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FlashForward
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Review
"This is the novel that inspired the TV series. The book's cast indulges in more leisurely discussion of theories about free will, multiple universes and the like. It works rather well. There are some intriguing predictions for the year 2030, by the way: hover cars and an African-American president in the White House." (THE DAILY MAIL )
"Although it was turned for TV into a race-against-time thriller, the novel is an intellectual puzzle, drawing on theoretical physics to raise questions about time and space and the existence of free will, and proves once again that good science fiction does not need visual effects to thrill." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )
"The novel, now published for the first time in this country, is... decent sci-fi." (THE EVENING STANDARD )
Sawyer focuses on the efforts of a small group of people to cope with their new found knowledge, showing what's going on for the rest of the world via news headlines. This gives the reader the opportunity to really get inside people's heads and experience the phenomenon at first hand... a thoughtful and exploratory piece that examines the nature of destiny and free will." (GRAEME'S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW )
"Although it was turned for TV into a race-against-time thriller, the novel is an intellectual puzzle, drawing on theoretical physics to raise questions about time and space and the existence of free will, and proves once again that good science fiction does not need visual effects to thrill." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )
"The novel, now published for the first time in this country, is... decent sci-fi." (THE EVENING STANDARD )
Sawyer focuses on the efforts of a small group of people to cope with their new found knowledge, showing what's going on for the rest of the world via news headlines. This gives the reader the opportunity to really get inside people's heads and experience the phenomenon at first hand... a thoughtful and exploratory piece that examines the nature of destiny and free will." (GRAEME'S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW )
Product Description
Suddenly everyone in the world loses consciousness for two minutes. Planes fall from the sky, there are millions of car crashes, millions die. And when everyone comes round they have had a glimpse of their life in the future. When it awakes the world must live with the knowledge of what is to come. Some saw themselves in new relationships, some saw exciting new technologies, some saw the stuff of nightmares. Some, young and old alike, saw nothing at all . . . A desperate search to find out what has happened begins. Does the mosaic of visions offer a clue? What did you see? Now the basis for the Channel 5 hit series FLASHFORWARD
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Robert Sawyer always finds great stories to write about. His ideas always draw me in and I think I'm in for a fantastic tale. Then I reach the end and I feel like it could have been more.
Flashforward had a great pull - See your own life 20 years into the future for 2 minutes and try to work out how to get there.
It was a brilliant start and a real page turner. I loved reading about everyone's flashforward, I was rivited by all the connotations that flashforward threw up. Even the loss and devestation caused by the flashforward made for interesting reading...The first half is about the here and now. It's great.
When we reach the second half, it's all about edging towards the 20 year future that had been predicted. Getting there takes a lot of technical info that frankly I could have done without. The why's and how's don't really interest me. Also the two leads at this stage become a bit whiney. Lloyd simcoe wants to be with his girl, then he's got doubts, then he's sure again, then he has doubts again....and Theo is so wrapped up in himself that he gets tedious really fast. It's all me, me, me with Theo. THEN we get to the future and it's all wraped up in a paragrah or 3. It was a bit of a let down.
The ending left me with a bit of a 'whaaat??' moment and I imagine for the hard-core sci-fi fans it was the best bit, but I just wasn't feeling it. The conclusion was over in a flash.
.....And it's nothing like the tv show...... just sayin'
Flashforward had a great pull - See your own life 20 years into the future for 2 minutes and try to work out how to get there.
It was a brilliant start and a real page turner. I loved reading about everyone's flashforward, I was rivited by all the connotations that flashforward threw up. Even the loss and devestation caused by the flashforward made for interesting reading...The first half is about the here and now. It's great.
When we reach the second half, it's all about edging towards the 20 year future that had been predicted. Getting there takes a lot of technical info that frankly I could have done without. The why's and how's don't really interest me. Also the two leads at this stage become a bit whiney. Lloyd simcoe wants to be with his girl, then he's got doubts, then he's sure again, then he has doubts again....and Theo is so wrapped up in himself that he gets tedious really fast. It's all me, me, me with Theo. THEN we get to the future and it's all wraped up in a paragrah or 3. It was a bit of a let down.
The ending left me with a bit of a 'whaaat??' moment and I imagine for the hard-core sci-fi fans it was the best bit, but I just wasn't feeling it. The conclusion was over in a flash.
.....And it's nothing like the tv show...... just sayin'
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is not just about the human consciousness leaping 21 years into the future. It's about the people to whom this happened. How do people who have been given a taste of their own future react to that knowledge? Humanity just had the "Fruit of Knowledge" thrust down its throat. Can we be the same after we gain that knowledge? Did that knowledge come at too high a price? Does freewill exist or is it just an illusion humanity concocted? Is the future immutable or can we make our own future? Sawyer deals with not only complex ideas, like these, but also complex emotions. He breathes life into his characters, then lets them take flight. Once I picked this book up, I could not put it down.
31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This inevitable release to tie in with the new tv series is sure to have people rushing to read it in the hope of finding answers to the numerous conundrums and Lost-style red herrings that have already been provided. So a word of caution: this book was written ten years ago and the series is only based on the book's central idea. There are already massive changes of direction and focus from the book, and it's likely the direction may go further apart, especially if the series runs for a while. That's not a bad thing though as the central idea is one of Sawyer's best and can be explored in many ways.
What would you do if you knew what the future had in store for you? This is the intriguing question that some scientific technobabble involving quantum mechanics throws up. Free will versus apparent predestination is a fascinating concept. The predicament of the characters, some of whom learn how they'll die and when, and some of whom learn how their lives will turn out for better or worse, is an idea that grabs the attention. Some people give up and accept the inevitable, some people just give up and kill themselves, some people try to change the future, and some people even try to ensure the future they saw does happen.
These attitudes build up a picture of the various views of fate we probably all have and as such it represents the very best that science fiction can provide. Sf always works best when it takes a single idea and asks how the world will change because of it. What I found less successful was the science aspects. I've enjoyed a few Sawyer novels and for me they usually get bogged down with trying too hard to make the science believable, when it rarely is. Sawyer's writing style is also prone to being pedestrian, but on the other hand it's well within the norm for the modern bestseller style.
Some minor reservations aside, this is a fascinating novel of ideas and how we might react to knowing our fates. Whether or not the tv series takes the same direction, both are well worth exploring.
What would you do if you knew what the future had in store for you? This is the intriguing question that some scientific technobabble involving quantum mechanics throws up. Free will versus apparent predestination is a fascinating concept. The predicament of the characters, some of whom learn how they'll die and when, and some of whom learn how their lives will turn out for better or worse, is an idea that grabs the attention. Some people give up and accept the inevitable, some people just give up and kill themselves, some people try to change the future, and some people even try to ensure the future they saw does happen.
These attitudes build up a picture of the various views of fate we probably all have and as such it represents the very best that science fiction can provide. Sf always works best when it takes a single idea and asks how the world will change because of it. What I found less successful was the science aspects. I've enjoyed a few Sawyer novels and for me they usually get bogged down with trying too hard to make the science believable, when it rarely is. Sawyer's writing style is also prone to being pedestrian, but on the other hand it's well within the norm for the modern bestseller style.
Some minor reservations aside, this is a fascinating novel of ideas and how we might react to knowing our fates. Whether or not the tv series takes the same direction, both are well worth exploring.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great book
Watched the TV series on Channel 5 and was very gutted when they decided not to do a second series so had to buy the book to find out what happened in the end! Read more
Published 9 days ago by Jesslovesshopping2711
As good as expected
Having watched the TV show and loved it, I had quite high expectations about this book. I was quite surprised to find that there was only one familiar character and that the story... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Lottie
FlashForward
Although the book was riveting to read, it bore no relation to the tv series.
I had the book downloaded to my kindle app on my pc and it was so easy to read. Read more
I had the book downloaded to my kindle app on my pc and it was so easy to read. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bob
Thought-provoking sci-fi romp
OK, so I never saw the television series, so I approached this with a clear and fresh mind. And I was hooked within a couple of chapters. Read more
Published 8 months ago by History Geek
Flash in the pan...
Like a number of readers, I purchased this book on the back of the slick TV show based upon it. This is never a particularly wise approach to buying reading matter, but I was... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Urban Philosopher
Flashforward Robert J Sawyer
I personally loved this book, it was a very quick read but worth it!
Not the usual type of story I go for but this book has opened my eyes to new horizons. Read more
Not the usual type of story I go for but this book has opened my eyes to new horizons. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Miss Stephannie A. Hull
fascinating
After the series finished on TV I wanted to find out what happened in the end. Only half way through and visualising the characters. Not sure if I will finish it any time soon. Read more
Published 12 months ago by mo
Thought Provoking
The simple test is: did I enjoy this book? Yes I did. I watched the TV series, mostly on fastforward as it was frustratingly slow. This made me seek out the source. Read more
Published 13 months ago by SuddenlySeymour
Where will you be in 21 years?
First things first: this is not the TV show. How they got away with saying that it was based on this, I really do not know. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Sars
good book
It is a nice book, very small, wish there were more of them! The tv series is managing to get better than the book with more human stories and more action. Read more
Published 17 months ago by T. Chakova
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