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Quantum Leap #5
The Wall
An all-new, original novel based on the smash hit TV series. Germany, 1961: The Berlin Wall is nearing completion, and Missy Robicheaux is a six-year-old military brat when Sam "leaps" into her life. Her destiny is linked to the wall's rise and fall, and it's up to Sam to break the cycle.
244 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
146 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 9, 2016
The QL books by Ashley McConnell are all fairly good, but this one was considerably better than that. While the way it deals with child abuse is not new or unique, it feels emotionally true on multiple levels, and looks at some causes/triggers, as well as generational issues. This is what QL was at its best: small changes with great potential impact; ripples that started a process but left it to the real people to make it a reality.
March 18, 2019
Quantum Leap tackles child abuse in this edition of the series.
The book is quite harrowing during some of the scenes but also keeps the humour of the TV series in the appropriate places.
A multi-leap book, this could have benefited from being longer. The scenes at Project Quantum Leap took a little while to get used to but helped flesh out Al and give him something else to do other than be just The Observer.
The book is quite harrowing during some of the scenes but also keeps the humour of the TV series in the appropriate places.
A multi-leap book, this could have benefited from being longer. The scenes at Project Quantum Leap took a little while to get used to but helped flesh out Al and give him something else to do other than be just The Observer.
April 7, 2025
Without a doubt one of the best TV tie-in books I’ve ever read, in level of quality and production, approach to subject matter, and the nature of the themes explored.
The Wall is effectively a novel-length story from the same fictional universe as the TV show ‘Quantum Leap’ which was on air from 1989 to 1993. In this book, we see a spectacularly heartbreaking story covering the effects of child abuse and the marginalisation of women in society, with the classic charm we’ve come to know from the TV series, when Sam leaps into the body of a young girl living in Berlin during the early 1960s.
Sam and Al - along with other recurring characters from the TV show such as Ziggy, Gushie and Tina - are really well characterised and are in line with the behaviours of their television counterparts, but we also get a wealth of world building and content which we never really receive in the original series, at least not until the recent soft reboot/sequel show. Scenes of the Visitors who inhabit Sam’s body whilst he is Leaping interacting with staff from the Project, and Al interacting with other characters outside of the Imaging Chamber - handling forever shifting timelines in response to his and Sam’s work in the past, and much, much more.
Ashley McConnell has done an astounding job with this tie-in book - something that would be really easy to phone in and fill with useless filler (Target’s Knight Rider tie-ins, I’m looking at you!), particularly given the era in which this was written, but she chooses to go further than the bare minimum bringing fans and readers a truly wonderful novel that I will be recommending regularly!
The Wall is effectively a novel-length story from the same fictional universe as the TV show ‘Quantum Leap’ which was on air from 1989 to 1993. In this book, we see a spectacularly heartbreaking story covering the effects of child abuse and the marginalisation of women in society, with the classic charm we’ve come to know from the TV series, when Sam leaps into the body of a young girl living in Berlin during the early 1960s.
Sam and Al - along with other recurring characters from the TV show such as Ziggy, Gushie and Tina - are really well characterised and are in line with the behaviours of their television counterparts, but we also get a wealth of world building and content which we never really receive in the original series, at least not until the recent soft reboot/sequel show. Scenes of the Visitors who inhabit Sam’s body whilst he is Leaping interacting with staff from the Project, and Al interacting with other characters outside of the Imaging Chamber - handling forever shifting timelines in response to his and Sam’s work in the past, and much, much more.
Ashley McConnell has done an astounding job with this tie-in book - something that would be really easy to phone in and fill with useless filler (Target’s Knight Rider tie-ins, I’m looking at you!), particularly given the era in which this was written, but she chooses to go further than the bare minimum bringing fans and readers a truly wonderful novel that I will be recommending regularly!
November 6, 2025
2.25 stars
positives - Bena's rapport with Missy in the Waiting Room. Lovely. The shenanigans of the body swap given the difference in Sam and Missy's age and gender. Fun, Sam never leaps into a kid this young in the show.
negatives - literally everyone making excuses for child abuse. I mean, they do repeatedly say the abuse is very wrong, but they also are like "but the abuser is stressed and once they're out of the stress and get counseling they never abuse again." also just a lot of on-page physical and verbal abuse. QL has done a better job of handling heavy topics like this (i know this is authorized fanfic but this ain't it, chief)
positives - Bena's rapport with Missy in the Waiting Room. Lovely. The shenanigans of the body swap given the difference in Sam and Missy's age and gender. Fun, Sam never leaps into a kid this young in the show.
negatives - literally everyone making excuses for child abuse. I mean, they do repeatedly say the abuse is very wrong, but they also are like "but the abuser is stressed and once they're out of the stress and get counseling they never abuse again." also just a lot of on-page physical and verbal abuse. QL has done a better job of handling heavy topics like this (i know this is authorized fanfic but this ain't it, chief)
June 5, 2020
Really enjoyed this book. I watched the show as a kid and rewatch the episodes to this day. This book not only tells a great story about a young American family living in Germany during the Cold War, but also gives much more insight to Al and everyone back at The Project. It was a nice change to know about the visitor and the hardships of the other characters. I recommend this book if you really enjoy family friendly sci-fi mixed with history.
November 30, 2016
A fun little book that also had some great insights into child abuse both from the parental and child standpoint. Glad to have read it.
December 10, 2019
Fun and interesting. Definitely an interesting read. =)
September 29, 2025
I have watched the Quantum Leap television series and I enjoyed reading about Sam's leap and Al's observer feedback. I enjoyed this story.
January 23, 2010
Any fan of Quantum Leap should like this book. A dark and moving tale, taken back to the early days of the Berlin Wall, where Sam has to live out the life of a little girl suffering at the hands of an abusive parent. Chilling and thrilling, it reminded me of a favoured episode of the series in it's grim subject matter. Not much of a comedy peice if you're looking for it, but if you enjoy the more serious side of the series, I'd recommend this book.
July 30, 2015
One of the darker Quantum Leap novels, this explores child abuse as Sam finds himself in the body of a six year old girl. A nice touch was having the reactions of the little girl as she finds herself in the body of a middle aged man!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews