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Quantum Leap #20
Mirror's Edge
It's 1999, five years after the Leap that started it all. The holes in Sam's memory are starting to fill, the man in the Waiting Room is disturbingly calm, and Ziggy is dispensing information that can hardly be believed. Something is about to happen. Something that will change Sam's life and the lives of those who love him -- forever...
369 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 8, 2022
A little background: I discovered that this book, and Quantum Leap original fiction in general, existed when I was at a little local fair on vacation in Cape May. The book was located with several others in a sandy bucket marked 25¢. That seemed like beach/vacation magic to me - so I bought it and started reading it on vacation. It's been 20+ years since I've thought about Quantum Leap.
I enjoyed getting to know characters I had vague memories of, and exploring the format of the series. I met a lot of supporting characters that I didn't remember at all, too. I like finding myself in a series trying to puzzle some things out about the established canon.
Endearingly - this was a special story. The last of the official series (published well after the end of the televised series). It was likely important to a lot of fans, who I understand are called "Leapers" - which is all kinds of wonderful. Also fun was the several subplots that wrapped together - many of which were absolutely of late 80's and early 90's caliber. Relationships to heal and explore - as you'd expect in The Fugitive, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, The A Team, Knight Rider, Magnum PI, etc. Cheesy, but well written. Fun!
Unfortunately - it has some wildly problematic aspects. Foremost being a diatribe against abortion, with an appalling angle that adoptive families are also delegitimized. Talk about having it both ways! The broad sweeping assertions tossed about are frequently cringe-worthy. She's chastised for having sex, and chastised for not wanting to raise a child (despite herself being a child). The biological father is removed from the hook in a buried paragraph, the adoptive parents (the boy's grandparents) aren't even given page time.
Quantum Leap is also passingly described as if presupposed to be directed by the Christian god, with Sam playing the role of Jesus. Sorry. I wish I were exaggerating. So... much of the fun is sucked out of the premise of the series, and the story focus is a slut-shamming enterprise. Rest in peace, otherwise cool, lite sci-fi, character study franchise. You get 3 stars from me, because I like things like grand finales.
I enjoyed getting to know characters I had vague memories of, and exploring the format of the series. I met a lot of supporting characters that I didn't remember at all, too. I like finding myself in a series trying to puzzle some things out about the established canon.
Endearingly - this was a special story. The last of the official series (published well after the end of the televised series). It was likely important to a lot of fans, who I understand are called "Leapers" - which is all kinds of wonderful. Also fun was the several subplots that wrapped together - many of which were absolutely of late 80's and early 90's caliber. Relationships to heal and explore - as you'd expect in The Fugitive, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, The A Team, Knight Rider, Magnum PI, etc. Cheesy, but well written. Fun!
Unfortunately - it has some wildly problematic aspects. Foremost being a diatribe against abortion, with an appalling angle that adoptive families are also delegitimized. Talk about having it both ways! The broad sweeping assertions tossed about are frequently cringe-worthy. She's chastised for having sex, and chastised for not wanting to raise a child (despite herself being a child). The biological father is removed from the hook in a buried paragraph, the adoptive parents (the boy's grandparents) aren't even given page time.
Quantum Leap is also passingly described as if presupposed to be directed by the Christian god, with Sam playing the role of Jesus. Sorry. I wish I were exaggerating. So... much of the fun is sucked out of the premise of the series, and the story focus is a slut-shamming enterprise. Rest in peace, otherwise cool, lite sci-fi, character study franchise. You get 3 stars from me, because I like things like grand finales.
April 14, 2019
This is Quantum Leap #18, the last book in the series based on the TV show. I haven't read any of the other books so far.
PRO:
- It provides a lot of information on Sam and his family's past.
- Also more information about the Project itself.
- It was fun seeing the interaction with very recent past (6 months).
CON:
- The ending. WTF?!
- While it was nice seeing more of Sam's past, the personality that we see is not the same as the character that we love from the TV show. I guess the point is that Sam has been changed for the better by his experience, but still...
- The whole Y2K thing with Ziggy was ridiculous. Why do so many authors who write about computers have no clue how they really operate?
- A lot of the personality and relationship problems are too melodramatic. The book could have been much shorter without the umpteenth demonstration of how various characters behave.
CONCLUSION: A decent read for fans of the show, although the ending might ruin it for some. I am certainly left with a bad taste in my mouth.
PRO:
- It provides a lot of information on Sam and his family's past.
- Also more information about the Project itself.
- It was fun seeing the interaction with very recent past (6 months).
CON:
- The ending. WTF?!
- While it was nice seeing more of Sam's past, the personality that we see is not the same as the character that we love from the TV show. I guess the point is that Sam has been changed for the better by his experience, but still...
- The whole Y2K thing with Ziggy was ridiculous. Why do so many authors who write about computers have no clue how they really operate?
- A lot of the personality and relationship problems are too melodramatic. The book could have been much shorter without the umpteenth demonstration of how various characters behave.
CONCLUSION: A decent read for fans of the show, although the ending might ruin it for some. I am certainly left with a bad taste in my mouth.
April 14, 2019
There are large parts of this book that take place at ‘The Project’ and I enjoyed them immensely. I like how the author tried to fill in more background about life at the project and how everyone left behind copes with Sam’s absence. And they even tackle why they haven’t brought Sam back yet.....nicely done! BUT...I felt the author dragged out parts of Sam’s Leap. I got so tired of the whiny 19 year old who wanted a better relationship with his Mom...good lord. And In the episode ‘The Leap Home’ part 2 Tom seems to recognize that Sam saved his life and calls the person he leaped into ‘little brother.’ This detail is dropped/ignored completely in the story. Overall, loved the story at the project got tired of the leap story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2021
Another cracking Quantum Leap novel from Carol Davis. As amazing as it sounds I actually enjoyed this more than her previous one. Every character rings true to the point (if you are a fan of the show) that you will imagine the characters speaking in their actual voices. Yet again this is fantastically written with intricate and interwoven plot lines. And something I adore is that it is never ever predictable, never cliché and just makes you want to turn the next page to get another piece of the puzzle. If you can get your hands on a copy of this book I highly recommend it. For fans of the show longing for additional episodes with the original cast, this is about as close as we will ever come, a book that feels so genuine that you’ll swear it was an episode.
June 30, 2019
I very much enjoyed this book up until the end. I found the ending to be confusing and incredibly disappointing. Really wish now that I hadn’t stayed up late to finish it. I actually feel like I was robbed as it kept leading me to believe that this was the missing wrap up to a wonderful television series. It didn’t deliver.
August 22, 2018
Not a bad ending for the books - I was a little worried it would be a retreading of the last episode but instead was an interesting prologue to that very episode.
November 18, 2022
Was so furious I threw my book against the wall. Glad they made a sequel show because the ending of the original was crap.
September 13, 2020
There were definitely things I enjoyed about this, but ultimately it was just as unsatisfying as the televised finale. I don't blame the author for that, since I'm sure she had strict rules, but even so it is marketed as the final book. That means you need some note of finality. This didn't have that.
As for the story itself, I was very interested in everything happening at the Project, but Sam's leap was excruciatingly dull. I've been reading this series for about 20 years now, and I am sad to have finished the last one.
We talked more Quantum Leap on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
As for the story itself, I was very interested in everything happening at the Project, but Sam's leap was excruciatingly dull. I've been reading this series for about 20 years now, and I am sad to have finished the last one.
We talked more Quantum Leap on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
November 15, 2010
Non ho vergogna di ammetterlo. Mi piacevano i telefilm della serie Quantum Leap, dove Scott Bakula alias Samuel Beckett aveva avuto qualche problema con il suo acceleratore temporale e finiva al posto di una serie di persone, con lo scopo di migliorare in un modo non specificato a priori le proprie vite. Al tempo avevo anche comprato alcuni dei libri della serie omonima, generalmente tratti dalle sceneggiature dei telefilm come capita anche ad esempio con Star Trek.
Questo è il diciottesimo e ultimo libro della serie, che tra l'altro non ha mai avuto una versione televisiva. Io me l'ero tenuto da parte per un po', e finalmente ho trovato il tempo di leggerlo. Il risultato purtroppo è stato molto inferiore alle aspettative.
Ovviamente parto dal principio che il lettore sappia cosa si trova, come in ogni libro seriale. Le prime pagine sono troppo lente, poi la storia inizia a crescere in maniera accattivante... e si blocca. La trama si avvita per rimettere insieme tutti i cocci dei vari racconti, crea sottotrame che si perdono nel nulla, e alla fine... boh. Confesso di non essere riuscito a capire il finale, e non penso sia solamente per la mia non completa conoscenza dell'inglese.
Insomma, se vi era piaciuto QL e lo trovate su una bancarella, male non fa. Ma non vale la pena di cercarlo.
Questo è il diciottesimo e ultimo libro della serie, che tra l'altro non ha mai avuto una versione televisiva. Io me l'ero tenuto da parte per un po', e finalmente ho trovato il tempo di leggerlo. Il risultato purtroppo è stato molto inferiore alle aspettative.
Ovviamente parto dal principio che il lettore sappia cosa si trova, come in ogni libro seriale. Le prime pagine sono troppo lente, poi la storia inizia a crescere in maniera accattivante... e si blocca. La trama si avvita per rimettere insieme tutti i cocci dei vari racconti, crea sottotrame che si perdono nel nulla, e alla fine... boh. Confesso di non essere riuscito a capire il finale, e non penso sia solamente per la mia non completa conoscenza dell'inglese.
Insomma, se vi era piaciuto QL e lo trovate su una bancarella, male non fa. Ma non vale la pena di cercarlo.
December 28, 2015
2.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews