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The Oppenheimer Alternative Paperback – June 2, 2020
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A nail-biting new science fiction thriller from Robert J. Sawyer; the all-time worldwide leader in award-wins as a science fiction or fantasy novelist.
"Well worth reading.―Analog Science Fiction and Fact
“Really great, a page turner. I was hooked from the beginning to the end.”―Andre Bormanis, co-executive producer, The Orville and Cosmos
On the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb, Hugo and Nebula-winning author Robert J. Sawyer takes us back in time to revisit history…with a twist.
While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a bomb based on nuclear fusion―the mechanism that powers the sun.
Teller’s research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system―including Earth.
As the war ends with the use of fission bombs against Japan, Oppenheimer's team, plus Albert Einstein and Wernher von Braun, stay together―the greatest scientific geniuses from the last century racing against time to save our future.
Meticulously researched and replete with real-life characters and events, The Oppenheimer Alternative is a breathtaking adventure through both real and alternate history.
- Print length374 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherCAEZIK SF & Fantasy
- Publication dateJune 2, 2020
- Dimensions6 x 1 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101647100135
- ISBN-13978-1647100131
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“An imaginative restructuring of a phantasmagoric life into an alternative phantasmagorical story. Oppenheimer fans will be intrigued.”―Martin J. Sherwin, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
“A truly science fictional work of alternate history which turns on the decisions―and discoveries―of the great physicists who wrote the history of the 20th century: Einstein, Fermi, Gödel, and Oppenheimer. They are the vividly realized, all-too-human characters who people this novel, and give its brilliant speculations human life and blood. Bravo!”―S.M. Stirling, author of Dies The Fire
“Incredibly realistic: the characters, locations, the era, and even the science. I felt like I was back in Los Alamos―and I should know: I worked there! Breathlessly riveting; Sawyer pulls it off masterfully.”―Doug Beason, former Associate Laboratory Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory “The feel and detail of the Manhattan Project figures is deep and well done. I knew many of these physicists, and Sawyer nails them accurately.”―Gregory Benford, author of The Berlin Project
“I enjoyed it tremendously! Really great, a page turner. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Another fine addition to the Sawyer canon!”―Andre Bormanis, co-executive producer, The Orville and Cosmos
“An expert and engrossing knitting of the threads of history, with genuine characters of the mid 20th Century, to weave out a compulsive fictional narrative.”―Jem Rolls, author of the play The Inventor of All Things
“Sawyer portrays brilliantly and poignantly the struggles of the scientists who started it all and were consequently obliged to bear an unbearable burden.”―James Christie, Chair, Project Ploughshares, member organization of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
“Sawyer has outdone himself! No one could have taken on this project with such gusto and with such a search for the truth as this outstanding author. I’ve never read such a complete and thrilling account of Oppenheimer’s world.―Jonas Saul, author of the Sarah Roberts series
PRAISE FOR ROBERT J. SAWYER
“A new Robert J. Sawyer book is always cause for celebration.”― Analog Science Fiction and Fact
“Sawyer not only has an irresistibly engaging narrative voice but also a gift for confronting thorny philosophical conundrums. At every opportunity, he forces his readers to think while holding their attention with ingenious premises and superlative craftsmanship.”― Booklist
“Can Sawyer write? Yes―with near-Asimovian clarity, with energy and drive, with such grace that his writing becomes invisible as the story comes to life in your mind.”― Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game
“Robert J. Sawyer is by any measure one of the world’s leading (and most interesting) science-fiction writers. His fiction is a fascinating blend of intellectually compelling big ideas and humane, enduring characters.”― The Globe and Mail
“Sawyer, an articulate fountain of ideas, is the genre’s northern star―in fact, one of the hottest SF writers anywhere. By any reckoning Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors ever.”― Maclean’s: Canada’s Weekly News Magazine
“Robert J. Sawyer is a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation.”― The New York Times
“Sawyer’s books―always rich in science, action, and profound thinking―never fail to surprise, delight, and cause us to transcend our ordinary thinking. I’ve read Crichton, Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, King, and Koontz―and Sawyer outdoes them all.”―Clifford A. Pickover, author Time: A Traveler’s Guide
“A polished, exciting writer. Sawyer writes with the scientific panache and grandeur of Arthur C. Clarke and the human touch of Isaac Asimov.”― Quill & Quire
“Cracking open a new Robert J. Sawyer book is like getting a gift from a friend who visits all the strange and undiscovered places in the world. You can’t wait to see what he’s going to amaze you with this time.”―John Scalzi, author of Old Man’s War
“Sawyer is Canada’s answer to Michael Crichton.”― The Toronto Star
“No reader seeking well-written stories that respect, emphasize and depend on modern science should be disappointed by the works of Rob Sawyer.”― The Washington Post
“Sawyer is a terrific writer. He can write about the most sophisticated science while giving readers the room to understand what’s happening and follow the plot.”― Winnipeg Free Press
Review
―Analog Science Fiction and Fact
―S.M. Stirling, New York Times bestselling author of Dies The Fire
“Incredibly realistic: the characters, locations, the era, and even the science. I felt like I was back in Los Alamos ― and I should know: I worked there! The plot was breathlessly riveting and kept me wondering how anyone could possibly survive, but Robert J. Sawyer masterfully pulled it off.”
―Dr. Doug Beason, former Associate Laboratory Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory
“An expert and engrossing knitting of the threads of history, with genuine characters of the mid 20th Century, to weave out a compulsive fictional narrative.”
―Jem Rolls, author of the play The Inventor of All Things about Leo Szilard
“In The Oppenheimer Alternative, Robert J. Sawyer portrays brilliantly and poignantly the struggles of the scientists who started it all and were consequently obliged to bear an unbearable burden.”
―Dr. James Christie, Chair, Project Ploughshares, member organization of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons
“I enjoyed it tremendously! Really great, a page turner. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Another fine addition to the Sawyer canon!”
―Andre Bormanis, co-executive producer, The Orville and Cosmos
About the Author
Sawyer’s novel FlashForward was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, and he wrote the two-part finale for the acclaimed web series Star Trek Continues.
The New York Times calls Sawyer “a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation.” New Scientist calls his work “scientifically plausible, fictionally intriguing, and ethically important.” And The Washington Post says, “No reader seeking well-written stories that respect, emphasize, and depend on modern science should be disappointed by the works of Rob Sawyer.”
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Robert Oppenheimer looked at his friend, seated next to him on the pink-and-green living-room couch as the party bustled about them. Oppie’s sense was the exact opposite: Hoke had brought him nothing but good fortune, including getting him into this offbeat rooming house here on Shasta Road. “Oh?”
“Absolutely. When I go places without you, I’m considered the attractive one.”
Oppenheimer made a small chuckle. Chevalier, who had just turned thirty-five, was three years his senior, and was indeed movie-star handsome: gallant, as befitted his last name, and long of face, with wide-spaced eyes and sandy hair swept back in a slight pompadour.
By comparison, Oppie knew he himself was scrawny, his tall body angular, his coarse black hair a wild nimbus, and his duck-footed gait awkward―one friend had described it as a constant falling forward as if he were forever tumbling into the future.
“See that one over there?” continued Hoke, with a subtle nod. “She hasn’t glanced at me once since we got here, but you―” Chevalier shook his head in good-natured exasperation. “It’s those goddamn eyes of yours, I tell you. Fucking opals.”
Oppie was used to compliments about his pale blue eyes: he often heard them called “transparent” or “luminous,” but this metaphor was new to him. He smiled as he turned to look at the woman Hoke had indicated, and―
And, my God, he’d seen that lovely face before―he was sure of it. But where? “Wow,” said Oppie softly.
“Wow, indeed,” agreed Hoke. “And she keeps looking your way. You should go over and say hello.”
“I ... um ...”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Robert, go! You study the mysteries of the universe; girls are simple by comparison.” >Hoke taught French literature at the University of California’s Berkeley campus; Oppie was a professor of physics there. Normally, members of such diverse faculties would have little to do with each other, but Oppie loved French poetry, and the two men had become great friends. One advantage Hoke had was a lot of female students―he’d married one, in fact―whereas in Robert’s circles, women were rare. “Come on,” said Hoke. “Give me a story to tell Barb when I get home. Go try your luck.”
Luck. Einstein said that God didn’t play dice with the universe―but, then again, God probably wasn’t itching to get laid. “All right already,” Oppie said, unfolding himself from the couch. Of course, he couldn’t just go up and say hello, but Mary Ellen, his landlady, was swirling by in one of her floor-length batik dresses. She threw many parties, often as fund-raisers. This one was for the Republicans in Spain―or maybe it was for the Spanish Nationalists? Whoever the good guys were, anyway; Oppie had come downstairs from his room for donuts and drinks, not the cause.
Product details
- Publisher : CAEZIK SF & Fantasy (June 2, 2020)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 374 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1647100135
- ISBN-13 : 978-1647100131
- Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #540,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,479 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books)
- #2,268 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)
- #11,302 in Science Fiction Adventures
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers ever to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He has also won the Robert A. Heinlein Award, the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award, and the Hal Clement Memorial Award; the top SF awards in China, Japan, France, and Spain; and a record-setting sixteen Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards (“Auroras”).
Rob’s novel FlashForward was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, and he was a scriptwriter for that program. He also scripted the two-part finale for the popular web series Star Trek Continues.
He is a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest honor bestowed by the Canadian government, as well as the Order of Ontario, the highest honor given by his home province; he was also one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Rob lives just outside Toronto.His website and blog are at sfwriter.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon he’s RobertJSawyer.
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THE OPPENHEIMER ALTERNATIVE is a terrifically researched and written tale of Oppenheimer's involvement with the research and development of the bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is abundantly clear that Sawyer did a ton of research for this book. In fact, a very large portion of the novel is not science fiction, but science fact. Not only is most of the story public record, but the extensive bibliography at the end of the book shows how much research Sawyer put into the novel to make it as absolutely authentic as possible. Even some of the dialog can be found in the pages of history. The story of what actually happened is gripping. I didn't know much, if anything, about the story of Los Alamos, the University of Chicago, the Manhattan Project, and other parts of the historical record that make up this novel. I found it fascinating.
I've called this an alternate history story; it could be called a secret history story. Yes, Oppenheimer and his high powered physics colleagues were all involved here. The book reads like a who's who of physics. But what really happened to them after the bomb was dropped and the war was over? The answer to this question is what turns this novel from an accurate historical account into an alternate history.
While Oppenheimer and his team are developing the atomic bomb that will eventually be used to end World War II, Edward Teller wants to develop what he calls "the super", a bomb that uses nuclear fusion, not fission. Teller's research causes his to research how the sun generates its energy, and he comes to a frightening realization: In the early to mid 21 century, the sun will eject its outer layer, the result being that the entire inner solar system will be destroyed, including the Earth. The story then shifts to how Oppenheimer, Einstein, von Braun, Teller, Dyson, and all the rest of the high powered physicists of that era work to solve the problem.
The beauty of the novel is that Sawyer doesn't beat the reader over the head with how it was all worked out. He dropped hints and suggestions, things the reader might throw aside - and no, I'm not going to tell you what those clues were; you need to read the book - and then pulls them all together at the very end of the book when he finally *does* drop the hammer on you, but in a subtle, gentle, touching way. The ending is fabulous, and makes you believe that humanity does indeed have the power to solve problems that seem out of reach.
Sawyer used to crank out a novel a year, on average. The last two novels, RED PLANET BLUES and QUANTUM NIGHT, took roughly two years each, and THE OPPENHEIMER ALTERNATIVE was published four years after QUANTUM NIGHT. While there were indeed several reasons for the delay, it gave Sawyer the time to spread his writing wings and turn out what I believe to be his best written novel to date. While it was great to get a novel from him every year - and the novels were terrific at that pace - I'm willing to wait the extra time for a novel from him that is even better than those in the past. I just don't want him to take too long.
Though, having laid out the premise, the first thing worth noting is Sawyer takes some time getting to it. Indeed, for say the first quarter to third, it's honestly a historical fiction work about Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project. As someone who enjoys historical fiction as a genre and has an interest in the events depicted, the reading here was never dull as the research and characterizations shine throughout as the reader receives a crash course in the history of the atomic bomb's project and the titular character's life.
Once the divergence comes, however, Sawyer's prose remains firmly rooted in history as we know it. For, despite the title, this isn't so much a work of alternative history as it is a work of secret history. Think of it as an SF equivalent of, say, Jack Higgins' thriller The Eagle Has Landed, with a story lurking behind the history we know. In this case, from 1945 to the mid-1960s, Oppenheimer and many of those involved with the Manhattan Project were involved in an effort to save humanity. An effort that also draws in the likes of Wernher von Braun and others, as well. The novel becomes a journey through one of the most dramatic periods in modern history, though, at times, it feels more like a series of linked vignettes involving famous names in science than a cohesive story. Indeed, Sawyer goes about introducing elements only to either get rid of them soon afterword or hardly reference them at all. For a novel promoted as being an alternative history, with the word in its very title, it doesn't seem keen on being one.
At least until its conclusion. It's there, in the last twelve percent of the novel or thereabout, Sawyer firmly takes out of historical fiction and into SF territory. It's a shift that's both welcome but, not surprisingly, perhaps, immensely jarring as well. It all goes by in a hurry, covering a novel's worth of details in a matter of concluding paragraphs across a few pages. It's full of big ideas, but ones revealed so hurriedly that their scope and meaning almost gets lost. It's an ending full of both possibilities and immense frustrations, not unlike the novel as a whole.
In the final analysis, The Oppenheimer Alternative should be The Oppenheimer Secret instead. What Sawyer has created is compelling, even worthy of the over-used moniker of a page-turner, but it's an uneasy mix of elements. Is it a work of historical fiction with a dose of SF thrown into the mix? Or is it a novel too firmly rooted in our history that, when a drastic change does come, it's too much? The answer, for this reader at least, is both, and it makes it an intriguing but unsatisfying read that never lives up to its premise.
Top reviews from other countries
But I did really like this book because is a sweet departure from his usual novels.
Still twists, science and great character deptiction applies.
It's obvious (as always!) the amount of research and attention to detail the Author used in writing this book.
Everyone is so vivid, the history being displayed under your eyes...
Again, it's a gem, and prepare yourself for the final twist.
Hats off to Robert Sawyer for such a compulsive read.
Sorry.









