Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Robert J. Sawyer - Flash Forward

Reviews
 

There's some interesting ideas here, and the makings of a great story - actually, of more than one great story - if only the author could settle on one of them. Unfortunately he doesn't, instead writing a lot about not very much happening. And then to make matters worse, as well as ignoring the particularly interesting sub-plots, the ending feels terribly rushed and really rather derivative. Not a very good book at all.
D. R. Cantrell

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Starts off very well but then gets to the dull explaination theory bit and that takes of the edge for me. Not enough of the end in the book as it dwells to much on the middle content of the years. Leaves the reader a bit deflated.
The TV story has another trance of bits to make it a seperate story.
Bob D

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Flashforward is a philosophical, sci-fi, whodunit. The story and the characters stand up on their own, but Sawjer's view of the future is just as intriguing.
I've read a couple of the author's later books and decided to delve into some of his earlier work. What I found particularly interesting is that this book is set ten years in the future, but the fictional date line is actually a year before I read it... It was interesting to see how Sawjer's view of the world ten years later actually played out.

Koolfish

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Getting a brief glimpse into our own futures seems like sure fire excitement for a book, but for the majority of us in 20 years time we will be doing basically the same thing we are now, but in silver pants. Robert J Sawyer tries to add a few more thrills with `Flask Forward', a book in which everybody in the planet gets to see two minutes of their future. The concept of time travel is by far the most interesting part of this book and as all the main characters are scientists there are lots of interesting theories about the phenomenon. Some people may find discussions on parallel universes and free will a bore, but I actually found them compelling.

Perhaps this was in some part due to the fact that the `story' in `Flash Forward' feels pretty poorly crow barred in. I assume that Sawyer came up with the idea of the book, but not a way of making it a narrative. Therefore, there is a hackneyed crime story that is soon undermined by the numerous scientific theories. Throw in the fact that time travel within a single universe is impossible (imo) and the book does lack a driving force. However, for people with an interest in science fiction for science fiction's sake there is plenty in the book that remains of interest.

Sam

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To be fair to the author, I bought this when the TV series, which I loved was axed. I hoped the ending of the unfinished TV series would be revealed. But the book is very different and not something I would otherwise choose to read. Much more for science geeks, and less of a thriller. Lloyd Simcoe is the only character in both, although in very different forms.
TRL

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