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.