Editorial Content for Version Control
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Reviewer (text)
Rebecca Wright is trying to get her life under control. She and her husband, Philip, suffered a great tragedy a few years ago. Philip has his job at the lab to occupy his time and mind, while Rebecca works remotely from home on the internet dating site where she met him. But things are out of whack for her; everything seems just a bit off.
"I’m a fan of science fiction, and I also enjoy stories about time travel. This one, though, is different from any other books on the subject."
Philip is a physicist working on a special project, the causality violation device, commonly called a “time machine” (although you’re not supposed to call it that). He and his cohorts someday hope to be able to move an object (not a human) back an hour through time. The project is not a popular one in scientific circles because the process is taking so long to produce results. After 368 tries, the device has yet to yield any evidence of a change in time. Still, the scientists in Philip’s lab keep working, convinced that eventually they will get positive results.
But what if the machine works and they don’t even know it? What if a person really could travel back in time and didn’t even know it? What if someone had traveled back in time and didn’t even know it? What would happen then? What version of events would be true?
VERSION CONTROL takes place in what sounds like the not-too-distant future. No exact date is given, but it’s in the 21st century at a time when driverless cars and 3D printers are commonplace. I’m a fan of science fiction, and I also enjoy stories about time travel. This one, though, is different from any other books on the subject. Author Dexter Palmer has taken the idea and given it a twist --- or, should I say, several twists.
You need to pay attention as you’re reading the book. Don’t let your mind wander from the text. If you do, you might have difficulty figuring out what’s going on. It’s all a bit confusing, but it’s still a good story.
Teaser
Rebecca Wright has found her way out of grief and depression following a personal tragedy years ago. She spends her days working in customer support for the Internet dating site where she first met her husband. However, she has a persistent, strange sense that everything around her is somewhat off-kilter. Her husband Philip's decade-long dedication to the causality violation device (which he would greatly prefer you do not call a "time machine") has effectively stalled his career and made him a laughingstock in the physics community. But he may be closer to success than either of them knows or imagines.
Promo
Rebecca Wright has found her way out of grief and depression following a personal tragedy years ago. She spends her days working in customer support for the Internet dating site where she first met her husband. However, she has a persistent, strange sense that everything around her is somewhat off-kilter. Her husband Philip's decade-long dedication to the causality violation device (which he would greatly prefer you do not call a "time machine") has effectively stalled his career and made him a laughingstock in the physics community. But he may be closer to success than either of them knows or imagines.
About the Book
Although Rebecca Wright has pieced her life back together after a major tragedy, she can’t shake a sense that the world around her feels off-kilter. Meanwhile, her husband’s dedication to his invention, “the causality violation device” (which he would greatly prefer you not call a time machine) has effectively stalled his career --- but he may be closer to success than either of them can possibly imagine. Emotionally powerful and wickedly intelligent, VERSION CONTROL is a stunningly prescient novel about the effects of science and technology on our lives, our friendships and our sense of self that will alter the way you see the future --- and the present.
Audiobook available, narrated by January LaVoy
