What do you think?
Rate this book
Alternate Paths
What if you could step into the life you never lived?
In a forgotten corner of a traveling carnival, a mysterious scientist offers strangers a glimpse into the "what ifs" of their lives. For just a few dollars and a memory, Professor Edgar Williams can take you down the road not taken—into an alternate timeline where one choice changed everything.
Using a strange machine of mirrors and wires, Edgar sends visitors into vivid, lifelike realities where regrets can be rewritten, lost loves rediscovered, and painful decisions reversed. But every journey comes at a price, and not all paths lead to happiness—or a safe return.
When Edgar’s invention attracts the wrong kind of attention, and a dangerous alternate version of himself emerges, the line between invention and reality begins to blur. Now, the professor must navigate his own fractured identity and confront the terrifying consequences of opening doors to the multiverse.
Part science fiction, part psychological thriller, and part metaphysical mystery, Alternate Paths is a thought-provoking ride through fate, memory, and the infinite possibilities of choice. Fans of Black Mirror, Dark, and The Midnight Library will find themselves right at home in this gripping tale of timelines, temptation, and redemption.
In a forgotten corner of a traveling carnival, a mysterious scientist offers strangers a glimpse into the "what ifs" of their lives. For just a few dollars and a memory, Professor Edgar Williams can take you down the road not taken—into an alternate timeline where one choice changed everything.
Using a strange machine of mirrors and wires, Edgar sends visitors into vivid, lifelike realities where regrets can be rewritten, lost loves rediscovered, and painful decisions reversed. But every journey comes at a price, and not all paths lead to happiness—or a safe return.
When Edgar’s invention attracts the wrong kind of attention, and a dangerous alternate version of himself emerges, the line between invention and reality begins to blur. Now, the professor must navigate his own fractured identity and confront the terrifying consequences of opening doors to the multiverse.
Part science fiction, part psychological thriller, and part metaphysical mystery, Alternate Paths is a thought-provoking ride through fate, memory, and the infinite possibilities of choice. Fans of Black Mirror, Dark, and The Midnight Library will find themselves right at home in this gripping tale of timelines, temptation, and redemption.
127 pages, Hardcover
Published July 21, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 21, 2026
Alternate Paths by Rick Goldman is a captivating blend of science fiction and psychological thriller that explores the haunting question of “what if?” Set against the eerie backdrop of a traveling carnival, the story follows Professor Edgar Williams and his astonishing machine that allows people to step into alternate versions of their lives. Goldman masterfully balances emotional depth with high-stakes suspense, drawing readers into vivid timelines filled with regret, hope, and danger. The concept is imaginative, the pacing is gripping, and the twists are genuinely surprising. Thought, provoking and immersive, Alternate Paths is a compelling read that lingers long after the final page.
July 2, 2025
Dear Mr Goldman,
Please start over.
These chapters feel as if they were notes taken down when planning a novel.
The idea is fun. The plot is workable.
It's just that it feels as if ⅔ or even ¾ is missing.
4 stars to encourage you to finish.
Please start over.
These chapters feel as if they were notes taken down when planning a novel.
The idea is fun. The plot is workable.
It's just that it feels as if ⅔ or even ¾ is missing.
4 stars to encourage you to finish.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews