Tangent

by Mike Pomery

Alan Febras has just discarded immortality itself.In an era of stifling Utopia, Alan is given the opportunity to go backinto his own past and thwart the mandatory continuation of his drearylife. In an uncharacteristic show of decisiveness, Alan chooses toforsake the prospect of eternal life and escape into the hedonism of his past. The beauty of our present day blooms under Alan's renewedobservance, yet not everything is as it appears to be. Strange dreamsplague him, and the new path he has chosen is fraught with danger anduncertainty.If he is not careful, Alan's newfound flippancy may bring his secondshot at life to a rather abrupt end ... And from the back of his mindcomes the Was it worth it?

167 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 22, 2012

About the author

Mike Pomery lives near Australia's famous wine region, the Barrossa Valley. Whilst working as a commission artist and graphic designer, he used his spare time writing what has become Tangent; a book about the complexities of free choice and the deception that stems from it.

Reviews

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I had finished reading the first page, I was unable to stop. Out of all the books I have read this year, Tangent is quite possibly the only one I could not put down unless I had finished it. I found the writing style and language quite refreshing to read, it is not often that books are written with such rich vocabulary.
I'm currently through my third read-through of the book, and each time I pick up on things that I missed the last time I read it.
Tangent has a subtle sci-fi element to the plot, which I greatly appreciated.
I would highly recommend it to anyone who is willing to have their views on life challenged.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the book. The book is written in such a way that you can't help but relate with Alan and reflect on your own life choices. I found myself lost in the pages and read the book through easily in one sitting, followed by several re-reads at a later stage to try pick up on all the clues cleverly placed throughout the narative.
Very well written, visually appealing and recommended for all who enjoy an exciting voyage of self-examination with an air of mystery.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What of liberty? What of fear? To protect ones self from the latter must we lose the first?

Tangent wrestles with some of the most powerful political and philosophical ideas in our modern society and draws a logical conclusion of their demise at the strength of our primitive nature and the unyielding advancement of technologies.

This politically charged, time bending, conscious raising story of a man willing to sacrifice immortality in exchange for something more, challenges the readers preconceived notions of their ability to understand reality and predict the true cost of their decisions.

Fast paced and lusciously written Tangent is not something you should read but rather something you MUST! *****

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this mesmerising tale, describing a possible future seen through the eyes of Alan Febras, who has seemingly discarded immortality in order to relive his past.

Vividly lyrical, the story is painted in a way to really challenge your view of the world, and gave me much to think about for days after I finished it.

A most excellent read, and absolutely and definitely worth the time spent reading it, I could hardly stand to put it down once I started turning the pages.

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very compelling reading. One of those books you have trouble putting down for the night!
I am re-reading it again now, as I am sure I missed things the first time, but mostly because I want to get back inside Alans' head.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in a 2051, a future world where humanity’s every material need is supplied by advanced technology, and all human indulgences such as drinking, smoking, driving, even reading books are forbidden--a boring world. Sixty-five-year-olds are subject to compulsory synthetic upgrade, which offers eternal youth but comes at the price of losing one’s sense of humanity. Upgraded humans are shipped off into the stars to do menial labor for the governing organization.
Alan Febras dreads this fate, and when he is offered an alternative—to shift into a parallel universe and be reborn as ‘himself’ again, younger, and living in a free world—he takes the chance.

What’s not to like about this premise? “Old Man’s War” meets “Back to the Future”.
The making of Alan’s decision was compelling reading—after all, this was a one-way ticket (Alan’s body would be incinerated after he went into the parallel universe), and there was no way to guarantee that the shift worked—no peephole into the other universe was available. The author had me hooked: would I risk a chance of doing it all over again (but with all my life’s knowledge retained)? or would I take the soft option of guaranteed continued life as a human version of myself who didn’t feel quite ‘alive’?

Well, Alan chooses to take a risk, and I enjoyed going along for the ride
Dropped back into his ‘old’ life in 2012, he is determined not to waste time again. Not to make the same mistakes of working too much and neglecting his beautiful wife.

The author had me fully engaged with Alan’s reinvented self. He made superb observations about how modern life separates us from the ‘real’ world, and nature, and our souls. He had me promising myself to take a walk in the woods the next day (I did), and buy my wife some flowers (that too)--because, wasn’t I guilty of the same neglect?

But then, inexplicably, the story spiraled down some kind of rabbit hole that I simply didn’t understand. Alan discards the determination to hold onto his new life—to do it better this time around. He dismisses the reasons the author had so beautifully laid out for taking this great risk and for changing how he lives his second chance. And for the last third of the story, I couldn’t for the life of me fathom what the heck was going on. I started skip reading large sections of (what appeared to me) gratuitous internal thinking and incomprehensible dream sequences.

And then it ended. Oh, well—great premise, incompletely realized.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well. The book is truly unique in its subject and boggles your mind (if I may say so). I really liked the read, right from the beginning I felt involved with the characters. I have been reading a lot of dystopias recently and felt at home there. The language of the story, describing some of the most mundane items and occurrences, is beautiful and capturing.

So why did I end up giving it only 3 stars? The first reason is very unnecessary: the books needs a proof-reader, not even an editor, simply someone to correct the most basic mistakes any college student makes when writing a paper, such as leaving in obsolete words when sentences have been rewritten too often: "compared to the tranquil honesty of the outback from that we have just returned from" p.98. My favorite sentence in the book unfortunately has an error in it, too; I'll quote it anyway: "Already I can hear my sensible side loading logical reprimands into its conscience-cannons to do battle with the wild and untamed part of me who simply craves hedonistic chaos." (p.51)

The second reason is just a personal preference. This book breaks barriers, and I would have liked more explanation, more context of where the author was coming from, how he developed the ideas (like what really happened?). I am happy with the way it ends, because the ending does provide closure, but I would have liked to "learn" a little more, rather than 'just' having my mind boggled.

If you like reading outside the box, you will enjoy the boggling. I am very impressed with the author's achievement in this book.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book for free from the author through Goodreads First Reads giveaway and the story line was well thought out, characters slightly amusing, but this book was not well written. Grammatical and spelling errors throughout...and the ending left me unfulfilled, basically a drug induced hallucination which lasted only until death by cremation consumed Alan...eh, I hate buildups to nothingness.

[Barry Parham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cancel your plans - this one will own you...
Ever had this discussion with yourself? "Oh, if only I knew then what I know now." Well, here, wrapped in a story that simply will not let up, is one possible way that might play out; one way that might look - if you're up for the look. Wonderful characters, armchair-clawing tension, and one of the most intense endings imaginable - except it's not imaginable.

[Rawwrrr It's Jaaadee (: · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately this wasn't my type of book. When I first started to read it, it took some effort to keep going, I finally reached something interesting, where Alan went to James and was transported back to his old self, but the book in it's entirely, wasn't my type of tea and biscuit.

[Doreen Dalesandro]

Kindle freebie, 2/12/13