Customer Reviews

Towards Yesterday

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In a world sinking into a morass of indifferent Fantasy, leavened only by the occasional Space Opera, it is a huge relief to read some 'proper' science fiction. You, know, fiction based on science.

Paul Jones' Towards Yesterday is unashamedly old school. The plot is well-paced and compelling, the science convincing, and the questions posed - both social and personal - leave the reader with plenty to ponder. I did take issue with the idea that Dirac's radio avoids the causal loop, based on the precept that it is information and not matter that is displaced in time, but that is a dispute with the theory, not the author.

I should point out that there is much more to this work; the characters are strongly drawn and the interplay of personality and circumstance compelling. I can unreservedly recommend you read Towards Yesterday if you prefer steak to hamburger.

Towards Yesterday is a great hard sci-fi read from first-time author, Paul Anthony Jones. The book's basic premise is interesting to say the least - what would happen to society if everyone on the planet had their consciousness sent back 25 years into the past? Those who died would come back to life with their memories intact up to the moment of their death. The book explores relationships, second chances, religion, and the ever present friction between science and faith.

Mr. Jones explores these ideas and provides an interesting race-against-the-clock scenario that keeps the reader interested right up to the explosive conclusion. I paid only 99 cents for this novel, but I feel that it is easily worth more. It is a novel not only of sci-fi, but of ideas; this is what distinguishes good sci-fi from great sci-fi.

The book really made me wonder what I would do differently with my life if I woke up in my 15 year-old body. I look forward to reading more works by this author and congratulate him on publishing his first novel.

I really enjoyed the complexity of the time travel in this book. Not your normal time travel book, in where the person themselves travel through time, but their consciousness.

Kudos to you Mister Jones. I look forward to your next book.

It starts off well enough with the "slip" backwards in time but then it dissolves into a "Church vs. Science" scenario. Basically if you are an atheist and turn to science for all your answers, this would be a great read to reaffirm your faith or lack of. If you enjoy a good story however about 50% through the book you will start to feel an unease as you are reading that you are being lectured to. I tried to read on but at about 70% it became to much when the "Church" told the President of the US that the church had to have monitors at a top secret research facility that was trying to save mankind from another slip and the US Government meekly capitulated. At that point I gave up. Save your money and time.

While the time reversal is an interesting idea, the story was at times disjointed and at times just boring. I didn't end up caring about any of the characters at all and they were flat and lifeless. There is a glimmer of an idea here ... but none of the really interesting possibilities are explored.

This is a really good read. At first I thought the ending was just a contrived way to stop the story when the author felt he had gone long enough, but by the end he does a good job of wrapping it up.

Finding an inexpensive, well written kindle book is getting harder all the time, but this one fits the bill.

This is only about the fifth time travel novel that I've read, but I must say that Towards Yesterday provoked thoughts that I would write down if I were writing a letter to my sixteen year-old self as an adult. This book reminds one of how quickly things can change!

I found the book rich in description, orienting me in the time travel atmosphere. The characters seemed believable and interesting; even though in one instance, I found one association of two of the characters a little puzzling.

As the story progressed, I found that the pace picked up and had me eager to read the next chapters, even though I had to quit and go to bed, so I could go to work the next day.

I loved the electronic cover of this book. Striking!

I know that Towards Yesterday is the writer's first novel, and if I had one piece of advice, it would be to have someone read the book looking for typos--not a lot, but enough to be distracting to a reader. I loved his use of vocabulary. A fair number of words needed looking up on my trusty kindle, but it was just about right. It expanded my knowledge without becoming overwhelming or slowing the story to a crawl.

I hope that Paul continues to write books and am looking forward to his next book. Thanks for a very enjoyable read! :-)

This is a hidden gem that would be a pure shame to miss. Toward Yesterday is an apocalyptic, science fiction thriller, that kept me sneaking away to read my Kindle for the entire Memorial Day weekend. Engrossing, thought-provoking, filled with lasting, vivid imagery...the story gripped me early, and didn't let go. Based around a future scientific/military experiment gone terribly awry (apocalyptic level destruction and death toll), the story ties together several strangers, as their post "event" paths collide, with potentially even deadlier consequences for humankind.

If you like post-apocalyptic books, you will thoroughly enjoy this one. The scenes surrounding the "event" are worth the price of admission alone. Some of the best apocalyptic imagery and action I have ever read. For a first time author, this is an impressive accomplishment, and for a self-published title, it contains few, if any, grammar or typo errors. You will not regret purchasing this book.

This book has a very unique take on time travel fiction, and the science actually seems realistic even if beyond our present capabilities. The characters are wonderfully fleshed out and engaging which makes the story a pleasure to read. I did read another review that complained about the graphic horror in certain scenes but I did not find that to be the case for me, and I don't read horror because I do not like the genre.

Pay attention, aspiring scifi writers! This author understands what makes a story truly science fiction and not fantasy - and there are a number of authors who don't seem to understand the difference.

I read quite a bit, probably averaging a book every 2 weeks or so and they're pretty much all science fiction. I've read quite a few that I REALLY enjoyed, several that are hardly worth mentioning and quite a few that were barely worth finishing. This one falls in with the REALLY enjoyed group. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I'm writing my first Amazon book review on it!

I won't waste time repeating what it's about as I'm sure you've already read that in other reviews. All I'll say is that it's a new twist on time travel and while it reminds me a little of FlashForward by Robert J. Sawyer it takes a bit different direction.

The only slightly negative thing I'd say about it is that it gets just a bit wordy/tedious for my taste when the main character's trying to reach his house from the point where the time-shift happens but once you get past that it's a great read to the end and I look forward to more books by the author!!