Gradient Descent: Schrödinger's Dog

by Jim Christopher

Physicist Minerva Draper and engineer Maxine Cantros love their work and hate their jobs. They hone the most destructive force in the Universe to create new technologies, at a company rotten with corporate lackeys, where profit trumps people and the budget doesn’t cover public safety.

When they run an experiment to save their beloved dog, a cataclysm erupts. The Earth is in peril, and middle management pins the blame square on the women.

To survive, they must outsmart murder-craving geniuses. Defend against weapons from the future. And destroy institutional misogyny. To save the future, they must grok how an impossible technology has destroyed the world.

But first, they need to rescue a dog that’s already dead.

Min and Max broke physics to save their dog; now humanity is doomed.

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 16, 2023

About the author

JIM CHRISTOPHER is an author of thrillers, suspense, sci-fi, horror, and urban fantasy. In this writing, Jim calls on his diverse background and interests to create surreal stories around believable characters in extraordinary situations.

He lives in Decatur, Georgia. His work history is a crooked path, meandering from stagehand, audio engineer, carpenter, cognitive psychologist, behavioral researcher, musician, software developer, learning sciences advisor, to whatever he might do today.

To relax, Jim crochets, builds tiny houses, walks his dog, reads, and tries to stay active. His guilty pleasures include laughing, petit fours, and end-of-the-world movies.

Reviews

[J. Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main characters, Min and Max, worked well for me and their struggles, be they mundane or extraordinary, were laid out with finesse and attention to detail. I think this was managed in part by the writing, which I found immersive. It was clear to me that the author has put a lot of thought into the characters and the way they experienced the world felt grounded and true.

… sorry, I cannot help but contrast this sci-fi story with the sci-fi thriller, Dark Matter. You should go read my ranty review about all the things that annoyed me about that book, because IMO, Schrödinger’s Dog does it right… and btw, love dogs… love the title!
Both books deal with the potential ramifications of quantum mechanics, and indeed the many worlds interpretation, if I am understanding Schrödinger’s Dog correctly. However, in Schrödinger’s Dog the tech is explained in enough detail to make it believable and when the metaphysical shit hits the fan, the actual mechanism is not explained in detail, except that it involves inordinate levels of energy. By knowing where the current scientific uncertainties lie and using that to decide what to explain and what to leave open for interpretation, the author manages to separate the “sci” from the “fi” in a believable and engaging way.

In fact, it is clear from the technical descriptions and discussions that the author has a strong background working in science. It certainly expanded my vocabulary. It is similarly clear that the author has experience with the type of work environments that often manifest in science.

Anyway, if you like sci-fi with attention to scientific detail, merged to great characters and plot then this is a book you don’t want to miss!

Also, did I mention that I love dogs? I LOVE dogs! Love ‘em!

[Syl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fast-paced story. Lots of science, presented in an understandable way. (Quantum physics amazes me!)

[Joseph K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yay for the dog, and the main characters too

This was a really fun book, I enjoyed the science, the quantum locations they got to explore, and I am glad they found the dog. This book universe has a lot of potential and the story so far looks to be on the way to utilizing that potential. I am glad this is part of a series, these characters deserve a chance to explore further. I definitely recommend this book and look forward to their future adventures.

[VDKeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minerva and Maxine didn’t just break science—they gleefully smashed it with a cosmic sledgehammer. Gradient Descent: Schrödinger’s Dog is what happens when genius meets disaster and the universe decides to make it everyone’s problem.

Jim Christopher’s writing is a wild ride—smart without being smug, fast without feeling rushed, and funny in that “oh no, the world’s ending but I’m still laughing” kind of way. The characters? Min and Max are brilliantly chaotic, flawed, and fiercely lovable. Their friendship carries the emotional weight of the story, grounding all the dimension-hopping madness in something real.

The pacing is tight, the stakes are huge (hello, black hole), and somehow, amidst the AI overlords and collapsing timelines, you’ll find yourself genuinely rooting for a resurrected dog.

This book is pure, brainy fun with heart—and I’d follow Min and Max into any apocalypse.

[Judelon Ingram · Rating 2 out of 5]

I purchased this book because the subtitle amused me, and I want all of my dogs back too. However, I was most of the way through the book before I could figure out enough differences between the two main characters to have a sense of who was doing what. Plus, did the men in the story have to be such cardboard villains?

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous adventure. Purchased this item on May 16, 2023, from Amazon for $0.99 plus tax.