Physics and the concepts of time travel are not the sexiest thing to discuss, but I enjoy it none the less. I have become immune to the glazed expressions that people give me when I talk about Schrodinger’s Cat. Time Travel as a science is pretty much pure hokum (imo), but is makes for a very compelling concept for film and literature. Some of my favourite films and books have had time travelling elements from Well’s ‘The Time Machine’, to Gilliam’s ‘Twelve Monkeys’. Discussing the concepts of parallel universes and time travel may not be sexy, but the actual stories about them can be. However, can you have the best of both worlds? A book that looks at the science of time, but also has an interesting narrative?
The year is 2009 (futuristic!) and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN has just been triggered by Dr Lloyd Simcoe. At the moment that the Higgs particle should have been created everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes. During these two minutes most people see a time in the future through their own eyes. Some people see themselves with a new partner, others failing to live their dreams. Some unfortunates see nothing; does this mean they are dead? It appears that Lloyd’s colleague Dr Theo Procopides is going to die as people tell of reading his obituary. Can Theo discover who is killer is before he is killed, and will Lloyd ever get other the guilt of creating a global disaster?
When ‘Flashforward’ was heavily advertised as the new ‘Lost’ on FIVE I felt I should give it a try as I am a fan of science fiction. However, one hour later I had enough. The hackneyed acting was not helped by a series of concepts that were too unbelievable even in science fiction. The book was written in 1999 so I felt safe that it would be different enough from the series to be readable. In terms of intelligence and debate it is better, but there are several similar traps to the TV show that it falls into.
Both the book and TV are loosely based on the same idea that everyone sees their life in the future for a short time. This immediately affects the whole world. However, by seeing one’s future you can immediately change it – in 2030 you were in Barcelona, never visit and the future is changed. Want to be really sure? Kill yourself, or someone who was in your vision. The fact is that you cannot see your future, only a possible future. This in turn undermines a lot of the book as lead character Lloyd sticks to being worried about 2030, when in fact he has the free will to change anything he wishes.
In fairness, Robert J Sawyer does tackle the different ideas about time travel as the main cast are all scientists. The book is at its best when several of them are together and arguing over the concepts of parallel universes, free will, or universal balance. If this all sounds a little dry and boring, then perhaps the book is not suited for you as I felt these moments were the standout parts of the book and lifted it from being an abject failure into something worthwhile. I did enjoy Sawyer’s attempts at creating a working future, but some oddities sneaked in that perhaps say more about him as a person than develop the story; abolishment of the Royal Family, all Newspapers dropping Astrology as lies. Little asides in the book left me feeling a little uncomfortable as Sawyer perhaps revealed a couple of inner demons.
The book is on the cusp of failure because the central narrative is incredibly weak. The story of Lloyd is pretty much a none starter as it resolves itself almost before it begins. This leaves Theo’s chase to discover his killer. This is pure hokum and below standard crime fiction as Theo uses chatrooms to try and solve his murder, not the most interesting thing to read about. Other characters are drastically underdeveloped with one woman losing her only child, just to be over it a few hours later. Lloyd is hugely dull and Theo is unlikable, this means that as a reader you are left cold and the story feels sterile.
‘Flashforward’ is best seen as a high concept book that gives you an idea to chew upon, but fails to do so itself. As a book that discusses time travel in an assessable manner, Sawyer succeeds in covering many complex physics problems in a way the layperson can understand. However, as interesting as these moments are they can only make the book an average read as many other aspects border on the calamitous. Under developed characters and poor storylines lead to a book that opens huge, but soon dies away. Sawyer has failed to provide both thrills and science, so this book will never be one of the great time travel novels. This is best read by fans of science fiction who enjoy their concepts more than their stories.
Author: Robert J Sawyer
Year: 1999
Price: amazon uk – £4.49
play.com – £4.99
