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Robert W. Moore

A decently executed novel with a fascinating central premise

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 28, 2009

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I had an incredibly eerie experience reading this book. I ordered it from Amazon on April 21, 2009 and started reading it on April 24. The events recounted in this novel begin on April 21, 2009, something that I did not know when I ordered the book. Although the novel was published in 1999, it takes a stab at depicting events that largely took place this past week. I'm pretty certain that I've never had this experience with a book before, reading a book during which the actual timeline is supposed to occur.

I decided to read this upon reading unconfirmed rumors that FOX is likely to green light a new series based upon this novel starting in the fall of 2009. Given that FOX is apparently considering canceling my two favorite series on FOX -- DOLLHOUSE and TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, I am leery of watching any new series on FOX. I'm simply tired of giving shows on FOX a chance, only to have them cancelled. (The third show that I watch on FOX is FRINGE, which does appear headed for renewal. But despite occasional flashes of excellence it has been oddly sluggish for most of its run, though its "mythology" holds promise of very good things to come.) The series is set to star Joseph Fiennes, though his role (of an FBI agent) is not a character in the novel. In fact, apart from the central event of people getting future glimpses of their lives, the series seems to have little to do with this novel. So, this novel is only very loosely the source for the forthcoming series.

I really enjoyed this book. I have little familiarity with the physics that lies at the heart of the book and I'm usually lost when those bits arise. But the rest of the book was wonderfully executed. The story involves an experiment conducted at the CERN supercollider in Switzerland that causes everyone on earth to have their consciousness thrown 21 years into the future, providing them with a glimpse of their future lives. The rest of the book deals with the fallout from this, including one physicist who investigates his own future murder. The book's main character struggles with his own conviction that the events of the future are indelible and inevitable and cannot be changed.

If I had a problem with the book, it was with the final section in the book. I enjoyed an action sequence that occurs there, but much else I felt was not organically connected with the rest of the book. I don't want to give details about what happens there, but I feel that it doesn't flow naturally from the rest. Also, there is a very strange contradiction. On the one hand Sawyer has his protagonist take the position (based on visions of the future) that artificial intelligence leading to consciousness is impossible, while simultaneously envisioning a degree of technical development that would more or less make possible immortality along the lines fantasized by Ray Kurzweil and other techno nut jobs. Achieving some sort of physical immortality seems to me to be the far more challenging technical task. Sawyer doesn't specify precisely how we are to achieve this kind of immortality (e.g., some of the techno nut jobs believe that it will be possible to take minute slices of the brain and transfer their contents to a computer database), so at this point he essentially dodges one of the most challenging questions. Still, while I found this part of the book really silly, the rest was a heck of a lot of fun.

I definitely recommend this novel for lovers of Sci-fi, but I'm guessing that it will be of only minor interest to those who plan on watching the upcoming FOX series.

Michael Juge

"Doubtless" a great read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 28, 2012

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4.5 out of 5 stars. Robert Sawyer sure knows how to explore that whole free will verses determinism thing in the most entertaining way. First, let's get on with the comparison between the novel and the television series. I loved both, but they are completely different stories outside of the starting premise that an experiment involving a Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is instrumental in accidentally causing all humanity to black out for a couple of minutes to experience a vision of the future. Of course, the act of the entire human race suddenly losing consciousness makes for a bit of a mess as planes crash upon take off and landing, cars collide into each other, people tumble down flights of stairs, milk is over-frothed. And this is where the novel and the TV series diverge.

In the TV series, the flash forward is set 6 months in the future, whereas the novel it is set 21 ½ years in the future. This sets the tone for an entirely different set of problems, especially for those who didn't have a vision. Additionally, the main characters are different (outside of Lloyd Simcoe) and the story itself goes into a completely different direction between novel and the TV series.

Sawyer did an outstanding job of exploring the various theoretical physics models of the universe and its implications for the human condition in a way that was digestible for those of use without degrees in the hard sciences. The main character Lloyd was attempting to find the Higgs Boson particular with the LHC at CERN; however, he inadvertently caused the flash forward which caused the deaths of millions (car crashes, planes falling from the sky, etc). Naturally, Lloyd feels immense guilt. Meanwhile his partner, the young Theo had no vision at all, which he soon realizes means that he is dead in 21 ½ years. Theo wants to find how he died in order that he may prevent it. Theo and countless others hope that the future is not set, that time is not immutable. But Lloyd sees it differently. Given his own guilt, he hopes that time is immutable; he posits that we live in a block universe whereby time is analogous to layers of film stacked upon itself. Everything that happened has happened and that which is going to happen has already happened, just as the ending of a film has been finished whether or not you you've seen the ending. Casablanca will always end the same way, will always be the way it has always been no matter where you are in the film. I forget the particulars of the theory, but Lloyd calls this a "block universe." The important thing is that a block universe is completely deterministic, completely immutable. We cannot change anything.

Sawyer showcases some of the most intriguing concepts coming out of physics, most of which are in conflict, through the discourse and the drives of the characters. The story itself is engaging, rarely did I find myself skimming through, and Sawyer assumes the reader is capable of asking oneself some hard questions about what it is free will. I've always counted on Sawyer's ability to do this, as he is a remarkable and accomplished story teller with talent for creating original and cerebral concepts to explore the human condition in an entertaining way. That being said, Sawyer, this is a message for you. Please use that Thesaurus option in MS Word. You have penchant for the word "doubtless," don't you? At first I thought it was just a strange Canadian thing like watching hockey or being polite. But my Canadian friends never say "doubtless." And levitating cars in 2030? Really, Sawyer? Really? We're going to drive cars that levitate? Are they also going to fold up and fit into our wallets? I think you're spot on so many points that that little part about levitating cars (not flying, I grant you) threw me off. Other than those two little objections, I am a total fan of the novel. Sawyer has me thinking late at night about free will and whenever an author does that, I know it's a winner. Good going!

Top reviews from other countries

x0/AB\x0

Good read but nothing like the TV series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 18, 2021

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320 pages.
Set in the LHC and the search for the Higgs Boson.
Features a Flash forward and the characters attempts to understand this and the implications for their future.
Interesting and detailed Quantum Physics at times.
It bears little resemblance to the TV series.
Features Lloyd Simcoe as the main character but in the book no FBI involvement, no Mark/Olivia Benford, no Simon Campos etc.
A good read in its own right but very different than the TV series and does nothing to explain/expand of the TV themes.

John Hopper

Good ideas, though only average in novel terms

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 12, 2014

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This novel by the Canadian SF writer concerns a blackout where everyone in the whole world suddenly falls unconscious for two minutes, resulting in car and plane crashes, patients dying in hospital and lesser injuries for many. During this two minutes almost everyone experiences a vision of their future 21 years hence (in 2030, the novel being set in 2009, though written in 1999). As with Sawyer's other novels, there is lengthy and interesting exploration of ethical ideas, here the clash between free will and determinism to which the glimpse into the future gives rise. Again, as in some of his other novels, there is quite a lot of hard science, here about particle physics that seems overdone at points. The characters are generally weak, and the two leading male characters, Lloyd and Theo I found irritating and rather self-centred, though they mellowed in the last part of the novel when the real 2030 came about.

Some of the 1999 predictions about technology in 2009 were off beam (everyone is still using VCRs, just more advanced ones), though the novel correctly predicts that Benedict XVI will be Pope!

There is a US TV series based on the central idea from the novel, though the characters are different (I just watched the first episode after reading this and it looks good).

Mr H

Not good if that's important to you in a novel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 7, 2017

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The long sections of science exposition, whilst no doubt not based on fact, are enjoyable in the sense that they make you think about topics such as the possibility of time travel and it's implication on mankind. But they don't really help with the narrative, leaving a fairly weak plot and lightweight characters. Not good if that's important to you in a novel.

I found the main characters frustrating. Scientists who seemed to grab at a explanatory theory for the flash forward based upon almost no evidence and then sell it to the world as established facts. I hope those at CERN in real life don't jump so quickly from "this is the only explanation I/my wife can think of" to "this is the only explanation that can be true".

Also - for a book published in 1999 and set mostly in 2009, the predictions of 2009 way of life seem way off. Some such as print-on-demand books provided in all bookshops are understandable and funny when reading this on a kindle. But others such as the continued references to VHS tape being used for recordings are very distracting. Surely the author would have been aware of DVDs in the late 90s. Even Blockbuster stocked them by then!

So an interesting central concept but could have been so much better. I can see why they junked the story for the TV adaptation.

Mr. J. Ferguson

Enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 17, 2010

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The premise alone was intriguing enough to encourage me to buy this book; the entire human race experiences two minutes of their future. The book details the story of a select number of characters as they come to terms with both their visions, and with the death and destruction caused by the unexpected, world-wide two minute absence of consciousness.

The book is well-paced, and punctuated with news summaries which indicate how the wider world is coping following the "Flashforward". The plot is centered around the Large Hardon Collider in Geneva (probably not a spoiler to suggest this might have something to do with it), and while the novel is punctuated with science, it doesn't detract too much from the human interest element. As well as science, there's also some Philosophy... but like the science it's "pop" Philosophy and is generally accessible. To be honest, from my perspective, there probably isn't enough of this kind of thing in it; I found the explanation of how a high-energy particle collision could interfere so acutely with human consciousness slightly wishy-washy. I get the impression you're not meant to question it too much... the LHC is a mere a plot device to enable the intriguing high-concept, and the emphasis is really more on the reaction of the characters.

For all it does zip along enjoyably, the last few chapters are somewhat of a damp squib and a bit nonsensical... it doesn't really need to go where it does. I also found the general ambivalence of the world's population a little unbelievable, but who's to say that's not how they'd react?

Overall I enjoyed this and recommend it.

D. Martland

Great in its own right

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 19, 2014

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Like many others, I bought this book in an attempt to understand what was going to happen in the cancelled TV series. Instead, a found a classic sci-fi story asking thought provoking 'what if?' questions.

Rather than having an alcoholic FBI agent running all over the place, the book focusses on two physicists at the centre of the Flashforward (or are they?). The event happens, they wonder if they caused it and they try to survive the fall-out. The book is much more slow paced, focussing on the personalities and their reactions to two very different futures which they would like to avoid. But can they?

The book has several over-lapping plot threads within it which intertwine nicely and I only got the twist about a page before the reveal, so it kept me guessing really quite well. A gentle ride, but very enjoyable none the less. Give it a go in its own right.

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