What do you think?
Rate this book
Consequences
Edward Prescot has a boring job in a boring office, and every day is much like another. Except, as it turns out, Thursdays, which are becoming increasingly unlike every other day.
Then he is introduced to the enigmatic Mr Pycroft, who explains that everything we do - past, present and future - has far-reaching consequences. Normally these are irreversible, but it appears that Ed has the rare ability to manipulate these consequences to fashion a different future - especially on Thursdays.
At the London Traveller Centre he meets his similarly gifted companion Tony Curtis (not that one) and finds himself thrust into an unsettling world of speculative time travel. Will a better world emerge? Will post-Brexit become past-Brexit? Will Tony Become less irritating? Will Ed finally win Maggie's heart?
In this fast-moving story, Will Adams and Martin Smith pay homage to their old university friend and co-writer the late Douglas Adams. of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fame. Consequences is by turns exciting, funny and a tad satirical.
Then he is introduced to the enigmatic Mr Pycroft, who explains that everything we do - past, present and future - has far-reaching consequences. Normally these are irreversible, but it appears that Ed has the rare ability to manipulate these consequences to fashion a different future - especially on Thursdays.
At the London Traveller Centre he meets his similarly gifted companion Tony Curtis (not that one) and finds himself thrust into an unsettling world of speculative time travel. Will a better world emerge? Will post-Brexit become past-Brexit? Will Tony Become less irritating? Will Ed finally win Maggie's heart?
In this fast-moving story, Will Adams and Martin Smith pay homage to their old university friend and co-writer the late Douglas Adams. of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fame. Consequences is by turns exciting, funny and a tad satirical.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2024
2 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 28, 2025
I feel very torn by this book. There is an ingredient missing for me and I can't quite put my finger on it. Good Humour, well written ( though I gave up on some of the time travel twists, the whys and wherefores of time travel being such a personal science, I have discovered in conversation with friends) I think I might need to see the story rather than read it, the characters are stock and funny, the allusions witty, and I did enjoy reading it but somehow I felt no sympathy for the main character and maybe the plot lines were a bit like other sci fi plot lines. A man’s book perhaps?
October 5, 2025
Kinda want to give this 3½ stars.
Despite the obvious homages to their old mucker Douglas (prominence of Thursdays, use of the number 42, giving the guy an actual cameo), their writing style felt like three parts Anglicised Robert Sheckley, two parts Robert Rankin and one part Malcolm Pryce.
Boys’ own silliness, but entertaining silliness.
The pacing of events speeds up towards the end; probably intended to ramp up the tension by becoming pacier, but perhaps felt in equal parts like rushing to get it finished.
Despite the obvious homages to their old mucker Douglas (prominence of Thursdays, use of the number 42, giving the guy an actual cameo), their writing style felt like three parts Anglicised Robert Sheckley, two parts Robert Rankin and one part Malcolm Pryce.
Boys’ own silliness, but entertaining silliness.
The pacing of events speeds up towards the end; probably intended to ramp up the tension by becoming pacier, but perhaps felt in equal parts like rushing to get it finished.
March 23, 2025
I can’t recommend this enough. I felt like I was a kid again, reading Hitchhikers for the first time. I couldn’t put it down. The humour is perfect and adds to the story, the story itself is incredibly well put together and the characters are funny and relatable.
September 1, 2025
I'd give this a solid 3.5 stars.
February 20, 2025
Consequences is a highly enjoyable exploration of life's what ifs and yes buts. It's the sort of adventure you might get into if you thought long and hard about decisions that you and others have made, then had the chance to go back and change them.
The novel itself emerged from a what if, as in what if your old writing buddy from college days sent you the first chapter of a novel and asked you to write chapter two. You get to chose what happens and where things go in your chapter, then he has to follow suit with chapter three, and so on. That's the story behind the story of Consequences, a surprisingly coherent romp through time, politics, and sarcastic takes on life in the UK today, or one of several versions thereof.
Consequences was written by two former members of a brilliant British comedy trio from the 1970s: Adams-Smith-Adams. Sadly, one of those Adams, namely Douglas Adams, is no longer with us. However, Martin Smith and Will Adams—the Adams who thankfully is still with us—energize and imbue Consequences with the humor and off-beat vibe that the trio nurtured back in the days before one of them went hitchhiking through the galaxy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read, not just for the many sparks of wit and flashes of perception, but also for the way it planted a seed of doubt that still niggles my brain: what if we could go back and do this instead of that?
The novel itself emerged from a what if, as in what if your old writing buddy from college days sent you the first chapter of a novel and asked you to write chapter two. You get to chose what happens and where things go in your chapter, then he has to follow suit with chapter three, and so on. That's the story behind the story of Consequences, a surprisingly coherent romp through time, politics, and sarcastic takes on life in the UK today, or one of several versions thereof.
Consequences was written by two former members of a brilliant British comedy trio from the 1970s: Adams-Smith-Adams. Sadly, one of those Adams, namely Douglas Adams, is no longer with us. However, Martin Smith and Will Adams—the Adams who thankfully is still with us—energize and imbue Consequences with the humor and off-beat vibe that the trio nurtured back in the days before one of them went hitchhiking through the galaxy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read, not just for the many sparks of wit and flashes of perception, but also for the way it planted a seed of doubt that still niggles my brain: what if we could go back and do this instead of that?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews