Matt Dunsratty has discovered the cure for regret. He can change his past. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
By projecting his adult consciousness into his younger self, Matt can correct what he considers to be the mistakes that shaped his life. Missed opportunities. Bad decisions. Women he could have loved. Every trip backward gives him another chance to finally get things right.
But there's one problem he can't wish away.
Every change he makes creates a different Matt.
Soon one seemingly harmless correction demands another, and then another. Matt discovers that his increasingly frantic alterations to the past can erase marriages, children, friendships—and entire futures. And once he's tasted such power, the temptation to keep meddling becomes irresistible.
Whether it's saving John Lennon's life or altering his best friend's path to self-destruction, Matt discovers that the road to Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions. Matt is building his own personal Hell—one correction at a time.
Letters From Hell is a darkly funny, wildly unpredictable time-travel novel about regret and unintended consequences. Most of all, it's the story of one ordinary man's catastrophic determination to make everything better—and how he continually achieves the exact opposite.
Dr. Craig A. Robertson is a physician and the author of more than forty-five published science fiction novels. Getting there, however, was anything but a typical path.
His first life was that of a shoe salesman. This "profession" helped him to work his way through college. His first experience was at Kinney Shoes. leveling up to Sears, and eventually became a shoe manager at Montgomery Ward. All three companies later went bankrupt. Not. His. Fault. But he did meet his wife, Karen, at Sears, which made working there most rewarding.
His second life embraced the physical sciences. A childhood fascination with astronomy led him to UC Berkeley. However, he eventually switched to geophysics after realizing that astronomers spent an inordinate amount of time alone on cold, remote mountaintops. Somewhere along the way, physical science gave way to his true passion: medicine.
For his third life he became a doctor. Medical school and residency were like being sentenced to an abusive gulag, but they provided two lasting benefits. First, he learned that nothing he encountered afterward would ever be harder. Second—and rather more importantly—he got to be a doctor.
His career began in academic medicine, when he became a professor of Emergency Medicine at a Level One Trauma Center. That was followed by yet another incarnation, this time as a research immunologist at UC Davis, where his work included a cloned antibody directed against human melanoma cells and research into primary biliary cirrhosis.
Eventually, Craig settled into the life of a practicing physician. But somewhere among patients, science, family, and all those previous incarnations, another life crept onto the scene. He became a science fiction writer.
More than forty-five novels later, Craig spends a psychiatrically questionable amount of time destroying planets, rebuilding civilizations, tormenting his delicious evil villains, and making Jon Ryan traverse the universe ... forever.
It seems doubtful, given his past inclinations, that seven lives will be enough for Craig A. Robertson.
I wasn't sure what I was going to feel about this, having invested so much of my time in the Ryan verse, but I have to say Craig, you've done it again. I can't wait for the next installment, and to see what happens to Matt, Shannon, Nick, lazlo and the rest. Can't wait to see how he manages to get himself out of his current situation. Excellent work my friend!
I have been a Jon Ryan fan and other books by Robertson. This is quite a change though I can see the direction he is going. Not your average SF but interesting storyline. Look forward to the sequels.
This was an interesting time travel book, instead of physically traveling in time the protagonist finds a way to send messages to his younger self with advice on how to do things. The issue I am having with the books is the fairly large plot hole.
spoilers:
There is one or two other plot holes but that one is big enough to drive an entire semi fleet through. That being said its a entertaining and compelling story. I picked up book 2 immediately and will start it right now.
Letters from Hell by Craig Robertson is quite a ride, and narrator Kaleo Griffith delivers a fantastic performance that really brings the story to life.
We all have regrets—moments we wish we could go back and change. For Matt, that wish becomes a reality. Despite having a great life with a loving family, he is haunted by the past. He discovers that through deep meditation, he can project his consciousness into his younger self, planting the seeds for different choices. But when he starts altering too much, the butterfly effect takes over, and his future begins to unravel. If you love time-travel dynamics and high stakes, give this audiobook a listen to see just how far Matt's changes take him.