What do you think?
Rate this book
Win a free print copy of this book!
11 days and 10:24:01
20 copies available
U.S. only
Paradox Inc.
Not yet published
Expected 5 Jan 27Win a free print copy of this book!
11 days and 10:24:01
20 copies available
U.S. only
Silicon Valley just invented time travel. Now, three reluctant heroes race to save the timeline before the resulting tech bubble bursts—and takes all of reality with it—in this satirical, hilariously plausible oral history.
"Funny and distressingly realistic . . . propelled by awesome characters and inventive twists—and a bittersweet ending that I can't stop thinking about.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian
Every few years, Silicon Valley invents a new technology that changes everything, whether you like it or not.
Bored with AI and crypto? Meet the Bleb 1, the world’s first “consumer temporal interface”—a dangerous but powerful personal time machine. And the usual suspects are racing to monetize it.
Swaggering startup bros. Swarming venture capitalists. Sociopathic billionaires.
Sure, they have grandiose dreams to change reality as we know it.
But in the meantime, they’re here to steal limited-edition Doritos from the 1990s, kill their past selves for TikTok clout, and drag the surveillance state into the fourth dimension.
As the time-travel bubble soars to epic heights, a few unlikely heroes scramble to end up on the winning side—and, just maybe, to save reality along the way. This oral history, packed with exclusive interviews and secret corporate documents, is their story. Let it be a warning to us all.
After all, those who do not understand history are doomed to screw it up.
"Funny and distressingly realistic . . . propelled by awesome characters and inventive twists—and a bittersweet ending that I can't stop thinking about.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian
Every few years, Silicon Valley invents a new technology that changes everything, whether you like it or not.
Bored with AI and crypto? Meet the Bleb 1, the world’s first “consumer temporal interface”—a dangerous but powerful personal time machine. And the usual suspects are racing to monetize it.
Swaggering startup bros. Swarming venture capitalists. Sociopathic billionaires.
Sure, they have grandiose dreams to change reality as we know it.
But in the meantime, they’re here to steal limited-edition Doritos from the 1990s, kill their past selves for TikTok clout, and drag the surveillance state into the fourth dimension.
As the time-travel bubble soars to epic heights, a few unlikely heroes scramble to end up on the winning side—and, just maybe, to save reality along the way. This oral history, packed with exclusive interviews and secret corporate documents, is their story. Let it be a warning to us all.
After all, those who do not understand history are doomed to screw it up.
384 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication January 19, 2027
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
Read
May 13, 2026I received this ebook from Random House Publishing Group/NetGalley
Paradox Inc. ended up being such a ride. I wasn’t fully sure how I felt during the first third, but once the story found its rhythm, the twists really started twisting, and by the end I was completely in.
The whole concept of time travel as a startup is wild, mostly because it also feels way too believable. Of course humans would figure out time travel and immediately try to monetize it, manipulate it, litigate it, and use it for personal gain. That realness is what made the story so uncanny. The tech/startup culture, ambition, ego, and corporate chaos all felt exaggerated just enough to be funny, but close enough to reality to be uncomfortable.
I loved how the story kept building. The first third took me a little bit to settle into, but the payoff was absolutely worth it. Once the pieces started clicking into place, the story became messy, clever, and really entertaining, and it made me want to keep reading.
For a debut novel, this was seriously impressive. The concept is sharp, the world is fun, the twists land, and the ending made me hope there is another book coming in this world.
I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy speculative fiction, time travel, corporate chaos, twisty stories, and books that make you think, “this is absurd,” followed immediately by, “actually, humans would so absolutely do this.”
Paradox Inc. ended up being such a ride. I wasn’t fully sure how I felt during the first third, but once the story found its rhythm, the twists really started twisting, and by the end I was completely in.
The whole concept of time travel as a startup is wild, mostly because it also feels way too believable. Of course humans would figure out time travel and immediately try to monetize it, manipulate it, litigate it, and use it for personal gain. That realness is what made the story so uncanny. The tech/startup culture, ambition, ego, and corporate chaos all felt exaggerated just enough to be funny, but close enough to reality to be uncomfortable.
I loved how the story kept building. The first third took me a little bit to settle into, but the payoff was absolutely worth it. Once the pieces started clicking into place, the story became messy, clever, and really entertaining, and it made me want to keep reading.
For a debut novel, this was seriously impressive. The concept is sharp, the world is fun, the twists land, and the ending made me hope there is another book coming in this world.
I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy speculative fiction, time travel, corporate chaos, twisty stories, and books that make you think, “this is absurd,” followed immediately by, “actually, humans would so absolutely do this.”
Read
December 23, 2025"What if Tech Bros discovered time travel?" remains one of the best hooks I've ever heard.
June 12, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed this look into our society's response to new technology and unregulated power and I think many others will as well. Particularly in our current landscape, many of the trajectories of the book seemed more than plausible, and as a reader it gave me much to think about as we tackle similar new capabilities such as the increase in AI, the steady creep towards recreational space travel and similar progress.
The use of letters, email excerpts and varied interviews worked really well for this book and I the various voices and perspectives felt unique and distinct. I particularly enjoyed the chapters with Gloria and Lena. Perhaps these worked so well for me because I am also a working woman and a mom, but I also feel that those viewpoints in particular really rounded out the narrative. Their voices in particular illustrated the dangers of unchecked technology and the social responsibility creators have to make sure their products are truly serving the greater good.
I was shocked to learn that this was debut for Forrest Brazeal. The writing was tight and despite some slight confusion at the end (can you really talk about time travel without this?), it held together very well. The story was paced well and kept me engaged, wanting to know what the big 'moment' was and how they world moved forward.
Overall, I gave this book five stars. I think it will be very successful upon publication and I can't wait to talk to people about it!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC access for my unbiased opinion.
The use of letters, email excerpts and varied interviews worked really well for this book and I the various voices and perspectives felt unique and distinct. I particularly enjoyed the chapters with Gloria and Lena. Perhaps these worked so well for me because I am also a working woman and a mom, but I also feel that those viewpoints in particular really rounded out the narrative. Their voices in particular illustrated the dangers of unchecked technology and the social responsibility creators have to make sure their products are truly serving the greater good.
I was shocked to learn that this was debut for Forrest Brazeal. The writing was tight and despite some slight confusion at the end (can you really talk about time travel without this?), it held together very well. The story was paced well and kept me engaged, wanting to know what the big 'moment' was and how they world moved forward.
Overall, I gave this book five stars. I think it will be very successful upon publication and I can't wait to talk to people about it!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC access for my unbiased opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Forrest Brazeal, NetGalley, and Ballantine Books for sending me an ARC of Paradox Inc. in exchange for an honest review.
Paradox Inc. asks a question I didn't know I needed answered: What if time travel was discovered by tech bros?
Told in a documentary-style format, the story uses multiple POVs to piece together different sides of the same increasingly complicated story. Time travel has been discovered, and naturally, it doesn't take long for multiple startups to begin racing to be the first company to turn it into the next revolutionary product.
The rules surrounding time travel were probably my favorite part of the book. You can only travel into the past, and the farther back you go, the more dangerous things become. Make too significant of a change and you create a paradox, which violently flings you back into the present, usually bruised, battered, and occasionally poisoned in the process.
But as these companies begin pushing the technology further and traveling deeper into the past, it becomes clear that something isn't right. A conspiracy begins to emerge, the timeline itself may be in danger, and it's up to our main characters to figure out what's happening and somehow set things right without getting themselves killed in the process.
What I really enjoyed was how Brazeal explores the potential for abusing this particular form of time travel. Forget simply going back and changing history. What happens when people realize they can use it to commit crimes, manipulate events, commit fraud, or even frame someone for something they didn't do? Those possibilities made the concept feel fresh in a genre that has explored time travel from just about every conceivable angle.
I also enjoyed the main cast, especially Davis, who was easily my favorite character. My biggest issue was with the villains. They occasionally felt a little too over-the-top, and I never completely bought into them as the bad guys the story wanted me to see them as. That weakened some of the conflict for me, especially as the stakes continued to escalate.
Still, I had a good time with Paradox Inc. The documentary format worked well with the story, the rules surrounding time travel were clever, and I really enjoyed seeing how the technology could be exploited in ways I hadn't considered before.
If you've read a million time-travel stories and think you've seen every possible version of the concept, Paradox Inc. manages to find a pretty unique angle. Apparently, the real danger of inventing time travel isn't destroying the space-time continuum.
It's giving it to Silicon Valley.
Paradox Inc. asks a question I didn't know I needed answered: What if time travel was discovered by tech bros?
Told in a documentary-style format, the story uses multiple POVs to piece together different sides of the same increasingly complicated story. Time travel has been discovered, and naturally, it doesn't take long for multiple startups to begin racing to be the first company to turn it into the next revolutionary product.
The rules surrounding time travel were probably my favorite part of the book. You can only travel into the past, and the farther back you go, the more dangerous things become. Make too significant of a change and you create a paradox, which violently flings you back into the present, usually bruised, battered, and occasionally poisoned in the process.
But as these companies begin pushing the technology further and traveling deeper into the past, it becomes clear that something isn't right. A conspiracy begins to emerge, the timeline itself may be in danger, and it's up to our main characters to figure out what's happening and somehow set things right without getting themselves killed in the process.
What I really enjoyed was how Brazeal explores the potential for abusing this particular form of time travel. Forget simply going back and changing history. What happens when people realize they can use it to commit crimes, manipulate events, commit fraud, or even frame someone for something they didn't do? Those possibilities made the concept feel fresh in a genre that has explored time travel from just about every conceivable angle.
I also enjoyed the main cast, especially Davis, who was easily my favorite character. My biggest issue was with the villains. They occasionally felt a little too over-the-top, and I never completely bought into them as the bad guys the story wanted me to see them as. That weakened some of the conflict for me, especially as the stakes continued to escalate.
Still, I had a good time with Paradox Inc. The documentary format worked well with the story, the rules surrounding time travel were clever, and I really enjoyed seeing how the technology could be exploited in ways I hadn't considered before.
If you've read a million time-travel stories and think you've seen every possible version of the concept, Paradox Inc. manages to find a pretty unique angle. Apparently, the real danger of inventing time travel isn't destroying the space-time continuum.
It's giving it to Silicon Valley.
July 13, 2026
Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine for the ARC. This was incredible. The pacing is fast and the plot is super thrilling. If Silicon Valley was working on time travel it would be super close to this.
September 21, 2026
I loved this and it fully got me out of my reading slump. Feels like watching a movie while reading it so I am very excited for the movie to come!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest evaluation of its merits.
Spoilers may abound. You have been warned.
The sci-fi in this book was fascinating (particularly at the end), though some of it was above my head (which is OK). The tech bro culture and the saccharine "another day in paradise" attitudes were annoying but rang true.
What I did not like were the overused popular tropes that all heteronormative male characters who are not father figures are bad (and Paul doesn't count because he only becomes a "good guy" because of alternate timelines and is simply trying to wear Gloria down) and that religion is evil disguised as good solely to advance the cause of bigotry. Again, I know these are ubiquitous themes in a lot of contemporary literature, but they were a bit off-putting to me as a reader.
Spoilers may abound. You have been warned.
The sci-fi in this book was fascinating (particularly at the end), though some of it was above my head (which is OK). The tech bro culture and the saccharine "another day in paradise" attitudes were annoying but rang true.
What I did not like were the overused popular tropes that all heteronormative male characters who are not father figures are bad (and Paul doesn't count because he only becomes a "good guy" because of alternate timelines and is simply trying to wear Gloria down) and that religion is evil disguised as good solely to advance the cause of bigotry. Again, I know these are ubiquitous themes in a lot of contemporary literature, but they were a bit off-putting to me as a reader.
June 28, 2026
Paradox Inc. is thought-provoking and funny and, frankly, scarily realistic in its depiction of Silicon Valley tech bubbles and time travel for consumers. I enjoyed the ride and found a lot to appreciate in the book’s humor and its near-future plausibility.
That said, I hit a stretch in the middle where I was ready for it to wrap up, and I think we could have gotten to the point a bit faster. The ending largely worked for me emotionally, but the book had a lot of details in time travel fiasco that left things feeling jumbled and drafted for the sake of the story rather than staying consistent with the “science.”
Overall, I’m glad I read it and I liked it, but the pacing issues and hand-wavy time travel rev up at the end kept it from being a favorite.
That said, I hit a stretch in the middle where I was ready for it to wrap up, and I think we could have gotten to the point a bit faster. The ending largely worked for me emotionally, but the book had a lot of details in time travel fiasco that left things feeling jumbled and drafted for the sake of the story rather than staying consistent with the “science.”
Overall, I’m glad I read it and I liked it, but the pacing issues and hand-wavy time travel rev up at the end kept it from being a favorite.
June 20, 2026
Thank you to Net Galley and the author for a digital ARC!
The tech bros have entered the time travel chat. Startups and established tech companies alike are racing to release a consumer-ready time machine, and the path forward - or backward? - isn’t quite linear.
This book was an absolute trip, start to finish. Satirical, witty, a warning, and just a fun story. Whatever you’re looking for in this book, you’ll find it. The interview style, with multiple points of view, kept me so engrossed in the story and every character’s personality and viewpoint was so unique. I expect this book will be a big deal, and I’m very much looking forward to that.
The tech bros have entered the time travel chat. Startups and established tech companies alike are racing to release a consumer-ready time machine, and the path forward - or backward? - isn’t quite linear.
This book was an absolute trip, start to finish. Satirical, witty, a warning, and just a fun story. Whatever you’re looking for in this book, you’ll find it. The interview style, with multiple points of view, kept me so engrossed in the story and every character’s personality and viewpoint was so unique. I expect this book will be a big deal, and I’m very much looking forward to that.
June 21, 2026
Got an ARC of this from NetGalley and loved it. Brazeal sets his story around the Bleb 1, the world’s first consumer time machine, and the venture-backed chaos that erupts once Silicon Valley gets its hands on it. Chapter 11 had me laughing out loud, genuinely cackling alone in my living room. The time travel logic is handled with real care too, and has a surprisingly heartwarming ending considering all the chaos that came before it. This is a smart, funny satire of venture capital and startup culture wrapped around a genuinely well-built time travel plot. Will be picking up whatever Brazeal writes next.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5 stars, rounded up to 4.75 because I 100% give rate inflation for something this fun! It’s speculative sci-fi, satire done right, with a touch of horror which is the exact right amount for me. Great ending. It was a spectacular read.
Tech bros invented time travel and then try to out compete each other to get filthy stinking rich and reach world/timeline domination. The premise is the time travel tech bubble has burst and we’re trying to figure out what happened through oral and epistolary records and first-hand accounts of the people who tried to hold onto reality as best they could. It’s a wild, speculative, satirical ride from the time machines coming to market, to Silicon Valley competition, to exploitation, to a new company boom, to unintended consequences, and then to the aftermath.
How can I even begin listing all the things I enjoyed? The humor for one. The satire was spectacular – I was cracking up. Forrest Brazeal worked at Google during the crypto and AI crazes so I am confident he’s seen a lot of this up front and personal. The ending was chef’s kiss and even touching. The way the author introduced and unpacked the science behind the time travel bubbles made it easy for the reader to follow, despite its complexity. In this way it reminded me of Project Hail Mary.
There was very little that didn’t jive with me. I had some difficulty keeping track of what was what and who worked where in the beginning but it was just my brain being slow on what was important. It didn’t take long to straighten out and then I was good.
Content considerations: moderate language (infrequent), drug use, group sexual encounter (not super detailed), LGBT characters but mostly written in for character work, body mutilation
Overall, I had a grand ole time. This guy is FUN-NY! If you like satire and laughing and are somewhat technologically literate or understand how Silicon Valley/start-ups work, give this a try. It’ll be worth your time.
Special thanks to the author Forrest Brazeal, Ballantine, and Netgalley for a copy of the book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Tech bros invented time travel and then try to out compete each other to get filthy stinking rich and reach world/timeline domination. The premise is the time travel tech bubble has burst and we’re trying to figure out what happened through oral and epistolary records and first-hand accounts of the people who tried to hold onto reality as best they could. It’s a wild, speculative, satirical ride from the time machines coming to market, to Silicon Valley competition, to exploitation, to a new company boom, to unintended consequences, and then to the aftermath.
How can I even begin listing all the things I enjoyed? The humor for one. The satire was spectacular – I was cracking up. Forrest Brazeal worked at Google during the crypto and AI crazes so I am confident he’s seen a lot of this up front and personal. The ending was chef’s kiss and even touching. The way the author introduced and unpacked the science behind the time travel bubbles made it easy for the reader to follow, despite its complexity. In this way it reminded me of Project Hail Mary.
There was very little that didn’t jive with me. I had some difficulty keeping track of what was what and who worked where in the beginning but it was just my brain being slow on what was important. It didn’t take long to straighten out and then I was good.
Content considerations: moderate language (infrequent), drug use, group sexual encounter (not super detailed), LGBT characters but mostly written in for character work, body mutilation
Overall, I had a grand ole time. This guy is FUN-NY! If you like satire and laughing and are somewhat technologically literate or understand how Silicon Valley/start-ups work, give this a try. It’ll be worth your time.
Special thanks to the author Forrest Brazeal, Ballantine, and Netgalley for a copy of the book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Silicon Valley satire wrapped in a hard sci-fi time travel nightmare... this one has some teeth. Paradox Inc. is a satirical sci-fi novel that hits surprisingly hard. In our real world where trillionaires and flying cars are a reality, this story hits a striking note. Rival time travel companies are busy cleaning up the messes caused by their own products. Because what could possibly go wrong when you commercialize time travel and hand the keys to corporations whose primary concern is profit? Surely nothing!
What really makes this book shine, though, is its absolutely savage corporate satire. Brazeal takes aim at Silicon Valley culture and gives us CEOs who think they're gods, office bullies, employees fighting for recognition and bonus money, and the endless competition to climb the corporate ladder. The technology might be speculative, but the workplace dynamics feel painfully recognizable. Swap out the time machines for your average corporate initiative, and some of these shenanigans might not feel all that far removed from reality.
The story unfolds through mixed media and multiple POVs, which add layers to an already complicated narrative. Fair warning: this is hard sci-fi, and it isn't always an easy story to follow. There is a lot happening, and keeping track of the moving pieces and many characters can be challenging. You need to pay attention, and this isn't necessarily a book you can breeze through without occasionally stopping to piece things together. But the payoff is worth it. Beneath all the time travel chaos is a pointed, often hilarious critique of corporate greed, tech bro egos, and the absurdity of believing that the people with the most money and power should automatically be trusted to shape the future.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballentine, and Forrest Brazeal for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
What really makes this book shine, though, is its absolutely savage corporate satire. Brazeal takes aim at Silicon Valley culture and gives us CEOs who think they're gods, office bullies, employees fighting for recognition and bonus money, and the endless competition to climb the corporate ladder. The technology might be speculative, but the workplace dynamics feel painfully recognizable. Swap out the time machines for your average corporate initiative, and some of these shenanigans might not feel all that far removed from reality.
The story unfolds through mixed media and multiple POVs, which add layers to an already complicated narrative. Fair warning: this is hard sci-fi, and it isn't always an easy story to follow. There is a lot happening, and keeping track of the moving pieces and many characters can be challenging. You need to pay attention, and this isn't necessarily a book you can breeze through without occasionally stopping to piece things together. But the payoff is worth it. Beneath all the time travel chaos is a pointed, often hilarious critique of corporate greed, tech bro egos, and the absurdity of believing that the people with the most money and power should automatically be trusted to shape the future.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballentine, and Forrest Brazeal for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of Paradox Inc. by Forrest Brazeal from Ballantine Books via NetGalley. This book will be published January 5, 2027.
I wasn't sure what I would get when I agreed to read Paradox Inc. by Forrest Brazeal. First books can be a crap shoot. In this case, it was a good bet. First, there is a tiny flamingo on the cover. You have my attention. Next, this is written in an epistolary fashion. That is by far my favorite style of writing. I can't read my email inbox with any joy but give me a book written in any combination of emails, letters, news articles, blog posts, journal entries (you get the idea) and I will not be able to put it down. Then, tell me a story of how Tech Bros are going to ruin time travel for everyone. Make it a super dark story that is also absolutely hilarious so that I am not sure how to describe it to you without saying you will be thoroughly disturbed and also laugh out loud. Because while this is fiction, I feel like it could be true in the not-so-distant future. I also believe that Tech Bros will figure out a way to make it terrible just like they have done with the Internet and AI. Yes, I have strong opinions. Finally, I had to look up where Forrest Brazeal is from/lives. Not in a creepy stalker way, but as someone who grew up smack dab between Joliet and Kankakee, IL, I was momentarily unsettled when those places were mentioned. That doesn't happen often. Now that I live not too far from Madison, the mention of it as well made me wonder if my reading of this book was more than coincidental. Not to get all woo-woo, but it is a book about time travel. Highly recommend!
I wasn't sure what I would get when I agreed to read Paradox Inc. by Forrest Brazeal. First books can be a crap shoot. In this case, it was a good bet. First, there is a tiny flamingo on the cover. You have my attention. Next, this is written in an epistolary fashion. That is by far my favorite style of writing. I can't read my email inbox with any joy but give me a book written in any combination of emails, letters, news articles, blog posts, journal entries (you get the idea) and I will not be able to put it down. Then, tell me a story of how Tech Bros are going to ruin time travel for everyone. Make it a super dark story that is also absolutely hilarious so that I am not sure how to describe it to you without saying you will be thoroughly disturbed and also laugh out loud. Because while this is fiction, I feel like it could be true in the not-so-distant future. I also believe that Tech Bros will figure out a way to make it terrible just like they have done with the Internet and AI. Yes, I have strong opinions. Finally, I had to look up where Forrest Brazeal is from/lives. Not in a creepy stalker way, but as someone who grew up smack dab between Joliet and Kankakee, IL, I was momentarily unsettled when those places were mentioned. That doesn't happen often. Now that I live not too far from Madison, the mention of it as well made me wonder if my reading of this book was more than coincidental. Not to get all woo-woo, but it is a book about time travel. Highly recommend!
October 7, 2026
Goodreads is finally letting us do partial stars! This book is definitely one everyone will call a ‘fun romp.’ Great literature it isn’t, but the narrative voices are well-written and engaging, the time travel mechanics are cool and fairly well thought-out, and it’s largely satisfying overall. I was gob-smackingly unsurprised to learn, after I’d finished it, that it is already in development to be a movie (the book itself isn’t even out until January - thank you NetGalley for the advance review copy), because it basically is one. And who is developing it? The guys who just made bank with Project Hail Mary, another book by an author who writes books that are more movies than literature from the get-go. I think it’ll make an even better film, to be honest.
June 18, 2026
4 stars. I LOVED the way this book was formatted. It read like a nonfiction book, but it was all about time travel. Big thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC!!!
~Tropes~
🕰️ Time travel
🦩 Multiple POVs
🐪 Interview style
🏳️🌈 Gay rep
•Thoughts - This was such a cool book. When I started it, I genuinely thought I had missed an entire time travel era because of the the style of the book, and then I realized it reads like a nonfiction fiction book, the type one of our characters, Lena Engal, would write.
I absolutely loved the style, and I think more books should be formatted like this. There are three main characters, but various other people are “interviewed” and their POVs are included in the book as well.
So, this book is about a time travel bubble that popped after its giant boom. The three main POVs give us different sides of the same story portraying the company making the time machines, its rival company, and the POV of a reporter getting the scoop on key players and the time travel era as a whole.
•Characters - (you can skip this to read my thoughts on the plot)
Davis Kennedy, a gay engineer working at the main time travel company, Bleb, is the MMC. He gives us the inside story on what the people at that company are like (not that great), what it’s like working there (nonstop grind), and what his life has been like up to that point. I LOVED what happened to him at the end of the book, and I think it’s the perfect bittersweet ending to what has happened to him. It really ties together all of the issues and risks with time travel as well. I enjoyed his POV as a whole, but I also think all of his backstory and current life struggling with homophobia is a fantastic addition. It especially goes into what it’s like to be gay in a very Christian community, and I think that’s an important plot point that could potentially help people open their eyes to what it’s like for others (if they’re willing) or prove to others that they’re not alone.
Gloria Monday is a woman working in the tech world, something that’s EXTREMELY difficult to do, and she works for Blebs rival company, Vitruvian. Gloria isn’t a big fan of a lot of the people she works with, and she’s beginning to think her marriage might not be so swell either, but she knows how to get a job done. She’s given a special task (twice) and comes up with a solution. She’s an incredible woman, and I hope her situation at the end of the book was resolved.
Lena Engal is a reporter in the tech industry, but she also has a difficult home life. She has a manipulative husband and a daughter she wants the best for, but it’s not easy to escape when her husband holds all the cards. Or so he thinks. Lena sets out to tell the truth, or her version of the truth, by writing a book. She interviews various people, including the CEO of Bleb who’s not a great guy, to get the full story. Time travel is especially prominent in her story, and it’s very interesting to read about the effect it had on her personally.
•Plot - I think the plot is fantastic. I’ve never read a time travel book as technical as this one, and it was fascinating, especially considering the author is someone who has experience in Silicon Valley. The flow is great, and there are small tidbits that keep you interested. The POVs from multiple sides of the story really added to the narrative because you can’t get the full picture without different opinions on the same thing.
This book is also a great commentary on what our society has come to tech-wise, and that when something revolutionary is unveiled, all people think about is “What’s next?” The main corporation was fairly corrupt and run by a guy with questionable morality, so it was definitely true to life. This is DEFINITELY the best science fiction time travel book I’ve read, and definitely recommend 🩵
UPDATE: I hear the directors of Project Hail Mary are picking up this book for a movie adaptation?!? 100% will be seeing that
~Tropes~
🕰️ Time travel
🦩 Multiple POVs
🐪 Interview style
🏳️🌈 Gay rep
•Thoughts - This was such a cool book. When I started it, I genuinely thought I had missed an entire time travel era because of the the style of the book, and then I realized it reads like a nonfiction fiction book, the type one of our characters, Lena Engal, would write.
I absolutely loved the style, and I think more books should be formatted like this. There are three main characters, but various other people are “interviewed” and their POVs are included in the book as well.
So, this book is about a time travel bubble that popped after its giant boom. The three main POVs give us different sides of the same story portraying the company making the time machines, its rival company, and the POV of a reporter getting the scoop on key players and the time travel era as a whole.
•Characters - (you can skip this to read my thoughts on the plot)
Davis Kennedy, a gay engineer working at the main time travel company, Bleb, is the MMC. He gives us the inside story on what the people at that company are like (not that great), what it’s like working there (nonstop grind), and what his life has been like up to that point. I LOVED what happened to him at the end of the book, and I think it’s the perfect bittersweet ending to what has happened to him. It really ties together all of the issues and risks with time travel as well. I enjoyed his POV as a whole, but I also think all of his backstory and current life struggling with homophobia is a fantastic addition. It especially goes into what it’s like to be gay in a very Christian community, and I think that’s an important plot point that could potentially help people open their eyes to what it’s like for others (if they’re willing) or prove to others that they’re not alone.
Gloria Monday is a woman working in the tech world, something that’s EXTREMELY difficult to do, and she works for Blebs rival company, Vitruvian. Gloria isn’t a big fan of a lot of the people she works with, and she’s beginning to think her marriage might not be so swell either, but she knows how to get a job done. She’s given a special task (twice) and comes up with a solution. She’s an incredible woman, and I hope her situation at the end of the book was resolved.
Lena Engal is a reporter in the tech industry, but she also has a difficult home life. She has a manipulative husband and a daughter she wants the best for, but it’s not easy to escape when her husband holds all the cards. Or so he thinks. Lena sets out to tell the truth, or her version of the truth, by writing a book. She interviews various people, including the CEO of Bleb who’s not a great guy, to get the full story. Time travel is especially prominent in her story, and it’s very interesting to read about the effect it had on her personally.
•Plot - I think the plot is fantastic. I’ve never read a time travel book as technical as this one, and it was fascinating, especially considering the author is someone who has experience in Silicon Valley. The flow is great, and there are small tidbits that keep you interested. The POVs from multiple sides of the story really added to the narrative because you can’t get the full picture without different opinions on the same thing.
This book is also a great commentary on what our society has come to tech-wise, and that when something revolutionary is unveiled, all people think about is “What’s next?” The main corporation was fairly corrupt and run by a guy with questionable morality, so it was definitely true to life. This is DEFINITELY the best science fiction time travel book I’ve read, and definitely recommend 🩵
UPDATE: I hear the directors of Project Hail Mary are picking up this book for a movie adaptation?!? 100% will be seeing that
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone (Del Rey) and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this ARC! The review is personal and unaltered by external factors.
5/5
What would happen if tech dudebros of Silicon Valley developed time-travelling technology? What if they used said technology not to aid humankind but instead they made a very corporation-centric decision of using their new technology at a commercial level? What if this time machine were sold to anyone who had enough money and then passed down to their kids to do memes for TikTok and gain more internet fame? What if others used this invention to create other businesses and pyramid schemes? Or, even worse, commit crimes? “Paradox Inc.” by Forrest Brazeal answers all these questions and even more, having at its core the forever ethical and moral debate within technology — do we research and invent for the pure purpose of discovering greater things with the contingent act of bettering human life or for the sake of monetising every technological invention and changing the course of history for personal gain?
“Paradox Inc.” encompasses multiple genres at once; firstly, it is a sardonic satire (social fresco) of the technological industry and the dangers it poses with its defiant attitude towards ethics. Secondly, it is a technological thriller, following the events building up to the event named “The Mishap” which causes a global crisis. Lastly, it is part of the science fiction genre, on the lower side of cyberpunk — take into consideration I made this statement holding the ideology that we are currently living in the beginning of the cyberpunk era and, with that in mind, I would call this novel a part of the technorealism sub-genre of science fiction. Consequently, “Paradox Inc.” allows us to see time-travel as something extremely mundane, yet also centres around the very much real-life political/philosophical debate of techno-utopianism versus neo-luddism.
The exposition takes the form of investigative journalism, thus the book being structured as a mixture of long-form interviews, along with annexed official papers (evidence) from subsequent judicial trials, e-mails, journal entries and other forms of documentation. We get the interviews of several participants in the formation of Bleb 1 (the commercialised time-travel device), of the employees of the major opponent (a company named Vitruvian which is also funded by the father of time-travel, Tom Trammell) and the sole underdog of the novel, Lena, a freelance investigative journalist (a separate entity from the investigative journalist who gathers the interviews for this book as a whole). The main perspective for “The Bleb Project” insider work is an engineer named Davis, and the main perspective of the Vitruvian side is a director named Gloria.
From a cyberpunk perspective, we see mostly from within the “evil” companies, with Lena alone being the moral compass of the novel as the underdog.
The plot is technically simple — it follows the events building up to “The Mishap” (caused, in a manner of speaking, by the usage of time-travel) and the consequences following the disaster.
By the prose alone I wouldn’t have been able to tell that this is a debut novel in no way whatsoever. It is extremely witty and dry, with a deadpan sense of humour which I absolutely adored, and it is completely shameless in its delivery (in the best way possible). Comedy is ridicule delivered with a certain finesse, and Brazeal manages to execute that extremely well. It is the sort of prose which is extremely addictive and has you sitting down and aiming to finish the book in one go (I sadly could not do so but would’ve if I’d had the time; a bleb would’ve helped!). The change in perspectives is quite evident in the shift of tone and vocabulary, being more technical in Davis’ chapters, more reasonable in Gloria’s and Lena’s having more heart and tender emotions. Two specific minor shout-outs: Jakob and Tom. Both their small bits were very entertaining, one revealing a very specific satire of the tech dudebro stereotype, while the other is the romantic researcher.
A quick mention — my copy of the book is an uncorrected advance proof which might not resemble the final version, however, I wish to give a nod to the Jules Verne mentions, which I hope make it to the end. I personally feel every fan of science fiction has their core in his works, so seeing his name mentioned in a book of the same genre has been extremely heartwarming and nostalgic.
Naturally, I would recommend this to any Andy Weir enthusiast out there, along with every fan of technorealism. For more pop culture references, I believe fans of the shows “Pluribus” and “Severance” will adore this, even more so as “Paradox Inc.” will soon be on the big screen too! I’m very excited to see who will be cast. I have high expectations particularly for Larry Xi. Lastly, considering the narrative style of investigative journalism, I find that perhaps lovers of the structure would enjoy it, so I would also recommend it to fans of Mai Jia’s “Decoded” and Anne Rice’s “Interview with the Vampire”.
5/5
What would happen if tech dudebros of Silicon Valley developed time-travelling technology? What if they used said technology not to aid humankind but instead they made a very corporation-centric decision of using their new technology at a commercial level? What if this time machine were sold to anyone who had enough money and then passed down to their kids to do memes for TikTok and gain more internet fame? What if others used this invention to create other businesses and pyramid schemes? Or, even worse, commit crimes? “Paradox Inc.” by Forrest Brazeal answers all these questions and even more, having at its core the forever ethical and moral debate within technology — do we research and invent for the pure purpose of discovering greater things with the contingent act of bettering human life or for the sake of monetising every technological invention and changing the course of history for personal gain?
“Paradox Inc.” encompasses multiple genres at once; firstly, it is a sardonic satire (social fresco) of the technological industry and the dangers it poses with its defiant attitude towards ethics. Secondly, it is a technological thriller, following the events building up to the event named “The Mishap” which causes a global crisis. Lastly, it is part of the science fiction genre, on the lower side of cyberpunk — take into consideration I made this statement holding the ideology that we are currently living in the beginning of the cyberpunk era and, with that in mind, I would call this novel a part of the technorealism sub-genre of science fiction. Consequently, “Paradox Inc.” allows us to see time-travel as something extremely mundane, yet also centres around the very much real-life political/philosophical debate of techno-utopianism versus neo-luddism.
The exposition takes the form of investigative journalism, thus the book being structured as a mixture of long-form interviews, along with annexed official papers (evidence) from subsequent judicial trials, e-mails, journal entries and other forms of documentation. We get the interviews of several participants in the formation of Bleb 1 (the commercialised time-travel device), of the employees of the major opponent (a company named Vitruvian which is also funded by the father of time-travel, Tom Trammell) and the sole underdog of the novel, Lena, a freelance investigative journalist (a separate entity from the investigative journalist who gathers the interviews for this book as a whole). The main perspective for “The Bleb Project” insider work is an engineer named Davis, and the main perspective of the Vitruvian side is a director named Gloria.
From a cyberpunk perspective, we see mostly from within the “evil” companies, with Lena alone being the moral compass of the novel as the underdog.
The plot is technically simple — it follows the events building up to “The Mishap” (caused, in a manner of speaking, by the usage of time-travel) and the consequences following the disaster.
By the prose alone I wouldn’t have been able to tell that this is a debut novel in no way whatsoever. It is extremely witty and dry, with a deadpan sense of humour which I absolutely adored, and it is completely shameless in its delivery (in the best way possible). Comedy is ridicule delivered with a certain finesse, and Brazeal manages to execute that extremely well. It is the sort of prose which is extremely addictive and has you sitting down and aiming to finish the book in one go (I sadly could not do so but would’ve if I’d had the time; a bleb would’ve helped!). The change in perspectives is quite evident in the shift of tone and vocabulary, being more technical in Davis’ chapters, more reasonable in Gloria’s and Lena’s having more heart and tender emotions. Two specific minor shout-outs: Jakob and Tom. Both their small bits were very entertaining, one revealing a very specific satire of the tech dudebro stereotype, while the other is the romantic researcher.
A quick mention — my copy of the book is an uncorrected advance proof which might not resemble the final version, however, I wish to give a nod to the Jules Verne mentions, which I hope make it to the end. I personally feel every fan of science fiction has their core in his works, so seeing his name mentioned in a book of the same genre has been extremely heartwarming and nostalgic.
Naturally, I would recommend this to any Andy Weir enthusiast out there, along with every fan of technorealism. For more pop culture references, I believe fans of the shows “Pluribus” and “Severance” will adore this, even more so as “Paradox Inc.” will soon be on the big screen too! I’m very excited to see who will be cast. I have high expectations particularly for Larry Xi. Lastly, considering the narrative style of investigative journalism, I find that perhaps lovers of the structure would enjoy it, so I would also recommend it to fans of Mai Jia’s “Decoded” and Anne Rice’s “Interview with the Vampire”.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Paradox Inc is an interesting story about the advent of time travel. I elected to request an ARC of this book as I have been looking to read more speculative fiction, and generally enjoy science fiction. The current publisher's description and tags include Humor & Satire and Sci-Fi & Fantasy. As someone who really loves the intersection Humor/Science Fiction, I hate to say that this book does not deliver. When I consider top books in Humor/Science Fiction fantasy I look for books that are in the same universe as Jasper Fforde, Terry Pratchett, Martha Wells, Douglas Adams, and Daniel O'Malley. This book has little in common with those authors. If I was rating this on categorization alone it would definitely be a 3-star review.
As it is this is a very different and very interesting science-fiction story. I wish I had known what I was getting into more when I started. At the time I was looking for something more humorous so it took me longer to read as I just could not get my head into the right space to read it. I think this book is the perfect complement to readers who enjoy books like Sylvain Neuvel's Themis Files, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Blake Crouch. I also think this would be the right book for anyone who has read Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI or the non-fiction writings of Patrick Radden Keefe.
It is the story of the invention and commercialization of time-travel. While it is entertaining to think of how time-travel will be commercialized, the fact that author Forrest Brazeal has real-world experience from Silicon Valley in exactly the environments described in detail in this book makes it read more as a cautionary tale of a future yet to materialize rather than a speculative flight of fancy. That said, it is still a good book and engaging story, sitting somewhere between 3.8-4.2 stars. The writing is sharp, exacting, and paced well throughout the three parts of the book.
I think narrative is well-developed and provides a great look at how and why Silicon Valley is such a unique place. The characters are memorable and, for the most part, appropriate caricatures of their real-world AI Tech-Bro counterparts. Unfortunately, I do not think it goes far enough INTO satire to be humorous. You can almost hear a Musk/Altman/Jobs/Cook say many of the lines relayed throughout the story.
I guess that is why it is not a 5-star book. Perhaps in some not-too-distant future this is the reality. Perhaps this is the timeline we are in now, we just do not know it yet.
Thanks again to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC. Despite my misgivings above, I would recommend anyone who enjoys sci-fi/speculative fiction to read this.
As it is this is a very different and very interesting science-fiction story. I wish I had known what I was getting into more when I started. At the time I was looking for something more humorous so it took me longer to read as I just could not get my head into the right space to read it. I think this book is the perfect complement to readers who enjoy books like Sylvain Neuvel's Themis Files, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Blake Crouch. I also think this would be the right book for anyone who has read Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI or the non-fiction writings of Patrick Radden Keefe.
It is the story of the invention and commercialization of time-travel. While it is entertaining to think of how time-travel will be commercialized, the fact that author Forrest Brazeal has real-world experience from Silicon Valley in exactly the environments described in detail in this book makes it read more as a cautionary tale of a future yet to materialize rather than a speculative flight of fancy. That said, it is still a good book and engaging story, sitting somewhere between 3.8-4.2 stars. The writing is sharp, exacting, and paced well throughout the three parts of the book.
I think narrative is well-developed and provides a great look at how and why Silicon Valley is such a unique place. The characters are memorable and, for the most part, appropriate caricatures of their real-world AI Tech-Bro counterparts. Unfortunately, I do not think it goes far enough INTO satire to be humorous. You can almost hear a Musk/Altman/Jobs/Cook say many of the lines relayed throughout the story.
I guess that is why it is not a 5-star book. Perhaps in some not-too-distant future this is the reality. Perhaps this is the timeline we are in now, we just do not know it yet.
Thanks again to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC. Despite my misgivings above, I would recommend anyone who enjoys sci-fi/speculative fiction to read this.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
If you have ever sat through a corporate presentation filled with agonizing buzzwords like "disruption," "synergy," and "scalability," you have likely felt a mild existential dread. Forrest Brazeal takes that exact tech-industry absurdity and pairs it with the grand, dangerous mechanics of science fiction in his brilliant debut novel, Paradox Inc.
The premise is delightfully terrifying: What happens when the egomaniacal, profit-driven tech bros of Silicon Valley successfully invent, commodify, and monetize time travel? The answer is a chaotic, wildly inventive ride that is equal parts pitch-black corporate satire and a deeply compelling sci-fi mystery.
A Masterclass in Narrative Direction
What sets Paradox Inc. apart is its incredibly unique structural execution. Instead of a traditional, linear science fiction narrative, Brazeal presents the story as an artifact of oral history. Constructed through a dynamic mix of:
Post-disaster interview transcripts
Corporate emails and Slack messages
Legal and court case documentation
Personal letters and travel logs
The book functions like a high-stakes, documentary-style retrospective on a failed tech empire. Right from the beginning, the audience is hooked by the haunting loom of a central mystery—a "terrifically huge incident" that caused the time-travel bubble to burst. Brazeal expertly drops breadcrumbs across various timelines and corporate entities (like the main time-travel startup, Bleb, and its cult-like competitor, Vitruvian), masterfully building the tension until the narrative culminates in a truly original, wild, and mind-bending finale that reshapes everything you just read.
Unforgettably Distinct Characters
While the premise offers plenty of opportunity for easy laughs at the expense of startup culture, the novel is grounded by its rich, multifaceted character work. Brazeal weaves together three primary viewpoints that balance the overarching corporate madness with genuine, vulnerable human stakes:
Davis Kennedy: A brilliant engineer at Bleb navigating a high-pressure, nonstop grind. His perspective gives us an unfiltered look into the toxic underbelly of innovation-at-all-costs culture. His deeply personal backstory—dealing with a rigid, unaccepting background—adds layers of profound emotional weight, leading to a bittersweet ending that ties the existential risks of time travel perfectly to his own life.
Gloria Monday: A formidable, highly competent working mother surviving the cutthroat tech landscape. Employed by Bleb’s rival, Vitruvian, she is a sharp, pragmatic problem-solver who anchors the corporate satire while giving readers a fierce, capable protagonist to root for.
Lena Engal: A sharp tech journalist determined to uncover the truth about Bleb's corrupt CEO. Her domestic struggles with a manipulative husband contrast beautifully with her public pursuit of accountability, making her the perfect vessel to challenge the ethical vacuum of the time-travel boom.
The Verdict: Funny, Dark, and Too Close for Comfort
Brazeal’s background in tech shines through in every hilariously cringeworthy corporate interaction—from a surreal job interview requiring candidates to solve temporal paradoxes, to a lavish, multi-million-dollar tech party featuring looted, discontinued snacks from the 1990s. It’s an incredibly sharp critique of a society that asks "What's next?" without ever pausing to ask "Should we?"
Underneath the witty banter and the ridiculousness of "Time Travel as a Service," Paradox Inc. carries a chilling, Black Mirror-esque resonance. It serves as a brilliant allegory for our modern anxieties surrounding unchecked AI and corporate greed. For anyone who loves sharp satire, complex character arcs, and speculative fiction that isn't afraid to get a little weird, this book is an absolute triumph.
The premise is delightfully terrifying: What happens when the egomaniacal, profit-driven tech bros of Silicon Valley successfully invent, commodify, and monetize time travel? The answer is a chaotic, wildly inventive ride that is equal parts pitch-black corporate satire and a deeply compelling sci-fi mystery.
A Masterclass in Narrative Direction
What sets Paradox Inc. apart is its incredibly unique structural execution. Instead of a traditional, linear science fiction narrative, Brazeal presents the story as an artifact of oral history. Constructed through a dynamic mix of:
Post-disaster interview transcripts
Corporate emails and Slack messages
Legal and court case documentation
Personal letters and travel logs
The book functions like a high-stakes, documentary-style retrospective on a failed tech empire. Right from the beginning, the audience is hooked by the haunting loom of a central mystery—a "terrifically huge incident" that caused the time-travel bubble to burst. Brazeal expertly drops breadcrumbs across various timelines and corporate entities (like the main time-travel startup, Bleb, and its cult-like competitor, Vitruvian), masterfully building the tension until the narrative culminates in a truly original, wild, and mind-bending finale that reshapes everything you just read.
Unforgettably Distinct Characters
While the premise offers plenty of opportunity for easy laughs at the expense of startup culture, the novel is grounded by its rich, multifaceted character work. Brazeal weaves together three primary viewpoints that balance the overarching corporate madness with genuine, vulnerable human stakes:
Davis Kennedy: A brilliant engineer at Bleb navigating a high-pressure, nonstop grind. His perspective gives us an unfiltered look into the toxic underbelly of innovation-at-all-costs culture. His deeply personal backstory—dealing with a rigid, unaccepting background—adds layers of profound emotional weight, leading to a bittersweet ending that ties the existential risks of time travel perfectly to his own life.
Gloria Monday: A formidable, highly competent working mother surviving the cutthroat tech landscape. Employed by Bleb’s rival, Vitruvian, she is a sharp, pragmatic problem-solver who anchors the corporate satire while giving readers a fierce, capable protagonist to root for.
Lena Engal: A sharp tech journalist determined to uncover the truth about Bleb's corrupt CEO. Her domestic struggles with a manipulative husband contrast beautifully with her public pursuit of accountability, making her the perfect vessel to challenge the ethical vacuum of the time-travel boom.
The Verdict: Funny, Dark, and Too Close for Comfort
Brazeal’s background in tech shines through in every hilariously cringeworthy corporate interaction—from a surreal job interview requiring candidates to solve temporal paradoxes, to a lavish, multi-million-dollar tech party featuring looted, discontinued snacks from the 1990s. It’s an incredibly sharp critique of a society that asks "What's next?" without ever pausing to ask "Should we?"
Underneath the witty banter and the ridiculousness of "Time Travel as a Service," Paradox Inc. carries a chilling, Black Mirror-esque resonance. It serves as a brilliant allegory for our modern anxieties surrounding unchecked AI and corporate greed. For anyone who loves sharp satire, complex character arcs, and speculative fiction that isn't afraid to get a little weird, this book is an absolute triumph.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and to Ballantine for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
As someone with little-to-no insider knowledge of how the tech industry works, I was eagerly anticipating reading this novel but also felt nervous at the possibility that parts of it may elude my understanding. This is a worry I usually have when going into anything science-fiction, but in this case the worry was unfounded. The storytelling in this novel is phenomenal. We have three protagonists we follow: Davis Kennedy, an employee working on the Bleb 1 project; Gloria Monday, an employee at Vitruvian (who is trying to create a competitor product against the Bleb 1); and Lena Engel, a journalist who follows and reports on the time travel scene. Each interview/point-of-view is in first-person perspective and adopts a fairly casual, conversational tone that kept me engaged the entire time. They all have unique backstories and quirks that make them easy to distinguish from each other and each of their perspectives are fascinating and revealing in their own ways. The pacing was also expertly crafted. The through-line of this novel is the race to invent time travel and put it in the public's hands, but there are other major plot points and side stories specific to each individual protagonist that are revealed to the reader in chronological order and ultimately intertwine in a satisfying rising action and climax: "The Mishap" that is referred to throughout the course of the story.
Humorous writing, and specifically satire, is hard to pull off successfully; if the writing is too on-the-nose, it risks becoming farcical and uninteresting, but if it is too subtle, it risks being mistaken for that which it is criticizing. I think Brazeal pulls off the satire in this novel extremely well. It isn't hard to draw a lot of parallels to the real-life state of the tech industry, even if you are someone who knows nothing about the inner-workings of computers but has any social media account. Characters that seem like they might be caricatures are exaggerated only slightly enough to point out the problems within an industry that values "the next big thing" over any moral or ethical concerns. There are situations unique to each protagonist that feel almost absurd but are increasingly plausible in this day and age, and general world-happenings that showcase real concerns with the way technology can be utilized once it is available for public use. This book is funny for sure, but also incredibly insightful, with a few darker themes and moments that balance the tone well.
As mentioned earlier, the formatting of this book is through interviews, and while I understand that may be off-putting for some people, to me it didn't feel any different to reading any first-person novel with perspective changes. I think the interview format heightens the storytelling and lends to the stellar pacing and allows for each character to shine in their own way on their own terms. With that said I think this book is perfect for anyone who is a fan of "mockumentary" style storytelling, but it is also a fantastic science fiction novel and satire that I think most any reader can find something of value in.
As someone with little-to-no insider knowledge of how the tech industry works, I was eagerly anticipating reading this novel but also felt nervous at the possibility that parts of it may elude my understanding. This is a worry I usually have when going into anything science-fiction, but in this case the worry was unfounded. The storytelling in this novel is phenomenal. We have three protagonists we follow: Davis Kennedy, an employee working on the Bleb 1 project; Gloria Monday, an employee at Vitruvian (who is trying to create a competitor product against the Bleb 1); and Lena Engel, a journalist who follows and reports on the time travel scene. Each interview/point-of-view is in first-person perspective and adopts a fairly casual, conversational tone that kept me engaged the entire time. They all have unique backstories and quirks that make them easy to distinguish from each other and each of their perspectives are fascinating and revealing in their own ways. The pacing was also expertly crafted. The through-line of this novel is the race to invent time travel and put it in the public's hands, but there are other major plot points and side stories specific to each individual protagonist that are revealed to the reader in chronological order and ultimately intertwine in a satisfying rising action and climax: "The Mishap" that is referred to throughout the course of the story.
Humorous writing, and specifically satire, is hard to pull off successfully; if the writing is too on-the-nose, it risks becoming farcical and uninteresting, but if it is too subtle, it risks being mistaken for that which it is criticizing. I think Brazeal pulls off the satire in this novel extremely well. It isn't hard to draw a lot of parallels to the real-life state of the tech industry, even if you are someone who knows nothing about the inner-workings of computers but has any social media account. Characters that seem like they might be caricatures are exaggerated only slightly enough to point out the problems within an industry that values "the next big thing" over any moral or ethical concerns. There are situations unique to each protagonist that feel almost absurd but are increasingly plausible in this day and age, and general world-happenings that showcase real concerns with the way technology can be utilized once it is available for public use. This book is funny for sure, but also incredibly insightful, with a few darker themes and moments that balance the tone well.
As mentioned earlier, the formatting of this book is through interviews, and while I understand that may be off-putting for some people, to me it didn't feel any different to reading any first-person novel with perspective changes. I think the interview format heightens the storytelling and lends to the stellar pacing and allows for each character to shine in their own way on their own terms. With that said I think this book is perfect for anyone who is a fan of "mockumentary" style storytelling, but it is also a fantastic science fiction novel and satire that I think most any reader can find something of value in.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
First, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Publishing for providing me with an ARC of The Paradox Inc. This is ultimately a 4.5-star read for me. I wish Goodreads allowed half-star ratings.
I am rounding up. And here is why . . .
I know that this book is billed as Satire and Humor, but I actually feel that this hits pretty close to an eventual reality. It made me think of the movie "Idiocracy" in this sense (which is very clearly created as humor and satire). The first time I watched Idiocracy, I thought it was funny but didn't think much about it at the time. I had no idea after my first viewing of that movie that I would think about it at least weekly (often more) for the rest of my life. As I was reading this book, I had that thought many times . . . . . that this is a book that I will think about.
While put forth in a sometimes humorous way as a sci-fi eventuality, I don't actually know how off-mark this is. 100 years ago, people could never have conceived in the sci-fi reality that we are living now. So it is not that far-fetched that time travel and all the mayhem that comes with it could be an eventuality that society has to grapple with.
I love the way the author approached this topic. I'm going to reference another book here because it really gave me the same kind of feels. When I read Christina Baird's End of Men, I had the same kind of reaction. She approached the fallout of the topic in a similarly thorough way-looking at all potential angles and affects on society. Brazeal does this beautifully. I love the way the author jumped into the commercialization of such technology and used multiple storylines and perspectives to illustrate the chilling repercussions of such an advance in technology. Much like Baird's approach, this wasn't really a character-focused endeavor. I don't feel like we got very in depth with any of the characters, but I think that this is Ok. In fact, I think that this is preferred for tackling this topic. I would much rather see all the differing viewpoints and points of fallout than spend a lot of time on any of the characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and know that it is one that I will ponder in the future. That is why it gets a rare 5 Star rating from me.
I am rounding up. And here is why . . .
I know that this book is billed as Satire and Humor, but I actually feel that this hits pretty close to an eventual reality. It made me think of the movie "Idiocracy" in this sense (which is very clearly created as humor and satire). The first time I watched Idiocracy, I thought it was funny but didn't think much about it at the time. I had no idea after my first viewing of that movie that I would think about it at least weekly (often more) for the rest of my life. As I was reading this book, I had that thought many times . . . . . that this is a book that I will think about.
While put forth in a sometimes humorous way as a sci-fi eventuality, I don't actually know how off-mark this is. 100 years ago, people could never have conceived in the sci-fi reality that we are living now. So it is not that far-fetched that time travel and all the mayhem that comes with it could be an eventuality that society has to grapple with.
I love the way the author approached this topic. I'm going to reference another book here because it really gave me the same kind of feels. When I read Christina Baird's End of Men, I had the same kind of reaction. She approached the fallout of the topic in a similarly thorough way-looking at all potential angles and affects on society. Brazeal does this beautifully. I love the way the author jumped into the commercialization of such technology and used multiple storylines and perspectives to illustrate the chilling repercussions of such an advance in technology. Much like Baird's approach, this wasn't really a character-focused endeavor. I don't feel like we got very in depth with any of the characters, but I think that this is Ok. In fact, I think that this is preferred for tackling this topic. I would much rather see all the differing viewpoints and points of fallout than spend a lot of time on any of the characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and know that it is one that I will ponder in the future. That is why it gets a rare 5 Star rating from me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Paradox Inc by Forrest Brazeal is a satirical, dystopian sci-fi novel following the rise and fall of time travel. Following three main players in this rollercoaster of a ride, Paradox Inc. brings readers on a thrilling, surprising journey with unexpected occurrences around every bend.
Through each of the three main characters perspectives, we are introduced to a diverse ensemble of people who leave a solid imprint. While Paradox Inc takes place primarily in California, the actions that characters take build the world even further. Every part of the book from the time travel (both machines and the development of) to the activities of the wealthy tech bros is well thought out. Brazeal took his time building this world and does an amazing job of bringing readers into it. A feature of Paradox Inc is how you find yourself experiencing a variety of types of stories. From horror to relationships, the depth of the world and the effects of time travel are explored completely. Separate plots are interwoven throughout the main plot of the rise and fall of time travel. With a wide variety of characters, there were plenty I found deplorable and other I hoped had a happy ending. All characters, no matter their level of importance, were given an ending to the journey they had gone on. Even if it’s in a chaotic or horrifying way. Nothing was left undiscussed for fear of being too offensive or unbelievable. This is a book about people and the decisions a person or group of people would make. Brazeal writes as openly and honestly as he can for a fictional novel. Written by a former Google employee and tech satirist, the fact that the disasters being described in Paradox Inc can, and should, be compared to what we can see going on with AI now. While this is a fictional book, it takes real world issues and approaches them with time travel. This and the sublime writing skills Brazeal brings both make the book more realistic. I would think that’s to be expected with a time travel book though. Paradox Inc is an extremely captivating read. It keeps you constantly entertained and surprised by what is introduced next. From a man missing somewhere in time to a time orgy, you’ll be hooked and satisfied. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a fun time travel book,
Through each of the three main characters perspectives, we are introduced to a diverse ensemble of people who leave a solid imprint. While Paradox Inc takes place primarily in California, the actions that characters take build the world even further. Every part of the book from the time travel (both machines and the development of) to the activities of the wealthy tech bros is well thought out. Brazeal took his time building this world and does an amazing job of bringing readers into it. A feature of Paradox Inc is how you find yourself experiencing a variety of types of stories. From horror to relationships, the depth of the world and the effects of time travel are explored completely. Separate plots are interwoven throughout the main plot of the rise and fall of time travel. With a wide variety of characters, there were plenty I found deplorable and other I hoped had a happy ending. All characters, no matter their level of importance, were given an ending to the journey they had gone on. Even if it’s in a chaotic or horrifying way. Nothing was left undiscussed for fear of being too offensive or unbelievable. This is a book about people and the decisions a person or group of people would make. Brazeal writes as openly and honestly as he can for a fictional novel. Written by a former Google employee and tech satirist, the fact that the disasters being described in Paradox Inc can, and should, be compared to what we can see going on with AI now. While this is a fictional book, it takes real world issues and approaches them with time travel. This and the sublime writing skills Brazeal brings both make the book more realistic. I would think that’s to be expected with a time travel book though. Paradox Inc is an extremely captivating read. It keeps you constantly entertained and surprised by what is introduced next. From a man missing somewhere in time to a time orgy, you’ll be hooked and satisfied. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a fun time travel book,
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
ARC Review from DelRey
I have never known a time-travel book to care so much about admin. In true debut style, Paradox Inc. comes at us with an awful lot of ideas and sadly they don’t all quite land. The last 100 pages of this book are fantastic and if the whole story had been about the ‘Melvindale Mishap’ this would be a very different review.
Forrest Brazeal used to work for Google and consequently seems to be far more interested in Silicon Valley than I am. Much of the first 3/4 of this book are long-winding boardroom meetings with the species of tech bro douche who might haunt your LinkedIn with their special Myer-Briggs personality. Larry Xi in particular, is the most caricature, Musk by way of Zuckerberg, tech billionaire sociopath that you will ever meet and while that’s entirely the point - the book never seems to want to go there with his character journey (a rather gnarly scene with toenail clippings notwithstanding).
This book reminds me so much of Ripe with its critical eye on west coast tech startups that turn evil but to an audience of inherently left-leaning readers much of this felt like preaching to the choir. If you want a more mainstream audience to acknowledge the problematic tendencies of the tech industry then this story should be making broader strokes where time travel is more glaringly weaponised. The blurb promised irresponsible misadventures under the bleb project but we spent most of the book’s inflated runtime with developers and journalists rather than the consumer.
It’s a real shame because again, near the end of the book we get to see genius engineer Tom Trammell chronicle his journey back in time where he befriends Isaac Newton and nearly dies on paradox poisoning. It’s by far the most exhilarating aspect in the book because it’s the only instance where time travel is front and centre. There are far too many alternating POVs which all sound too similar and deal with too many serious issues ranging from divorce, custody battles, and queer acceptance. There’s also some really cool cosmic horror at the end of the book that I adored but it needed to be explored earlier too.
There’s plenty of literary promise here but a baffling lack of focus.
I have never known a time-travel book to care so much about admin. In true debut style, Paradox Inc. comes at us with an awful lot of ideas and sadly they don’t all quite land. The last 100 pages of this book are fantastic and if the whole story had been about the ‘Melvindale Mishap’ this would be a very different review.
Forrest Brazeal used to work for Google and consequently seems to be far more interested in Silicon Valley than I am. Much of the first 3/4 of this book are long-winding boardroom meetings with the species of tech bro douche who might haunt your LinkedIn with their special Myer-Briggs personality. Larry Xi in particular, is the most caricature, Musk by way of Zuckerberg, tech billionaire sociopath that you will ever meet and while that’s entirely the point - the book never seems to want to go there with his character journey (a rather gnarly scene with toenail clippings notwithstanding).
This book reminds me so much of Ripe with its critical eye on west coast tech startups that turn evil but to an audience of inherently left-leaning readers much of this felt like preaching to the choir. If you want a more mainstream audience to acknowledge the problematic tendencies of the tech industry then this story should be making broader strokes where time travel is more glaringly weaponised. The blurb promised irresponsible misadventures under the bleb project but we spent most of the book’s inflated runtime with developers and journalists rather than the consumer.
It’s a real shame because again, near the end of the book we get to see genius engineer Tom Trammell chronicle his journey back in time where he befriends Isaac Newton and nearly dies on paradox poisoning. It’s by far the most exhilarating aspect in the book because it’s the only instance where time travel is front and centre. There are far too many alternating POVs which all sound too similar and deal with too many serious issues ranging from divorce, custody battles, and queer acceptance. There’s also some really cool cosmic horror at the end of the book that I adored but it needed to be explored earlier too.
There’s plenty of literary promise here but a baffling lack of focus.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley.
This book was way too relatable. I work in tech and reading this was painful in the best way.
The setup: it's about the race to make time travel accessible and monetizable in Silicon Valley.
Multiple POVs, multiple companies racing toward the same dystopia. The scope of time travel is limited to returning to the past, which lets the book do something really specific with what "the past" actually means for different people. The digs at the past not being great for everyone? Subtle but they landed.
The tech satire is SO well done. The interview loops. The "quirky" founders. The VC pitch built entirely on vibes. The escalation paths. The email threads (HILARIOUS). The sentiment dashboard. The exec asking why can't we launch ours. If you've worked in tech, you've lived all of this.
I also loved how self-aware (or honestly, lack of self-aware) the characters were, and how the book
explored the obvious next step: how the tech gets exploited, hacked, and used in ways it was never meant to be. Living through the current AI craze, this hit different.
The ending was crazy, especially with Davis. And honestly? The cure for burnout the book explores through Davis? Appealing in a dark way.
The fact that this is the author's debut is so surprising. The writing is sharp, the multiple POVs are handled cleanly (never confusing), and the satire is just dead on.
5 stars. If you've ever worked in tech, this book was written for you.
This book was way too relatable. I work in tech and reading this was painful in the best way.
The setup: it's about the race to make time travel accessible and monetizable in Silicon Valley.
Multiple POVs, multiple companies racing toward the same dystopia. The scope of time travel is limited to returning to the past, which lets the book do something really specific with what "the past" actually means for different people. The digs at the past not being great for everyone? Subtle but they landed.
The tech satire is SO well done. The interview loops. The "quirky" founders. The VC pitch built entirely on vibes. The escalation paths. The email threads (HILARIOUS). The sentiment dashboard. The exec asking why can't we launch ours. If you've worked in tech, you've lived all of this.
I also loved how self-aware (or honestly, lack of self-aware) the characters were, and how the book
explored the obvious next step: how the tech gets exploited, hacked, and used in ways it was never meant to be. Living through the current AI craze, this hit different.
The ending was crazy, especially with Davis. And honestly? The cure for burnout the book explores through Davis? Appealing in a dark way.
The fact that this is the author's debut is so surprising. The writing is sharp, the multiple POVs are handled cleanly (never confusing), and the satire is just dead on.
5 stars. If you've ever worked in tech, this book was written for you.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Rating 3.75 Rounded up.
A clever, entertaining fusion of time-travel sci-fi and sharp Silicon Valley satire.
The oral-history format is a clever choice, effectively illustrating how a single invention snowballs into something far bigger than anyone could have anticipated. The shifting perspectives keep the narrative engaging, making it satisfying to piece together the larger story as each character uncovers another piece of the puzzle. The time-travel concepts are imaginative without becoming overly convoluted, and the humor lands consistently, especially for anyone familiar with tech culture, venture capital buzzwords.
Where the novel fell a little short for me was in its characters. While they're entertaining and serve the story well, most feel more like instruments of the satire than fully developed people, making it difficult to become emotionally invested in their individual journeys. The mock-documentary approach, though inventive, also creates a degree of emotional distance that softens the impact of some of the book's biggest moments.
Even with those shortcomings, Paradox Inc. is an entertaining, fast-paced debut filled with clever ideas and sharp wit. It doesn't reinvent the time-travel genre, but it offers a fresh, distinctive perspective. Readers who enjoy science fiction mixed with corporate satire and who don't mind a story that emphasizes big ideas over deep character development will likely find plenty to enjoy.
Overall Paradox Inc. is a witty and imaginative debut that pairs inventive time-travel concepts with a sharp, often hilarious send-up of Silicon Valley and startup culture. Its clever premise, engaging writing, and steadily escalating stakes make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. While not every element lands perfectly, it's a memorable sci-fi adventure that delivers both laughs and thought-provoking ideas about the consequences of treating world-changing technology like the next disruptive startup.
A clever, entertaining fusion of time-travel sci-fi and sharp Silicon Valley satire.
The oral-history format is a clever choice, effectively illustrating how a single invention snowballs into something far bigger than anyone could have anticipated. The shifting perspectives keep the narrative engaging, making it satisfying to piece together the larger story as each character uncovers another piece of the puzzle. The time-travel concepts are imaginative without becoming overly convoluted, and the humor lands consistently, especially for anyone familiar with tech culture, venture capital buzzwords.
Where the novel fell a little short for me was in its characters. While they're entertaining and serve the story well, most feel more like instruments of the satire than fully developed people, making it difficult to become emotionally invested in their individual journeys. The mock-documentary approach, though inventive, also creates a degree of emotional distance that softens the impact of some of the book's biggest moments.
Even with those shortcomings, Paradox Inc. is an entertaining, fast-paced debut filled with clever ideas and sharp wit. It doesn't reinvent the time-travel genre, but it offers a fresh, distinctive perspective. Readers who enjoy science fiction mixed with corporate satire and who don't mind a story that emphasizes big ideas over deep character development will likely find plenty to enjoy.
Overall Paradox Inc. is a witty and imaginative debut that pairs inventive time-travel concepts with a sharp, often hilarious send-up of Silicon Valley and startup culture. Its clever premise, engaging writing, and steadily escalating stakes make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. While not every element lands perfectly, it's a memorable sci-fi adventure that delivers both laughs and thought-provoking ideas about the consequences of treating world-changing technology like the next disruptive startup.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Paradox Inc is the time travel tech startup satirical thriller I hoped it would be! The hook ’what if tech bros invented time travel’ is the perfect description of what this book is.
I really liked that is utilised interview style writing, excerpts and letters. It made it feel more like a deep dive into the events leading up to the ‘Mishap’ and allowed us to get little additions from side characters, which really added to the overall understanding of what truly happened. I was always so interested in how it would end and what the consequences were.
Davis was my favourite to read as I just loved seeing into the inside of the Bleb project and how that workplace functioned and that often these people are driven to creation because they can. Because they want to. How many of them even stop to consider the impact in any real way?
I still enjoyed Lena, a working mom with an evil husband reporting on the truth behind what’s happening with the Blebs and Larry Xi, and Gloria, a women stuck in a company that traps its employees into complacency and bureaucracy. Honestly, I felt so bad for her. It would drive me insane to be surrounded by people seemingly incapable and simply not caring about getting stuff done!!
It was a character driven story that hooked me from the start. I really liked the whole concept of the time travel and the blebs (and it was mostly pretty easy to grasp). The idea of such impactful damaging unchecked unregulated technology is highly relevant and the story looks at the responsibility we and the creators have to make sure their products are safe and making things better not worse.
Overall well written and unique! An interesting compilation of character experiences within the tech industry and all the pitfalls that ensues, with a high stakes time travel element - is there anything they won’t turn into a product?! - all leading up to an inevitable disaster and fallout.
Proof won in a giveaway. All thoughts are my own
I really liked that is utilised interview style writing, excerpts and letters. It made it feel more like a deep dive into the events leading up to the ‘Mishap’ and allowed us to get little additions from side characters, which really added to the overall understanding of what truly happened. I was always so interested in how it would end and what the consequences were.
Davis was my favourite to read as I just loved seeing into the inside of the Bleb project and how that workplace functioned and that often these people are driven to creation because they can. Because they want to. How many of them even stop to consider the impact in any real way?
I still enjoyed Lena, a working mom with an evil husband reporting on the truth behind what’s happening with the Blebs and Larry Xi, and Gloria, a women stuck in a company that traps its employees into complacency and bureaucracy. Honestly, I felt so bad for her. It would drive me insane to be surrounded by people seemingly incapable and simply not caring about getting stuff done!!
It was a character driven story that hooked me from the start. I really liked the whole concept of the time travel and the blebs (and it was mostly pretty easy to grasp). The idea of such impactful damaging unchecked unregulated technology is highly relevant and the story looks at the responsibility we and the creators have to make sure their products are safe and making things better not worse.
Overall well written and unique! An interesting compilation of character experiences within the tech industry and all the pitfalls that ensues, with a high stakes time travel element - is there anything they won’t turn into a product?! - all leading up to an inevitable disaster and fallout.
Proof won in a giveaway. All thoughts are my own
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book ended up being very different from what I expected, which honestly makes it a little difficult to review because I’m still sitting with it. I may come back and update my thoughts after I’ve had more time to process everything.
Overall, I enjoyed it. One of the book’s biggest strengths is how well it explores the way society would respond to this kind of technology. It’s uncomfortable in a way that feels believable. I went in expecting more satire and humor, so I was surprised that it leaned much more toward reflection, with some genuinely darker themes.
I also really appreciated the interview format. It took me a little while to settle into the rhythm of jumping between different people and remembering who everyone was, but I think that was partly on me. I had less time to read over the past few weeks, so I was constantly picking it up and putting it back down making the story harder to follow.
The time travel concepts were…a lot. I enjoyed how ambitious they were, but I’d be lying if I said I always followed them. Some of the explanations stretched my brain, and I’m still not entirely sure I understand the concept of a bleb.
I think I liked the ending. Without giving anything away, I appreciated that it felt realistic rather than trying to wrap everything up with a neat little bow. It stayed true to the tone the story had established from the beginning.
There was a stretch in the middle where the pacing slowed enough that it started to lose me, and I think the story could have been tightened a bit. Once it found its momentum again, though, it completely pulled me back in, and I flew through the rest. I’ll definitely be interested to see what this author writes next.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, I enjoyed it. One of the book’s biggest strengths is how well it explores the way society would respond to this kind of technology. It’s uncomfortable in a way that feels believable. I went in expecting more satire and humor, so I was surprised that it leaned much more toward reflection, with some genuinely darker themes.
I also really appreciated the interview format. It took me a little while to settle into the rhythm of jumping between different people and remembering who everyone was, but I think that was partly on me. I had less time to read over the past few weeks, so I was constantly picking it up and putting it back down making the story harder to follow.
The time travel concepts were…a lot. I enjoyed how ambitious they were, but I’d be lying if I said I always followed them. Some of the explanations stretched my brain, and I’m still not entirely sure I understand the concept of a bleb.
I think I liked the ending. Without giving anything away, I appreciated that it felt realistic rather than trying to wrap everything up with a neat little bow. It stayed true to the tone the story had established from the beginning.
There was a stretch in the middle where the pacing slowed enough that it started to lose me, and I think the story could have been tightened a bit. Once it found its momentum again, though, it completely pulled me back in, and I flew through the rest. I’ll definitely be interested to see what this author writes next.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Every once in a while the book gods smile upon you and deliver you a little unexpected gift. There I was on NetGalley, browsing for my usual favorite authors and genre (horror), when a new science-fiction book popped up pitched as “what happens when tech bros discover time travel.” I simply couldn’t resist.
What an absolute delight Paradox, Inc. ended up being. As you may know from being alive in the year 2026, the moment tech bros invent a new technology that can make them very rich, the moral consequences go by the wayside. That is the crux of Paradox, Inc. - what would happen as the time travel tech bubble grows?
The story is told as an oral history - a compilation of interviews and internal company documents obtained through legal discovery, which serves to immerse you in the narrative. There was a surprising amount of both humor and heart throughout. At several points, I stopped reading just to confirm that the author is just a tech nerd and that this is his debut novel. It’s so well crafted and the attention to detail is excellent.
Anyone that works in a tech (or tech-adjacent) industry will appreciate the satire and unfortunately very real corporate life. I know what a few of my tech friends are getting for their next birthday gifts (I give books as gifts a lot, I’m fun at parties).
If you were a fan of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, I’d highly recommend this one. It occupies a similar realm of speculative time travel/reality bending with a dash of horror elements, though admittedly Paradox, Inc. is a lot funnier than Dark Matter.
This was just such an inventive debut! Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC and the opportunity to read this one (very) early. Opinions are, as always, my own.
What an absolute delight Paradox, Inc. ended up being. As you may know from being alive in the year 2026, the moment tech bros invent a new technology that can make them very rich, the moral consequences go by the wayside. That is the crux of Paradox, Inc. - what would happen as the time travel tech bubble grows?
The story is told as an oral history - a compilation of interviews and internal company documents obtained through legal discovery, which serves to immerse you in the narrative. There was a surprising amount of both humor and heart throughout. At several points, I stopped reading just to confirm that the author is just a tech nerd and that this is his debut novel. It’s so well crafted and the attention to detail is excellent.
Anyone that works in a tech (or tech-adjacent) industry will appreciate the satire and unfortunately very real corporate life. I know what a few of my tech friends are getting for their next birthday gifts (I give books as gifts a lot, I’m fun at parties).
If you were a fan of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, I’d highly recommend this one. It occupies a similar realm of speculative time travel/reality bending with a dash of horror elements, though admittedly Paradox, Inc. is a lot funnier than Dark Matter.
This was just such an inventive debut! Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC and the opportunity to read this one (very) early. Opinions are, as always, my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Paradox, Inc. by Forrest Brazeal — a speculative fiction tech satire that’s worth your time
What happens when Silicon Valley tech bros finally crack time travel... (minor bugs introduced to Reality with the initial product release)? From the novel’s first pages, we learn the "time travel bubble" has burst — Wait - what? Must know more.
Paradox, Inc. is firmly tongue-in-cheek: a fusion of Silicon Valley corporate satire and time travel that feels like it could happen. Don't let the sci-fi label scare you off — there’s plenty to love even for readers who swear they don't like the genre. Woven into this story is a subplot -human interest, a divorce custody battle where the husband is using time paradoxes against his wife…an absorbing twist to time travel.
Once upon a time, I worked in a tech start up, and this book hit home. It nails that heady mix of excitement and naiveté — the conviction that you're doing something SO crucial to society, that you couldn't possibly do anything but this one MOST IMPORTANT job... even as the actual work makes zero sense to anyone in your grandparents' generation. If you've ever worked at a tech company (or anywhere with a slightly cult-ish corporate culture), you'll connect with this story.
The format is a treat, too. Told as an oral history, of written internal documents & emails shifting between viewpoints, the story engages — and is often funny. Each new perspective fleshes out the novel.
For the author- I'd read an entire second novel told from Tom Trammell's point of view alone. Wanna do a little more writing— Pretty please?
Highly recommended.
Thank you to the author, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What happens when Silicon Valley tech bros finally crack time travel... (minor bugs introduced to Reality with the initial product release)? From the novel’s first pages, we learn the "time travel bubble" has burst — Wait - what? Must know more.
Paradox, Inc. is firmly tongue-in-cheek: a fusion of Silicon Valley corporate satire and time travel that feels like it could happen. Don't let the sci-fi label scare you off — there’s plenty to love even for readers who swear they don't like the genre. Woven into this story is a subplot -human interest, a divorce custody battle where the husband is using time paradoxes against his wife…an absorbing twist to time travel.
Once upon a time, I worked in a tech start up, and this book hit home. It nails that heady mix of excitement and naiveté — the conviction that you're doing something SO crucial to society, that you couldn't possibly do anything but this one MOST IMPORTANT job... even as the actual work makes zero sense to anyone in your grandparents' generation. If you've ever worked at a tech company (or anywhere with a slightly cult-ish corporate culture), you'll connect with this story.
The format is a treat, too. Told as an oral history, of written internal documents & emails shifting between viewpoints, the story engages — and is often funny. Each new perspective fleshes out the novel.
For the author- I'd read an entire second novel told from Tom Trammell's point of view alone. Wanna do a little more writing— Pretty please?
Highly recommended.
Thank you to the author, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4
Overall, an entertaining experience. Reminded me somewhat of another time travel book I just finished, "Retro" by Jessica Goldstein but that was more about the experience and less about the in-world technology.
I will admit, at 5% in I was already confused. Davis has an interview, he's moved on to the next level, but wait no, he's rejected and the next interview is canceled but he goes anyway and gets the job. What? I was worried that this would be a pattern but the rest of the book flowed more easily.
Observations:
1 The multiple narrators did provide layers to the story because everyone had information that no one else was privy to, but framing their chapters as interviews or testimony didn't really work. They read like traditionally written chapters rather than the way people sound when they're telling a story and having it transcribed.
2 All the character voices sounded the same, so I would frequently forget whose narration I was hearing. (The exception was Trammel's travel log, which lapsed into poetry toward the end.)
3 Vitruvian is a cult: "The only thing worth doing is becoming a better citizen of Vitruvian." Also see: “If success is whatever happens, then the contrapositive must also be true. If it wasn’t a success, it never happened.” Apparently, when they say failure is not an option they mean it literally.
I finished the final chapter and felt inexplicably sad. I finally realized that the ending gave me the same feeling as reading Flowers for Algernon.
I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for access to a digital ARC. My honest review is my own opinion.
Overall, an entertaining experience. Reminded me somewhat of another time travel book I just finished, "Retro" by Jessica Goldstein but that was more about the experience and less about the in-world technology.
I will admit, at 5% in I was already confused. Davis has an interview, he's moved on to the next level, but wait no, he's rejected and the next interview is canceled but he goes anyway and gets the job. What? I was worried that this would be a pattern but the rest of the book flowed more easily.
Observations:
1 The multiple narrators did provide layers to the story because everyone had information that no one else was privy to, but framing their chapters as interviews or testimony didn't really work. They read like traditionally written chapters rather than the way people sound when they're telling a story and having it transcribed.
2 All the character voices sounded the same, so I would frequently forget whose narration I was hearing. (The exception was Trammel's travel log, which lapsed into poetry toward the end.)
3 Vitruvian is a cult: "The only thing worth doing is becoming a better citizen of Vitruvian." Also see: “If success is whatever happens, then the contrapositive must also be true. If it wasn’t a success, it never happened.” Apparently, when they say failure is not an option they mean it literally.
I finished the final chapter and felt inexplicably sad. I finally realized that the ending gave me the same feeling as reading Flowers for Algernon.
I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for access to a digital ARC. My honest review is my own opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This... this was a ride. I know that this was fiction, but was it really? This is a satirical, sci-fi tale of Silicon Valley vultures and the time travel craze. It is told in a "mockumentary" style, following the POVs of a few different employees. Here a few of my thoughts:
Could be better:
- Different POVs need stronger identities. I needed to go back a few pages many times to see who was talking. Understood that the verbiage is similar due to the plot, but Davis, Gloria, Lena... any "normal" person needed more identifiers. Their personalities were different so I am not sure why my brain wasn't separating them. Tom, Larry, Jacob - now they were easy to tell apart.
- For me, personally, a little too long? Felt like I was skimming at some parts. I don't think THAT much needed to be shaven, but just a trim could be a world of difference.
What I loved:
- The ending was absolutely insane. Mouth was hanging open.
- The exacerbated corporate culture (at least I hope it was) was hysterical. If this was even partly inspired by real stories, I cannot imagine what real Silicon Valley people deal with. So out of touch; self-aware that they lack empathy as they try to be the best and/or be the CEO's pet.
- I loved the switching between Larry and his team, Tom and his team, Lena, etc. - kept it fresh and moving.
The fact that this was a DEBUT?? Fantastic!! 4.5 stars (rounded to 5 here). I really cannot wait to see where this hits when it is officially published. This may be a book that people are talking about. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for the advanced copy. I cannot wait to share this book on socials later in the year.
Could be better:
- Different POVs need stronger identities. I needed to go back a few pages many times to see who was talking. Understood that the verbiage is similar due to the plot, but Davis, Gloria, Lena... any "normal" person needed more identifiers. Their personalities were different so I am not sure why my brain wasn't separating them. Tom, Larry, Jacob - now they were easy to tell apart.
- For me, personally, a little too long? Felt like I was skimming at some parts. I don't think THAT much needed to be shaven, but just a trim could be a world of difference.
What I loved:
- The ending was absolutely insane. Mouth was hanging open.
- The exacerbated corporate culture (at least I hope it was) was hysterical. If this was even partly inspired by real stories, I cannot imagine what real Silicon Valley people deal with. So out of touch; self-aware that they lack empathy as they try to be the best and/or be the CEO's pet.
- I loved the switching between Larry and his team, Tom and his team, Lena, etc. - kept it fresh and moving.
The fact that this was a DEBUT?? Fantastic!! 4.5 stars (rounded to 5 here). I really cannot wait to see where this hits when it is officially published. This may be a book that people are talking about. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for the advanced copy. I cannot wait to share this book on socials later in the year.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews