Flashforward

By: Robert J. Sawyer

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A scientific experiment begins, and as the button is pressed, the unexpected occurs: everyone in the world goes to sleep for a few moments while everyone's consciousness is catapulted more than 20 years into the future. At the end of those moments, when the world reawakens, all human life is transformed by foreknowledge.

©1999 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This first-rate, philosophical journey, a terrific example of idea-driven SF, should have wide appeal." ( Publishers Weekly)

Good but probably not for everybody

I got this book because I really liked the show, especially the basic premise.

The book is very different and centers around physicists at CERN. If you've watched the show and the basic idea fascinated you, I think you will like this book. If you are looking for the same action, conspiracy and such, then it is not here.

The physics and philosophy in this book is sometimes a bit heavy, and it helps if you know a bit & are interested in philosophy and quantum physics (by that I mean just reading a bit about it, not being an actual physicist). Still I think the complicated parts are explained as clear as they could've been considering their complexity.

The performance is Mark Deakins is particularly good, Nails different voices very well, and even women voices where ok, and never felt too silly.

This book completely held me captive the whole time and I was always on my toes what would happen next, and I have been going very late to sleep just because I wanted to hear more.

If you like sci-fi, are not bothered by personal conversations about relationship, life, universe and everything, and enjoy good writing this book is for you.

Different from the T show

This is a discrete story from what I was first exposed to, the TV show. A little less conspiracy-ish and more just generic random happinstance, this is still an interesting exploration of the Flash Forward event, which offers a lot of different ways to see the impact of everyone suddenly having a glipse of their future selves actions.

Another great one by Robert J. Sawyer

For anyone who sees a program on TV and thinks that any book is going to be the same, I guess they haven't read the books first and watched with disappointment as they watch the storyline and great points demolished on film. This is an enjoyable book, and the TV program, which I also watched, was far inferior in my opinion.
I've read a number of Sawyer's books and am always impressed with the scientific knowledge he brings to a story, and the approach, which is generally not about violence and shoot-em-up like many other sci-fi novels. I guess I attribute it to the author being Canadian. And it's refreshing. I also enjoyed some of the subtle digs on American culture. Spot on in my opinion.
This book, like his others has great character development, intriguing problems, and most of the characters are interested in getting to the bottom of the story with their intelligence, not with guns.
The TV show had a lot of chases, gunfights, romance, and romantic triangles. The book had science, relationships, and some tricky problems that needed solving. Of course he threw in a great chase in the end as well. Something for everyone.
Just my kind of book.
The narration was done well also.

Boring book, good premise.

really like the premise of this book. I had watched the tv show and enjoyed the idea so much I had to read the book. Maybe the faster pace of the tv show ruined the slower pace of the book for me but it just didn't hold my attention very well. I really liked the ending but the journey there was very slow and somewhat boring. Part of the problem, in my opinion is that the flash forwards in the book were for 30 years in the future so it left open the question as to whether or not they would actually happen. In the show you started to see indications right away that the flash forwards were actually true and that was the intriguing part for me. The characters weren't written in a way that made me care about them but only really made me mildly interested in what would happen to them. I don't think the book is poorly written, I just think it moved too slowly and the only really interesting part was the beginning and the end. I'm sure more die-hard sci-fi fans will disagree with me and that's ok. This is just my opinion of this book.

Not my cup of tea..

Was hard to make it through this one. Some cool sci-fi aspects but too dull and tried to be too deep.

Flashforward

Very imaginative ; almost bizarre. But a fascinating idea none the less.
I’ve listen to this audiobook twice now and will undoubtedly reach for again.
It’s just that kind of an audiobook.
😇

The story drew me in

First of all, I must preface these comments by stating up front that I'm not a big science fiction fan. I do find the concept of time travel interesting so reading a synopsis and the fact that it was on sale drew me in. The premise, that during a scientific phenomenon, the entire world sees 21 years into the future was interesting. I thought, "How could a 2 minute glimpse of the future seriously effect the lives of today?" I suppose that is what grabbed me and the mental processes that go through everyone's mind as a result intrigued me. I listened to this one and found myself looking for excuses to get away from everyone so I could find out what happened next. The science portion of this book, which is actually relatively small, interested me much less than the human aspect. The end had a few bizarre twists that made me roll my eyes, but on the whole I enjoyed the read.

Excellent Hard SF

This book was spectacular. I enjoy hard SF, especially stories that begin in contemporary times, and this book did not let me down. Sawyer does a great job at mixing murder mystery with the skiffy (sci-fi) foundation.

Interesting concept but falls apart at end

I liked this book. It's part scifi, part murder mystery. If you like science, especially quantum physics it's a good book. If not, then probably not. If you like the science part, then its good till the last few chapters. An experiment at a supercollider throws everyone on the planet into a trance for 2 minutes. While in the trance you get to see 20 years into the future (but if you are driving a car guess what happens). Some people see what they will become, other people just see what they are dreaming, and then there are the people who see nothing meaning you are dead in 20 years. A major character tries to understand why he is dead and finds out he will be murdered. So far so good. Then its starts to get kind of cosmic as in 2001 space odyssey kind of stuff. Then it turns into a kind of romance book. I wish I was editor on this book because it would have been great without last 2 chapters and a twist on ending (maybe not so "happy".)

Extremely enjoyable

I really loved this book. It’s extremely interesting about a weird experience. Everyone in the world looses consciousness for a short period of time and sees their own future. I am now watching the TV series of the same name and its quite good.