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Convergence
Convergence is a murder mystery with time travel and alternate reality elements.
How do you stop a killer who remembers everything you're about to do?
John Smith greatly enjoys his unusual life. He's wealthy, long-lived, and very well traveled. He jumps to the 21st century expecting to be reunited with his daughter but finds she has been brutally murdered. Under normal circumstances it was a simple matter to undo an untimely death but, in this case, the killer remembers multiple fact patterns and easily thwarts John's attempts. To save his daughter, John must overcome shifting fact patterns, a determined detective, and three versions of the killer. His research shows that he fails, but facts can be fluid.
How do you stop a killer who remembers everything you're about to do?
John Smith greatly enjoys his unusual life. He's wealthy, long-lived, and very well traveled. He jumps to the 21st century expecting to be reunited with his daughter but finds she has been brutally murdered. Under normal circumstances it was a simple matter to undo an untimely death but, in this case, the killer remembers multiple fact patterns and easily thwarts John's attempts. To save his daughter, John must overcome shifting fact patterns, a determined detective, and three versions of the killer. His research shows that he fails, but facts can be fluid.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 23, 2011
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 6, 2017
I've had this e-book for years, started to read it once and couldn't get through it, then finally got around to reading it as part of the Around the Year in 52 Books challenge.
It's a very interesting read, particularly if you enjoy the twists and paradoxes of time-travel; if not, this NOT a good book for you. I enjoy them up to a point, but too many and I admit to getting lost. I was bordering on that point quite a bit in this novel. I'd read a chapter and have to put it down for a while to digest before coming back to it. Multiple timelines, multiple POV, changing histories - sometimes multiple times a chapter, it's a lot to keep track of.
I found the world interesting, Ordinals and Linears, the Order watching over everything through time. It really felt like a small part of a much bigger, well-developed world.
It's a very interesting read, particularly if you enjoy the twists and paradoxes of time-travel; if not, this NOT a good book for you. I enjoy them up to a point, but too many and I admit to getting lost. I was bordering on that point quite a bit in this novel. I'd read a chapter and have to put it down for a while to digest before coming back to it. Multiple timelines, multiple POV, changing histories - sometimes multiple times a chapter, it's a lot to keep track of.
I found the world interesting, Ordinals and Linears, the Order watching over everything through time. It really felt like a small part of a much bigger, well-developed world.
August 4, 2011
This would have been a four star book for me. In fact, if Goodreads would let me, I'd give it 3.5, not 3. But I felt that there were enough issues that keep me from giving it a full 4 stars. Don't get me wrong - this book is actually very good. Any lover of time-travel stories will enjoy Gellene's work. As I did.
I don't want to give too much away except to warn the reader that sometimes things get quite confusing. That's one of the issues I have with this book. Sure, all time travel fiction plays with your head, but in this case I think Gellene could have done a little better at keeping the reader from getting so confused about the various turn of events. More clarity would have gone a long way to help with this. It often seemed as if it was just assumed that we knew exactly what was happening when it was happening, why it was happening, etc. - and sometimes things occurred so abruptly that I would have to go back and re-read just in order to figure out what was going on. This gets a little frustrating after awhile.
Also, the ending felt a little anti-climactic. Don't get me wrong - I like how it was wrapped up, but it could have been drawn out a little more, to give it a bit more depth and meaning.
Another thing - there was a (supposedly) random character that was thrown into the book about midway through. Unless he was mentioned earlier and I totally forgot (which is possible, given the abruptness of certain scenes), this person wasn't brought up again until the end. And I wonder what was so important about this guy. This wasn't demonstrated sufficiently to me. Or it could have just been another instance of how things were written that prevented me from absorbing the info fully.
Also, I felt that the reader wasn't given more of an explanation about The Order, and how this time travel thing even happened in the first place. I mean, I understand that The Order is a powerful force, and that Ordinals can jump through time - but why? And how? What was the origin of it all? That could have been fleshed out a bit more.
The character development was adequate - but there were times that I felt like certain things with the characters could have been smoothed out a bit more, or a little more depth added. The emotions shown/expressed at different times came across as a little robotic.
But don't take all of this to mean that the book isn't worth reading. I think it is - and in my opinion, Gellene did a good job with his first published work. I look forward to reading his next contribution to the world of fiction.
I don't want to give too much away except to warn the reader that sometimes things get quite confusing. That's one of the issues I have with this book. Sure, all time travel fiction plays with your head, but in this case I think Gellene could have done a little better at keeping the reader from getting so confused about the various turn of events. More clarity would have gone a long way to help with this. It often seemed as if it was just assumed that we knew exactly what was happening when it was happening, why it was happening, etc. - and sometimes things occurred so abruptly that I would have to go back and re-read just in order to figure out what was going on. This gets a little frustrating after awhile.
Also, the ending felt a little anti-climactic. Don't get me wrong - I like how it was wrapped up, but it could have been drawn out a little more, to give it a bit more depth and meaning.
Another thing - there was a (supposedly) random character that was thrown into the book about midway through. Unless he was mentioned earlier and I totally forgot (which is possible, given the abruptness of certain scenes), this person wasn't brought up again until the end. And I wonder what was so important about this guy. This wasn't demonstrated sufficiently to me. Or it could have just been another instance of how things were written that prevented me from absorbing the info fully.
Also, I felt that the reader wasn't given more of an explanation about The Order, and how this time travel thing even happened in the first place. I mean, I understand that The Order is a powerful force, and that Ordinals can jump through time - but why? And how? What was the origin of it all? That could have been fleshed out a bit more.
The character development was adequate - but there were times that I felt like certain things with the characters could have been smoothed out a bit more, or a little more depth added. The emotions shown/expressed at different times came across as a little robotic.
But don't take all of this to mean that the book isn't worth reading. I think it is - and in my opinion, Gellene did a good job with his first published work. I look forward to reading his next contribution to the world of fiction.
June 15, 2011
This would have been a four star book for me. In fact, if Goodreads would let me, I'd give it 3.5, not 3. But I felt that there were enough issues that keep me from giving it a full 4 stars. Don't get me wrong - this book is actually very good. Any lover of time-travel stories will enjoy Gellene's work. As I did.
I don't want to give too much away except to warn the reader that sometimes things get quite confusing. That's one of the issues I have with this book. Sure, all time travel fiction plays with your head, but in this case I think Gellene could have done a little better at keeping the reader from getting so confused about the various turn of events. More clarity would have gone a long way to help with this. It often seemed as if it was just assumed that we knew exactly what was happening when it was happening, why it was happening, etc. - and sometimes things occurred so abruptly that I would have to go back and re-read just in order to figure out what was going on. This gets a little frustrating after awhile.
Also, the ending felt a little anti-climactic. Don't get me wrong - I like how it was wrapped up, but it could have been drawn out a little more, to give it a bit more depth and meaning.
Another thing - there was a (supposedly) random character that was thrown into the book about midway through. Unless he was mentioned earlier and I totally forgot (which is possible, given the abruptness of certain scenes), this person wasn't brought up again until the end. And I wonder what was so important about this guy. This wasn't demonstrated sufficiently to me. Or it could have just been another instance of how things were written that prevented me from absorbing the info fully.
Also, I felt that the reader wasn't given more of an explanation about The Order, and how this time travel thing even happened in the first place. I mean, I understand that The Order is a powerful force, and that Ordinals can jump through time - but why? And how? What was the origin of it all? That could have been fleshed out a bit more.
The character development was adequate - but there were times that I felt like certain things with the characters could have been smoothed out a bit more, or a little more depth added. The emotions shown/expressed at different times came across as a little robotic.
But don't take all of this to mean that the book isn't worth reading. I think it is - and in my opinion, Gellene did a good job with his first published work. I look forward to reading his next contribution to the world of fiction.
I don't want to give too much away except to warn the reader that sometimes things get quite confusing. That's one of the issues I have with this book. Sure, all time travel fiction plays with your head, but in this case I think Gellene could have done a little better at keeping the reader from getting so confused about the various turn of events. More clarity would have gone a long way to help with this. It often seemed as if it was just assumed that we knew exactly what was happening when it was happening, why it was happening, etc. - and sometimes things occurred so abruptly that I would have to go back and re-read just in order to figure out what was going on. This gets a little frustrating after awhile.
Also, the ending felt a little anti-climactic. Don't get me wrong - I like how it was wrapped up, but it could have been drawn out a little more, to give it a bit more depth and meaning.
Another thing - there was a (supposedly) random character that was thrown into the book about midway through. Unless he was mentioned earlier and I totally forgot (which is possible, given the abruptness of certain scenes), this person wasn't brought up again until the end. And I wonder what was so important about this guy. This wasn't demonstrated sufficiently to me. Or it could have just been another instance of how things were written that prevented me from absorbing the info fully.
Also, I felt that the reader wasn't given more of an explanation about The Order, and how this time travel thing even happened in the first place. I mean, I understand that The Order is a powerful force, and that Ordinals can jump through time - but why? And how? What was the origin of it all? That could have been fleshed out a bit more.
The character development was adequate - but there were times that I felt like certain things with the characters could have been smoothed out a bit more, or a little more depth added. The emotions shown/expressed at different times came across as a little robotic.
But don't take all of this to mean that the book isn't worth reading. I think it is - and in my opinion, Gellene did a good job with his first published work. I look forward to reading his next contribution to the world of fiction.
September 19, 2011
From: Lilac Wolf and Stuff
This book is The Time Traveler's Wife and The Matrix all rolled into one. It's full of suspense and action and lots of different "fact patterns" due to numerous "fact shifts". The way it is supposed to work is there are people who go from birth to death with no jumping around, they are called linears. Then there are people who jump all over the place through infinite possibilities and probabilities. Toss in some physics - ok I really don't fully understand it but in the story it does make sense.
When the people who jump around...the Ordinals...and enter a new fact pattern, they generally forget anything else. They only know what is real where they are at. It saves their sanity. A few people can remember it all, all the shifts and possibilities, and these people wind up insane - there just isn't any other way.
The plot? An older Ordinal named John Smith finds his daughter murdered and while avoiding run ins with the police finds an abandoned little girl who is a new ordinal. He takes her back to his safe house where she is cared for by the caretakers. As an adult she is back to exact revenge against the man who murdered her parents...whoever that is. Then there is the police officer, a rookie who meets up with - or has a convergence - with his older and much older selves.
Criticism? Like the Time Travelers Wife, it gets hard to follow when all the characters and the facts of the story are shifting, it constantly changes throughout the story, and really kicks up toward the end.
You get to know the characters just enough. I'd have loved more background information on John Smith and Parker, two central characters that just don't get enough history or personality into the story.
That being said, I enjoyed the story. I had a hard time getting started, but by the time I reached the end I couldn't put it down. It's a great story if you can keep the facts straight. But don't feel bad if you can't, sometimes the characters couldn't either. lol
This book is The Time Traveler's Wife and The Matrix all rolled into one. It's full of suspense and action and lots of different "fact patterns" due to numerous "fact shifts". The way it is supposed to work is there are people who go from birth to death with no jumping around, they are called linears. Then there are people who jump all over the place through infinite possibilities and probabilities. Toss in some physics - ok I really don't fully understand it but in the story it does make sense.
When the people who jump around...the Ordinals...and enter a new fact pattern, they generally forget anything else. They only know what is real where they are at. It saves their sanity. A few people can remember it all, all the shifts and possibilities, and these people wind up insane - there just isn't any other way.
The plot? An older Ordinal named John Smith finds his daughter murdered and while avoiding run ins with the police finds an abandoned little girl who is a new ordinal. He takes her back to his safe house where she is cared for by the caretakers. As an adult she is back to exact revenge against the man who murdered her parents...whoever that is. Then there is the police officer, a rookie who meets up with - or has a convergence - with his older and much older selves.
Criticism? Like the Time Travelers Wife, it gets hard to follow when all the characters and the facts of the story are shifting, it constantly changes throughout the story, and really kicks up toward the end.
You get to know the characters just enough. I'd have loved more background information on John Smith and Parker, two central characters that just don't get enough history or personality into the story.
That being said, I enjoyed the story. I had a hard time getting started, but by the time I reached the end I couldn't put it down. It's a great story if you can keep the facts straight. But don't feel bad if you can't, sometimes the characters couldn't either. lol
August 22, 2011
First let me say that I'm a sucker for time travel books. I love to read them even though they inevitably confuse the heck out of me. Convergence was no different. I'm not sure I ever came to a full understanding of what happened in this book. There were just so many time changes, so many different versions of the timeline with small variations.
One problem I had reading this story was that new terms were not explained until late in the book. Things like "multiple fact patterns" were mentioned several times before actually defined. This took away from my enjoyment of the book.
The characters were so busy hopping timelines that there was little time for truly learning about the characters themselves and seeing how/if they changed. However, I did find it fascinating that there was three different "versions" of one interacting with himself. Watching the older one try to figure out how to keep the younger self from knowing what he would do was mind-blowing.
The plot is a very intriguing one. If you can keep up with all the time shifts, I think you'll enjoy this book.
*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the author through LibraryThing. I was not required to write a positive review.
One problem I had reading this story was that new terms were not explained until late in the book. Things like "multiple fact patterns" were mentioned several times before actually defined. This took away from my enjoyment of the book.
The characters were so busy hopping timelines that there was little time for truly learning about the characters themselves and seeing how/if they changed. However, I did find it fascinating that there was three different "versions" of one interacting with himself. Watching the older one try to figure out how to keep the younger self from knowing what he would do was mind-blowing.
The plot is a very intriguing one. If you can keep up with all the time shifts, I think you'll enjoy this book.
*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the author through LibraryThing. I was not required to write a positive review.
January 8, 2012
Convergence by Joseph Gellene tells the story of John Smith, a man who travels through time. The Order oversees the Ordinals (time travelers) and sets the rules for what they can and cannot do. Time travel occurs seemingly at random, John knows when he will jump and where he will end up, but has no control over the events. When events bring him close to his daughter he is looking forward to getting to spend some time with her. He arrives only to find her murdered by an unknown traveler. John uses all of the technology he has at his disposal to try to chase down her killer to bring him to justice, but the clock is ticking until his next jump.
I will say that this story has a lot of potential, but did not quite realize all it could be. The idea behind The Order is solid and the basic rules are presented well, but more background could have gone a long way to understanding the universe. The scenes that involved multiple versions of the same person could be confusing as well. The book had plenty of positives as well, and fans of time travel stories should certainly enjoy this one. The characters are well done and the way that time travel works is very original.
This is another case where I wish I could give half stars as this one is worth 3.5 for sure.
I will say that this story has a lot of potential, but did not quite realize all it could be. The idea behind The Order is solid and the basic rules are presented well, but more background could have gone a long way to understanding the universe. The scenes that involved multiple versions of the same person could be confusing as well. The book had plenty of positives as well, and fans of time travel stories should certainly enjoy this one. The characters are well done and the way that time travel works is very original.
This is another case where I wish I could give half stars as this one is worth 3.5 for sure.
August 7, 2011
How many times would you go back in time to prevent the death of a loved one?
***
Author Joseph Michael Gellens describes a desperate race back in time by John and his daughter’s love, Richard Barnard, to prevent Sarah’s brutal murder in the future. Ordinal time police interference foils attempt after attempt, creating multiple psychotic versions of Barnard, John and other key players. Little details, notes, glimpses of the past, and facts begin to add up as they reach further back into the past to find the trigger event and rewrite history. Multiple twists, turns and do-over’s will maintain interest right up until the end or what may be called the beginning.
The science side of this science fiction novel would be strengthened by a more detailed history of the Ordinals and specific detail of time travel, including trip planning, meetings and how clothing and accessories are transported. The momentum of the story was lost at times when younger, older and alternative versions of the same character were mixed in a specific time travel attempt.
Displaying the motivation, thought and acts of each version of a character more clearly will allow the main plot and multiple subplots to logically guide the reader from one time jump to another.
***
Author Joseph Michael Gellens describes a desperate race back in time by John and his daughter’s love, Richard Barnard, to prevent Sarah’s brutal murder in the future. Ordinal time police interference foils attempt after attempt, creating multiple psychotic versions of Barnard, John and other key players. Little details, notes, glimpses of the past, and facts begin to add up as they reach further back into the past to find the trigger event and rewrite history. Multiple twists, turns and do-over’s will maintain interest right up until the end or what may be called the beginning.
The science side of this science fiction novel would be strengthened by a more detailed history of the Ordinals and specific detail of time travel, including trip planning, meetings and how clothing and accessories are transported. The momentum of the story was lost at times when younger, older and alternative versions of the same character were mixed in a specific time travel attempt.
Displaying the motivation, thought and acts of each version of a character more clearly will allow the main plot and multiple subplots to logically guide the reader from one time jump to another.
June 4, 2011
If you are one of those readers who only likes exciting books with constant action, then this is the book for you. John Smith has a very abnormal life, he is able to time-travel. When his daughter is mysteriously murdered, John attempts to fix this murder-an event that to John, should be easy. However, the killer appears to remember all of these facts about the murder and constantly stops Johns attempts to save his daughter. John is a determined, strong, admirable character; the author develops him very well, endearing him to the reader. The killer, in an odd way, is very intriguing and cunning to the reader. The reader will be dying to know more about the antagonist in this novel. The plot line is very interesting, not necessarily unique, but with the murder of someone as well as time travel thrown into the mix the reader will be constantly entertained. This novel is terrific for young adults/adults who enjoy reading about the current impossible and trying to solve mysteries before the main character does.
December 11, 2011
A Convergence is when a person is occuping the same time/space as a previous incarnation. John Smith is an Oridnal which means his life in time is not sequential, he slips in and out of time at any moment. He is desperately trying to save the life of his murdered daughter. Jessica Pulam is also an Ordinal and she is trying to find the man that killed her parents. Det Frank Parker the assidgned offier trying to find the killer. When they keep running into each other after what is called a fact shift, they realize they have to work together to stop the maniac who is currently in a Convergence. Honestly I did not think I was going to enjoy this novel the beginning seemed confusing but if you keep with it is well worth the read and sorts itself out rather well and was an excellent way to spend an afternoon in the sun!!!
June 28, 2011
A good first novel! I enjoyed it. It reminded me of the Robert Heinlein short story "By His Bootstraps" and the novel "The Man Who Folded Himself" by David Gerrold. I found the characters interesting enough and the plot very engaging so that I read the novel in just two days. The work features an action, adventure, mystery with all the features of a good time travel story. Mr. Gellene entertains by showing the unusually problems of time travelers in his story and hints of an overarching organization that keeps history coherent. I hope this might be the first of a series of stories so we can learn about the general background of this time traveling universe. I recommend this work to all science fiction readers, and especially to time travel wonks like me.
June 12, 2011
For most people, time travels linearly but for a very few, time is chaotic and it can take them anywhere at any time. John Smith is one of these few. During one time shift, he arrives only to find his daughter murdered. He sets out to find her killer so he can bring her back. Unfortunately, the killer is also a time traveler, so how do you stop someone who knows your every move before you do?
I gotta say I really enjoyed this book. It is a fast paced roller coaster ride through time where people meet their younger (and older) selves, and events are never static. If you enjoy a good scifi story, this one is definitely worth the time.
I gotta say I really enjoyed this book. It is a fast paced roller coaster ride through time where people meet their younger (and older) selves, and events are never static. If you enjoy a good scifi story, this one is definitely worth the time.
September 12, 2011
I'm a bit divided on this. I really enjoyed it - the time travel and it's implications was really interesting. I felt the ending was a little too rushed, though. It was like the author enjoyed taking you on a journey, and when it was near the end he was ready to kick you out of the car. If he'd spent a little more time working on the ending, this would have easily been a 4 star book.
June 23, 2011
Wanted to leave a review because the book was written much better than the illiterate neophytes leaving reviews.
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