An "interesting read" but completely confusing! Sci-fi fans will find it intriguing.

I received a free ecopy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have a secret passion for time travel fiction, both on film and on the page so I jumped at the chance to preview this book. I would have to describe this book as a mix of science fiction and science fact wrapped up in a massive sandwich of introspection and angst. The hapless hero, Tom Barren, travels back in time but due to an error of his own making, accidentally changes the course of human history. Catapulted back to the present he finds that the human race is much worse off. Ironically, though, he himself is much happier. Ridden by guilt he attempts to set things straight. There are some intriguing notions voiced here such as the differences made to the world by changing one thing, the nature of creativity, the impact of time travel, not just on the traveller but those they interact with. The character of Tom, matures imperceptibly through the book. He is not particularly likeable at the start but I was rooting for him by the end. I have to admit, I skimmed over some of the factual details. It didn't seem to damage my understanding of the story to do so. It is quite a visual novel. You could imagine it being made into a film, which given the author's history must be a possibility. If you like the idea of a time travel novel with more depth then usual, this is definitely the book for you.

Intriguing and funny, this alternative science fiction time travel novel is a fun read

I saw this book on Amazon whilst I was doing my usual "what should I read next [even though I have a million books on my bookshelf and on my kindle]" quest. I thought it sounded intriguing and inventive and I really wasn't wrong. Time travel confuses me. Every time I read/watch a time traveling book I am confused. Part of the reason that I loved this book was that our protagonist Tom points out from the very beginning that all those previous books/movies have been wrong. Ok they've not been wrong for the reasons I often think they are, but Elan Mastai's scientific reasoning is flawless. I'm not a physicist, so casual loops and quantum physics and building time machines is beyond me. But I am a scientist and what particularly drew me to this book was the detail.

Some people said that the book was slow whilst we're finding out how Tom gets to the past, but I feel that this detail is essential for understanding the choices that he makes whilst he's in the past. Without it you don't entirely understand why he decides everything he does.

I'll try not to give away the ending, but Elan Mastai's take home message touched my soul and resonated so strongly with me. It is a beautiful story, and encapsulates how everyone should maybe learn to do deal with the wrong todays.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved everything about it. The whole idea of time travel and how the course of our lives could be changed by it is fascinating and written about in a brilliant and quirky way. I can totally visualise this book as a film. I will definitely be recommending this book.

Firstly thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to have an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book.
This is not the sort of story I would usually read but I was intrigued by the description and I am so glad that I read it. The way it is narrated is brilliant. Tom, the protagonist, is nowhere near being a genius, all the science involved is explained in depth but almost nonchalantly as if to say "I'm going to describe some science here but do not expect you to understand it so don't worry!".
The story feels as though it should be heavy going, the premise is deep, scientific, mind boggling but it is not a heavy going book. I could bearly put it down and found it rather lighthearted in a way.
If you enjoy good storytelling with a bit of sci-fi thrown in then do not hesitate to pick this book up!!
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who asks!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It made me think and smile. I wanted to read on when the book finished.
The psychology seemed true to life, the characters were well rounded and the ending satisfying.
The author lost me a little in the intra-personal fight scene at the end, a bit more set up and description would have helped.

This time travel/alternate timelines science fiction novel was almost impossible to put down once I got into it. It pays a lot more attention to the paradoxes and theoretical difficulties with time travel than most SF novels, which was a nice change of pace. This book is spectacular from beginning to end. So much character development. So much background and overall a excellent read.

Alright...I'm not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, so there were parts of this book that had me a tad confused as to the rules of the universe/time that was going on...BUT-Overall even I got the basic premise and let me tell you, the overall story in this book far outweighed any nitpicking I could do about exactly what was happening in what timeline and the rules of said timeline. With that minor critique out of the way, let me just say how great this story was! I found it very unique and creative, and shockingly quite funny. I am a sucker for time travel tales that do the "what if..." aspect of people from our lives that might be different if XYZ didn't happen so this was a win for me. 4.5 stars, rounding up to 5 because it was a very fun book. And I didn't want it to end!

I am commenting on this book via NetGalley. It is undoubtedly well written but it would be a better use of this talent if the author had a comprehensible story. It is hard to believe many readers will go beyond a few chapters. It is space technology nonsense. I gave up.

Elan Mastai is a genius!

As much as I love sci-fi, I am generally predisposed to having issues with the time-travel sub-genre.
Let’s face it; no matter how you describe it, it just doesn’t make sense. However this memoir (it’s not a novel ;)) describes time-travel in its simplicity, sprinkled with a fair dose of humour, wit, and general entertainment. And ultimately it’s more about a person’s journey of self-meaning, except the journey is travelled across multiple dimensions in space and time, instead of just one.

The book just flows, the story telling is unique and brilliant, and I for one was rapt from start to end. And who doesn’t like a book where goodness prevails.

Can’t say much more without spoiling the book. Can’t recommend it more though. For me it was a breath of fresh air in a sea of normality. Well done on a great debut novel!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for a copy in exchange for a review

A poorly paced sci-fi yarn where the beginning is very slow (I almost gave up about 20% in when something good finally happened) and the end is incredibly rushed. It might have helped if I'd liked the protagonist but somuch of the first third of the novel is spent elucidating his absolute uselessness that I'd bought into it, so when he stopped being an idiot, it was too late to redeem him, at least for me.
The science was predictably baffling for a luddite like me, but even I had had qualms about the efficacy of a time travel machine which takes you backwards one second at a time, so travelling back 50 years takes 50 actual years for the traveller.
There was enough her to make me finish it, but I was impatient for it to be over - never a good indication of a book's worth to me.

This book was humorous, easy to read, entertaining and enjoyable to read. The protagonist, Tom, draws you straight into the book and makes you care about what has happened and what is going to happen.
Tom Barren is from the 2016 we should have been living in, an alternate reality.
“So, the thing is, I came from the world we were supposed to have. That means nothing to you, obviously, because you live here in the crappy world we do have. But it never should’ve turned out like this. And it’s all my fault – well me and to a lesser extent my father and, yeah, I guess a little bit Penelope.”
“You know the future that people in the 1950s imagined we’d have? Flying cars, robot maids, food pills, teleportation, jet packs, moving sidewalks, ray guns, hover boards, space vacations, and moon bases….Well it happened. It’s all happened, more or less exactly as envisioned. I’m not talking about the future. I’m talking about the present."
I liked that the author included Tom’s musings on whether he should tell his story in first or third person. Maybe the first person is the wrong way to tell this story. Maybe if I take refuge in the third person I’ll find some sort of distance or insight or at least peace of mind. It’s worth a try.
“Tom Barren wakes up into his own dream….I’m sorry – I can’t write like this. It’s fake. It’s safe. The third person is comforting because it’s in control, which feels really nice when relating events that were often so out of control…I’m not writing this to make myself comfortable. If I wanted comfort, I’d write fiction.”
Tom spends a large portion of time talking about how much better things were in his reality. You know that sinking feeling you get when you cut into an avocado, only to find that it’s either hard and under ripe or brown and bruised under it’s skin? Well, I didn’t know that could even happen until I came here. Every avocado I ever ate was perfect.
I didn’t even realise I could take for granted because it was simply the way things were. But that’s the point of course – the way things were….never was.“
In July 111, 1965, Lionel Goettreider invented the future. Goettreider was famous in Tom’s reality as he invented the energy source that made all the other inventions, including time travel, possible. School kids learnt how to spell his name, his personal history and went to museums featuring his invention.
Tom’s family life was complicated. He was a sounding board for his mother for all the frustrations that came from selflessly sacrificing her life and her wants to look after his father’s needs. He was the thing that stopped her having a breakdown and they had a close relationship. His relationship with his father on the other hand was fractious. He was a source of constant disappointment to his genius father.
My mother, Rebecca Barren died four months ago in a freak accident. Yes, despite the many technological advances of my world, people still got killed for no good reason. People also acted like arseholes for no good reason. But, sorry, I’m trying to tell you about my mother not my father. His mother made his father promise on her death bed that he would look out for their son and decides to offer him a job which is where he meets Penelope.
Penelope Weschler worked for his father, who is also his boss. She was training to be one of the first people to use his time machine and because Tom is biologically matched he gets to work alongside her. An error in the lab means they have to get naked in front of each other whilst they are decontaminated and afterwards Tom can’t stop thinking about her. The results of his fascination with her have massive repercussions in his reality.
“When you invent a new technology, you also invent the accident of that technology. When you invent the car, you also invent the car accident. When you invent the plane, you also invent the plane crash…The Accident doesn’t just apply to technology, it also applies to people. Every person you met introduced the accident of that person to you. What can go right and what can go wrong. There is no intimacy without consequence. What brings me back to Penelope Weschler and the accident of us. Of all of us.”
Chapter 56 made me smile and was an unusual addition to the book. I also liked the summary chapters.
In our reality Tom is called John Barren. His family life and romantic life are better in this reality and he is happy. However, to get this happiness he has wiped out his reality and he knows deep down he should do something about it.