albeit in an entirely different industry and field. While elements of time travel and realities are important aspects, they feel more of a plot mechanism to facilitate and connect the events between the three storylines; the “what then” is more important than the “how”. While the concepts behind Flux’s sci fi elements made sense and were completely functional, I felt that they were playing the supporting act to Chong’s intense and emotional familial drama which was stellar (particularly impressive since familial drama is not one of my preferred reading genres/interests).

As I progressed through the book, I progressively felt like the science fiction elements were unevenly distributed, its first 150 pages in particular. While I have nothing bad to say once the book hits the 70% mark, its first third felt oddly lacking in this area and while the content was excellent, the read felt slow and unfocused. Part of this may be attributed to the book’s synopsis of a neo-noir, time-traveling story to cover murder. While not necessarily wrong, I felt that the synopsis is a poor representation of the book’s tone and focus (though admittedly, this is a very difficult book to write a synopsis for without giving away spoilers). Having completed the book, I acknowledge that its initially slower pacing is completely by design. I was in complete awe at how every scene across all three characters was connected and free of any obvious plot holes. However to get the full impact of the book’s plot twist at the two thirds mark when it pulls a move reminiscent of Inception, the reader is required to have paid full attention through the copious amounts of slice of life and familial drama. The emotional payoff in Blue’s (and to a lesser extent Brandon’s) final chapters is stunning. I’m also a sucker for quiet toned epilogue chapters, and the book’s ending was exactly what I wanted. Yet, I have a growing suspicion that the vast majority of potential readers will never be able to appreciate it due to how difficult the preceding content is to follow.

Despite how fully realized and deep Flux’s three characters and storylines are, the sheer amount of details is also my biggest nitpick with Flux (primary reason for a 4.5 rating bumped down). Between the fictional 80’s show Raiders itself, the real-life cast and production behind the show, Brandon’s recruitment into the company Flux, Flux’s core purpose and technology, exploration of tragedy and grief tearing people apart, self identity and culture, there is so much going on and I found myself often wondering if all of these details are important and crucial to Flux’s main story. While the vast majority of the details are, I often felt like the sheer scope of Flux’s ambitions was getting away at times. There was so much content about Raiders’ storyline and episodes, and while they were very detailed and realistic, it sometimes felt like it was too much or irrelevant. Every episode or scene in Raiders has a direct relation to something that affects Bo, Brandon or Blue, however I often felt like a lot less would have still gotten the job done while avoiding losing or confusing more casual readers. Brandon’s day to day movements during his employment at Flux also felt like they were occasionally veering into unnecessary territory, particularly some of Brandon’s almost sexual romps. Again, I personally did not mind them particularly due to Chong’s critical underlying social commentary plus queer representation, but I’ve seen other reviewers criticize these scenes for being crude or vulgar when taken at face value (I do not personally agree, and found a particular review that went off about how no gay man drinks that much milk to be hilariously terrible).

Flux’s science fiction’s element also felt like it was executed in a manner that made it difficult for casual readers to follow or stay invested in due to the plotting and pacing. Most of the book’s storyline has minor intentional inconsistencies that serve as the hook to the book’s time and reality altering climax, but they’re sometimes subtle and easy to overlook (this one begs to be read more than once). Compared to the amount of character drama and grief that is somewhat separate from the science fiction angle, the balance felt a bit off and at times, you could almost forget the science fiction elements exist. Once Flux’s, well, Flux kicks in, it’s relentless and is easy to become lost. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I couldn't help but wish the science fiction angle somehow couldn’t be spaced more evenly while still maintaining its Inception/Matrix moment; I loved the way a particular world-glitching scene is written with the stuttering dialogue and scenes recap.

If it wasn’t already evident, I personally loved Flux but fully realize that I am part of a very narrow niche group of readers that are able to fully appreciate everything it accomplishes. The character work and representation is excellent and more importantly, has completely different things to say and comment on compared to many other books or media that tackle similar topics. The characters are fully realized, complex, and heavily flawed, the area that Flux excels the most in. It’s just a shame that I feel very few readers will also experience Flux fully due to how complex it is to follow and how tricky its presentation and flavor can be. The sometimes unfocused scope of details and the science fiction element running a bit wide are perhaps small signs of Flux being a debut novel, however I am very impressed by the quality of Chong’s writing and sky high ambition and am eagerly looking forward to his upcoming novel I Leave It Up to You. I always feel a bit awkward mentioning that I generally am less interested in reading about familial drama and Asian American experiences (despite being Asian American myself), but the fact that Chong was able to get me so invested in both topics within his excellent writing is a huge accomplishment.

Thanks so much to Melville House Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of "Flux" by Jinwoo Chong in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

This book was truly unlike anything I've read before; it felt like experiencing a work of art. While it tells a story about family and the importance of cherishing the little things, the deeper themes bring a sense of warmth. The use of flashbacks added significant depth to the overall narrative. I am looking forward to more work by Jinwoo Chong.

Flux by Jinwoo Chong is a mind-bending, emotional ride that left me reflecting on grief, identity, and the strange ways our lives can intertwine. The characters—Bo, Brandon, and Blue—each carry such a quiet heartbreak that I found myself rooting for them, even as their stories unfolded in unexpected, often surreal ways. The blend of time travel, corporate mystery, and personal trauma gave the story a raw, emotional depth that stayed with me long after I turned the last page. If you love books that challenge the boundaries of genre while diving deep into the human experience, Flux is absolutely worth reading. It’s strange, beautiful, and thought-provoking—perfect for fans of speculative fiction with heart. ★★★★☆

I was initially intrigued by the concept and I really wanted to love it! However, this fell short for me. The amount of flashbacks proved to be too confusing, and I wish we would have been told how the characters were related and how they are currently in the present before we got the flashbacks. It made me feel too disconnected from the characters unfortunately. I think I just needed to know more and found myself craving to be grounded in the narrative.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

If you are looking for a book with a great plot and character development, this is it. I enjoyed the pacing of the story and never felt bored. I finished it quickly too because the way the author constructed the chapters you want to know what is going on with the characters.

The ending was perfect and wraps everything up nicely. I can’t wait to read more by the author in the future.

Fantastic writing, but the storytelling was lacking. I found myself asking throughout, what was the point? Certain scenes, certain POVs, did nothing to move the story forward and were there purely for some sort of ambiance. I thought maybe it would all come together at the end, but even then, so much of the book was superfluous.

I love a good time travel book, and this one certainly does not disappoint! It was very well written with lots of details and also a lot of twists and turns. it was an entertaining book, and I was a big fan of it!! I would recommend this book!


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I read this book when first published and really enjoyed it. The intertwined story line all tied together but the 80s character was something I'm not sure I've ever read before and made me want to read to the end to find out how it all worked out!

I look forward to reading this author's future works!

I read this book a while a go.
A very mind bending read.
The different narrative style was very unique.
Yoi state without knowing nothing and then it becomes more clear.