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Superposition #1
Superposition
Jacob Kelley's family is turned upside down when an old friend turns up, waving a gun and babbling about an alien quantum intelligence. The mystery deepens when the friend is found dead in an underground bunker…apparently murdered the night before he appeared at Jacob's house. Jacob is arrested for the murder and put on trial.
As the details of the crime slowly come to light, the weave of reality becomes ever more tangled, twisted by a miraculous new technology and a quantum creature unconstrained by the normal limits of space and matter. With the help of his daughter, Alessandra, Jacob must find the true murderer before the creature destroys his family and everything he loves.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
As the details of the crime slowly come to light, the weave of reality becomes ever more tangled, twisted by a miraculous new technology and a quantum creature unconstrained by the normal limits of space and matter. With the help of his daughter, Alessandra, Jacob must find the true murderer before the creature destroys his family and everything he loves.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
303 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2015
146 people are currently reading
2857 people want to read
About the author
David Walton
11 books277 followersDavid loves to read science fiction and lives near Philadelphia with his wife and eight children. His latest series, LIVING MEMORY, is a thriller in which paleontologists save the world.
"Walton has brought hard sci-fi roaring back to life."
—The Wall Street Journal
“One of my favorite science fiction writers, Walton consistently delivers exciting thrillers packed with likeable characters and big ideas.”
—Craig DiLouie
"...gives the reader exciting insights into the threats and the promises that are coming our way."
—Vernor Vinge
"Walton has brought hard sci-fi roaring back to life."
—The Wall Street Journal
“One of my favorite science fiction writers, Walton consistently delivers exciting thrillers packed with likeable characters and big ideas.”
—Craig DiLouie
"...gives the reader exciting insights into the threats and the promises that are coming our way."
—Vernor Vinge
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
Want to read
December 14, 2019Notes to future carol.: past-carol. tried to read, sort of, but it read like it wanted to be Dark Matter. Trouble is, it lacked the pace and characterization (and if you recall your Dark Matter review, you know how damning that is). The writing felt very clunky, especially the dialogue: "as you know, Bob," but perhaps that should be forgiven in the beginning chapters.
However, current-carol read some other reviews and heard the science is cool and done well, and knows you do enjoy science wrapped in a mystery, so I won't hold it against you if you picked this up again.
However, current-carol read some other reviews and heard the science is cool and done well, and knows you do enjoy science wrapped in a mystery, so I won't hold it against you if you picked this up again.
May 20, 2015
For some reason I'm always impressed when something both entertains me and educates me. It's as if all those years of
But that is the case here. David Walton's Superposition is a fun romp through quantum physics. Jacob Kelly is a brilliant physicist who is confronted by an old friend who pretty much destroys his life.
His old friend has some secrets, mostly involving his scientific research and he arrives at Jacob's house, uninvited, and points a gun at Jacob's wife. He shoots, but nothing happens to her. He's discovered something big, but this discovery ends up with Jacob on trial for murder.
The whole book switches back and forth between two viewpoints. One is the present time where Jacob is figuring out the mysteries surrounding his friend's odd behavior, the other time period is Jacob on trial for the murder of that same friend. All of this is told in the first person.
As an attorney, I was actually quite impressed with Walton's grasp of the courtroom. I spend quite a bit of time there and just ask my wife, she can't stand watching shows with any amount of court. But I can't help it, the stuff Hollywood does in a courtroom tends to make no sense at least half the time.
Walton does a great job, however, making the courtroom both realistic and entertaining, which is why Hollywood tends to not follow the realistic approach I'm lead to believe. And the worst part is, the District Attorney has a pretty great case against Jacob only made worse by the fact that the real explanation is absolutely ludicrous.
Throughout the entirety of the book, you're also learning a lot about how quantum physics work. How probability plays more of a role than just about anything and how that is just about impossible to wrap your mind around because how can probability have anything to do with things that exist!
And that's not to say the narrative gets bogged down in explanations, it's a smooth thriller and the science only adds to the wonder.
I quite thoroughly enjoyed Superposition and probably mostly for how much I get to bug people with my new found knowledge of particle physics. It's a fascinating concept on display in an entertaining read. Highly Recommended.
4 out of 5 Stars.
November 25, 2015
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/11/25/r...
I admit, I have a love-hate relationship with hard sci-fi. To clarify, I am mostly talking about science fiction with heavy emphasis on science and technology. If an author can ease me gently into a story like this, it is certainly possible for me to become absorbed and enjoy myself. On the other hand, overwhelm me with techno-babble and science that I don’t understand, and you will see my eyes glazing over faster than a donut on a conveyor belt at Krispy Kreme.
Happily, Superposition turned out to fall in the former category. Of course, I did experience a momentary spike of panic when I realized how heavily the story relies on the various theories in quantum physics (let’s just say my area of study and interest is Biology; I’m a Life Sciences kinda gal, and I did everything that was humanly possible to get out of taking any Physics courses in university) but somehow this book made me feel completely comfortable. David Walton is an author I’ve known of for a while, but have never read until now, and I have to say I’m beyond impressed with the way he made quantum physics easy to understand, even for a “physics phobe” like me. Also, he managed to make it entertaining!
This novel opens with the words “Up-spin” below the first chapter heading, with the narrator Jacob Kelley telling a story about how everything in his life changed the night Brian Vanderhall, an old friend he hasn’t seen in years, shows up at his house babbling about aliens and quantum intelligences, and then proceeds to pull a gun at Jacob’s wife Elena. Brian shoots, but the bullet somehow passes through Elena, leaving her unharmed while punching a hole through the wall behind her. In a rage, Jacob chases Brian out of his house.
But then there are also the even-numbered “Down-spin” chapters. These chapters follow Jacob in a courtroom setting, and we discover that he is on trial for the murder of Brian Vanderhall, who was apparently found dead the same night he visited the Kelley residence, just hours after he shot at Elena. The reader is made to understand that a long time has passed between the Up-spin and Down-spin chapters, and that something significant must have occurred after Brian was chased out of Jacob’s house, which then lead to Jacob’s arrest and prosecution. Did Jacob really kill his old friend or not?
You might be surprised by the answers. I know I was. The truth is weirder than you can imagine, but it will also become much clearer as the story unfolds, told between these two alternating timelines. So, in one thread, we have the “past” where Jacob trying to figure out why Brian came to his house and how he was able to shoot at and not harm Elena, as well as the “present” thread which essentially is a riveting courtroom drama. The trial scenes were actually my favorite, because they captured the tensions of the setting so well, and even injected a bit of humor.
The fact you have a genuinely interesting and entertaining storyline along with all the science is what makes Superposition such a great book. It’s a murder mystery with a quantum physics twist, one that truly excited me, and I’ll be honest here, before this book came along, I would have been hard pressed to imagine myself using the words “excited” and “quantum physics” in the same sentence. Sure, there were some explanations in this that were so complicated that they nearly made me go cross-eyed, but those moments were few and far between. Walton made learning about the topic fun and accessible, using language and other methods that were easy to understand without dumbing things down, and gave the reader enough to follow the story without overcomplicating things.
All in all, I’m really glad I read this novel because I enjoyed it a lot, and yes, that includes all the science-y parts—a good thing, since it was so integral to the plot…the plot that I don’t want to say anything more about, because the more left to secrecy the better. I was utterly addicted to the story, a tightly written tale with a pace that never let up. The use of quantum physics in this murder mystery was simply ingenious, and I’m amazed at Walton’s talent and ability to establish such a fascinating premise. Even if you’re wary about hard sci-fi, I strongly encourage you to give this one a chance; I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
I admit, I have a love-hate relationship with hard sci-fi. To clarify, I am mostly talking about science fiction with heavy emphasis on science and technology. If an author can ease me gently into a story like this, it is certainly possible for me to become absorbed and enjoy myself. On the other hand, overwhelm me with techno-babble and science that I don’t understand, and you will see my eyes glazing over faster than a donut on a conveyor belt at Krispy Kreme.
Happily, Superposition turned out to fall in the former category. Of course, I did experience a momentary spike of panic when I realized how heavily the story relies on the various theories in quantum physics (let’s just say my area of study and interest is Biology; I’m a Life Sciences kinda gal, and I did everything that was humanly possible to get out of taking any Physics courses in university) but somehow this book made me feel completely comfortable. David Walton is an author I’ve known of for a while, but have never read until now, and I have to say I’m beyond impressed with the way he made quantum physics easy to understand, even for a “physics phobe” like me. Also, he managed to make it entertaining!
This novel opens with the words “Up-spin” below the first chapter heading, with the narrator Jacob Kelley telling a story about how everything in his life changed the night Brian Vanderhall, an old friend he hasn’t seen in years, shows up at his house babbling about aliens and quantum intelligences, and then proceeds to pull a gun at Jacob’s wife Elena. Brian shoots, but the bullet somehow passes through Elena, leaving her unharmed while punching a hole through the wall behind her. In a rage, Jacob chases Brian out of his house.
But then there are also the even-numbered “Down-spin” chapters. These chapters follow Jacob in a courtroom setting, and we discover that he is on trial for the murder of Brian Vanderhall, who was apparently found dead the same night he visited the Kelley residence, just hours after he shot at Elena. The reader is made to understand that a long time has passed between the Up-spin and Down-spin chapters, and that something significant must have occurred after Brian was chased out of Jacob’s house, which then lead to Jacob’s arrest and prosecution. Did Jacob really kill his old friend or not?
You might be surprised by the answers. I know I was. The truth is weirder than you can imagine, but it will also become much clearer as the story unfolds, told between these two alternating timelines. So, in one thread, we have the “past” where Jacob trying to figure out why Brian came to his house and how he was able to shoot at and not harm Elena, as well as the “present” thread which essentially is a riveting courtroom drama. The trial scenes were actually my favorite, because they captured the tensions of the setting so well, and even injected a bit of humor.
The fact you have a genuinely interesting and entertaining storyline along with all the science is what makes Superposition such a great book. It’s a murder mystery with a quantum physics twist, one that truly excited me, and I’ll be honest here, before this book came along, I would have been hard pressed to imagine myself using the words “excited” and “quantum physics” in the same sentence. Sure, there were some explanations in this that were so complicated that they nearly made me go cross-eyed, but those moments were few and far between. Walton made learning about the topic fun and accessible, using language and other methods that were easy to understand without dumbing things down, and gave the reader enough to follow the story without overcomplicating things.
All in all, I’m really glad I read this novel because I enjoyed it a lot, and yes, that includes all the science-y parts—a good thing, since it was so integral to the plot…the plot that I don’t want to say anything more about, because the more left to secrecy the better. I was utterly addicted to the story, a tightly written tale with a pace that never let up. The use of quantum physics in this murder mystery was simply ingenious, and I’m amazed at Walton’s talent and ability to establish such a fascinating premise. Even if you’re wary about hard sci-fi, I strongly encourage you to give this one a chance; I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
September 7, 2015
This was an entertaining courtroom drama that happened to geek out all over the place with a coherent explanation of quantum mechanics AND a relevant hard SF extrapolation of the theories.
What is that in laymen terms?
Murder mystery meets many-worlds.
I'm sure those people who geek out over courtroom dramas will get a lot more out of this novel than me. I would have been perfectly peachy with an action-science thriller, and I'll be frank, this novel would have met a five star for me if it had been. It was polished enough in plot to stand with its head held high without diving into anything else, but I'll give it props for being very decent in both hard SF and legal mystery stuff.
My personal wishes have nothing to do with whether this book was excellent. And it was excellent.
The science was particularly well-done and engaging and it was also so damn relevant to the plot that I couldn't help but squee with delight at the explored and exploited plot-lines.
It wasn't set very far in the future, but the opened horizons made me feel that ever-so-desired sense of wonder I always pray for in a science-fiction novel.
There wasn't any worldbuilding here. It was just a widening of our myriad possibilities. If only we could have stayed on that side of the novel. *sigh*
Please don't get me wrong. I live for novels that genre-bend. It allows us readers to swim in oceans of new possibilities. I just don't like it when a mix feels like a noose to reel-in characters, even if it provided very decent and ongoing conflict.
I'm afraid I'm prejudiced a bit against mysteries. It doesn't matter how many I've read. They have a place in my heart, but they'll never quite open up my head. Otherwise, I loved all the ideas, no matter if a lot of them have been done before.
The novel has a modern sensibility and a very clear style. I'm sure most people would get through the novel quite easily.
It's the ideas within that will stay with me.
You ought to know what I mean, though. It's all about quantum alien intelligences, bridging the Holtzman gap between the subatomic and macro, manipulating probability wave collapses, the mirror-image duplication of characters, and even e-paper computers that remotely tap into supercolliders.
It's the little classic stuff of SF. In a murder mystery/courtroom drama.
I'm pretty sure most other readers, whether they like mystery or SF, will get a great deal of satisfaction out of the novel. I wish you well with it!
What is that in laymen terms?
Murder mystery meets many-worlds.
I'm sure those people who geek out over courtroom dramas will get a lot more out of this novel than me. I would have been perfectly peachy with an action-science thriller, and I'll be frank, this novel would have met a five star for me if it had been. It was polished enough in plot to stand with its head held high without diving into anything else, but I'll give it props for being very decent in both hard SF and legal mystery stuff.
My personal wishes have nothing to do with whether this book was excellent. And it was excellent.
The science was particularly well-done and engaging and it was also so damn relevant to the plot that I couldn't help but squee with delight at the explored and exploited plot-lines.
It wasn't set very far in the future, but the opened horizons made me feel that ever-so-desired sense of wonder I always pray for in a science-fiction novel.
There wasn't any worldbuilding here. It was just a widening of our myriad possibilities. If only we could have stayed on that side of the novel. *sigh*
Please don't get me wrong. I live for novels that genre-bend. It allows us readers to swim in oceans of new possibilities. I just don't like it when a mix feels like a noose to reel-in characters, even if it provided very decent and ongoing conflict.
I'm afraid I'm prejudiced a bit against mysteries. It doesn't matter how many I've read. They have a place in my heart, but they'll never quite open up my head. Otherwise, I loved all the ideas, no matter if a lot of them have been done before.
The novel has a modern sensibility and a very clear style. I'm sure most people would get through the novel quite easily.
It's the ideas within that will stay with me.
You ought to know what I mean, though. It's all about quantum alien intelligences, bridging the Holtzman gap between the subatomic and macro, manipulating probability wave collapses, the mirror-image duplication of characters, and even e-paper computers that remotely tap into supercolliders.
It's the little classic stuff of SF. In a murder mystery/courtroom drama.
I'm pretty sure most other readers, whether they like mystery or SF, will get a great deal of satisfaction out of the novel. I wish you well with it!
February 19, 2024
Only Quarter star if i have to be precise, please please don’t say its a science fiction and don’t read it all, its only Blah blah blah.
“Hey, I bought a new car and these are its features and i am gonna tell this to everyone i meet in the story” thats what happens in this book.
God have mercy on my soul, imma cleanse my soul by fasting a day
“Hey, I bought a new car and these are its features and i am gonna tell this to everyone i meet in the story” thats what happens in this book.
God have mercy on my soul, imma cleanse my soul by fasting a day
September 8, 2015
Honestly, this one borders on a 5 star read for me, but it lacks substance. Cool science though and one of the better fictionalizations of a lesson in quantum theory I've seen.
The story follows a particle physicist turned teacher who gets dramatically drawn back into his prior profession by a colleague's bizarre behavior. The book follows the colleague's visit and subsequent murder in one storyline and the trial of the main character for the colleague's murder in another alternating storyline. It works very well, and the elements of the unfolding situation with the particle physicist and some bizarre alien life-forms work well with the unfolding court case.
The book shines when it's explaining the quantum effects in terms a relative layperson will get, without dumbing it all down too much. The aliens are also well done, but inscrutable. The outcome also sets up the sequel well, and I'm looking forward to finding out what's happened with the two characters that feature in the sequel in the bridging period.
The story follows a particle physicist turned teacher who gets dramatically drawn back into his prior profession by a colleague's bizarre behavior. The book follows the colleague's visit and subsequent murder in one storyline and the trial of the main character for the colleague's murder in another alternating storyline. It works very well, and the elements of the unfolding situation with the particle physicist and some bizarre alien life-forms work well with the unfolding court case.
The book shines when it's explaining the quantum effects in terms a relative layperson will get, without dumbing it all down too much. The aliens are also well done, but inscrutable. The outcome also sets up the sequel well, and I'm looking forward to finding out what's happened with the two characters that feature in the sequel in the bridging period.
July 25, 2016
2.5 stars, barely, rounded down to two.
The quantum physics part of the story was very interesting, but the characters were very flat to me, very two-dimensional, almost like they were thrown in to show specific characteristics about the main character. For example, the wife and family seemed to be there only the show how good a husband/father he is. The (dumb) buddy is there to show how smart he is.
Aside from the mind-bending theoretical physics, this was all very pedestrian, and very disappointing.
The quantum physics part of the story was very interesting, but the characters were very flat to me, very two-dimensional, almost like they were thrown in to show specific characteristics about the main character. For example, the wife and family seemed to be there only the show how good a husband/father he is. The (dumb) buddy is there to show how smart he is.
Aside from the mind-bending theoretical physics, this was all very pedestrian, and very disappointing.
September 10, 2015
Superposition
4 Stars - Had me hooked in right away. Felt like I came away some interesting knowledge that the author integrates almost too well into the plotline. Definitely a book that can spark some interesting conversations, loved it!
Schrödinger's cat. If you haven't heard of this before, like me, then this book will be quite a mind bender that will have you asking 'could this be possible...?' all the time.
About a quarter way into the book I started to search up some of the terminology, just to see how realistic this novel was. Well, it ended with me on Wikipedia at 4am reading about a cat, poison and radioactive materials.... needless to say David Walton really does know this stuff(I assume uses it to build time machines at Lockheed) and shows you in a very understanding way that becomes a book you just can not put down.
I wouldn't say I have read many books that really use so much real science to make a story work. The scenes that you picture in your head reading this are great, my personal favorite being how well the 'Up-Spin' and 'Down-Spin' work so seamlessly together. The jumping between timelines was weaved so well, I never felt loss, but right on track with this well written story.
My only reason for 4stars, is that somewhere around the middle to third quarter, it did get a little dry for me, not meaning it got boring, just that such momentum and great anticipation building up, does hover for a little bit, before really coming back and giving some twists and fun that not even M Night Shyamalan could conjure up.
The book follows the workings of brilliant scientists and a family, while filled with courtroom drama and high tech gear, all during an event that might be the scariest thing the world has ever seen. Once you get a few pages in, this is not a book you will be able to put down. Very smart and well written, nothing is better then murder and quantum intelligence!
The main character Jacob, will bring you on a mission to essentially save everything you have ever accepted as real, all while fighting to prove to a jury, that he is not a murderer but a victim. He will show you what choices mean when we make them, and how nothing is really impossible.
I was very surprised by this book, and am extremely happy to have come across it. Suspenseful until the end, when I finished this I dove right into the sequel Supersymmetry within a minute. I really would like to see more stories that have my brain working as much as this one!
"..If you pull the trigger, it will kill her. You don't want that."
He stood. "You won't believe me unless I show you." - 24
"In fact," I said, "here I am now."- pg 214
4 Stars - Had me hooked in right away. Felt like I came away some interesting knowledge that the author integrates almost too well into the plotline. Definitely a book that can spark some interesting conversations, loved it!
Schrödinger's cat. If you haven't heard of this before, like me, then this book will be quite a mind bender that will have you asking 'could this be possible...?' all the time.
About a quarter way into the book I started to search up some of the terminology, just to see how realistic this novel was. Well, it ended with me on Wikipedia at 4am reading about a cat, poison and radioactive materials.... needless to say David Walton really does know this stuff(I assume uses it to build time machines at Lockheed) and shows you in a very understanding way that becomes a book you just can not put down.
I wouldn't say I have read many books that really use so much real science to make a story work. The scenes that you picture in your head reading this are great, my personal favorite being how well the 'Up-Spin' and 'Down-Spin' work so seamlessly together. The jumping between timelines was weaved so well, I never felt loss, but right on track with this well written story.
My only reason for 4stars, is that somewhere around the middle to third quarter, it did get a little dry for me, not meaning it got boring, just that such momentum and great anticipation building up, does hover for a little bit, before really coming back and giving some twists and fun that not even M Night Shyamalan could conjure up.
The book follows the workings of brilliant scientists and a family, while filled with courtroom drama and high tech gear, all during an event that might be the scariest thing the world has ever seen. Once you get a few pages in, this is not a book you will be able to put down. Very smart and well written, nothing is better then murder and quantum intelligence!
The main character Jacob, will bring you on a mission to essentially save everything you have ever accepted as real, all while fighting to prove to a jury, that he is not a murderer but a victim. He will show you what choices mean when we make them, and how nothing is really impossible.
I was very surprised by this book, and am extremely happy to have come across it. Suspenseful until the end, when I finished this I dove right into the sequel Supersymmetry within a minute. I really would like to see more stories that have my brain working as much as this one!
"..If you pull the trigger, it will kill her. You don't want that."
He stood. "You won't believe me unless I show you." - 24
"In fact," I said, "here I am now."- pg 214
September 9, 2015
This was a really enjoyable quantum physics murder mystery. The science was explained in a readable way as part of the story. The courtroom parts were mostly accurate, which is fine because if there hadn't been any dramatic license taken it would have been deadly dull instead of page turning. Overall, a fast paced and exciting read.
June 6, 2017
Bi kitabın sonu anca bu kadar saçma olabilirdi. İlk defa bi kitap için üzülerek de olsa zaman kaybı diyorum.
February 17, 2019
I've recently gotten into the mood of exciting, cheap, and dare I say nasty thrillers - more specifically, quantum thrillers. Alongside Superposition I've read The Flicker Men, and in the past on a similar binge (I'm extremely predictable) I raced through The Fold, The Gone World, Arcadia, Timeline, and Goodreads' favourite Dark Matter. Of course, Dark Matter was the most satisfying (and Arcadia the most comforting). Superposition pales in comparison by a few shades but it still gave me the same level of satisfaction.
Jacob is your average scientist with a white picket fence family whose world is turned upside down when an ex-colleague and best friend visited him to tell of a new breakthrough in quantum physics. When said colleague disappears, Jacob pays a visit to his lab and follow a line of clues, including smartpaper, the novel's Early Future placemat, which had to be unlocked with a password only Jacob and his colleague knew, to a horror show, which follows him out of the lab into the real world and eventually to his family and friends.
What I liked: murder mystery, dramatic drama from the courtroom, murder victim that you love to hate, exciting quantum discoveries that result in strange magician effects in the physical world.
What I did not like though: unrealistic dialogue, predictable twist and too much foreshadowing, flat characters, a resolution that feels straight out of a Disney Channel tv show.
Still, kept me entertained during my morning and evening transits, meal times, and bathroom breaks until I finished it at the end of the day. A great binge, left me feeling bloated but wanting more.
Jacob is your average scientist with a white picket fence family whose world is turned upside down when an ex-colleague and best friend visited him to tell of a new breakthrough in quantum physics. When said colleague disappears, Jacob pays a visit to his lab and follow a line of clues, including smartpaper, the novel's Early Future placemat, which had to be unlocked with a password only Jacob and his colleague knew, to a horror show, which follows him out of the lab into the real world and eventually to his family and friends.
What I liked: murder mystery, dramatic drama from the courtroom, murder victim that you love to hate, exciting quantum discoveries that result in strange magician effects in the physical world.
What I did not like though: unrealistic dialogue, predictable twist and too much foreshadowing, flat characters, a resolution that feels straight out of a Disney Channel tv show.
Still, kept me entertained during my morning and evening transits, meal times, and bathroom breaks until I finished it at the end of the day. A great binge, left me feeling bloated but wanting more.
August 28, 2023
Recommended by Ted Kosmatka at https://www.tor.com/2015/08/14/five-n...
"It’s a great book that acts as an exploration of quantum mechanics. Upspin and downspin points of view alternate in this book which is part mystery, part court drama, part physics thriller. It’s short on hand waving, and long on the kind of detailed analysis that suggests it was written with the eye of an engineer. Which, it turns out, it was."
This one was languishing as an old TBR, and I was prompted to actually get around to reading it by Kosmatka's short capsule review, which is both fair & succinct. Plus, our library had the ebook, which is blessedly short. A new-to-me writer, who is a Lockheed-Martin defense engineer. I know a fair bit about quantum physics, on a pop-science level, and I wasn't at all sure at first that this one was going to work for me. But we hard-SF fans have learned to be both patient and tolerant of the sometimes awkward writing that comes with the territory. Author Walton turns out to be a more than adequate writer, and his tale comes alive as you get into it. 3.7 stars for me, recommended reading. You will note that is the average rating here . . .
I'm having fun looking through Tor.com's backlist https://www.tor.com/series/five-books...
-- which I commend to your attention. If, like me, you haven't gone through it systematically, you may find some neglected gems in whatever parts of the speculative-fiction subgenres that are your favorites, likely including articles by some of your favorite authors. Have fun prospecting!
"It’s a great book that acts as an exploration of quantum mechanics. Upspin and downspin points of view alternate in this book which is part mystery, part court drama, part physics thriller. It’s short on hand waving, and long on the kind of detailed analysis that suggests it was written with the eye of an engineer. Which, it turns out, it was."
This one was languishing as an old TBR, and I was prompted to actually get around to reading it by Kosmatka's short capsule review, which is both fair & succinct. Plus, our library had the ebook, which is blessedly short. A new-to-me writer, who is a Lockheed-Martin defense engineer. I know a fair bit about quantum physics, on a pop-science level, and I wasn't at all sure at first that this one was going to work for me. But we hard-SF fans have learned to be both patient and tolerant of the sometimes awkward writing that comes with the territory. Author Walton turns out to be a more than adequate writer, and his tale comes alive as you get into it. 3.7 stars for me, recommended reading. You will note that is the average rating here . . .
I'm having fun looking through Tor.com's backlist https://www.tor.com/series/five-books...
-- which I commend to your attention. If, like me, you haven't gone through it systematically, you may find some neglected gems in whatever parts of the speculative-fiction subgenres that are your favorites, likely including articles by some of your favorite authors. Have fun prospecting!
April 5, 2015
I have never read anything by this author. Now that I have read this book, I plan to keep this author on my radar. OMG! I feel hard for this book. My only flaw was that I started it late in the evening and so I had to put it down to get some sleep. Yet, you can bet that once I got up and carved myself out some time, I jumped right back into this book. It was not long before I was finished with it.
This book may be fiction but it could read as if it was nonfiction. I could totally imagine this really happening in today's world. Sci-fi/tech readers will really enjoy this book. Also, anyone wanting to check out this genre should as you will be hooked.
The way that this book was formatted with the past and the present alternating with each chapter was great. I really understood the who "down and up spin". I was so memorized by what was happening in this book that I could not stop reading. A must read for sure! I will be checking out more books by this author.
This book may be fiction but it could read as if it was nonfiction. I could totally imagine this really happening in today's world. Sci-fi/tech readers will really enjoy this book. Also, anyone wanting to check out this genre should as you will be hooked.
The way that this book was formatted with the past and the present alternating with each chapter was great. I really understood the who "down and up spin". I was so memorized by what was happening in this book that I could not stop reading. A must read for sure! I will be checking out more books by this author.
September 14, 2015
Quantum physics courtroom murder mystery all in one. I really enjoyed this book even if some of the science went over my head. I listened to the audio and the narrator did a good job with the pacing and maintaining the tension. Looking forward to the sequel.
September 27, 2015
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
The older and more experienced I get as a professional book reviewer, the more I'm realizing that there are in fact two radically different types of science-fiction novel out there, a genre which I've been faithfully (if not indiscriminately) reading since I was a kid; there are the science-fiction novels that work just as great general novels as well, full of complex characters and a strong style and a plot that is airtight relative to its own internal universe; and there are the science-fiction novels that can only be loved by hardcore fans of science-fiction (say for example the ones who attend a large amount of SF conventions every year, which is why such novels tend to do well at convention-based awards programs like the Hugos), the kind that would otherwise be considered mediocre at best by a fan of general fiction but that fetishistically deliver on the exact kinds of genre details that those genre fans are salivating over. And in fact this is where we get the entire concept of "genre novel" to begin with, I've also come to realize; when someone calls a book one, they're not necessarily implying simply that it's a book written in that genre, but instead that it's an otherwise so-so book that is loved by its fans solely and exclusively for delivering the kinds of easy details that those genre fans are looking for in the first place (whether that's disturbingly intelligent serial killers in crime novels, haughty elves in fantasy novels, half-naked pirates in romance novels, dysfunctional families in hipster-lit novels, etc).
And while I'm a huge fan of SF publisher Pyr for all the legitimately fantastic novels they put out every year, I must also admit that they put out an even bigger number each year of these so-so con favorites, because this is the bread and butter of any genre publisher and, hey, even Pyr's gotta pay for baby's new shoes, right? Take for example the recent one-two series Superposition and Supersymmetry by defense-industry engineer David Walton, whose Goodreads pages to be fair are littered with mostly 4- and 5-star reviews, but that personally made me almost cause permanent damage to my skull from all the eye-rolling I did while making my way through them. Essentially crime novels set among the employees of a fictional atom smashing facility in New Jersey, the premise is that one of these employees has finally caused a successful Quantum Something Or Other (ah, the Quantum Something Or Other -- where would lazy 21st-century science-fiction be without it?), causing a Quantum hole in the universe where Quantum creatures have Quantum gotten in and are Quantum causing a bunch of Quantum damage to our own universe.
Filled with the kinds of half-baked two-dimensional characters you would expect from a mediocre genre novel (wives who exist for no other reason than to show you that the main character is a good husband, the random blue-collar friend who exists for no other reason so that the main character can present a dumbed-down expository explanation of what's going on), and told through courtroom scenes that sound like a sub-par version of a Law & Order episode (which is saying a lot), Walton tries to have it both ways here, with characters that sometimes react to all the magical nonsense without blinking an eye, but then sometimes spend entire chapters saying "What's going on? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON!!!" when it's convenient for the plot that they do so. A mess of a series that is nonetheless loved by many, these are the kinds of novels that can only be tolerated by the kinds of genre fans who tear through a book like this every single day, and who don't really care whether it's well-done as a piece of literature as long as the word 'quantum' appears a thousand times in 300 pages. It should all be kept in mind before picking up a copy yourself.
Out of 10: 6.9
The older and more experienced I get as a professional book reviewer, the more I'm realizing that there are in fact two radically different types of science-fiction novel out there, a genre which I've been faithfully (if not indiscriminately) reading since I was a kid; there are the science-fiction novels that work just as great general novels as well, full of complex characters and a strong style and a plot that is airtight relative to its own internal universe; and there are the science-fiction novels that can only be loved by hardcore fans of science-fiction (say for example the ones who attend a large amount of SF conventions every year, which is why such novels tend to do well at convention-based awards programs like the Hugos), the kind that would otherwise be considered mediocre at best by a fan of general fiction but that fetishistically deliver on the exact kinds of genre details that those genre fans are salivating over. And in fact this is where we get the entire concept of "genre novel" to begin with, I've also come to realize; when someone calls a book one, they're not necessarily implying simply that it's a book written in that genre, but instead that it's an otherwise so-so book that is loved by its fans solely and exclusively for delivering the kinds of easy details that those genre fans are looking for in the first place (whether that's disturbingly intelligent serial killers in crime novels, haughty elves in fantasy novels, half-naked pirates in romance novels, dysfunctional families in hipster-lit novels, etc).
And while I'm a huge fan of SF publisher Pyr for all the legitimately fantastic novels they put out every year, I must also admit that they put out an even bigger number each year of these so-so con favorites, because this is the bread and butter of any genre publisher and, hey, even Pyr's gotta pay for baby's new shoes, right? Take for example the recent one-two series Superposition and Supersymmetry by defense-industry engineer David Walton, whose Goodreads pages to be fair are littered with mostly 4- and 5-star reviews, but that personally made me almost cause permanent damage to my skull from all the eye-rolling I did while making my way through them. Essentially crime novels set among the employees of a fictional atom smashing facility in New Jersey, the premise is that one of these employees has finally caused a successful Quantum Something Or Other (ah, the Quantum Something Or Other -- where would lazy 21st-century science-fiction be without it?), causing a Quantum hole in the universe where Quantum creatures have Quantum gotten in and are Quantum causing a bunch of Quantum damage to our own universe.
Filled with the kinds of half-baked two-dimensional characters you would expect from a mediocre genre novel (wives who exist for no other reason than to show you that the main character is a good husband, the random blue-collar friend who exists for no other reason so that the main character can present a dumbed-down expository explanation of what's going on), and told through courtroom scenes that sound like a sub-par version of a Law & Order episode (which is saying a lot), Walton tries to have it both ways here, with characters that sometimes react to all the magical nonsense without blinking an eye, but then sometimes spend entire chapters saying "What's going on? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON!!!" when it's convenient for the plot that they do so. A mess of a series that is nonetheless loved by many, these are the kinds of novels that can only be tolerated by the kinds of genre fans who tear through a book like this every single day, and who don't really care whether it's well-done as a piece of literature as long as the word 'quantum' appears a thousand times in 300 pages. It should all be kept in mind before picking up a copy yourself.
Out of 10: 6.9
July 28, 2015
4.5 Stars
Superposition by David Walton is a geeky physics based science fiction thriller that tickled my brain all the way down to my quarks, muons, toys, and neutrinos. Walton gets all the credit for making this novel work. It is not just for fans of hard science fiction or for people with a physics background. He tells this story to us in such a way that we are able to at least grasp upon the models portrayed. Walton uses the court case to further spell out the physics behind entanglement and superposition and makes it feel quite real. The style of which this novel is told is also pretty freaking cool with alternating chapters of up spin and down spin corresponding with the two main points of view.
There is a ton of action thrown into this science fiction mystery. It is not just a lesson in modern day physics. Jacob being a fairly violent guy added the literal punch to the story. I enjoyed the pacing and found the book tough to put down. I could read books like this all day long.
An example of a small lesson from the book:
""But the whole bit about the coin being both heads and tails, until you look at it? It sounds ridiculous. How can my looking at something affect what it is?"
"In the macro world, not so much," I said."But, you have to remember that in an electron's world, a single photon is a pretty big deal.'Getting looked at' to an electron means getting whacked by a photon. At that small a scale, looking at something does affect what it is.""
I really enjoyed this thriller and think that it could find a wide audience. The style is equal to the substance of this read. The ending is satisfying. I highly recommend it.
Superposition by David Walton is a geeky physics based science fiction thriller that tickled my brain all the way down to my quarks, muons, toys, and neutrinos. Walton gets all the credit for making this novel work. It is not just for fans of hard science fiction or for people with a physics background. He tells this story to us in such a way that we are able to at least grasp upon the models portrayed. Walton uses the court case to further spell out the physics behind entanglement and superposition and makes it feel quite real. The style of which this novel is told is also pretty freaking cool with alternating chapters of up spin and down spin corresponding with the two main points of view.
There is a ton of action thrown into this science fiction mystery. It is not just a lesson in modern day physics. Jacob being a fairly violent guy added the literal punch to the story. I enjoyed the pacing and found the book tough to put down. I could read books like this all day long.
An example of a small lesson from the book:
""But the whole bit about the coin being both heads and tails, until you look at it? It sounds ridiculous. How can my looking at something affect what it is?"
"In the macro world, not so much," I said."But, you have to remember that in an electron's world, a single photon is a pretty big deal.'Getting looked at' to an electron means getting whacked by a photon. At that small a scale, looking at something does affect what it is.""
I really enjoyed this thriller and think that it could find a wide audience. The style is equal to the substance of this read. The ending is satisfying. I highly recommend it.
August 20, 2015
What would happen if the physics of the micro universe could be applied to the macro universe in which we live? It would be pretty weird as explained in this engaging story.
Einstein talked about the "spooky" aspect of quantum theory; things like, probability waves, particles being in two places at once, faster than light travel, all of these things seem possible on the subatomic level of reality but they are impossible in our universe...until now.
In the not so distant future, a scientist at the Higgs Particle Accelerator is actually able to contact a form of intelligence in the subatomic realm. This intelligence is more alien than anything we could imagine coming from outer space. The laws of physics as we know them just don't apply.
Intertwined in this revelation is actually a murder mystery which leads to a court room drama that is unlike anything you every saw on Perry Mason (boy did I just date myself). This makes for a real page turner. Worth the read for the originality of the story if nothing else.
Einstein talked about the "spooky" aspect of quantum theory; things like, probability waves, particles being in two places at once, faster than light travel, all of these things seem possible on the subatomic level of reality but they are impossible in our universe...until now.
In the not so distant future, a scientist at the Higgs Particle Accelerator is actually able to contact a form of intelligence in the subatomic realm. This intelligence is more alien than anything we could imagine coming from outer space. The laws of physics as we know them just don't apply.
Intertwined in this revelation is actually a murder mystery which leads to a court room drama that is unlike anything you every saw on Perry Mason (boy did I just date myself). This makes for a real page turner. Worth the read for the originality of the story if nothing else.
December 19, 2014
Superposition is a book that dances between genres masterfully, injecting science fiction into mystery and legal dramas in a truly unique read. Fans of speculative fiction will be very pleased. At the center of the story is the question of what would happen if the things that are possible in the quantum world were possible in the physical world we observe? How does this affect our notions of humanity and existence? The author explains the quantum physics that drive the story in clear and concise terms and helps bring the reader deeper into the plot. The book is thrilling, intelligent and impossible to put down.
April 23, 2017
Güzel roman, sonunu öğrenmek için sabahlayıp bitirdim kitabı. Kuantum fiziğine hiçbir aşinalığım yok, neyse ki gerizekalıya anlatır gibi anlatmış ne olduğunu. Görünüşe göre aynı anda iki farklı yerde bulunabiliyoruz. Bunu çok güzel kullanmış ve akıcı bir paralel kurguyla su gibi giden bir kitap yazmış yazarımız.
December 15, 2018
yani mükemmel başlayıp ortalarına kadar soluksuz giden bir kitap, nasıl bu kadar kötü bir sonla bitirilebilirin örneğidir. bu ara fazla ineklediğim için daha bilimsel daha öğretici ama biraz da sürükleyici şeyler okumak istediğimden bu kitabı seçmiştim. ortalarına kadar mükemmel gitti hatta uzun zamandır bu kadar kitlenmemiştim bir kitaba. ne oldu ne olacak allah allah derken inceden gazım kaçmaya başladı. bence yazarın kafasında bir konu varmış bunu nasıl işleyeceğini de biliyormuş ama nereye bağlayacağını bilememiş. 2018favlara girecek bir kitaptı yazık oldu.
May 8, 2015
I am not a science fiction fan. At all. But I devoured this compelling blend of science fiction, personal drama, and murder mystery in just a few evenings. A fun and very visual read--I could see the movie in my head as I read it.
December 17, 2015
Reviewed on my blog - Books by Proxy
4 Stars
I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review
-
After reading numerous excellent reviews for Superposition and hearing excellent things about David Walton’s writing, I snapped up the chance to read and review Superposition when it was presented. I love science fiction. I love crime thrillers. So I’m willing to bet that I sure as hell am going to love a combination of the two. And Superposition really didn’t disappoint. This is a fast paced sci-fi thriller which unfolds like a crime drama. Completely unpredictable – anything could and does happen – and utterly absorbing, David Walton has created a world which makes you think, makes you dream and makes you believe.
-
Jacob Kelley life is changed irrevocably when an old friend and colleague shows up at his house presumably deranged and spouting wild scientific theories. When events escalate and the impossible starts to happen, Jacob realises that Brian’s theories may not be so wild after all. Only Brian has been murdered and Jacob is the number one suspect. On trial for a murder he couldn’t possibly have committed, and on the run from an alien quantum intelligence which seems intent on hunting him down, Jacob must find a way to prove his innocence before it’s too late for both himself and his family.
Walton writes a highly convincing plot, fast paced and brimming with tension. The narrative twists and turns and keeps you guessing until the very end – and for this sci-fi crime thriller, absolutely anything is possible. The narrative is split into two through the ‘Up-Spin’ and the ‘Down-Spin’ chapters which separate the past from the present – the events which led from the opening scenes from the murder trial itself – which gives breathing space to the action, keeps the pages turning and provides two fascinating perspectives on these impossible events from one man who is completely out of his depth.
The science behind Superposition is conveyed excellently throughout the murder trial. Walton relies on the testimonies of expert witnesses to explain the science in layman’s terms without having to resort to lengthy information dumps which would have broken the tension and pace of the novel. This is hard sci-fi, there’s no getting away from that (if it’s the sort of thing that puts you off), but the narrative is so compelling and draws you in so completely that the scientific details are unlikely to overwhelm even the biggest sceptic of hard sci-fi.
Jacob Kelley is a convincing narrator whose alternating chapters from past to present give a sympathetic view of his character. The characterisation was also perfect for this style of novel. Where usually I prefer a certain amount of depth to all characters, the depiction of the bit players fell in line with what I’ve come to expect from crime novels where the protagonist is fleshed out fully but the side characters are open to all possibilities – and all can be suspected. This helped to keep the focus on both the protagonist and the action, and aided in making the surprises even more surprising.
-
Superposition is a fascinating, exhilarating and truly absorbing read which left me wanting more. Recommended to all fans of science fiction – expect wild scientific theories, surprises aplenty and heart-thumping tension from a sophisticated sci-fi thriller. David Walton is certainly an author I will be keeping an eye on.
4 Stars
I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review
-
After reading numerous excellent reviews for Superposition and hearing excellent things about David Walton’s writing, I snapped up the chance to read and review Superposition when it was presented. I love science fiction. I love crime thrillers. So I’m willing to bet that I sure as hell am going to love a combination of the two. And Superposition really didn’t disappoint. This is a fast paced sci-fi thriller which unfolds like a crime drama. Completely unpredictable – anything could and does happen – and utterly absorbing, David Walton has created a world which makes you think, makes you dream and makes you believe.
-
Jacob Kelley life is changed irrevocably when an old friend and colleague shows up at his house presumably deranged and spouting wild scientific theories. When events escalate and the impossible starts to happen, Jacob realises that Brian’s theories may not be so wild after all. Only Brian has been murdered and Jacob is the number one suspect. On trial for a murder he couldn’t possibly have committed, and on the run from an alien quantum intelligence which seems intent on hunting him down, Jacob must find a way to prove his innocence before it’s too late for both himself and his family.
Walton writes a highly convincing plot, fast paced and brimming with tension. The narrative twists and turns and keeps you guessing until the very end – and for this sci-fi crime thriller, absolutely anything is possible. The narrative is split into two through the ‘Up-Spin’ and the ‘Down-Spin’ chapters which separate the past from the present – the events which led from the opening scenes from the murder trial itself – which gives breathing space to the action, keeps the pages turning and provides two fascinating perspectives on these impossible events from one man who is completely out of his depth.
The science behind Superposition is conveyed excellently throughout the murder trial. Walton relies on the testimonies of expert witnesses to explain the science in layman’s terms without having to resort to lengthy information dumps which would have broken the tension and pace of the novel. This is hard sci-fi, there’s no getting away from that (if it’s the sort of thing that puts you off), but the narrative is so compelling and draws you in so completely that the scientific details are unlikely to overwhelm even the biggest sceptic of hard sci-fi.
Jacob Kelley is a convincing narrator whose alternating chapters from past to present give a sympathetic view of his character. The characterisation was also perfect for this style of novel. Where usually I prefer a certain amount of depth to all characters, the depiction of the bit players fell in line with what I’ve come to expect from crime novels where the protagonist is fleshed out fully but the side characters are open to all possibilities – and all can be suspected. This helped to keep the focus on both the protagonist and the action, and aided in making the surprises even more surprising.
-
Superposition is a fascinating, exhilarating and truly absorbing read which left me wanting more. Recommended to all fans of science fiction – expect wild scientific theories, surprises aplenty and heart-thumping tension from a sophisticated sci-fi thriller. David Walton is certainly an author I will be keeping an eye on.
February 17, 2015
Original review posted at Reading Lark: http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2015/...
4.5 stars
You know how sometimes you take a chance on a book by an author you’ve never read before? That’s what I did with Superposition, and I couldn’t be happier! Walton delivers a spectacular genre mash up of science fiction, legal drama and murder mystery that will keep you thinking long after you’ve closed the book. (Edited to add: I read the book and wrote this review over two months ago and I’m still thinking about the book.)
Jacob Kelley and his family receive a late night visit from one of Jacob’s former physics colleagues who shows them some disturbing new technology. Not long after, the colleague is found murdered and all the evidence points to Jacob. As the trial unfolds, the implications of the technology become broader and more serious, and Jacob must race against time to clear his name by finding the real murderer.
Walton does a good job making the quantum physics behind the story accessible to the non-scientist. The tech-talk bits use fairly simple language and everyday objects to convey the concepts – the main character is explaining things to his lawyer after all. ;) And he captures the fundamental weirdness of the wave-particle duality of energy and matter in a hilarious scene where Jacob, the main character, is arguing with himself. (Don’t fret. By the time you get to that part in the story, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.)
Now before the science fiction label turns some of you off, this is near future SF – no space travel, no weird names or unpronounceable alien languages – and although the science is an integral part of the story, it is by no means the only important part. Walton’s characters are terrific, flawed, and real. Jacob has anger management issues and a somewhat shady past. His teenage daughter is a believable mix of angst, need, and bravery. Brian, the former colleague, is a brainiac ladies’ man. Fun characters and Walton’s laid-back writing style made it all too easy to stay up into the wee hours devouring this book.
Also, Superposition is a very visual book, one that I could easily see this being made into a movie. And I really do hope that Walton gets a good movie deal out of this – I’ll be first in line to hand over my money. The story has the potential for Inception-like visual effects and it certainly has the brain-bendy, reality-warping moments to carry them.
Only two teeny, tiny things bugged me about this book. First, I just want to know more about the varcolacs, though I have it on good authority the sequel will go into that. Second, what’s with the mirrors?
Quibbles aside, I love this book! If only superposition technology were real, I could read books like this all day long and still be able to do everything else I’m supposed be doing at the same time.
4.5 stars
You know how sometimes you take a chance on a book by an author you’ve never read before? That’s what I did with Superposition, and I couldn’t be happier! Walton delivers a spectacular genre mash up of science fiction, legal drama and murder mystery that will keep you thinking long after you’ve closed the book. (Edited to add: I read the book and wrote this review over two months ago and I’m still thinking about the book.)
Jacob Kelley and his family receive a late night visit from one of Jacob’s former physics colleagues who shows them some disturbing new technology. Not long after, the colleague is found murdered and all the evidence points to Jacob. As the trial unfolds, the implications of the technology become broader and more serious, and Jacob must race against time to clear his name by finding the real murderer.
Walton does a good job making the quantum physics behind the story accessible to the non-scientist. The tech-talk bits use fairly simple language and everyday objects to convey the concepts – the main character is explaining things to his lawyer after all. ;) And he captures the fundamental weirdness of the wave-particle duality of energy and matter in a hilarious scene where Jacob, the main character, is arguing with himself. (Don’t fret. By the time you get to that part in the story, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.)
Now before the science fiction label turns some of you off, this is near future SF – no space travel, no weird names or unpronounceable alien languages – and although the science is an integral part of the story, it is by no means the only important part. Walton’s characters are terrific, flawed, and real. Jacob has anger management issues and a somewhat shady past. His teenage daughter is a believable mix of angst, need, and bravery. Brian, the former colleague, is a brainiac ladies’ man. Fun characters and Walton’s laid-back writing style made it all too easy to stay up into the wee hours devouring this book.
Also, Superposition is a very visual book, one that I could easily see this being made into a movie. And I really do hope that Walton gets a good movie deal out of this – I’ll be first in line to hand over my money. The story has the potential for Inception-like visual effects and it certainly has the brain-bendy, reality-warping moments to carry them.
Only two teeny, tiny things bugged me about this book. First, I just want to know more about the varcolacs, though I have it on good authority the sequel will go into that. Second, what’s with the mirrors?
Quibbles aside, I love this book! If only superposition technology were real, I could read books like this all day long and still be able to do everything else I’m supposed be doing at the same time.
August 19, 2015
4/5 Rating Originally posted at https://mylifemybooksmyescape.wordpre...
If you don’t know what superposition is, you’re in for a treat!
*Disclaimer: I was provided with a review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion*
My first introduction to David Walton was Quintessence. I was extremely impressed with the ideas he presented in that story and I thought that the novel had a lot of promise... but the execution of those ideas was lacking and the story fell off to me. While I didn't feel compelled to continued that trilogy, I did however feel the need to check out more of Walton's work because of how well he set up the alchemy and magic in that novel, and I knew if he could put things together, he would write a great story. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but as you can see by my rating, I was right :D
One night while Jacob Kelly and his family were getting ready for bed, Jacob gets a knock on his door from an old friend (associate)/fellow physicist, Brian Vanderhall. Brian looks like he might be in some kind of trouble - considering there was snow outside, and he just walked up in flip-flops and shorts.
Brian tries to tell Jacob about a break through he has had in quantum physics and to prove what he is saying isn't a lie, he pulls out a gyroscope out of nowhere, and make it spin - without a string - and then it just keeps on spinning and spinning - both of which are physically impossible... in our universe, at least.
The next chapter starts off with Jacob on trial for the murder of Brian. The prosecution states that after Brian attempted to shoot Jacob's wife, Jacob followed Brian to a hidden bunker and shot him multiple times there, a few hours after their altercation. The police found Jacob with the gun on him, blood from Brian on his shoes, his foot prints in Brian's blood at the crime scene, and found him is possession of Brian's vehicle. Sounds like case closed except for the one thing, Jacob didn't do it.
In further trying to prove himself to Jacob, Brian does pulls a gun, point it a Clair - Jacob's wife - and pulls the trigger. However, the bullet doesn't hit Clair... it goes through her and into the wall directly behind her. Regardless of the physical impossibilities of that, Jacob kicks - more like punches, actually - Brian out of his house, and then goes straight to bed - nowhere else - and sleeps straight through to the morning. Yet, that is when the prosecution claims he was also supposedly killing Brian... so how could Jacob be in two places at one?
The science in this novel is superposition. Without explaining any chemistry or physics behind it, it's Schrödinger's cat experiment, which says that until you open the box - which has a 50/50 chance of having poison released in it - you will not know if the cat is dead or alive. Thus, until you open that box, the cat is both dead and alive simultaneously. To really oversimply things, whatever decision you don't make here, you did in another universe. For example, if I have to pick between a Coke and Pepsi, and I pick Pepsi, some other version of me grabbed the Coke; I chose to keep my hair growing long, so some other me got it cut. There is nearly a limitless amount of possibilities, because until you make a decision, there is an equal probability for every possible outcome imaginable to happen.
Despite how "hard" the science is in the story, it was an easy read. I wasn't stuck with a headache trying to figure things out, while the mystery was passing me by. Believe it or not, all the science here is basic chemistry - well it is physics, but atomic theory and different spins I learned in chemistry - and it may seem intimidating, but even if I did not already know this stuff, I would have had no problem understanding it thanks to Walton. There is no giant info-dump, where Walton takes a whole chapter to explain this stuff. Walton instead, takes his time explain the science, bit by bit as needed in the story - so not to overwhelm to the reader - and uses perfect examples to do this; so even if you can't understand the science behind everything, you will easily be able to understand and grasp the concepts.
The biggest surprise for me was how complicated and full of surprises the plot was. It's a thriller, so I was expecting a couple twists and turns, but we just kept getting twist after twist after twist! A couple I could predict coming, but there was a BIG one that completely blew my mind! In theory, there could be an absurdly complex plot using superposition, but to the best of my knowledge, Walton keeps everything straight.
The mystery at first, seems to be pretty straight forward, but you quickly release that there is a much, much larger picture than simply trying to figure out if Jacob really did do it, and how he will prove his innocence. What help to build the mystery is alternating chapters. We have "Up Spin" chapters that follow Jacob from that start with when Brian first comes to his house, and then we have "Down Spin" chapters which follow Jacob as he is beginning to be prosecuted for murder. So you already know that he gets arrested, and get to follow the plot of how he is to prove his innocence, and then you have other plot where you are wondering what went wrong and how he ended in jail.
The only thing I felt was lacking was with the characters. It was strange; I thought Jacob was a sympathetic character, and had a great amount of development with a good background story, but he didn't feel all the unique to the story. Same goes with the side characters too - but I would have liked more development with them. I still built up a connection to all the characters, but there was no empathy for them. That might have been a person problem though? Like I said: good development, but it felt like I had already read these characters from other stories.
To get to the point: the reason this story is great is because of the science Walton decided to use - the superposition - and how extremely well he was able to execute it into the story. (He nailed it!) I can't say enough about how well he uses the science in the story. There so much I more I want to say about how he used superposition to do this and that to the plot and mystery and just everything in the story! But i can't because it was spoil :( I can say this though: that aside from the quantum technology the story is focused, Walton's creates a very plausible, near-future world with fascinating gadgets and gizmos! And that breakthrough Brian was originally trying tell Jacob out, was about quantum intelligence... this creature called a vorcolac.
If you like science fiction, this is for you. If like mysteries, this is for you. If you like thrillers, this is for you. It is an amazing blend of all those three genres, and execution of superposition is spot on!
This is a much improved novel since Quintessence, and the kind of story I knew Walton was able to write! Can't wait for the sequel!
4/5 Rating
-DJ
If you don’t know what superposition is, you’re in for a treat!
*Disclaimer: I was provided with a review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion*
My first introduction to David Walton was Quintessence. I was extremely impressed with the ideas he presented in that story and I thought that the novel had a lot of promise... but the execution of those ideas was lacking and the story fell off to me. While I didn't feel compelled to continued that trilogy, I did however feel the need to check out more of Walton's work because of how well he set up the alchemy and magic in that novel, and I knew if he could put things together, he would write a great story. And not to toot my own horn or anything, but as you can see by my rating, I was right :D
One night while Jacob Kelly and his family were getting ready for bed, Jacob gets a knock on his door from an old friend (associate)/fellow physicist, Brian Vanderhall. Brian looks like he might be in some kind of trouble - considering there was snow outside, and he just walked up in flip-flops and shorts.
Brian tries to tell Jacob about a break through he has had in quantum physics and to prove what he is saying isn't a lie, he pulls out a gyroscope out of nowhere, and make it spin - without a string - and then it just keeps on spinning and spinning - both of which are physically impossible... in our universe, at least.
The next chapter starts off with Jacob on trial for the murder of Brian. The prosecution states that after Brian attempted to shoot Jacob's wife, Jacob followed Brian to a hidden bunker and shot him multiple times there, a few hours after their altercation. The police found Jacob with the gun on him, blood from Brian on his shoes, his foot prints in Brian's blood at the crime scene, and found him is possession of Brian's vehicle. Sounds like case closed except for the one thing, Jacob didn't do it.
In further trying to prove himself to Jacob, Brian does pulls a gun, point it a Clair - Jacob's wife - and pulls the trigger. However, the bullet doesn't hit Clair... it goes through her and into the wall directly behind her. Regardless of the physical impossibilities of that, Jacob kicks - more like punches, actually - Brian out of his house, and then goes straight to bed - nowhere else - and sleeps straight through to the morning. Yet, that is when the prosecution claims he was also supposedly killing Brian... so how could Jacob be in two places at one?
The science in this novel is superposition. Without explaining any chemistry or physics behind it, it's Schrödinger's cat experiment, which says that until you open the box - which has a 50/50 chance of having poison released in it - you will not know if the cat is dead or alive. Thus, until you open that box, the cat is both dead and alive simultaneously. To really oversimply things, whatever decision you don't make here, you did in another universe. For example, if I have to pick between a Coke and Pepsi, and I pick Pepsi, some other version of me grabbed the Coke; I chose to keep my hair growing long, so some other me got it cut. There is nearly a limitless amount of possibilities, because until you make a decision, there is an equal probability for every possible outcome imaginable to happen.
Despite how "hard" the science is in the story, it was an easy read. I wasn't stuck with a headache trying to figure things out, while the mystery was passing me by. Believe it or not, all the science here is basic chemistry - well it is physics, but atomic theory and different spins I learned in chemistry - and it may seem intimidating, but even if I did not already know this stuff, I would have had no problem understanding it thanks to Walton. There is no giant info-dump, where Walton takes a whole chapter to explain this stuff. Walton instead, takes his time explain the science, bit by bit as needed in the story - so not to overwhelm to the reader - and uses perfect examples to do this; so even if you can't understand the science behind everything, you will easily be able to understand and grasp the concepts.
The biggest surprise for me was how complicated and full of surprises the plot was. It's a thriller, so I was expecting a couple twists and turns, but we just kept getting twist after twist after twist! A couple I could predict coming, but there was a BIG one that completely blew my mind! In theory, there could be an absurdly complex plot using superposition, but to the best of my knowledge, Walton keeps everything straight.
The mystery at first, seems to be pretty straight forward, but you quickly release that there is a much, much larger picture than simply trying to figure out if Jacob really did do it, and how he will prove his innocence. What help to build the mystery is alternating chapters. We have "Up Spin" chapters that follow Jacob from that start with when Brian first comes to his house, and then we have "Down Spin" chapters which follow Jacob as he is beginning to be prosecuted for murder. So you already know that he gets arrested, and get to follow the plot of how he is to prove his innocence, and then you have other plot where you are wondering what went wrong and how he ended in jail.
The only thing I felt was lacking was with the characters. It was strange; I thought Jacob was a sympathetic character, and had a great amount of development with a good background story, but he didn't feel all the unique to the story. Same goes with the side characters too - but I would have liked more development with them. I still built up a connection to all the characters, but there was no empathy for them. That might have been a person problem though? Like I said: good development, but it felt like I had already read these characters from other stories.
To get to the point: the reason this story is great is because of the science Walton decided to use - the superposition - and how extremely well he was able to execute it into the story. (He nailed it!) I can't say enough about how well he uses the science in the story. There so much I more I want to say about how he used superposition to do this and that to the plot and mystery and just everything in the story! But i can't because it was spoil :( I can say this though: that aside from the quantum technology the story is focused, Walton's creates a very plausible, near-future world with fascinating gadgets and gizmos! And that breakthrough Brian was originally trying tell Jacob out, was about quantum intelligence... this creature called a vorcolac.
If you like science fiction, this is for you. If like mysteries, this is for you. If you like thrillers, this is for you. It is an amazing blend of all those three genres, and execution of superposition is spot on!
This is a much improved novel since Quintessence, and the kind of story I knew Walton was able to write! Can't wait for the sequel!
4/5 Rating
-DJ
October 15, 2019
The author appears to have been inspired by Schrödinger's thought experiment in which "a hypothetical cat that may be simultaneously both alive and dead, a state known as a quantum superposition, as a result of being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur."(Source: Wikipedia.)
Jacob Kelley, college professor and former physicist, for the New Jersey Super-Collider receives a visit at his home from a former colleague, currently employed by the same super-collider, the arrogant Brian Vanderhall, who claims to have made a significant breakthrough in quantum mechanics. While discussing his research with Jacob and his wife, Brian pulls out a gun and shoots Jacob's wife at point blank, but the bullet passes harmlessly through her. Enraged, Jacob slugs Brian who flees Jacob's home.
The novel's chapters divide into two different scenarios for Jacob, alternating chapters entitled with either "up-spin" or "down-spin." One involved a Jacob who is currently in prison awaiting trial for the murder of Brian while the other one drives to the super-collider only to find a murdered Brian. While the free Jacob is deep within the collider, he is attacked by a faceless, odd amalgramation of a human being who appears to be able to bend space and time. Escaping to the surface, he jumps into a beckoning vehicle only to discover a very much alive Brian. (Are you confused yet?)
As the novel's plot unfolds and the free Jacob tries to prove the jailed Jacob is not guilty of the murder, the reader discovers what created double protagonists and antagonists and the humanoid creature. Although the speculative fiction was an entertaining romp through the subatomic world, it did have me repetitively researching a dummies guide to quantum mechanics.
Jacob Kelley, college professor and former physicist, for the New Jersey Super-Collider receives a visit at his home from a former colleague, currently employed by the same super-collider, the arrogant Brian Vanderhall, who claims to have made a significant breakthrough in quantum mechanics. While discussing his research with Jacob and his wife, Brian pulls out a gun and shoots Jacob's wife at point blank, but the bullet passes harmlessly through her. Enraged, Jacob slugs Brian who flees Jacob's home.
The novel's chapters divide into two different scenarios for Jacob, alternating chapters entitled with either "up-spin" or "down-spin." One involved a Jacob who is currently in prison awaiting trial for the murder of Brian while the other one drives to the super-collider only to find a murdered Brian. While the free Jacob is deep within the collider, he is attacked by a faceless, odd amalgramation of a human being who appears to be able to bend space and time. Escaping to the surface, he jumps into a beckoning vehicle only to discover a very much alive Brian. (Are you confused yet?)
As the novel's plot unfolds and the free Jacob tries to prove the jailed Jacob is not guilty of the murder, the reader discovers what created double protagonists and antagonists and the humanoid creature. Although the speculative fiction was an entertaining romp through the subatomic world, it did have me repetitively researching a dummies guide to quantum mechanics.
June 18, 2021
3.5★
Pretty good actually even if it does take some liberties with the "Science" for the sake of the plot which may feel like quantum-tunneling plot-holes for the more enlightened reader. Nonetheless after the bad taste left by Dark Matter, this is a highly entertaining read.
Pretty good actually even if it does take some liberties with the "Science" for the sake of the plot which may feel like quantum-tunneling plot-holes for the more enlightened reader. Nonetheless after the bad taste left by Dark Matter, this is a highly entertaining read.
May 4, 2020
I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
I have always loved a good mystery. Whodunnit stories in print and on television are almost always engaging. David Walton decided to crank that idea up a notch by exploring quantum physics applications as part of the mystery.
The first half of the book was filled with wonders of science and a deepening mystery. As the story goes on we are treated to multiple POV, only not exactly what you might expect. Both POV are the main character, Jacob...one on the Up-Spin and one on the Down-Spin. If that makes no sense, well I guess you will have to read it. I will only say that it is based in quantum mechanics and gets really fascinating.
Unfortunately, the mystery of whodunnit did not last for me. It is not truly revealed until near the end, but I had suspicions that were confirmed by the 60% mark. That was one thing that brought my rating down from 5 to 4. The other reason is that there are really only 3 characters that get fleshed out, the rest are basically ciphers to bounce plot elements off of.
I know that a sequel exists for this and I will likely track it down and see where Mr. Walton takes things next.
I have always loved a good mystery. Whodunnit stories in print and on television are almost always engaging. David Walton decided to crank that idea up a notch by exploring quantum physics applications as part of the mystery.
The first half of the book was filled with wonders of science and a deepening mystery. As the story goes on we are treated to multiple POV, only not exactly what you might expect. Both POV are the main character, Jacob...one on the Up-Spin and one on the Down-Spin. If that makes no sense, well I guess you will have to read it. I will only say that it is based in quantum mechanics and gets really fascinating.
Unfortunately, the mystery of whodunnit did not last for me. It is not truly revealed until near the end, but I had suspicions that were confirmed by the 60% mark. That was one thing that brought my rating down from 5 to 4. The other reason is that there are really only 3 characters that get fleshed out, the rest are basically ciphers to bounce plot elements off of.
I know that a sequel exists for this and I will likely track it down and see where Mr. Walton takes things next.
September 9, 2015
Superposition is about Jacob Kelley, a theoretical physicist, who is accused of murdering his old friend Brian, also a theoretical physicist. Brian was doing research that is the quantum physics equivalent of picking up the big Latin tome with Cthulhu on the cover, so naturally things got scary and he reached out to Jacob who, being a rational man, said something along the lines of, "I don't care what the voices in your head told you about your magic powers, stop pointing that gun at my wife!" The book follows Jacob as he tries to solve Brian's murder while on trial for it.
Everything was perfectly paced. The courtroom drama, the action, the science (and science speculation), all came at exactly the right times and exactly the right durations to keep me listening. For all of that, some of my favorite moments were character moments: Jacob has a teenage daughter, Alessandra, that he didn't connect with until they were left alone to cope with tragedy; A minor character and her husband have an emotionally moving scene in which they disagree about their daughter in relation to her disability. These scenes (plus a few more) made me feel emotionally invested in the book, and I like that Walton didn't shy away from them. He leaned in to the emotion and allowed his characters to be genuine. The emotional connections elevate the book from pure fun to a wholly engaging read.
And though it always seems like an afterthought to talk about the audiobook narration, it is not. LJ Ganser did a great job of making Jacob feel intelligent, incredulous about the events going on around him, and genuinely scared for his family. With Ganser's narration I was able to get the feel that Jacob's smartass nature is only suppressed because of the circumstances. It's a great narrator who can help the listener understand the characters better.
I was delighted to realize, upon finishing Superposition, that its sequel Supersymmetry has just been released. LJ Ganswer also narrates the audiobook and I have already picked it up. Unless Supersymmetry is terrible (which I doubt) David Walton is going to be an author whose books I autobuy.
Everything was perfectly paced. The courtroom drama, the action, the science (and science speculation), all came at exactly the right times and exactly the right durations to keep me listening. For all of that, some of my favorite moments were character moments: Jacob has a teenage daughter, Alessandra, that he didn't connect with until they were left alone to cope with tragedy; A minor character and her husband have an emotionally moving scene in which they disagree about their daughter in relation to her disability. These scenes (plus a few more) made me feel emotionally invested in the book, and I like that Walton didn't shy away from them. He leaned in to the emotion and allowed his characters to be genuine. The emotional connections elevate the book from pure fun to a wholly engaging read.
And though it always seems like an afterthought to talk about the audiobook narration, it is not. LJ Ganser did a great job of making Jacob feel intelligent, incredulous about the events going on around him, and genuinely scared for his family. With Ganser's narration I was able to get the feel that Jacob's smartass nature is only suppressed because of the circumstances. It's a great narrator who can help the listener understand the characters better.
I was delighted to realize, upon finishing Superposition, that its sequel Supersymmetry has just been released. LJ Ganswer also narrates the audiobook and I have already picked it up. Unless Supersymmetry is terrible (which I doubt) David Walton is going to be an author whose books I autobuy.
April 4, 2015
Wow. Superposition was an amazing science fiction thriller, courtroom drama, slight romance story, and so much more. I started the novel with a little hesitation, as it is a science fiction novel, and I usually read fantasy. I shouldn’t have hesitated. Superposition was an amazing read.
The novel contains two different story lines. The Up-Spin and the Down-Spin. Jacob Kelley, the protagonist, appears in both these story lines, but they are happening at the same time in different places. So how does that work? And that’s where the awesome part of the story comes in. The Up-Spin is Jacob Kelley’s first story line, in which he is trying to get himself free from murder charges, while being on the outside. The Down-Spin is Jacob Kelley’s second story line, in which he is in court, talking to his lawyer and locked up in jail.
It’s hard to compress the idea of this novel into a couple sentences, but I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed it. Although it is science fiction, it made me think of the world around us and how cool some scientific things can be.
The best part about this novel is that it is not just science fiction. I feel that there is a problem with the science fiction genre as a whole, in which there is immaculate detail about the science, but little feelings or drama about anything else. Superposition is not a regular science fiction book in that case. It has the feelings aspect, and that is what makes it so great.
I suggest checking out this quantum physics thriller when it comes out on April 7th! If you like science, but are not usually a reader of science fiction, this is the novel for you. Also, fantasy readers, you may like this novel as well.
The novel contains two different story lines. The Up-Spin and the Down-Spin. Jacob Kelley, the protagonist, appears in both these story lines, but they are happening at the same time in different places. So how does that work? And that’s where the awesome part of the story comes in. The Up-Spin is Jacob Kelley’s first story line, in which he is trying to get himself free from murder charges, while being on the outside. The Down-Spin is Jacob Kelley’s second story line, in which he is in court, talking to his lawyer and locked up in jail.
It’s hard to compress the idea of this novel into a couple sentences, but I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed it. Although it is science fiction, it made me think of the world around us and how cool some scientific things can be.
The best part about this novel is that it is not just science fiction. I feel that there is a problem with the science fiction genre as a whole, in which there is immaculate detail about the science, but little feelings or drama about anything else. Superposition is not a regular science fiction book in that case. It has the feelings aspect, and that is what makes it so great.
I suggest checking out this quantum physics thriller when it comes out on April 7th! If you like science, but are not usually a reader of science fiction, this is the novel for you. Also, fantasy readers, you may like this novel as well.
October 24, 2016
I hated the main character. He was a horrible person, a horrible father, and the type of husband who is more obsessed with his wife than with his kids.
I hated how in the end, all was well and good because the child he paid the least amount of attention to suddenly had a friend.
He went on and on about his family, but the daughter he cared for the least (despite what he said) ended up saving him and the rest of the family by electrocuting herself. It was obvious that she was alive after the act because she had not disappeared and merged with the other version of herself, but what does daddy dearest do?
He leaves her. He leaves her behind without checking that she is alive and does not go back to check afterwards. The only reason why they realize Alex is alive at all is because she was found by the rescue workers.
You do not get to call yourself a family man and to claim to be all righteous and shit when you leave your child behind to save your sexy wife, your favorite daughter and son who needs special care, while leaving the middle child abandoned after she had just, I repeat, electrocuted herself to save you.
You just don't.
Also, when two quantum versions of yourself decide to be at the same place at the same time, the probability wave is resolved. You merge. You do not get to walk around divided any longer, because you have made the choice to be at the same place at the same time as your double. That was probably the point where this book lost me, despite the lovely, lovely physics.
I hated how in the end, all was well and good because the child he paid the least amount of attention to suddenly had a friend.
He went on and on about his family, but the daughter he cared for the least (despite what he said) ended up saving him and the rest of the family by electrocuting herself. It was obvious that she was alive after the act because she had not disappeared and merged with the other version of herself, but what does daddy dearest do?
He leaves her. He leaves her behind without checking that she is alive and does not go back to check afterwards. The only reason why they realize Alex is alive at all is because she was found by the rescue workers.
You do not get to call yourself a family man and to claim to be all righteous and shit when you leave your child behind to save your sexy wife, your favorite daughter and son who needs special care, while leaving the middle child abandoned after she had just, I repeat, electrocuted herself to save you.
You just don't.
Also, when two quantum versions of yourself decide to be at the same place at the same time, the probability wave is resolved. You merge. You do not get to walk around divided any longer, because you have made the choice to be at the same place at the same time as your double. That was probably the point where this book lost me, despite the lovely, lovely physics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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