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Temporal Boom
THIRTY YEARS AGO THE WORLD ENDED
NOT EVERYONE, HOWEVER, GOT THE MEMO
The nation formerly known as Australia struggles on, its red lands stalked by eleven beings of strange and anomalous power. Known as the Portents, their very existence defies all science. A trail of brutal, inexplicable deaths follow all those who encounter them.
Quinn Kelly got too close to a Portent once, and survived, although not unchanged. When Quinn begins to display an affinity for Time, she knows there are those who would stop at nothing to use her for their own ends.
But Quinn would much rather use her preternatural powers to start a punk band. And there is no man, woman, nor overzealous cyborg detective on Earth who can stop her!
WINNER OF THE 2024 AUREALIS AWARD FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL.
NOT EVERYONE, HOWEVER, GOT THE MEMO
The nation formerly known as Australia struggles on, its red lands stalked by eleven beings of strange and anomalous power. Known as the Portents, their very existence defies all science. A trail of brutal, inexplicable deaths follow all those who encounter them.
Quinn Kelly got too close to a Portent once, and survived, although not unchanged. When Quinn begins to display an affinity for Time, she knows there are those who would stop at nothing to use her for their own ends.
But Quinn would much rather use her preternatural powers to start a punk band. And there is no man, woman, nor overzealous cyborg detective on Earth who can stop her!
WINNER OF THE 2024 AUREALIS AWARD FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL.
821 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2025
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 21, 2025
What an absolute joy to read! Voss has written a delightful cast of characters in a complex but exciting narrative! You will be left guessing to the very end on how Mildura vanished, but most importantly, you will be hoping against hope that all the characters scrape through and make it out in one piece.
You would expect that with such dark topics like the world ending and reality distorting powers inducing suffering that the book would have moments that are difficult to stomach at times but Voss has such a way with words and humour that even the most harrowing of moments are light.
I don't typically read books with a lot of swear words, but the story was so compelling, and the characters so enjoyable, that I couldn't stop turning the pages! Thanks for an awesome book and I look forward to more by this author.
You would expect that with such dark topics like the world ending and reality distorting powers inducing suffering that the book would have moments that are difficult to stomach at times but Voss has such a way with words and humour that even the most harrowing of moments are light.
I don't typically read books with a lot of swear words, but the story was so compelling, and the characters so enjoyable, that I couldn't stop turning the pages! Thanks for an awesome book and I look forward to more by this author.
August 27, 2025
What an absolute hoot of a book! If you like science fiction and enjoy music this is the book for you. It’s so clever. Set in a post apocalyptic Australia- the only country left after the world ends. We follow two story lines - one a prototype robot cop and his minder investigating the disappearance of Mildura and the other a group of music sellers (music is banned). The world has ‘portents’ that are apparently attracted by noise that are ‘unreality’ and cause damage and strange powers for some people impacted. It’s complicated and fun with so many reference points to our current world including the big koala!!
April 9, 2024
Prime Priority: Determine the existential status of Mildura.
Secondary Priorities: empty
A newly woken cybernetic prototype called the Detective clearly has their work cut out for them. In a disturbingly literal sense, it turns out.
This story is set in a future Australian dystopia, where residents live in fear of unnatural - in fact unreal - catastrophic events. The Portents that cause these seem to be drawn by sound, so shouting, or even talking outside of a soundproofed structure is strictly prohibited - let alone singing or playing music. But can music ever really be successfully banned?
Does the disappearance of the town of Mildura have anything to do with the recent increase in black market music availability?
Follow the two timelines to find out.
One story follows the co-habitants of a sometimes-pink RV as they swindle their way to their next meal.
The other follows the Detective and their appointed watchdog supervisor, Bill, as they try to figure out what happened to an entire town and its population that appear to have disappeared in the blink of an eye.
This story is quirky, inventive, fast-paced and constantly surprising. Just when you start to figure things out, you realise you must be way off the mark.
Temporal Boom is exactly the book you need when you can’t figure out what sort of book you feel like reading. It’s a fun ride, it’s clever, it will keep you guessing and you will fly through it faster than a time-smith (or a punk rock-star with a Portent on her tail, which is pretty much the same thing).
Looking forward to seeing what this amazing debut author has in store for us next!
Secondary Priorities: empty
A newly woken cybernetic prototype called the Detective clearly has their work cut out for them. In a disturbingly literal sense, it turns out.
This story is set in a future Australian dystopia, where residents live in fear of unnatural - in fact unreal - catastrophic events. The Portents that cause these seem to be drawn by sound, so shouting, or even talking outside of a soundproofed structure is strictly prohibited - let alone singing or playing music. But can music ever really be successfully banned?
Does the disappearance of the town of Mildura have anything to do with the recent increase in black market music availability?
Follow the two timelines to find out.
One story follows the co-habitants of a sometimes-pink RV as they swindle their way to their next meal.
The other follows the Detective and their appointed watchdog supervisor, Bill, as they try to figure out what happened to an entire town and its population that appear to have disappeared in the blink of an eye.
This story is quirky, inventive, fast-paced and constantly surprising. Just when you start to figure things out, you realise you must be way off the mark.
Temporal Boom is exactly the book you need when you can’t figure out what sort of book you feel like reading. It’s a fun ride, it’s clever, it will keep you guessing and you will fly through it faster than a time-smith (or a punk rock-star with a Portent on her tail, which is pretty much the same thing).
Looking forward to seeing what this amazing debut author has in store for us next!
October 5, 2025
What a fabulous story! So refreshingly original, imaginative and funny. Loved the characters, setting and humour.
July 9, 2025
This was unexpectedly fun. As I continue my occasional dalliance with indie authors I am forced, more often than not, to throw the book away in disgust at the poor writing and uninteresting characters. This has neither.
We follow a cyborg detective and a young girl called Quinn in parallel narratives. Both provide interesting insights and intermittent chuckles while driving the plot along at a decent enough clip. The final mystery - of how an entire town vanished - is well handled and I particularly enjoyed the revelation at the end.
There's something about the world ending and these strange beings called Portents that now wander the planet, or possibly just Australia. They are drawn by sound, so much like the Quiet Place movies, speaking or making noise outside is forbidden, etc. This may seem all too commonplace these days, but Voss delves into the wake of these events and creatures to create a truly fascinating world with some very strange scenes, mostly revolving around time travel, as the title might suggest.
The trap with many authors trying to be too original is they spend too long describing their creations, showing them off as it were, and not enough time on the plot and characters. Voss, again, manages to avoid both of those pitfalls and takes us on a strange trip through the Australian landscape and the town of Mildura. I've been to Australia a couple of times, but never Mildura. If I ever go back, it's definitely on my list.
But this is also a story about music and the irrepressible nature of those who create it. I think that is where the novel is at its strongest. While the mystery element is interesting, and the resolution satisfying, it's that desire for expression that need to release that speaks most to me in the story.
I shall have to put Voss on my list of indie authors to explore along with D. Harrigon and J.E. Hannaford.
We follow a cyborg detective and a young girl called Quinn in parallel narratives. Both provide interesting insights and intermittent chuckles while driving the plot along at a decent enough clip. The final mystery - of how an entire town vanished - is well handled and I particularly enjoyed the revelation at the end.
There's something about the world ending and these strange beings called Portents that now wander the planet, or possibly just Australia. They are drawn by sound, so much like the Quiet Place movies, speaking or making noise outside is forbidden, etc. This may seem all too commonplace these days, but Voss delves into the wake of these events and creatures to create a truly fascinating world with some very strange scenes, mostly revolving around time travel, as the title might suggest.
The trap with many authors trying to be too original is they spend too long describing their creations, showing them off as it were, and not enough time on the plot and characters. Voss, again, manages to avoid both of those pitfalls and takes us on a strange trip through the Australian landscape and the town of Mildura. I've been to Australia a couple of times, but never Mildura. If I ever go back, it's definitely on my list.
But this is also a story about music and the irrepressible nature of those who create it. I think that is where the novel is at its strongest. While the mystery element is interesting, and the resolution satisfying, it's that desire for expression that need to release that speaks most to me in the story.
I shall have to put Voss on my list of indie authors to explore along with D. Harrigon and J.E. Hannaford.
May 1, 2025
What a ride this book was! Dual pov between a cyborg detective trying to discover how the city of Mildura just disappeared and a teenage time traveler who must have something to do with it, this book is one of the most unique books (of such high quality) that I've read in years. The world is filled with unreality events which lead to amazing scenes such as megafauna roaming an underground city and dealing with being fed to the sharks... over the top you wonder? Hell no. JM Voss weaves these amazing scenes in so skillfully you know that they simply just had to happen. I am an absolute fan and fingers crossed for the Aurealis prize.
November 25, 2025
Absolutely loved this book, couldn't put it down.
I read a lot of sci fi and lived how original this was. The world building is rich, at the right level of detail and very well done, I liked the character progression and the Australian humour.
At times it reminded me a bit of the Murderbot it series and of Terry Pratchett's Disc World (specifically The Last Continent).
It feels like a second book could definitely be written after this one, I'd absolutely buy that one too!
I read a lot of sci fi and lived how original this was. The world building is rich, at the right level of detail and very well done, I liked the character progression and the Australian humour.
At times it reminded me a bit of the Murderbot it series and of Terry Pratchett's Disc World (specifically The Last Continent).
It feels like a second book could definitely be written after this one, I'd absolutely buy that one too!
April 30, 2024
“Prime Priority: Determine the existential status of Mildura.
Secondary Priorities: ”
A newly woken cybernetic prototype called the Detective clearly has their work cut out for them. In a disturbingly literal sense, it turns out.
This story is set in a future Australian dystopia, where residents live in fear of unnatural - in fact unreal - catastrophic events. The Portents that cause these seem to be drawn by sound, so shouting, or even talking outside of a soundproofed structure is strictly prohibited - let alone singing or playing music. But can music ever really be successfully banned?
Does the disappearance of the town of Mildura have anything to do with the recent increase in black market music availability?
Follow the two timelines to find out.
One story follows the co-habitants of a sometimes-pink RV as they swindle their way to their next meal.
The other follows the Detective and their appointed watchdog supervisor, Bill, as they try to figure out what happened to an entire town and its population that appear to have disappeared in the blink of an eye.
This story is quirky, inventive, fast-paced and constantly surprising. Just when you start to figure things out, you realise you must be way off the mark.
Temporal Boom is exactly the book you need when you can’t figure out what sort of book you feel like reading. It’s a fun ride, it’s clever, it will keep you guessing and you will fly through it faster than a time-smith (or a punk rock-star with a Portent on her tail, which is pretty much the same thing).
Looking forward to seeing what this amazing debut author has in store for us next!
Secondary Priorities: ”
A newly woken cybernetic prototype called the Detective clearly has their work cut out for them. In a disturbingly literal sense, it turns out.
This story is set in a future Australian dystopia, where residents live in fear of unnatural - in fact unreal - catastrophic events. The Portents that cause these seem to be drawn by sound, so shouting, or even talking outside of a soundproofed structure is strictly prohibited - let alone singing or playing music. But can music ever really be successfully banned?
Does the disappearance of the town of Mildura have anything to do with the recent increase in black market music availability?
Follow the two timelines to find out.
One story follows the co-habitants of a sometimes-pink RV as they swindle their way to their next meal.
The other follows the Detective and their appointed watchdog supervisor, Bill, as they try to figure out what happened to an entire town and its population that appear to have disappeared in the blink of an eye.
This story is quirky, inventive, fast-paced and constantly surprising. Just when you start to figure things out, you realise you must be way off the mark.
Temporal Boom is exactly the book you need when you can’t figure out what sort of book you feel like reading. It’s a fun ride, it’s clever, it will keep you guessing and you will fly through it faster than a time-smith (or a punk rock-star with a Portent on her tail, which is pretty much the same thing).
Looking forward to seeing what this amazing debut author has in store for us next!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews