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The Anomaly: A Time-Phase Slip
Four lives. Three centuries. Four deaths.
"Reminded of Alfred Bester and Fritz Leiber, with heroic yet pragmatic characters worthy of Heinlein. This may be his best yet." Alastair Mayer, Author of The T-Space Series
A Waystation temporal agent's recall beacon fails. He doesn't die—he propagates, his consciousness scattering forward through time, embedding in successive human hosts, each unaware of what they carry.
Jax Harlan dies in vacuum in the asteroid belt, never understanding his visions. Mira Thorne recognizes a stranger's death as her own on a research sub beneath Europa's ice. Kai Okafor walks into lethal electromagnetic fire to save a million colonists on Proxima b. On a starship in deep interstellar space, Asha Dey remembers all three lives—and chooses to end the chain on her own terms.
Meanwhile, Waystation fractures: was the anomaly a malfunction to be corrected, or a series of people with rights?
Hard science fiction becoming something harder: a meditation on what it costs to persist.
"Reminded of Alfred Bester and Fritz Leiber, with heroic yet pragmatic characters worthy of Heinlein. This may be his best yet." Alastair Mayer, Author of The T-Space Series
A Waystation temporal agent's recall beacon fails. He doesn't die—he propagates, his consciousness scattering forward through time, embedding in successive human hosts, each unaware of what they carry.
Jax Harlan dies in vacuum in the asteroid belt, never understanding his visions. Mira Thorne recognizes a stranger's death as her own on a research sub beneath Europa's ice. Kai Okafor walks into lethal electromagnetic fire to save a million colonists on Proxima b. On a starship in deep interstellar space, Asha Dey remembers all three lives—and chooses to end the chain on her own terms.
Meanwhile, Waystation fractures: was the anomaly a malfunction to be corrected, or a series of people with rights?
Hard science fiction becoming something harder: a meditation on what it costs to persist.
411 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2026
About the author
Robert G. Williscroft
51 books83 followersDr. Robert G. Williscroft is a retired submarine officer, deep-sea and saturation diver, scientist, author, and a lifelong adventurer. He spent twenty-two months underwater, a year in the equatorial Pacific, three years in the Arctic ice pack, and a year at the Geographic South Pole. He holds degrees in Marine Physics and Meteorology and a doctorate for developing a system to protect scuba divers in contaminated water. A prolific author of both non-fiction, submarine technothrillers, and hard science fiction, he lives in Centennial, Colorado.
Dr. Williscroft is a member of Colorado Author’s League, Independent Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Authors, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, Libertarian Futurist Society, Los Angeles Adventurers’ Club, Mensa, Military Officer’s Association, U.S. Sub Vets, American Legion, and the NRA, and now spends most of his time writing his next book, speaking to various regional groups, and hanging out with the girl of his dreams, Jill, and her two cats.
Dr. Williscroft is a member of Colorado Author’s League, Independent Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Authors, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, Libertarian Futurist Society, Los Angeles Adventurers’ Club, Mensa, Military Officer’s Association, U.S. Sub Vets, American Legion, and the NRA, and now spends most of his time writing his next book, speaking to various regional groups, and hanging out with the girl of his dreams, Jill, and her two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 19, 2026
Robert G. Williscroft delivers a fascinating science-fiction story that combines ambitious ideas about time, consciousness, identity, and survival with characters who feel grounded and human. The concept of a temporal agent whose consciousness continues through successive hosts after a failed recall beacon is especially compelling. I enjoyed seeing how Jax, Mira, Kai, and Asha each experience pieces of a much larger mystery without initially understanding the connection between them. The changing perspectives and different settings from the asteroid belt and Europa to Proxima b and deep interstellar space give the story a sweeping sense of scale while keeping the central question personal.
What I appreciated most was that the book doesn't treat its time travel premise as merely a technical puzzle. The anomaly raises meaningful questions about whether consciousness, memory, and identity can survive beyond one physical life, and whether something that begins as a malfunction can eventually become a matter of individual rights and choice. Asha's realization of the lives that came before her gives the story an emotional weight that complements its hard-science-fiction foundation. The result is an intriguing and thought-provoking read that balances futuristic adventure with deeper questions about what it truly means to persist, remember, and ultimately choose one's own destiny.
What I appreciated most was that the book doesn't treat its time travel premise as merely a technical puzzle. The anomaly raises meaningful questions about whether consciousness, memory, and identity can survive beyond one physical life, and whether something that begins as a malfunction can eventually become a matter of individual rights and choice. Asha's realization of the lives that came before her gives the story an emotional weight that complements its hard-science-fiction foundation. The result is an intriguing and thought-provoking read that balances futuristic adventure with deeper questions about what it truly means to persist, remember, and ultimately choose one's own destiny.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
As the first few chapters unfolded, I was gripped, enthralled, and thinking this was the best sci-fi I’d read. It included world-building of my favourite sort, deep planetary science, enterprising heroes, and a mystery propagating forwards through their lives.
After the second hero, I had to pause. This was depressing, getting to know these great people, and then…having to start again with the next. But… another great adventure, another twist. And magnificent science and engineering. One taste of a superconducting vent drive (I’m making that one up) and you’re away with the tech stuff, operated by people with talents.
And suddenly, the author seems to think we don’t understand people. Maybe his psychology isn’t as secure as his engineering, but for a while I got really miffed at the repetition of basic behavioural concepts and feelings. Hammering his point home. With a sledge hammer. Talking down to your readers when you’ve pulled them through planetary oceanography only hours before is a real downer.
So, what was vying for book of the year becomes just another four star read. Plus a chapter of another book, plus a glossary, which might have been interesting without the chapter padding.
But the first half, and the overall concept, were so good…
After the second hero, I had to pause. This was depressing, getting to know these great people, and then…having to start again with the next. But… another great adventure, another twist. And magnificent science and engineering. One taste of a superconducting vent drive (I’m making that one up) and you’re away with the tech stuff, operated by people with talents.
And suddenly, the author seems to think we don’t understand people. Maybe his psychology isn’t as secure as his engineering, but for a while I got really miffed at the repetition of basic behavioural concepts and feelings. Hammering his point home. With a sledge hammer. Talking down to your readers when you’ve pulled them through planetary oceanography only hours before is a real downer.
So, what was vying for book of the year becomes just another four star read. Plus a chapter of another book, plus a glossary, which might have been interesting without the chapter padding.
But the first half, and the overall concept, were so good…
September 2, 2026
It was a great read. Interesting, engaging, a bit emotional, but my favorite part was the moral dilemma and how the author decided not to make it easy for the reader to pick a side.
This book raises the question of what's ethical, what's the right thing to do when both options are right and wrong at the same time. Who gets to decide when being autonomous becomes a problem?
It is also about sacrifice, the burden of responsibility, the complexity of truth, and the balance between destiny and choice. But for me, one of the most interesting aspects about the book is the relationship between memory and identity. How much of us is what we remember? Are we still us without our memories? And are we still us if we held someone else's memories?
It is very well done, and I felt like the ending was perfect and aligned with the story. BUT, at the same time, I would've loved a bit more. That's all I'm going to say :)
Even though the vocabulary got a bit too techy at times (and I got tired of checking the glossary), the story is easy to follow, very engaging, and it's impossible not to love the four main characters. For me, this one is a yes.
This book raises the question of what's ethical, what's the right thing to do when both options are right and wrong at the same time. Who gets to decide when being autonomous becomes a problem?
It is also about sacrifice, the burden of responsibility, the complexity of truth, and the balance between destiny and choice. But for me, one of the most interesting aspects about the book is the relationship between memory and identity. How much of us is what we remember? Are we still us without our memories? And are we still us if we held someone else's memories?
It is very well done, and I felt like the ending was perfect and aligned with the story. BUT, at the same time, I would've loved a bit more. That's all I'm going to say :)
Even though the vocabulary got a bit too techy at times (and I got tired of checking the glossary), the story is easy to follow, very engaging, and it's impossible not to love the four main characters. For me, this one is a yes.
August 22, 2026
When does a space yarn stretching centuries into the future become something extraordinary? When time itself becomes a variable, not a constraint. Jealously guarded. Bidirectional. A stream with eddies that cannot be resisted. When engineering precision reaches limits that only human sacrifice can exceed. Such is the newest novel from Robert G. Williscroft. And arguably, his greatest.
I have followed Williscroft since his novel Ivy Bells, a book that pushed the limits of legality in writing. The Anomaly pushes other limits, exposing the reader to concepts beyond science, as we currently know it. Williscroft’s engineering and scientific acumen is well earned, but his venture into the other is spell binding. The Anomaly will captivate you as you ponder what it is, and why it has the power to change reality itself. The Anomaly is a Masterclass in Space Suspense. —John R. Clarke, Ph.D.
I have followed Williscroft since his novel Ivy Bells, a book that pushed the limits of legality in writing. The Anomaly pushes other limits, exposing the reader to concepts beyond science, as we currently know it. Williscroft’s engineering and scientific acumen is well earned, but his venture into the other is spell binding. The Anomaly will captivate you as you ponder what it is, and why it has the power to change reality itself. The Anomaly is a Masterclass in Space Suspense. —John R. Clarke, Ph.D.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Anomaly is solid sci-fi story. It follows four different people as they navigate life with the knowledge and skills of an extra consciousness. There is solid world building, science, and sci-fi technology we can hope for some day. All four characters are living at the frontiers of their respective time periods. The author did an excellent job of mixing the sci-fi, mystery, and human aspects of the story together. Through the characters' individual stories and the larger impact of the consciousness existing, the author is able to explore human morality and relationships. And Jax's story has a definite Firefly feel to it.
Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
September 1, 2026
Robert G. Williscroft has a different approach to time travel. Outside of time is the waystation keeping things on track. One of their agents' spirit is propagated forward in time, as The Anomaly(ebook from Starman Press) inhabits four people who die heroically. An asteroid belt salvage operator, a submarine captain on Europa, an engineer working on shielding the first extra-solar colony from a surging Proxima solar bursts, and the captain of the first FTL starship. Each segment is well detailed and complete in itself. I would nominate this tale for an award.
September 1, 2026
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I really, liked the first part with Jax. The second part with Mira was good but after that things felt repetitive. I understand why and while the characters were well written and I care about them I have to say I started to get bored. And I don't like the ending. Sorry.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews