Fascinating "Experiment Goes Awry" Conjecture..

.."Adequate" Execution.

Robert J. Sawyer starts by introducing a disastrous global event where everyone on the planet is transported 21 years into their own futures for two minutes. In the Present, people drown/crash vehicles/fall to their deaths, planes fall out of the sky, and the future "glimpses" are lifechanging (even occasionally horrifying). The implications and potential scenarios are tantalizing (asking readers: What would YOU do if you knew what would happen to you in the future?). Sawyer explores those questions thoughtfully.
Unfortunately, the exemplars that the author chooses just aren't that captivating (I didn't find myself caring about these people at all), he gets invested in a murder mystery for some reason, and he turns the conversations among characters into philosophical discussions of the nature of time (fixed vs. susceptible to free will). While an interesting debate, the book lost my attention.

"Passable" narration from Mark Deakins contributed to my impression of the book, too. To be certain, Deakins's diction, timbre, cadence, and voice-acting are creditable - but his tone is somewhat disinterested (he sounds like he's collecting a paycheck at times). Blackstone Audio Inc. could have found another professional reader with similar or better effectiveness.

Altogether, the book is an underwhelming example of thought-provoking cerebral speculative Hard SciFi.. and was a fine way to spend a couple of quiet afternoons.
'Flashforward' rates 6.5 stars out of 10.
If you can get it as a 'Plus' option, you should absolutely do so - but keep browsing if they ask for a Credit.

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worth the read

I enjoyed the book. Good narration and decent storyline. The plot seemed a but disjointed by the end, and at times I felt that it went on longer than needed.
The story had a large cast of male scientists. I found that the woman in the book were either sexualized or objects that propelled the men's storyline further. Not one woman was fleshed out further than those two roles. I wasn't a fan of that.
Overall worth the read, but it is not without its shortcomings.

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1 person found this helpful

another great sci-fi by Robert Sawyer

This was a wonderful piece of science fiction. I couldn't predict where the story was going and really enjoyed listening to it. The narration was also very good.

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Crazy science

The story was interesting even if most of the theories were over my head. The fact that I wanted to know the ending bodes well.

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Aargh! Please learn Japanese pronunciation!

MI-chi-ko! MI-chi-ko! NOT mi-CHI-ko!!!! grrrrr. It's killing me every time he says her name!

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great book

this was a great book the person is is reading it does a good job with the voices and it felt more like aovie then a book

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6 people found this helpful