Second Paradigm

by Peter J. Wacks

Stripped of his memories and trapped in the year 2044 Chris Nost must unravel the mystery surrounding his own murder. If he doesn't, history is at risk of unravelling around him. Weaving through history, rogue time agents, history thieves, gods, and the Time Corps are all trying to alter the paradox Chris finds himself wrapped up in, and each of them is making it worse. Will history shatter? Will the human race be saved? Will Chris manage to save his own life 41 years after it was stolen from him?

Genres: Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Novels, Crime

282 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2008

Reviews

[Eero · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like time travel/paradox stories. This one, not so much. There was a lot of unnecessary technobabble about the nature of time that felt like just words piled upon words for effect. Time is a sphere with pores that the substance of time seeps through? At first time is a sphere, then the substance contained by that sphere, seeping through in... another time? Metatime?(*)

When someone talks about "diffusing" a bomb, I am not amused. Are they talking about turning the bomb into a gas that spreads in the air? That would be a way to make the bomb harmless, short of actually defusing it.

Also, "time dilution". Like the bomb, time seems to spread a bit thin.

I realize I haven't talked about the plot. There is a bit of a pileup of time agents with their own agendas trying to mould events and contain a paradox. I have no idea what the title of the book is supposed to mean. I think there could be a good book buried inside.

(*) Aside: I have never thought this through, but consider a time traveler that uses a machine like in the Wells story. He can move through time like someone would fast forward or rewind a movie. But during all this, he has his own sense of time that is somehow disconnected from the time that he is travelling through. Obviously, during all this he would have to exist in a sort of bubble universe of his own, with its own time dimension. This basically applies to any sort of time travel where you have to spend a finite "time" outside of time. It would not be the case in the situations where the past and the future are topologically connected, like in the model where our spacetime is like a sheet that is folded in a higher-dimensional space and touches itself creating timelike loops.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book rocks! I would have read it in one sitting- but had time issues (no pun intended). I enjoy time travel centric sci-fi and gobbled this one up. Fast-paced, full of mind-game like story trails, and a glimpse into the mind of an Indy author I look forward to reading again soon. Read it!

[T.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good evening constant reader.
In a nutshell, if you like fast-paced time travelling science fiction with a plot that's fun to follow (How many times have I ever said that about a science fiction novel? Never.), and interesting characters, not to mention some food for thought regarding the nature of time, then this book is for you.

Packed with action, we follow members of the Time Corp as they try to manipulate time to keep paradoxes from occurring that would literally rip holes in time. Add one confused Dr. Chris Nost, who isn't sure why he's on trial for something he doesn't think he did; one Alexander Zarth who may or may not be a good guy...or is he a bad guy?...and add in a host of supporting characters who move in and out of time and you've got a fantastic read.

The book starts out with a topsy turvy trial that does not go like anyone thinks it should and then the action takes off.
I don't want to give too much away, all I can say is Second Paradigm is a well thought out time travel science fiction novel, well-written, and can stand up there with the best science fiction novels out there.
I'm not one for time travel as a theme, I'll admit that. It hurts my brain sometimes, and even though Second Paradigm flips from one point in time to another, I didn't feel like a lost ball in the tall weeds.

Peter J. Wacks presents some interesting theory on time travel, positing some quantum physics as he goes.
If he didn't do a lot of research for this book, I'd be surprised. If he did, he certainly knows how to present complicated theory well.
What could have been confusing and dry was fun to sink my teeth into and whetted my appetite for more from Wacks. I know lately on his Facebook he's been talking about writing. I hope so, because anyone who can pull off this subject matter and make it entertaining needs to be writing.

I'm a hard nut to crack when it comes to time travel. It usually gets so tangled up it irritates me to the point of not caring. Second Paradigm is so well written, it didn't do that. It was entertaining, suspenseful - hell I learned something about time travel and gained some new perspective on time and how I think about it.
If Peter J. Wacks does NOT write any more, I'm going to find him and kick him. You've been warned Mr. Wacks!

[Subodh Katiyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is unique in many ways and that means if it shines on many aspects, it has one unique downside to it as well.

I found this book very densely packed for a topic such as time travel. It took me some time to pick up the pace as the initial few pages kept pushing me away from venturing further as the contrasting concept of circular, personal time slice was being served.

Once I assimilated the concept of time being a relative, abstract, yet concrete percept (if time can be squeezed then events loose their reality) I followed the author further little hesitantly only to be amazed at perfection at every stage. 

Every single detail, be it the speeding pulse and associated 
medical term or the highly technical and (mostly) relevant scientific concepts kept me engrossed and wondering what would be coming next.

I found the style, narration and plot very rich, yet at some places I would have loved the author to go slow with his version of time shifting, or introduce the concept more subtly.

The book required concentration and persistance to complete. This is till date the only fiction book I read which, at some places, transformed itself to the like of a scientific paper.

Sci-fi and time travel enthusiasts would love it certainly, but those seeking to attain some light reading pleasure might not be able to squeeze time long enough to finish it.

[Emanon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun read with a well put together story. The book revolves around time-travel so, like any time-travel story, it jumps around a bit but the author does a great job of controlling all the threads, keeping the characters and action moving and tieing it together in a satisfying ending.

Can't wait for his next book!

[Eternal Book High (Dariana Glez Morales) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me for free by the author through Readers House in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read. Though when I started it, it felt as though I was entering the story in the middle of it. Not that I didn't enjoy the story, cause I did... But I would change the way he introduces the story to us. Like I said before, the beginning is like jumping into the middle of the story. Later on you begin to understand more and more of it. Another thing, it was a little complicated to understand some of the terms Wacks used throughout the story. I might have better understood it if he'd used simpler terms. All in all, I enjoyed the read. I liked how everything came together at the end of the book. How every piece of the puzzle fit together perfectly at the end and everything made sense. Hope this review was useful to those who were wondering if to read Second Paradigm.

[Pat MacEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like hard sci fi, time travel, time paradoxes, and a healthy dose of parallel intrigues, then there's a lot here to like. The plotlines are clever, intricate and interwoven, moving in both directions along the time line as various parties intersect. It gets a little tough to keep up with the switchbacks, but it does come around to a fairly convincing wrap-up. The ending, however, involves something entirely unscientific that I just couldn't buy, almost literally a deus ex machina. It wasn't built into the rest of the story with sufficient depth to convince me that it fit, and it left me wondering what the overall point of the whole exercise might be. I also found every single one of the characters so paper-thin and unsympathetic that I couldn't find anybody to root for. They all behaved like sociopaths at one point or another.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started off confused and I wasn't sure I liked it or would finish it. It ended up a lot less confused, and overall I think it was a good story. It's written in a very fractured fashion, which works perfectly with the premise of the story but not so much for people who are used to a linear story arc. I think I'd need to read it a second time to fully grasp what happened in the story. It's also evident how much thinking Peter J Wacks put into this story, but it doesn't at all interrupt the fractured flow of the story.

[Shanna Tidwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it but there was so much in it that made me feel stupid. I have read a ton of time travel books. It’s one of my favorite genres.
There is a lot of good story here and the ideas are quite brilliant. Still I feel some of it was bogged down in overlapping agents messing with things.
Narration by Zachary Johnson was actually great but there was a few editing issues that I noticed. Lines repeated.

[Kyle Carroll (i_fucking_love_books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My head hurts. This was actually a very well written time travel novel. Very different from any other time travel story I've read. It's non-linear format can be a bit of a headache, but it does it in such a way that the story slowly starts coming together each chapter. I loved it.

[tivasyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

don't want to read something like that any more...

[John Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's cut to the chase here - this book is like no other.

I am a self-confessed Time Travel fan so the comments and storyline drew me to this book, and now that I've finished it, I feel that I need a little peace and quiet whilst the enormity of Second Paradigm tries hopelessly to form some coherence in my brain.
At the same time my brain is screaming STOP!

I am now two people, which is a minor residue from this story, which hits you from many timelines, with paradoxes barking out at you at every turn, with time travellers attempting to right everybody's wrongdoing in their attempts to put things right.
With chapters firing at you from different times, with different time travellers, it's not easy to keep up. In fact I'd say quite honestly that for most of the book I was hanging on by my bootlaces.
But don't let that put you off - it was fascinating even though you might only "GET" half of what is going on, and the intermittent explanations of time travel/paradoxes can tie you up in knots.

And yet despite all this confusion and brain damage I simply had to keep returning to the book, to find out who did what to whom and when!!!

And the final outcome?
I'm not sure if I really got the ending to be sure...you might file it
under "Gobbledygook!"....but it was an experience nonetheless.

Read it if you dare...and let yourself from two weeks back read it as well, and then you can compare notes!!!

[idle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like time travel stories and I like stories that require me to put two and two together myself. This one gave me both: hard to get into at first, with several seemingly unconnected storylines, but after a while they started making sense. For a while.

Everything centers about one or two moments in history that were necessary so that one gifted scientist could invent time travel, and depending on how much you knew, certain people had to survive or die. Therefore many agents capable of time travel return back to undo this or that part of the paradox, creating such a mess that noone can be expected to understand all the details. In this chaos, a reader might overlook that some basic facts of time travel (like not having to respond immediately, if you're going to jump to a different time anyway) don't seem to come naturally to those agents - they need to be reminded of the fact and still forget about it sometimes.

I mostly liked the book. There were some moments that didn't seem right. There were some lengthy explanations that didn't explain too much. The ending was OK, but not very impressive - I think that I liked the story most when about a third in, when I already understood the basics but was still expecting more to come.

[Scott Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters. Exciting adventure. Different "times."

Truly, written in a unique manner. Making for not only a second, but an unusual, paradigm. The book, meaning the story itself, may be started at any chapter. And, the chapters may be read in any order. For some, that may be a task, to keep track of which chapters were read when ... especially since we have been reading all our lives from page 1 through to the end.

But, if you want some fun, mix it up. Or don't. You are bound to have fun either way. You will be surprised that the story is the story, no matter which order the chapters are read. That said, what about the story. It keeps you thinking. Keeps you wondering. Keeps you guessing. There are things to find out. There are lots of characters, such as rogue time agents. There are lots of different "times."

For me, there were no holes in this story, no paradoxes that stood out as "can't do that ... can't be done," which can be a problem for time travel tales. Overall, Wacks has some great characters, provides an exciting adventure, and, for me, kept me turning pages. A solid 4.5 star, rounded up. If you enjoy time travel, this book is for you!

[Kesh Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like somersaulting down hills, you'll love this book!

Up to the closing chapters of this book, it’s very hard to get a real sense of what’s going. You have to keep guessing what’s going to happen and what is going on around you as your brain tries to take the information it has been given and process it normally. Not possible with this book… And that’s what makes it fun to read!

I am happy to say that this book is more fun than the Teacup ride at Disney (Have you ever ridden it and spun around really, really fast? I have, it’s like getting drunk without the hangover). I like books which spark my own imagination and are fun to read. Peter did very well in filling both those requirements!

I can’t wait to get my hands on “Gothier Than Thou”!

p.s. Some might notice that I put the same review up on Amazon, don't flame for it, I just did that more for ease on myself than anything.

\m/ Kesh

[Alex Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up as I was intrigued by the premise of a man investigating his own murder through time travel. Unfortunately this isn't really what happened, however. This novel began as a highly fragmented plot which jumped between different characters and different times and was very hard to follow. It continued to feel very disjointed for a large amount of the book, which almost put me off it too much. I persevered, however, and in the end it was a satisfying conclusion which tied it all up. There was no driving narrative question though, and it was more a journey in understanding gaps in the story, rather than a journey in finding out what happens. It was good, but a different type of story and one which didn't really work for me. This wasn't helped by only serviceable writing and characters.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am beginning to believe that the medium on which you read a book reflects your ability to appreciate it. I wonder if I would have given this book a higher rating had I read it in regular book form rather than on my kindle.

This is a very smart novel about time travel and I wonder if I would have benefiting from not just pondering the various paradoxes Peter Wacks considers, but also writing about them as I sat at my desk rather than just taking note of them as I did while I was pounding away on the cardio machine as I read this.

I found the situations he crafted both fascinating and a bit frustrating, but maybe I would have experienced less frustration had I been able more easily to flip back (and forth) through the book as the various characters traveled through time.

All that said, it was a good read, particularly for those who enjoy tales of time travel.

[Regina]

Time is not linear, but circular. This book had a very disconnected feel for me until about halfway through the story. It felt like a retelling of the same events over and over from different characters' points of view. If you can get through that, the rest of the story is an interesting take on how humanity will be saved after a paradox is created by the inventor of time travel.

Zachary Johnson did a good job with the narration and has a pleasant tone to his voice. The only slight negative about the recording is that multiple times during the story sentences were repeated. This took me out of the story every time it happened.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly don't understand what happened in the book. No rating because that would be unfair, but I really would need someone to explain it to me.

*update*
Okay, so I've read through the book once more and a lot of things fell into place. The end is unfortunately still confusing, but I can appreciate the steps leading up to it now. Honestly, time travel stories just aren't for me. If you have the time to read it twice or maybe once, really slowly while flipping back and forth a lot, then I do recommend.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I totally had to geek out and take notes throughout reading the book. I like to solve mysteries, so I didn't want to miss anything I thought was important. I finished this book in a little under two days and that is merely because I am an adult with a job. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy mysteries, time travel, and feeling like you know everything and nothing all at the same time.

I am so thankful I had someone recommend this at Pensacon!

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a refreshing read. Nice take on the time travel stories. Only read one other book like this one, and that was by Michael McColm (though I'm not sure which one it was), Excellent story though, and a highly recommended flag for those who like time travel stories. A bit lacking in some areas, but it certainly is still a story you don't want to miss.

[Katy]

I'm not entirely sure what just happened.

Time exists so everything doesn't happen all at once, but this book presented several different parallel timelines happening "simultaneously" and intersecting, and affecting each other, as presented by a series of unreliable narrators.

I enjoyed the ride, but it's going to take more than just a flowchart to understand it.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reads like an early 90s SF pulp - this is a good thing, sadly one of the very few. The multitude of blank characters and narration that jumps around randomly makes the simple plot hard to follow (like time travel, I get it but it's overdone). I'm not reading this book again just to figure it all out, especially since the ending makes the whole plot irrelevant.

[Julianne Kelsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating. Parts of it moved slowly, but it can be read in any order, starting in the middle chapter and moving to the end before going to the front, or reading it straight through. And that fact is entirely brilliant to me! I've never seen a book that did not have to be read chronologically for it to make sense, but this one doesn't. Very cool!

[Dawn Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisty-turny and hard to follow, which is just how a time paradox story should work. Hard to tell who to root for--no clear protagonist or antagonist, though, so harder to invest in caring about any of the characters.

[Zemmiphobe · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first the skipping around on the timeline was a little bit annoying, but as the story came together it added a really nice depth to the story that I thought was quite great. Overall, greatly enjoyed it.

[Joyce Reynolds-Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read with a different approach to time travel. I wanted a bit more characterization and a bit more flow to the language. That would have taken things to the next level. Still, quite a nice and moving read.

[Naticia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started out absolutely amazing, but lost me right near the end when it suddenly required a much higher level of thinking than the first 2/3 did. 3.5 stars. I rounded up because I am kind of in love with Alexander Zanth.

[Mark Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book by a very talented author. Non-linear structure!? That must have hurt the brain to write lol!

[Peter Wacks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of the titles I've written