If I Knew Then: A Nightmare Becomes Reality [Paperback]

Carleton Heaviside (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2005

Erotic science-fiction thriller

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A chilling SciFi concept. It could happen.....and that's what makes 'If I Knew Then' so deliciously frightening." --Frances Halpern, Author and Host of "Beyond Words," literary talk show on KCLU, an NPR affiliate.

From the Publisher

I'd like to add the following information to the existing listing: "ANNOUNCEMENT: FINALIST in the USA BOOK NEWS BEST BOOK AWARD FOR 2006 in FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION"

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Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Laplace Publishing; 1 edition (September 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971954054
• ISBN-13: 978-0971954052
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,905,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sci-fi + sex = a great novel, August 30, 2006

By 

Dennis Kaye - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If I Knew Then: A Nightmare Becomes Reality (Paperback)

Definitely the most exciting and interesting sci-fi book I have read in years. A terrific work from a first-time author. If you love sci-fi and sex you will not be able to put it down. Through the vehicle of mind transference Carleton Heaviside allows you to explore sexual fantasies in explicit detail: old man in a young man's body, man in a woman's body, woman in a man's body, young woman in an old woman's body - all graphically described(this book is not for the faint-hearted or unsophisticated adult). A true joy from beginning to end. I can't wait for the sequel.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars intriguing at first but ultimately disappointing, February 8, 2008

By 

The Old Drake "the old drake" (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: If I Knew Then: A Nightmare Becomes Reality (Paperback)

I thought the premise had a lot of potential. The idea of experiencing life and kinky sex in another body - younger or older, man or woman - could have been explored much more thoroughly by concentrating on fewer subjects and omitting much of the pseudo-technical detail. As it is, the book-within-a-book and so many different characters undergoing mind transplantation merely skimmed the surface of what could have been a fine story. For example, there isn't nearly enough detail about the kinky sex and there is way too much detail about the engineering underpinnings of the plot.

Even though the book is longer than the average novel, it still left me feeling like I was reading "Readers Digest" -style condensed chapters of what might once have been a pretty good short novella, interleaved with a fantasy electrical engineering textbook. What this book needed was less imaginary science and much more attention to detail in good old fashioned plot and character development.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing Well Written Book, August 13, 2009

By 

W. E. Steinwedell (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If I Knew Then: A Nightmare Becomes Reality (Paperback)

What a surprise! A book from an unknown author whose writing skill has been kept a deep, dark secret from the literary community. I obtained my copy of "If I Knew Then" on the recommendations of friends who had read the book. I'll admit that at first I found the book's length, at 486 pages, somewhat daunting. But from the opening pages onward, I was hooked and set aside other matters until I had finished the story a mere three days later. While I have a moderate interest in science fiction, I found the book's SciFi premise, as laced with its sexual fantasy themes, so offbeat as to be both amusing and irresistibly captivating. In a way, I think author Heaviside slyly invites the readers into mentally writing their own versions of the story's fantasies as they read the printed page. If other readers are similarly provoked, the author may have tapped into a very successful formula. In spite of the book's adult-erotica content and its technology discussions, I found the writing to be both literate and engaging--and definitely not dry. Why else would I have had so much trouble putting the book down? Regarding the question of whether the book would be more of a man's book than a woman's, I had heard of an enthusiastic male reader who was so protective as to not let his wife read the book. Still, the people who had enjoyed the book and recommended it to me were women. So go figure! Listening to separate conversations among male adults and among female adults (most notably about getting a second chance at life) I think that the book's allure is a result of its dealing frankly with the kinds of things most adults think about but hesitate to discuss openly. If so, that would appear to be a reasonable formula for a secretly good story.