A Window into Time

By: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell

Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Whip-smart 13-year-old Julian Costello Proctor - better known as Jules - has an eidetic memory. For as long as he can remember, he has remembered everything. "My mind is always on," he explains. But when an unexpected death throws his life into turmoil, Jules begins to experience something strange. For the first time, there are holes in his memory.

But that's not the strangest part. What's really weird isn't what he's forgotten; it's what he remembers. Memories of another life, not his own. And not from some distant past. No, these memories belong to a man who's alive right now.

With bravery, ingenuity, and quirky good humor, Jules devises a theory to explain this baffling phenomenon. While tracking down the identity of his mysterious doppelgänger, he finds himself enmeshed in the hopes and dreams of a stranger and caught in the coils of a madman's deadly plot.

©2015 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2016 Tantor

Charming, lovely, engaging!

Lovely short recording. Had I known how short it was I doubt I would have purchased it, so I'm glad I didn't check to see the novel's duration. The narrator was perfect and enhanced the story (which is ideal, right? since that's their entire purpose). I love time paradox so that added to my enjoyment of the story. The 13 year old narrator is endearing and characters are kept to a minimum so those of you who are sometimes confused with numerous characters and/or story lines won't have that issue here. I'll keep my review brief by saying the story is just as my headline says, charming, lovely, engaging.

Narrator was slow

Had to change audiobook speed to 1.1x because narrator was slow. This short story was well developed and had an unexpected twist at the end that was quite interesting.

Memory is not always a good thing

Peter F Hamilton's A Window into Time is a short story about a young boy with an amazing memory. Regarded as a bit odd by his schoolmates, he also experiences the accidental death of his mother forcing him to live with his father who has since remarried. Into this somewhat typical youthful situation comes the occurrence of his experiencing what appears to be someone else's memories. At first, the memories are from the past, but gradually, he comes to realize that that they may also foretell future events. In true millenial detective fashion, he hunts for the mystery owner of these memories.

While not technically science fiction, as the tale can be viewed more as fantasy, the concept of time travel, at least in the sense of information flow cannot be dismissed. Ultimately, this is a coming of age tale about a young man with a very unique talent who nevertheless must still learn, adapt, and overcome his own ignorance as well as adult intervention for his own good.

The narration is quite well done given that the bulk of the tale is from the perspective of a teenage boy. Given the short length, pacing is respectable.

very different for P. Hamilton

well written, really enjoyed it once I got past waiting for the hard sci-fit to emerge. never does. but entertaining none the less, and very well done.

No Space or Space Opera in Here

Nice time travel story... sort of. Jules remembers the past... or is it future?

Worth every second of your time!

Very glad I took the chance on a short 3+ hour story, as I usually gravitate towards longer novels. You certainly won’t be disappointed.

Interesting....

This was another first time author for me. I seem to be having a week of listening to short stories/novellas and it has definitely been interesting.

This story takes a little bit of a different view on the whole "time travel" paradox issue and we begin by being introduced to a 13 year old boy Julian. He has an eidetic memory and he is still in those "difficult" pre-puberty years that all boys go through. It isn't made any easier because he is extremely smart and his social skills are still a work in progress.

I will be honest though, I had a hard time following this story. I mean, I understood the basics but honestly, the whole paradox - future - past - memory things were a bit difficult for me to follow. No spoilers though....

Regardless, the MC is a nice protagonist that you can not help but like and it is fun following him as he first 1) thinks he is going to destroy the universe if he breaks the whole time paradox thing and 2) decides he REALLY IS smarter than all the other "stupids".

So - fun and easy read. Narration was fine. I might just have to look up Mr. Hamilton to read one of his full length novels that he is apparently famous for.

A good (very) short story, that isn't short

A good (very) short story with a really interesting plot point. Unfortunately, it's surrounded by a lot more text. The bit of interesting material is padded by the narrator's constant complaining, judgements, and extemporizing on things the "stupids" don't understand that he's learned from reliable sources, like tabloids. Sure, the 13 year old narrator has an eidetic memory, and the arrogance of youth, but communicated through disdain and condescension. Tedious, filled with mostly flat, unlikeable characters. Even what should be humorous is overshadowed by unpleasantness. Read at 1.5 speed.

I've read most of Hamilton's books. He is... long winded... but those extra words are usually enjoyable (if extraneous). The extra words here are not.

A very Different Story From Peter F. Hamilton

Where does A Window into Time rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very high a really interesting read

Who was your favorite character and why?

Julian ~ Read the book

What about Chris MacDonnell’s performance did you like?

It sounds like the characters are real

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

You never know where life will lead you.

Slow, overly detailed, carefully crafted

Seemed to nowhere for such a long time. Bright, innovative ending. Might have been better at half the length.