Flashback

By: Dan Simmons

Narrated by: Richard Davidson, Bryan Kennedy, Joe Barrett

Length: 21 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

The United States is near total collapse. But 87% of the population doesn't care: they're addicted to flashback, a drug that allows its users to re-experience the best moments of their lives. After ex-detective Nick Bottom's wife died in a car accident, he went under the flash to be with her; he's lost his job, his teenage son, and his livelihood as a result.

Nick may be a lost soul, but he's still a good cop, so he is hired to investigate the murder of a top governmental advisor's son. This flashback-addict becomes the one man who may be able to change the course of an entire nation that is turning away from the future to live in the past.

A provocative novel set in a future that seems scarily possible, Flashback proves why Dan Simmons is one of our most exciting and versatile writers.

©2011 Dan Simmons (P)2011 Hachette

Refreshingly powerful sci-fi

At its core, Flashback is a straightforward detective story. Nic is a washed up former detective pressed back into service by a wealthy Japanese businessman to investigate his son's unsolved murder 6 years prior. Nic was the police detective originally working that unsolved case, but since, his wife was killed in an auto accident, Nic has become addicted to flashback, a drug that can allow the user to re-live past memories which he and the rest of the US population do so liberally. The story is set in the 2030's with considerable geopolitical tectonic shifts. China has imploded with internal strife; Europe's and Canada's declining birth rates have resulted in a gradually shift (due to immigration patterns) to Islamic fundamentalist sharia law, destruction of Israel, Mexico has been overrun by drug cartels, and the US has lost its premier global position with state secessions and supplying military mercenaries for other countries.

The detective story is well crafted and engaging with multiple twists. At the same time, the story unfolds with three different narrations: Nic, his elderly father-in-law, and his 16 year old son. These 3 generational perspectives enhance the belief suspension necessary to enter this dystopian future. While much of geopolitical evolutionary discussion is reasonable, the author can be slightly dinged for an overemphasis on current events that are more revealing with respect to the author's political views than necessary to drive the plot. The innovative chapter numbering also deserves special mention.

The narration is top notch and special kudos to the choice of 3 different narrators for each perspective; this effect positively added to the listening experience.

The future???

Loved it. Fast paced adventure story....good warning of what could happen to US if we don't pay attention.

Fantastic sci-fi

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes but probably the abridged version. The unabridged one dragged a little.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Flashback?

It is scary to think that a designer drug like that could really be invented some day.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not laugh or cry but it moved me not knowing what our future will bring. I would hate to think it would be like this.

Any additional comments?

It's a great sci-fi story about a could-be future. It may trouble you as well as it did me, but for the most part it had a good plot and moved along.

Great Sci Fi

What did you love best about Flashback?

Good descriptions and plot that draws reader in

Any additional comments?

Thought provoking comments on politics...delivered almost as powerfully as "1984"

Dated politics

I’m a longtime Simmons fan. I read many reviews complaining about the right wing politics but got the book anyway on sale. I listened to the whole thing although I speed up the narration a few times when the political rants went on too long. The worst of it was that the dire predictions of ruin due to liberal policies haven’t happened so the book is dated. If Simmons edited out the dated material it would be a good detective novel.

Great story mired in rabid politics

The underlying murder mystery story is great, and worthy of being a Dan Simmons novel. But why he would choose Alex Jones and Rush Limbaugh as apparent ghost cowriters evades me.

Haunting vision of future

Was a vision of the wrong turns America could have taken and still could take.

Amazing Story most will not get.

it is a shame most reviews get caught up on the politics. Flashback was a fantastic story, do not let the poor ratings scare you away. the narrators are excellent.

Dan Simmons delivers

Dan Simmons is probably my favorite author mostly because he’s written my favorite book and series (Hyperion and it’s cantos - read that before this book it’s a masterpiece), so I have pretty high expectations for him. This book certainly didn’t let me down. As a sci-fi lover this delivers on all the themes I love. The story starts off a little slow but it’s picks up quickly and the end is satisfying in my opinion. Overall it’s an enthralling adventure with plenty of intrigue and surprise.

One thing I will address (and I’m not the only one to do so) is how obvious Simmons’ political views are in the story. Without spoiling, the dystopian nature of this ‘universe’, the issues are blamed on ‘entitlement programs’, ‘green deals’, and other traditional liberal policies. It’s pretty darn clear who’s side Dan is on. Published in 2011, it seems Simmons is basically blaming the dystopia on Obama. I don’t care which side of the isle your on, if it is that clear that you’re biased in how you write them I believe it detracts from the story. Id like to think I’d say the same thing about another story blaming small government and fiscal conservatism for the same issues. Those details didn’t NEED to be in the book in order to frame the dystopia. Part of the reason I’m reading this type of book in the first place is to leave all that stuff behind for a few hours. So I’m dinging him for letting politics get through. But at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter, the book is good. If it really bothers you, imagine it’s Simmons himself narrating and just chalk it up to an unreliable narrator. And go read Hyperion.

Read it while you can

In the age of censorship, I am honestly surprised this title is still available. It is a brutal, painful, but absolutely brilliant warning about how quickly we can lose it all, and the haunting depths we would descend to have a small taste of it back. And yes it does get pretty political. So what? Great sci-fi often waxes political, both right and left. Heinlein was notably conservative and Le Guin notably liberal - both were masters of their craft whose work transcends politics. Flashback is such a masterpiece that will unfortunately will never get the fanfare it deserves because it is written from a conservative perspective.

Disregard all the SJW's saying how shocked they are by this novel. They probably didn't even read the book. This is undoubtably one of the best works of science fiction released in the last 20 years. Sadly, most modern science fiction is so focused on being "woke" that they have forgotten about the importance of writing a good book. Science fiction is not twitter. Flashback will make your mind flex. It's not always comfortable and you probably won't but always agree with it, but that's the point!

Dan Simmons is a legend and a national treasure. This book is fricken' awesome, you'll be happy you decided to read it.