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)

How would you digest the fruits of knowledge??

You know how you sometimes wish you did something different after some event has happened.. well Robert J. Sawyer explores this here.

Based around a group of scientists who are conducting an experiment at CERN (the place where they have a massive collider running thats SO large it spans 3 different boarders/countries) in Switzerland. The results are not as they expect..

What would be your path in life if.. for 2 mins, you could see 20 years in to the future.. would you be with that person you thought you loved? If not, how would that affect you today... with that person you're with now... hhmm.. how does fore knowledge affect your daily decisions in life??

As with his other books - the science behind his stories are not outrageous, indeed they are scientifically sound (reference to SCI-FI weekly). Enjoy it, its a great story..

If you enjoyed this I would recommend one of his other books: Terminal Experiment.

Enjoyed Every Minute!

I like this kind of science-fiction and this was right up my alley!

I was hooked on the TV series when it aired in 2009 / 2010 and was left dangling at the end when it was abruptly cancelled. The last episode of the show was shot before it was known it would be cancelled; it depicted a second Fast Forward Event happening 20 years in the future… and then it was over! What a tease!

I didn’t realize at the time that the show was based on a book so I was excited to discover it and finally get some closure. Loved it!

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.

Pedantic, flat reading,

Little character development, flat one dimensional characters that live in their heads, with internal dialogues to deliver "the message"

Doesn't feel well thought through...

The idea for this story is intriguing and it starts off well and has some good suspense. Sawyer explores some interesting scenarios through the lives of the characters overall, yet toward the end, it just doesn't feel that well thought out. I feel like maybe the author was under a deadline or something and just put a generic component to the ending. This wouldn't be at the top of my recommendation list, but it is worth getting if you really love time travel fantasy. The best time travel stuff on Audible that I have read is definitely Replay by Ken Grimwood, The Schumann Frequency & The First Boxer by Chris Ride and 11-22-63 by Stephen King. Hope this helps. Later.

More thoughtful than action-filled

Any additional comments?

A Hadron collider experiment causes the collective consciousness of humanity to get a glimpse of the future 21 years hence for about 2 minutes. The book is filled with the consequences, as well as interesting asides, scientific explanations, a little romance and a fair amount of action. It was an easy read and an enjoyable one. It was more thoughtful and reflective than one might expect with such a plot, and Sawyer is a romantic at heart, which slows down the ending. The narrator was good, almost invisible to the telling, so you could just concentrate on Sawyer's words.

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 but a Technical

This was a good read, there were only 2 problems . . .1) The scientific technical language will be over a lot of people's head and 2)The end went a little "out there" Otherwise, it was a good story

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".)

Weak and full of holes

Only 52 minutes left and I'm finding it hard to finish. I went through The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (57 hours) in less than a week but this 10 1/2 hour book just doesn't do it.

Excellent

It might help if you have a smattering of physics - but if you do- it's great! what would you do if you knew a snippet of the future - could you/would you change it? Excellent storyline, well read, good pace. I love SF that is possible.

Disappointing

I was looking forward to listening to this book; it had attracted quite a few plaudits and the basic premise was an intriguing one. However, after a reasonably promising start, the book disappoints. The author does not seem to have the imagination to develop his ideas properly, and the characters and their relationships are just too formulaic to carry the plot and maintain the narrative momentum. As a result the book meanders around in the middle part and whilst it picks up a bit towards the end, the ending itself is laughably cliche. Nor does the narration save the book - too one paced and earnest with the various characters not adequately distinguished. As I said, disappointing: save your money.

Everyone is bad and science is magic

I'd say this book went off the rails but it never even found it's rails to begin with. The idea of Flash Forward is really great and has a lot of potential, however this book not only squanders all that potential but is in a real hurry to do it. Everything zips along but nothing actually happens, the individual plot lines capable of being summed up accurately in two or three bullet points and being just about as engaging as they were in the book. The science of the book is baffling and the author just seems to hope you'll never think logically about what is happening. The book makes frequent references to films but then feels compelled to spend a few minutes outlining the plot of "A Christmas Carol" to make sure you understood the reference. The characters are truly awful and at first this is fine but then you realise that they're not supposed to be awful. They're callous, self involved, spineless and overall they feel like they were written by an alien. They have no subtly, no nuance and they say "hag" and "crone" way too much. There's a weird 19th century feel about the book whenever it makes mention of race, not overtly racist but using verbiage that just feels antiquated and uncomfortable. Essentially everyone is bad, everything is under developed and the ending is one of the most tone deaf, out of nowhere endings I can recall in a book.

The narration is fine, it didn't feel like anything special. Occasionally there's some fun to be had with a book written in 1999 trying to predict the future but casual mentions of VCRs and the World Wide Web only get you so far. I like the flash forward idea enough that I want to give this a book a better review but I just can't do it. It's like if someone discovered an infinite energy source, used it to power a toaster and then promptly burnt the toast. Even if the toast had worked out really well it's still an incredible waste of potential and someone really needed to have more ambition.

Flash wo wo

I'm glad I've read, listened to this book. Totally different from the TV series of a few years ago. A good story although there was much sciencespeak. it was interesting to hear how the world would look in the future and even when you "see" your possible future, you could be in the wrong place at the right time.

Great concept, enjoyable read, weak ending

The concept of the novel is great - an experiment at a particle accelerator produces a glimpse of 21 years into the future for the whole of humanity.

The book follows the story of the scientists as they attempt to work out what happened and follows the debate over whether the future is fixed or can be changed. One strand of the story follows a character as he tries to find out what happened in his life that meant his future self is not around in 21 years time.

For the most part the book is enjoyable and engaging and kept me coming back for more. The last third of the book ties up some of the loose ends but takes an odd direction for one of the characters and I didn't buy in to the end of his story.

Overall though I enjoyed the book and found it a real page turner.

A great listen!

I really enjoyed this book, the reader is very easy to listen to, and really brings the characters to life.

The first half of the book is the best as they deal with 'the event' but it does get rather far fetched towards the end, especially for a book which grounds itself as much as possible in believable physics. But don't let that put you off, it's still a great book!

The book was written in 1999 and is set in 2009, so although the setting is now in the past it was still a decade in the future when it was written, so it's interesting to note some aspects like the author suggesting that book stores had all turned into coffee shops with 'print on demand' facilities. One of the characters in 2009 expressed amazement at a 2030 vision of hard drive based recorders for TV programmes when they are/were perfectly commonplace in 2009!

Also while this takes some common elements from the TV series of the same name, the story is completely different so having watched/read one is not going to spoil the other!

Wish I had read the book before seeing the TV series

This is the first book I have read by Sawyer and it is a must read for SciFi fans. I wish I listened to this before seeing the TV series's however it was the series that introduced me to his work.
I have had this book in my wish list for a few years and finally got it, I loved he twists and turns and the solid science.
He paints seems of place that I have been to with detail that really brought them to life. So much of the book feels solid and realistic that it absorbs you the way a really good story should.
Every time I stopped I could not wait to get back to the book.

Great listen

What did you like most about Flashforward?

The thing I liked most about this title is the well written story and the relatable characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lloyd, the leading man if you like, is my favourite character. He has his flash forward/vision, and he has a bit of a tough time explaining what he saw to his partner.

What about Mark Deakins’s performance did you like?

Mark Deakins performance is great. Reads at a good pace and has a very clear voice. His voice changes for the different characters. There are characters from a few different countries, and Deakins handles the different accents very well. He even say a few French and German phrases.

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

I filled up a little when a characters child dies. During the chapters following the death they are having a hard time and the way she is written is very true to life.

Any additional comments?

Overall a great listen. Kept me engaged from the off right until the end.

If you knew the future would you read this book?

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

Yes but not unreservedly, Robert Sawyer writes very intellectually interesting books with great ideas and he writes them well. Sometimes though what he brings in terms of the ideas and the philosophy he looses in the emotional translation. If you love ideas, this book is a marvel, if you need emotions with that its a good book, If you want an emotional book its a waste of time.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Michiko, human and the best and most rounded character of all

What about Mark Deakins’s performance did you like?

Great characterisations, he got everything he could from the page and was very clear.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely not, its way too theory heavy, but 2+hrs would be ok.

Any additional comments?

Its a great book for soft sci-fi lovers who want ideas heavy books.

Strong Begining

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

Yes. Fantastic concept and unique story which keeps the listener guessing.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the exploration of different scientific models and the characters desperately trying to make sense of it all.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The science chats in the lunch room where they they explain and denounce theories.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

10 hours is a bit long for one sitting but it could be done.

Any additional comments?

Strong beginning but unfortunately the build up is better than the ending and the listener is left with a sense of anti climax. I thought the build up was strong enough to make this a good book and a must listen if you like science.