Shift

A Novel

By: Tim Kring, Dale Peck

Narrated by: Robert Forster

A new caliber of thriller set at the collision of ’60s counterculture and the rise
of dark forces in world government. Heroes creator Tim Kring injects history with a supernatural, hallucinogenic what-if.

Set in the crucible of the 1960s, Shift is the story of Chandler Forrestal, a man whose life is changed forever when he is unwittingly dragged into a CIA mind-control experiment. After being given a massive dose of LSD, Chandler de­velops a frightening array of mental powers. With his one-in-a-billion brain chemistry, Chandler’s heightened perception uncovers a plot to assassi­nate President Kennedy.

Propelled to prevent the conspiracy of assassi­nation and anarchy, Chandler becomes a target for deadly forces in and out of the government and is pursued across a simmering landscape peopled by rogue CIA agents, Cuban killers, Mafia madmen, and ex-Nazi scientists…all the while haunted by a beautiful woman with her own scandalous past to purge, her own score to settle. Chased across America, will Chandler be able to harness his “shift” and rewrite history?

Combining the nonstop style of Ludlum with the sinister, tangled conspiracies of DeLillo and Dick, and featuring cameos from Lee Harvey Oswald to Timothy Leary to J. Edgar Hoover, Shift is a thriller guaranteed to be equal parts heart-stopping and thought-provoking.

Critic reviews

"From acid induced mind control to covert operations in Cuba, from a missing nuclear weapon to mass hallucinations, SHIFT runs a gamut that your inner conspiracy theorist will find delightful and provocative...reading SHIFT is like fighting a featherweight boxer. Always moving, constantly on its toes, it peppers you with small punches until, eventually, you succumb and it delivers the knockout. But oh, what a fight, and certainly one that is enjoyable and frenetic from start to finish...For an engaging romp through the ’60s that never were, look no further than SHIFT."--Book Page

Couldn't finish it

I always hate reviews from people who don't finish the book - but I had NO desire to keep going. I was more than halfway through and I don't care about any characters, nor have any desire to keep going to find out what's really happening. I think the idea was great - and I like the narrator's voice (I think he was papa Patrelli on Heroes)...but there was no change in tone when something dramatic was going on. It's the same inflection and tone when two characters are talking on the train as when furniture is being hurled around the room. Just flat. So - I may have to rewrite this if I ever go back and finish it - but I really couldn't do it!