Hi, I'm going to be reviewing

FLASHFORWARD

by Robert J. Sawyer first! It seems a good one to start with since the series has just came out (just shown the second episode at the time of writing this).

If your here to look for spoliers to the series, I think your going to be out of luck! While the series seems to be based on the book and the storyline (the flashforward) is similar, I seriously doubt the cause of the flash forward in the book (or the ending) will be the same as the series, sorry!

I read this book about a year ago, it was always one I wanted to read and i'm glad I did.

The story is focused around the science team that created CERN's Large Hadron Collider (don't worry, I wont give away much more than you can get from the back of the book). The main focus is on the researcher Lloyd Simcoe who is in charge of the first experiment using the collider.
When the experiment is run, it has an unexpected side effect. The world is sent to sleep and everyone's consciousness is sent 21 years into the future for two minutes!

The idea of the book is excellent, and Robert Sawyer does a great job of exploring the aftermath of such a massive event. The initial outcome of the flashforward is something that I really didn't see coming and the author does a very decent job of hooking you in at that point!

The story tends to concentrate on the personal and social reprocussions of the flashforward, moving from individual issues of knowing parts of your own future to questioning if future events could be changed or whether they are destined to become reality.

The book has a lot of tragic moments, but the book is split between the good things that come out of the flashforward and the bad. I do like the style of Robert Sawyers writing, he tends to clearly describe whats going on but without any unnecessary detail or waffle, so its very easy to read.

I don't want to give away to much here, but its a very worthwhile book to read. The ending is not what you would expect, its quite unusual but not (thankfully) a let down. I really enjoyed the book, I think that if you put a book down but your still thinking about it a day later, it can't be that bad!

Finally, if your watching the series, read the book as well. I have a feeling the book is going to be much better.

click here to view it on Amazon UK or
click here to view it on Amazon.COM