Labyrinth

By: A. G. Riddle

Narrated by: James Babson

From the bestselling author of Lost in Time and Quantum Radio comes a new mind-bending thriller: a group of strangers with tinnitus begins seeing numbers—numbers they soon realize are a code that will change the world.

Alan Norris has lost everything. Except for his daughter. And he's willing to do anything to protect her.

The day of his wife's funeral, as he's walking to give the eulogy, the ringing in his ears starts. His tinnitus began when he was in the Marines, the day a roadside bomb went off. Usually, it's a low whine—a tea kettle that never quite boils. But as his prosthetic and his good leg sink into the soggy grass, the ringing changes. That afternoon, the ringing only he can hear sounds like three jagged rocks dropped in a tin can and shaken.

When the rattling hits a crescendo, he sees a series of numbers: 12122518914208.

He assumes it's a stress reaction. A hallucination. He's wrong about that. And several other things.

The ringing and the numbers are a mystery, but the worst part is that when that unseen hand shakes the can, Alan begins to lose time.

A few minutes at first.

Then longer.

Until one night, he wakes up next to a dead body.

He could call the police. Or run. He doesn't do either. Because he doesn't know what happened to his daughter during the time he lost, leaving him no choice but to dig deeper.

Alan soon discovers he's not the only one seeing the numbers. And that the sequence is key to a conspiracy with far-reaching consequences. For him and the entire world.

©2025 A. G. Riddle (P)2025 Recorded Books

Good story. Needs some tighter editing

Overall I liked the book. Decent narrator, though he needs to work on a larger variety of character voices. Not bad, but it can be a bit flat or repetitive at times.

I've read other books by Riddle and this was a hesitant purchase. He always seems to have a great vision and he gets there in the end, but I think he really needs the help of a good editor to help streamline the story. There are large parts of the book that kinda drag because the story is giving way too much detail for inconsequential parts. Just like RR Martin talks about food too much, Riddle seems to get lost in minor details that don't really matter. Like when the CEO goes on at length when describing his Claire user story of Labyrinth. Really not needed. This happens in a few other places.

Overall I'm recommending the story as a buy. Just hope the narrator and author take the feedback under consideration.

Definitely interesting

You really have to pay attention towards the middle because it starts using different timelines and a lot of metaphors but if you pay attention, it’s really good

I hope this writer does not have small children.

Leaving a six year old child alone for hours at a time, for any reason, is neglect. Writing it into a book is BAD message to send. End of story.

Worth the Wait

I love A. G. Riddle’s stories. They almost always are so close to something that is conceivably possible in the very near future. Labyrinth is no exception. With progress in AI and VR today, along with social media addiction and the way it impacts society, this book seems eerily plausible. I absolutely loved the story, and Warren was one of my favorite characters. Labyrinth has a good pace, and kept me turning the page (I got the kindle version as well) in anticipation of what would happen next. I don’t think I’ve found anyone who does exactly this category as well as Riddle, so I’m already looking forward to his next book. The narrator was a fantastic choice for this novel, as well. Thank you for another thought-provoking, well written book!

Science fiction at its best!

I like the character development and especially that the protagonist is the narrator. The timeline took me a minute to grasp, but the story is so expertly written that once it made sense I was amazed at the skill of the storyteller. Excellent writing.