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The Tourist
"Echoes of Bradbury and Orwell, in the service of a crackerjack conspiracy plot; a seductively intriguing work of speculative fiction." ---Kirkus
"A novel that's as fresh and compelling as it is high concept....Immensely enjoyable." ---SFX (four stars)
THE FUTURE HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
It is expected to be an excursion like any other. There is nothing in the records to indicate that anything out of the ordinary will happen.
A bus will take them to the mall. They will have an hour or so to look around. Perhaps buy something, or try the food.
A minor traffic incident on the way back to the resort will provide some additional interest - but the tour rep has no reason to expect any trouble.
Until he notices that one of his party is missing.
Most disturbingly, she is a woman who, according to the records, did not go missing.
Now she is a woman whose disappearance could change the world.
With breathtaking plot twists that ricochet through time, this is the most ingenious conspiracy novel you will read this year.
"A novel that's as fresh and compelling as it is high concept....Immensely enjoyable." ---SFX (four stars)
THE FUTURE HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
It is expected to be an excursion like any other. There is nothing in the records to indicate that anything out of the ordinary will happen.
A bus will take them to the mall. They will have an hour or so to look around. Perhaps buy something, or try the food.
A minor traffic incident on the way back to the resort will provide some additional interest - but the tour rep has no reason to expect any trouble.
Until he notices that one of his party is missing.
Most disturbingly, she is a woman who, according to the records, did not go missing.
Now she is a woman whose disappearance could change the world.
With breathtaking plot twists that ricochet through time, this is the most ingenious conspiracy novel you will read this year.
342 pages, Hardcover
First published October 18, 2016
76 people are currently reading
2108 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 306 reviews
February 10, 2017
Masterpiece? No. But is it as bad as all the reviews seem to say? No.
So what is it? Is this time-travel mystery worth reading? Well, I'll let you in on a secret. The audiobook narrator, Peter Kenny, is absolutely fantastic. This is going to color my outlook very positively.
That being said, maybe no one can put all these pieces of humpty-dumpty back together again. I'm not saying it isn't worth the try, or that the complexity level and the implied ramifications aren't relatively huge, but certain things drag the reader's attention.
I've seen the use of second-person narration done fairly well, but generally it is limited only to short stints so as not to wear out its welcome. In this case, that's also true, at least to keep us grounded in the present, older, character, in a way done quite similar to The Fifth Season. How did this one fare? Hmmm, there's another problem I need to address.
Because this is time travel, with characters popping in and out of our MC's timeline with different ages, what I really wanted was really solid descriptive anchor points, whether of character, situation, or any kind of affectation. While some of it was there, it wasn't nearly enough to let me follow exactly where each iteration matched. A stronger plot than a closed-box mystery with dire tones might have saved the day. Heavier speculation on the part of the MC might have teased some mysteries out of the situations in a way that kept the reader on point.
Unfortunately, the MC was steadfastly un-curious and by the book, even though we open with a protracted far-future jail scene before we jump in to the hot seat of the tourist director of time-travelers. From that point forward, we jump from different time points, meeting up with other characters from mismatched timelines, from the same characters young and old, and discover many hints of another faction of time travelers that are so interested in history and wanting to put down roots there that I've got the impression that they're the biggest source of conflict in the novel, but instead of a real blowout or a shake-me-to-my-knees reveal, I'm still wondering what's going on.
And I just finished it.
I like needing to use my brain to enjoy books. Seriously, I do. But I also prefer hard mysteries like this to also be able to keep my focus some other way. Creeping around cities of tragedy without much wallowing in the tragedy, or knowing that there's secrets around every corner is all fine and dandy... as long as we get enough regular reveals to tide us over until we get the big one that is the main plot. I'm not saying that it always has to be this way, just that if the author is going to do something this ambitious, he needs to dangle a lot more candy to make it WORTH getting to the end.
I'm not sure that I feel quite satisfied, despite a rather interesting and complex tapestry of a personal time-mosaic.
Is it bad? Not at all.
Could it be a lot better? More vivid? Something to chew on, whether descriptively or even *gasp* emotionally? At least to pull us along to the next reveal? Or have more reveals? Yes, yes, yes.
It is a challenge, though. Make no mistake. I'm thinking perhaps that a large whiteboard with many colored erasable markers might be a good idea. :)
So what is it? Is this time-travel mystery worth reading? Well, I'll let you in on a secret. The audiobook narrator, Peter Kenny, is absolutely fantastic. This is going to color my outlook very positively.
That being said, maybe no one can put all these pieces of humpty-dumpty back together again. I'm not saying it isn't worth the try, or that the complexity level and the implied ramifications aren't relatively huge, but certain things drag the reader's attention.
I've seen the use of second-person narration done fairly well, but generally it is limited only to short stints so as not to wear out its welcome. In this case, that's also true, at least to keep us grounded in the present, older, character, in a way done quite similar to The Fifth Season. How did this one fare? Hmmm, there's another problem I need to address.
Because this is time travel, with characters popping in and out of our MC's timeline with different ages, what I really wanted was really solid descriptive anchor points, whether of character, situation, or any kind of affectation. While some of it was there, it wasn't nearly enough to let me follow exactly where each iteration matched. A stronger plot than a closed-box mystery with dire tones might have saved the day. Heavier speculation on the part of the MC might have teased some mysteries out of the situations in a way that kept the reader on point.
Unfortunately, the MC was steadfastly un-curious and by the book, even though we open with a protracted far-future jail scene before we jump in to the hot seat of the tourist director of time-travelers. From that point forward, we jump from different time points, meeting up with other characters from mismatched timelines, from the same characters young and old, and discover many hints of another faction of time travelers that are so interested in history and wanting to put down roots there that I've got the impression that they're the biggest source of conflict in the novel, but instead of a real blowout or a shake-me-to-my-knees reveal, I'm still wondering what's going on.
And I just finished it.
I like needing to use my brain to enjoy books. Seriously, I do. But I also prefer hard mysteries like this to also be able to keep my focus some other way. Creeping around cities of tragedy without much wallowing in the tragedy, or knowing that there's secrets around every corner is all fine and dandy... as long as we get enough regular reveals to tide us over until we get the big one that is the main plot. I'm not saying that it always has to be this way, just that if the author is going to do something this ambitious, he needs to dangle a lot more candy to make it WORTH getting to the end.
I'm not sure that I feel quite satisfied, despite a rather interesting and complex tapestry of a personal time-mosaic.
Is it bad? Not at all.
Could it be a lot better? More vivid? Something to chew on, whether descriptively or even *gasp* emotionally? At least to pull us along to the next reveal? Or have more reveals? Yes, yes, yes.
It is a challenge, though. Make no mistake. I'm thinking perhaps that a large whiteboard with many colored erasable markers might be a good idea. :)
November 4, 2016
Spoiler free review followed by Spoilers and FAQ
Can I interest you in an Audiobook on “hard mode”?
Do you like time travel, conspiracies and detective stories?
Instead of reading a detective story, have you ever wanted to be the detective?
Do you think you might enjoy the audiobook equivalent of putting together a 1000 piece puzzle?
Do you love stories that ask a LOT of the reader but provide a unique experience? (Like “Cloud Atlas” where you have to keep the whole narrative straight in your head then rewatch/reread to “get it”)
Have you ever wanted to wear a tinfoil hat or set up a giant conspiracy board with post it notes and string like this guy?
If that seems like “work” and not “fun” then you will probably want to skip “The Tourist” by Robert Dickinson.
IF however you answered “YES” to all of the above questions:
OH MY GOD HAVE I GOT THE STORY FOR YOU
“The Tourist” is a book that you have to read twice to appreciate. The first time you are essentially learning the “parameters of the case”. If you are not an intellectual giant with a photographic memory who concentrated the ENTIRE way through it is going to be near impossible to understand. I really don't think anyone can get it in one go. The mostly “WTF” reaction to the book so far is perfectly understandable.
I THOUGHT I was following it OK on the first listen. I was really enjoying it. I INITIALLY thought the people who rated it 1 star were a bunch of dumbarses who weren’t “smart enough” to figure it out…Quite a few of my hunches were turning out to be correct. I expected the last hour of the book to answer ALL of my remaining questions, provide THE BIG REVEAL and validate the genius behind the book….
It DID NOT. The ending was a BIG BUMMER and I was left totally confused. I was now in the same camp as all of the “dumbarses” who rated it 1 star. WTF Robert Dickinson WTF.
I only heard of this book because it is narrated by Peter Kenny. Anyone who listens to a lot of Audiobooks has probably heard and loved a book narrated by PK. As a professional I am sure Kenny enjoys some of the jobs he is hired for a lot more than others. I follow him on Twitter and Facebook and he seemed to genuinely love this book. He posted that “you have to listen to it twice to get all of the detail” (I’m going to modify that to “you have to listen to it twice to have ANY IDEA").
DAMNIT that sounds like so much “work” and I have so many other books to read
IF I ever WAS going to listen to an audiobook twice in a row, at least it would be one that is narrated by the great Peter Kenny. I had to believe that a book this well written wasn’t a bunch of nonsense about time jumps and a mysterious box. As we are told: Forget the box, it’s not important
Reluctantly, begrudgingly I started the Audiobook again the next day. Very early into the 2nd reading I caught a BIG CLUE that only made sense after knowing the ending. I started writing notes…before long I had totally turned into
I actually FELT like a detective listening to transcripts “Stop rewind, play that again!” AHA!
AHA! AHA! WTF??? AHA!
The Tourist is a totally unique experience. I have never read anything like it. It makes my head hurt and makes me happy AND horrified at the same time. I would have to stop listening and think about what I had just heard. Which of these theories was most likely? Do I have this straight now?
The synopsis doesn’t do the book justice and I don’t know how it could be written better.
The plot involves 3 timelines. The 24th century “present”, The 21st century “past” colonised by 24th century Tourists (and “Ex-temps” permanently relocated from the 24th century) and the mysterious “future” of the 25th century. A Near Extinction Event (The NEE) occurred shortly after the 21st century. No one knows what caused it and it took civilization over 200 years to recover. There are gaps in history.
Our story largely takes place in the 21st century where our protagonist Spens is a “rep”, a tour guide for tourists from the future. The 21st is the perfect destination because the language is not too different and "the natives are sophisticated enough not to burn them as witches or worship them as gods”.
Spens has seen his file and knows some of his future. He knows he will be sent home to the 24th shortly for a “breach of protocol”. Then he will join a “kin” and die 40 years later. Since he could conceivably do more travelling to the past he doesn’t really know how old he will be when he dies.
Our second story involves a prisoner in the 25th century. This story is told mostly in the 2nd person. Kenny helpfully uses a sophisticated French-ish accent for this story so we are never confused when jumping between stories.
Dickinson writes brilliantly. If he has a flaw it is perhaps having a bit too much faith in the reader’s intelligence. He crafted a wonderfully detailed world where the past and future intersect.
He got a lot of comedic mileage out of the weirdness of the 21st century to 24th century travellers. His dry wit was perfect for Kenny’s delivery (One Redditor called him “the definition of droll”). I kept laughing at the scene where a tough guy answers the door. Surprised, he says “Jesus f*cking Christ” and the traveller thinks “Ah a Religious…I returned the greeting”.
If I haven’t made it abundantly clear I am a huge Peter Kenny fan. While he is not voicing AI’s or Dwarves in this one he is giving his usual incredible performance. I am not sure how much direction he was given on this but his choices MADE the book. I wouldn’t have wanted to listen to it again or picked everything up I needed to without him. Hell I wouldn't have picked up the AB in the first place! Once I understood the full implications of the ending I got a little choked up, not the first time the ending of a Kenny-narrated book did that to me!
“Agency” has been a concern since the early years of travel. It is still the subject of most entertainments. If you know your loved one is going to be killed in an accident do you try and stop them going to work? If they are going to commit a crime do you try and talk them out of it? The entertainments always give the same answer, you can’t change the past. You warn them about the accident they take a different route that results in the accident. You warn them not to commit the crime it turns out you gave them the idea
This is the central premise of “The Tourist” that the past CAN be changed…or can it?
There are thousands of detective stories but this is completely unique. The real question is, are YOU prepared to find the answers? C’mon crack the case and play Columbo with me.
GIANT ARSE SPOILERS BELOW! MOST WORDS I HAVE WRITTEN SINCE "SEVENEVES"
Can I interest you in an Audiobook on “hard mode”?
Do you like time travel, conspiracies and detective stories?
Instead of reading a detective story, have you ever wanted to be the detective?
Do you think you might enjoy the audiobook equivalent of putting together a 1000 piece puzzle?
Do you love stories that ask a LOT of the reader but provide a unique experience? (Like “Cloud Atlas” where you have to keep the whole narrative straight in your head then rewatch/reread to “get it”)
Have you ever wanted to wear a tinfoil hat or set up a giant conspiracy board with post it notes and string like this guy?
If that seems like “work” and not “fun” then you will probably want to skip “The Tourist” by Robert Dickinson.
IF however you answered “YES” to all of the above questions:
OH MY GOD HAVE I GOT THE STORY FOR YOU
“The Tourist” is a book that you have to read twice to appreciate. The first time you are essentially learning the “parameters of the case”. If you are not an intellectual giant with a photographic memory who concentrated the ENTIRE way through it is going to be near impossible to understand. I really don't think anyone can get it in one go. The mostly “WTF” reaction to the book so far is perfectly understandable.
I THOUGHT I was following it OK on the first listen. I was really enjoying it. I INITIALLY thought the people who rated it 1 star were a bunch of dumbarses who weren’t “smart enough” to figure it out…Quite a few of my hunches were turning out to be correct. I expected the last hour of the book to answer ALL of my remaining questions, provide THE BIG REVEAL and validate the genius behind the book….
It DID NOT. The ending was a BIG BUMMER and I was left totally confused. I was now in the same camp as all of the “dumbarses” who rated it 1 star. WTF Robert Dickinson WTF.
I only heard of this book because it is narrated by Peter Kenny. Anyone who listens to a lot of Audiobooks has probably heard and loved a book narrated by PK. As a professional I am sure Kenny enjoys some of the jobs he is hired for a lot more than others. I follow him on Twitter and Facebook and he seemed to genuinely love this book. He posted that “you have to listen to it twice to get all of the detail” (I’m going to modify that to “you have to listen to it twice to have ANY IDEA").
DAMNIT that sounds like so much “work” and I have so many other books to read
IF I ever WAS going to listen to an audiobook twice in a row, at least it would be one that is narrated by the great Peter Kenny. I had to believe that a book this well written wasn’t a bunch of nonsense about time jumps and a mysterious box. As we are told: Forget the box, it’s not important
Reluctantly, begrudgingly I started the Audiobook again the next day. Very early into the 2nd reading I caught a BIG CLUE that only made sense after knowing the ending. I started writing notes…before long I had totally turned into
I actually FELT like a detective listening to transcripts “Stop rewind, play that again!” AHA!
AHA! AHA! WTF??? AHA!
The Tourist is a totally unique experience. I have never read anything like it. It makes my head hurt and makes me happy AND horrified at the same time. I would have to stop listening and think about what I had just heard. Which of these theories was most likely? Do I have this straight now?
The synopsis doesn’t do the book justice and I don’t know how it could be written better.
The plot involves 3 timelines. The 24th century “present”, The 21st century “past” colonised by 24th century Tourists (and “Ex-temps” permanently relocated from the 24th century) and the mysterious “future” of the 25th century. A Near Extinction Event (The NEE) occurred shortly after the 21st century. No one knows what caused it and it took civilization over 200 years to recover. There are gaps in history.
Our story largely takes place in the 21st century where our protagonist Spens is a “rep”, a tour guide for tourists from the future. The 21st is the perfect destination because the language is not too different and "the natives are sophisticated enough not to burn them as witches or worship them as gods”.
Spens has seen his file and knows some of his future. He knows he will be sent home to the 24th shortly for a “breach of protocol”. Then he will join a “kin” and die 40 years later. Since he could conceivably do more travelling to the past he doesn’t really know how old he will be when he dies.
Our second story involves a prisoner in the 25th century. This story is told mostly in the 2nd person. Kenny helpfully uses a sophisticated French-ish accent for this story so we are never confused when jumping between stories.
Dickinson writes brilliantly. If he has a flaw it is perhaps having a bit too much faith in the reader’s intelligence. He crafted a wonderfully detailed world where the past and future intersect.
He got a lot of comedic mileage out of the weirdness of the 21st century to 24th century travellers. His dry wit was perfect for Kenny’s delivery (One Redditor called him “the definition of droll”). I kept laughing at the scene where a tough guy answers the door. Surprised, he says “Jesus f*cking Christ” and the traveller thinks “Ah a Religious…I returned the greeting”.
If I haven’t made it abundantly clear I am a huge Peter Kenny fan. While he is not voicing AI’s or Dwarves in this one he is giving his usual incredible performance. I am not sure how much direction he was given on this but his choices MADE the book. I wouldn’t have wanted to listen to it again or picked everything up I needed to without him. Hell I wouldn't have picked up the AB in the first place! Once I understood the full implications of the ending I got a little choked up, not the first time the ending of a Kenny-narrated book did that to me!
“Agency” has been a concern since the early years of travel. It is still the subject of most entertainments. If you know your loved one is going to be killed in an accident do you try and stop them going to work? If they are going to commit a crime do you try and talk them out of it? The entertainments always give the same answer, you can’t change the past. You warn them about the accident they take a different route that results in the accident. You warn them not to commit the crime it turns out you gave them the idea
This is the central premise of “The Tourist” that the past CAN be changed…or can it?
There are thousands of detective stories but this is completely unique. The real question is, are YOU prepared to find the answers? C’mon crack the case and play Columbo with me.
GIANT ARSE SPOILERS BELOW! MOST WORDS I HAVE WRITTEN SINCE "SEVENEVES"
September 7, 2016
A really interesting concept, but almost impossible to enjoy. The author is clearly reluctant to give up any secrets and the result is a book that reveals almost nothing, plunges you into a confusing scenario without explanation, and expects you to keep reading to find out what's going on. Trouble is, with so little given up, it's very hard to become invested. How are we supposed to seek out the answers when we don't even know what the questions are?
November 2, 2016
3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/11/02/...
When I first found out about this book, I thought it had one of the most unique premises I’ve ever seen. But then the early reviews started trickling in, and it seems the one common opinion among a lot of them were “I had no idea what was going on,” or “I was so confused.” In part, that led me to my decision to listen to The Tourist audiobook in the hopes that the format will alleviate some of the issues, but also, I learned that it would be read by Peter Kenny, one of my favorite narrators.
In the end, the audiobook production itself was as fantastic as I expected; it was the story that left me with mixed feelings. The Tourist, as it turns out, is a time travel book, and “tourism” refers to the excursions back to the past by persons in the future. The 24th century is apparently a rather dreary and dull place, and the possibility of time travel has opened up a myriad options for your everyday jaded vacationer. The most popular destination by far is the 21st century, where the travelers can’t seem to get enough of our quaint shopping malls and fast food joints.
Our protagonist is a tour guide, ferrying his charges back and forth through time, making sure they follow all the complicated rules of time traveling and that they all get back home safely. Then one day, after tallying up his roster following a routine day on the job, he notices that a female passenger in his party has gone missing. She has, ostensibly, been left behind, but as our tour guide digs deeper to recover his lost client, it quickly becomes clear that there is more to the situation.
Ultimately, I think my decision to listen to the audiobook paid off in some ways, while putting me at a disadvantage in others. The story goes on multiple tangents throughout, and had I been reading The Tourist in prose form, these sections might have put me off the book immediately. Needless to say, I am much less likely to lose focus when I am listening to someone reading, especially when the narration is done well.
On the other hand, the audio format did nothing to help the story’s overall feeling of disjointedness; if anything, it might have made it feel worse. For one thing, this book lacks any kind of coherent plotting, and the narrative jumps from person to person, place to place, time to time. In audio, these frequent switches were made even more obvious and jarring. Peter Kenny did his best, but even with his excellent voice work to help differentiate who the story was following, it was hard to keep up. Furthermore, one of the main perspectives was presented in the second-person, a confusing narrative mode even under the best circumstances, and here it only muddied the waters even more.
I have a feeling this book will pose a head-scratcher even for fans of time travel stories, which is a shame because there are some truly original and fascinating concepts in here. Still, it doesn’t matter how amazing a novel’s ideas are, they mean very little if readers cannot make heads or tails out of its story or what the author is trying to accomplish. The Tourist is pitched as a suspenseful mystery thriller, but I am sad to say I didn’t feel any of the “thrills” at all. To be fair though, there actually is a mystery involved, except it just wasn’t the kind that pulled you in, or made you want to know more. Instead, it left me feeling more frustrated than anything else.
Still, while I may be disappointed with the story of The Tourist, I’m not sorry I listened to the audiobook. Even though I can’t wholly bring myself to recommend the novel, the ideas are cool enough that it might be worth picking up this book to experience them, especially if you’re into time traveling stories that are different, and if you’re feeling in the mood for a challenge. Also, given the convoluted nature of this novel, I am even more impressed with Peter Kenny’s narration. The book itself might not have worked for me, but I found little to complain about Kenny’s reading; he delivered an excellent performance as always, on top of which he narrated with an aplomb that gave me confidence that he knew what was going on even if I didn’t—sometimes that alone is enough to keep momentum going, when otherwise I would have set a print book aside.
When I first found out about this book, I thought it had one of the most unique premises I’ve ever seen. But then the early reviews started trickling in, and it seems the one common opinion among a lot of them were “I had no idea what was going on,” or “I was so confused.” In part, that led me to my decision to listen to The Tourist audiobook in the hopes that the format will alleviate some of the issues, but also, I learned that it would be read by Peter Kenny, one of my favorite narrators.
In the end, the audiobook production itself was as fantastic as I expected; it was the story that left me with mixed feelings. The Tourist, as it turns out, is a time travel book, and “tourism” refers to the excursions back to the past by persons in the future. The 24th century is apparently a rather dreary and dull place, and the possibility of time travel has opened up a myriad options for your everyday jaded vacationer. The most popular destination by far is the 21st century, where the travelers can’t seem to get enough of our quaint shopping malls and fast food joints.
Our protagonist is a tour guide, ferrying his charges back and forth through time, making sure they follow all the complicated rules of time traveling and that they all get back home safely. Then one day, after tallying up his roster following a routine day on the job, he notices that a female passenger in his party has gone missing. She has, ostensibly, been left behind, but as our tour guide digs deeper to recover his lost client, it quickly becomes clear that there is more to the situation.
Ultimately, I think my decision to listen to the audiobook paid off in some ways, while putting me at a disadvantage in others. The story goes on multiple tangents throughout, and had I been reading The Tourist in prose form, these sections might have put me off the book immediately. Needless to say, I am much less likely to lose focus when I am listening to someone reading, especially when the narration is done well.
On the other hand, the audio format did nothing to help the story’s overall feeling of disjointedness; if anything, it might have made it feel worse. For one thing, this book lacks any kind of coherent plotting, and the narrative jumps from person to person, place to place, time to time. In audio, these frequent switches were made even more obvious and jarring. Peter Kenny did his best, but even with his excellent voice work to help differentiate who the story was following, it was hard to keep up. Furthermore, one of the main perspectives was presented in the second-person, a confusing narrative mode even under the best circumstances, and here it only muddied the waters even more.
I have a feeling this book will pose a head-scratcher even for fans of time travel stories, which is a shame because there are some truly original and fascinating concepts in here. Still, it doesn’t matter how amazing a novel’s ideas are, they mean very little if readers cannot make heads or tails out of its story or what the author is trying to accomplish. The Tourist is pitched as a suspenseful mystery thriller, but I am sad to say I didn’t feel any of the “thrills” at all. To be fair though, there actually is a mystery involved, except it just wasn’t the kind that pulled you in, or made you want to know more. Instead, it left me feeling more frustrated than anything else.
Still, while I may be disappointed with the story of The Tourist, I’m not sorry I listened to the audiobook. Even though I can’t wholly bring myself to recommend the novel, the ideas are cool enough that it might be worth picking up this book to experience them, especially if you’re into time traveling stories that are different, and if you’re feeling in the mood for a challenge. Also, given the convoluted nature of this novel, I am even more impressed with Peter Kenny’s narration. The book itself might not have worked for me, but I found little to complain about Kenny’s reading; he delivered an excellent performance as always, on top of which he narrated with an aplomb that gave me confidence that he knew what was going on even if I didn’t—sometimes that alone is enough to keep momentum going, when otherwise I would have set a print book aside.
September 4, 2016
I gave this book every chance and I really tried to like it, but it just wasn't for me. The book is confusing, difficult to follow, even more so because the book tends to want to keep everything a big "secret." In some books this may work, but in this one it just made it an impossible read and I reluctantly had to bail.
Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
September 17, 2019
LINK UPDATED
Actual rating 3.5
The blurb of this book is highly misleading, suggesting that it is a thriller with a potential time travel twist, but in reality it is all about the time travel. The fact that it was marketed as thriller more than time travel almost lead to me deciding not to read this title. But in the end, it is produced by Orbit, an imprint known for their speculative fiction, so I gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised. Someone who reads a lot of crime thrillers would likely have the opposite reaction when discovering that there is so much about time travel and timelines here, and that even the mystery hinted at in the blurb is entirely wrapped up in time travel itself.
This is not the kind of book that anyone can pick up and understand; you need to have at least some knowledge of time travel or it will lose you early on.
One of the big plot points in this story is agency. If you meet someone and you’re further along the intersecting timeline than they are, you have to be careful about what you tell them, and there’s a lot of people doing things because they were told to do things by the records that say they already did these things.
If this makes sense to you, congratulations, you will quite possibly enjoy this book!
The rest of this review can be found HERE!
Actual rating 3.5
The blurb of this book is highly misleading, suggesting that it is a thriller with a potential time travel twist, but in reality it is all about the time travel. The fact that it was marketed as thriller more than time travel almost lead to me deciding not to read this title. But in the end, it is produced by Orbit, an imprint known for their speculative fiction, so I gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised. Someone who reads a lot of crime thrillers would likely have the opposite reaction when discovering that there is so much about time travel and timelines here, and that even the mystery hinted at in the blurb is entirely wrapped up in time travel itself.
This is not the kind of book that anyone can pick up and understand; you need to have at least some knowledge of time travel or it will lose you early on.
One of the big plot points in this story is agency. If you meet someone and you’re further along the intersecting timeline than they are, you have to be careful about what you tell them, and there’s a lot of people doing things because they were told to do things by the records that say they already did these things.
If this makes sense to you, congratulations, you will quite possibly enjoy this book!
The rest of this review can be found HERE!
January 3, 2018
Hmmm... great premise but this must be one of the most confusing books I've read in a long time. I might have finished it but I still haven't a clue.
Read
April 24, 2017The book's description promised me time travel, and in that it did deliver. I think this is one of those books that people are either going to absolutely love or absolutely despise. I'm not sure how I feel about it. A little disappointed? Maybe. The plot is dense, though I'm not sure if it's dense because the author really wants the reader to figure things out on their own, or dense because the author had no idea what was going on either. Probably the first one. My major problem with the book is that while the plot is definitely twisty and unique, the characters are all so bland. The focus here is really on plot, but I simply didn't care enough about the characters to keep up.
Which isn't to say the book was bad. Just, I've read better. Compared to a time travel book like The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, this one just doesn't compare.
Which isn't to say the book was bad. Just, I've read better. Compared to a time travel book like The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, this one just doesn't compare.
June 23, 2017
This is the lowest rated book I've ever read on Goodreads and I don't think it deserves it. I've read far worse books with much higher average ratings. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Before I started reading, I looked through many of the reviews and saw that people had a hard time following the story line, so I may have been paying closer attention at first, as I was expecting to get lost. It never really happened. I'm sure there are things I missed, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment with the book.
If you enjoy stories about time travel and don't mind "actively" reading a book and paying close attention, rather than zoning out on a beach to escape, you should give The Tourist a chance
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher and author for providing me with a copy for review.
Before I started reading, I looked through many of the reviews and saw that people had a hard time following the story line, so I may have been paying closer attention at first, as I was expecting to get lost. It never really happened. I'm sure there are things I missed, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment with the book.
If you enjoy stories about time travel and don't mind "actively" reading a book and paying close attention, rather than zoning out on a beach to escape, you should give The Tourist a chance
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher and author for providing me with a copy for review.
July 19, 2016
A somewhat difficult to follow, head scratching time travel tale that jumps around between characters and centuries. The publisher is selling this as a conspiracy thriller, presumably because the more accurate "science fiction" tag might scare readers away. As confusing as the story was for me, author Robert Dickinson's social commentary and ability to capture interior thought processes made this a worthwhile read.
September 4, 2016
The hottest conspiracy thriller....what conspiracy? What PLOT??? Where is the story?
I am honestly just mad at this book for wasting my time. Mad. At a book.
The writing itself is good, I won't fault Dickinson on that and he created interesting and realistic characters; but the execution is confusing, and the exposition is...awful.
I don't know how one could put spoilers in their review. Nothing really happens. A time travel book where everything happens in the 21st century. Literally: Some stuff happens. Ooh, mystery! Wait, no. Not mystery at all....how disappointing. Later, the mystery is confirmed to be completely unmysterious.
I thought about throwing this two stars, but this book and I, we're still not talking.
I'm reading a lot of the 2-3 star reviews and seeing it was a DNF for a lot of people. You missed nothing.
I am honestly just mad at this book for wasting my time. Mad. At a book.
The writing itself is good, I won't fault Dickinson on that and he created interesting and realistic characters; but the execution is confusing, and the exposition is...awful.
I don't know how one could put spoilers in their review. Nothing really happens. A time travel book where everything happens in the 21st century. Literally: Some stuff happens. Ooh, mystery! Wait, no. Not mystery at all....how disappointing. Later, the mystery is confirmed to be completely unmysterious.
I thought about throwing this two stars, but this book and I, we're still not talking.
I'm reading a lot of the 2-3 star reviews and seeing it was a DNF for a lot of people. You missed nothing.
August 29, 2016
I read this book. Let me just say, I do not have a clue what happened. The premise was interesting. A time travel agency rep loses a tourist that supposedly never existed. Conspiracy theories threaded throughout the book. The book jumps from the travel rep's POV to the tourist's POV without warning. I started getting confused as to whom I was following. The ending seemed rushed to me. It held my interest, but mainly because I was trying so hard to figure out what was going on. I did enjoy the book otherwise. Thank you NetGalley and Robert Dickenson for allowing me to read this in return for an honest review.
March 14, 2019
A book to re-wire your brain. I liked it!
Full review on my podcast, SFBRP episode #391:
http://www.sfbrp.com/archives/1543
Full review on my podcast, SFBRP episode #391:
http://www.sfbrp.com/archives/1543
November 28, 2016
I find the low reviews shocking. I am a reluctant sci-fi reader, but I love the concept of time travel and this is a knotty, complex, dense, atmospheric time travel book that took me a long time to read but I felt it was time well spent. It has a few "inexperienced author" problems, but I admire the author's choice to not tie everything up in a neat bow at the end, but rather leave it in an open ended cycle, much like the time travel the book deals with. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come & if you like tine travel and post-apocalyptic fiction, I'd urge you to ignore the low ratings here and give the first few chapters a try. I found the whole story fascinating.
September 1, 2016
I'm so disappointed with this because I initially was very intrigued. I'm just having such a hard time with it because while it has a great idea the actual execution left something to be desired.
The first portion was difficult because it's written with the assumption that we as the reader already know what's going on. We have one character who's in jail for undisclosed reasons, and another who is a tour guide. It takes a while before it's made explicitly clear that they're from the future and their trips are into the past (or our present).
Then there's a mishmash of different interactions between our prisoner and another character, and the tour guide is inconceivably the one hunting her down. The logic behind sending the tour guide to hunt for her didn't make sense to me. Actually, I'll go so far as to say I don't know why he's in the story at all. His part is almost entirely dialogue, specifically speculation with his fellow tour guides about what the prisoner could be doing. I didn't see anything that made me think he was a worthwhile character.
The prisoner, meanwhile....I just don't understand her role at all. I don't know who she's searching for or why. I don't know how she fits in with all the other characters that have summoned her. I think there's meant to be a strong level of mystery, but it was too much. It wasn't a satisfying enough ending.
And all of that really bums me out because this sounded awesome.
The first portion was difficult because it's written with the assumption that we as the reader already know what's going on. We have one character who's in jail for undisclosed reasons, and another who is a tour guide. It takes a while before it's made explicitly clear that they're from the future and their trips are into the past (or our present).
Then there's a mishmash of different interactions between our prisoner and another character, and the tour guide is inconceivably the one hunting her down. The logic behind sending the tour guide to hunt for her didn't make sense to me. Actually, I'll go so far as to say I don't know why he's in the story at all. His part is almost entirely dialogue, specifically speculation with his fellow tour guides about what the prisoner could be doing. I didn't see anything that made me think he was a worthwhile character.
The prisoner, meanwhile....I just don't understand her role at all. I don't know who she's searching for or why. I don't know how she fits in with all the other characters that have summoned her. I think there's meant to be a strong level of mystery, but it was too much. It wasn't a satisfying enough ending.
And all of that really bums me out because this sounded awesome.
June 20, 2017
The only reason I finished this is because it was an ARC and I was obligated to stick it out. (After another person gave it back to me saying they couldn't finish it.)
It was SO confusing. Chapter headings could have been helped enormously by identifying who the character was and in what year. The first third I wasn't sure if there was just one person, or two, or more.
The big bug-a-boo about time travel is meeting yourself and changing events. So how could these characters do it repeatedly?
Even the catch phrase of the time is "Travel is confusing." Yes it is. Pass the aspirin.
It was SO confusing. Chapter headings could have been helped enormously by identifying who the character was and in what year. The first third I wasn't sure if there was just one person, or two, or more.
The big bug-a-boo about time travel is meeting yourself and changing events. So how could these characters do it repeatedly?
Even the catch phrase of the time is "Travel is confusing." Yes it is. Pass the aspirin.
Read
June 28, 2017I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Another book for the DNF shelf. I am not having good luck today in finding my next book.
Another book for the DNF shelf. I am not having good luck today in finding my next book.
August 30, 2016
This was an advanced reading copy. The novel comes out in October 2016. I'm torn between rating it a three or a four. The writing is excellent. It must have been headache-producing for Dickinson to produce such a tortured plot. As a fan of original s/f work that is thought-provoking and challenging, I initially accepted the basic premise...travelers from the future visiting the past as tourists accompanied by travel company reps who try to keep the clients in line while they (the reps) struggle with the paradox - can we change the future by our actions in the past?
The story begins with a prisoner who is offered a chance to leave a prison cell. First question: who is this prisoner? Then, what has he/she done? I'm not sure I ever really figured that out. The jumps in time coupled with the deliberate ambiguity of the dialogue and action became difficult to keep straight. While I accept and enjoy mystery, I need more than vague references to root me in the work. Pronoun use is interesting...one character is you in her chapters, one is I in his. There are others with third person voices. When I finished the book, my first reaction was, "Oh, no, I have to go back and read it again to figure out what the hell was going on." This is billed as "the most original conspiracy thriller of the year." I'd love to have a discussion with others who have read it simply to clarify this question - Who is Riemann?
The story begins with a prisoner who is offered a chance to leave a prison cell. First question: who is this prisoner? Then, what has he/she done? I'm not sure I ever really figured that out. The jumps in time coupled with the deliberate ambiguity of the dialogue and action became difficult to keep straight. While I accept and enjoy mystery, I need more than vague references to root me in the work. Pronoun use is interesting...one character is you in her chapters, one is I in his. There are others with third person voices. When I finished the book, my first reaction was, "Oh, no, I have to go back and read it again to figure out what the hell was going on." This is billed as "the most original conspiracy thriller of the year." I'd love to have a discussion with others who have read it simply to clarify this question - Who is Riemann?
December 22, 2016
To be honest, I was digging this book in the beginning. I was feeling the futuristic vibe. Yet, that is about the only thing that this book had going for it. The first person narration in this book was not working for me. It left me disconnected to the narrator. In addition, none of the other characters were that interesting. I was expecting a more suspenseful tone to this book. Instead, there were a few moments of hope but they were quickly dashed and overshadowed by the voices. The voices had no faces to them. Therefore, no way for me to gain an emotional connection to them. I did finish this book but I could not tell you most of what happened in the story. A nice concept that needs more polishing.
July 16, 2017
What a let down. I was so intrigued by this book when I read the synopsis. What I found was a confusing, bland story with characters I didn't care about at all. I read the first 30% and then skimmed the rest jumping forward chapters at a time. The aspect of time travel and murder sounded so juicy but unfortunately this was a total miss.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advanced Copy of this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advanced Copy of this book.
July 4, 2017
A fantastic sci-fi story told in a non-linear manner because time travel is complicated and the future has already happened.
Also loved the foreign observations on early 21st century living.
(Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
Also loved the foreign observations on early 21st century living.
(Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
April 20, 2023
I love time travel novels and don't mind a novel with an ambiguous ending, that The Tourist definitely fit the bill but overall I'd say it was just barely OK.
It started out strong but as it went on the plot just seemed to become more and more convoluted to the point where I really didn't know what was going on or what to care about. There was enough going on and interesting twists to maintain my interest but I think some of this was lost on me. The world building was good and the characters interesting. It wasn't all tied up with a bow at the end, which was fine, but I was lost enough during my listen to not quite follow what exactly was going on some of the time. It might make more sense to me if there was a second listen, but there won't be one.
Kudos to the audiobook narrator Peter Kenny who did a great job with the many voices and provided a lot of energy to a book which sometimes became a slog for me.
An aficionado of time travel novels with a younger, sharper brain than I might enjoy this more than I did.
It started out strong but as it went on the plot just seemed to become more and more convoluted to the point where I really didn't know what was going on or what to care about. There was enough going on and interesting twists to maintain my interest but I think some of this was lost on me. The world building was good and the characters interesting. It wasn't all tied up with a bow at the end, which was fine, but I was lost enough during my listen to not quite follow what exactly was going on some of the time. It might make more sense to me if there was a second listen, but there won't be one.
Kudos to the audiobook narrator Peter Kenny who did a great job with the many voices and provided a lot of energy to a book which sometimes became a slog for me.
An aficionado of time travel novels with a younger, sharper brain than I might enjoy this more than I did.
October 28, 2016
Actually 3.5 stars but rounded down.
This is actually a well plotted book. That is, it comes together at the end nicely. Sadly, you have to spend the majority of the book confused as heck. So much so that I fear it will probably lose readers along the way. If though, like me, you make it out the other side, it is a pretty good read. Whether it is worth the journey is something only you can decide. Speaking as only an occasional reader of sci-fi, time travel books, I think the fact that I was determined to read it was key to my persistence. That and not really knowing any better with respect for timey-wimey books (to quote Dr Who!).
So we have a NEE (near extinction event), time travel tourism, records from the future detailing some of the key events of the past and multiple character interactions across several time frames. Yes, I did say it was convoluted. The timey-wimey stuff is well explained in concept/context but the switching across multiple time frames did get a bit confusing at times, although it seemed that way for the characters as well as me as a reader so I guess that helped me stick at it too. I am not going to mention anything specific about the plot because anything have tried to formulate would spoil it one way or another - confuse at the very least!
Characterisation is also hard to define here being as how convoluted the majority are. That said, I really did warm to Spens. Probably the simplest of the characters but also the most human. He loves his classical music, he is warm and caring but also a bit put upon and easily lead which making himself a bit of a fall guy at times.
Pacing was good throughout. Ignoring the convolution and confusion, this was a relatively quick and easy read once I had agreed to accept things on face value and pray that it would all come together in the end. Which, I am please to reiterate, it did.
All in all, if you can suspend belief and follow convoluted multiple character/time threads enough to get to the end then this isn't a bad book. Probably suited more to sci-fi fans rather than mystery readers. I am definitely glad I stuck with it and would not be adverse to reading more from the author - cherry-picked of course.
My thanks go to NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read an advance copy of this book.
This is actually a well plotted book. That is, it comes together at the end nicely. Sadly, you have to spend the majority of the book confused as heck. So much so that I fear it will probably lose readers along the way. If though, like me, you make it out the other side, it is a pretty good read. Whether it is worth the journey is something only you can decide. Speaking as only an occasional reader of sci-fi, time travel books, I think the fact that I was determined to read it was key to my persistence. That and not really knowing any better with respect for timey-wimey books (to quote Dr Who!).
So we have a NEE (near extinction event), time travel tourism, records from the future detailing some of the key events of the past and multiple character interactions across several time frames. Yes, I did say it was convoluted. The timey-wimey stuff is well explained in concept/context but the switching across multiple time frames did get a bit confusing at times, although it seemed that way for the characters as well as me as a reader so I guess that helped me stick at it too. I am not going to mention anything specific about the plot because anything have tried to formulate would spoil it one way or another - confuse at the very least!
Characterisation is also hard to define here being as how convoluted the majority are. That said, I really did warm to Spens. Probably the simplest of the characters but also the most human. He loves his classical music, he is warm and caring but also a bit put upon and easily lead which making himself a bit of a fall guy at times.
Pacing was good throughout. Ignoring the convolution and confusion, this was a relatively quick and easy read once I had agreed to accept things on face value and pray that it would all come together in the end. Which, I am please to reiterate, it did.
All in all, if you can suspend belief and follow convoluted multiple character/time threads enough to get to the end then this isn't a bad book. Probably suited more to sci-fi fans rather than mystery readers. I am definitely glad I stuck with it and would not be adverse to reading more from the author - cherry-picked of course.
My thanks go to NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read an advance copy of this book.
August 19, 2016
What an amazing book! It is hard to find anything to compare it with.
With the book, I got a note from Redhook, saying:
Dear Tourist,
Thank you for booking your visit to the 21st century with Tri-MilleniumTour Company. I am delighted to enclose your boarding pass. You will need to bring this with you on your departure date in order to book the transport.
Tri-Millenium Tour Company strives to provide the most authentic 21st century experience possible. You can sign up to take in the sights and thrills of a local "shopping mall", or sample the cuisine known as "fast food".
...
To kickstart your authentic travel experience, we have revived Facebook, the most popular "social network" site of the 21st century.
I hope you are as excited about your trip as we are."
The note makes clear that humanity has mastered time travel. The time-tourists will carefully interfere with the locals and discover another world. But the book is a thriller too. At the beginning, the letter I quoted is all we know. We quickly learn the travel reps and the tourists come from the 24th century. What happened to humanity in between? Nothing good, obviously.
Page after page, you discover more about the future, without ever knowing everything. As time is now a fourth dimension through which you may move as well as through space, the book is a bit difficult to start. The first chapters are confusing, as is, in fact, the whole book. But after a few pages, I wanted badly to know what happened, happens or will happen. I just read it slowly, taking 40 to 50 pages a day and reading them again the next day to be sure I was not missing anything. Even that way, I did not exactly understand the ending. But I did not understand "2001, Space Odyssey" either.
If you are willing to make an effort, it is more than worth reading. I think it may be one of the books of Fall. I loved the idea and if the end -or what leads to it, had been a bit clearer, it would be five star rating.
With the book, I got a note from Redhook, saying:
Dear Tourist,
Thank you for booking your visit to the 21st century with Tri-MilleniumTour Company. I am delighted to enclose your boarding pass. You will need to bring this with you on your departure date in order to book the transport.
Tri-Millenium Tour Company strives to provide the most authentic 21st century experience possible. You can sign up to take in the sights and thrills of a local "shopping mall", or sample the cuisine known as "fast food".
...
To kickstart your authentic travel experience, we have revived Facebook, the most popular "social network" site of the 21st century.
I hope you are as excited about your trip as we are."
The note makes clear that humanity has mastered time travel. The time-tourists will carefully interfere with the locals and discover another world. But the book is a thriller too. At the beginning, the letter I quoted is all we know. We quickly learn the travel reps and the tourists come from the 24th century. What happened to humanity in between? Nothing good, obviously.
Page after page, you discover more about the future, without ever knowing everything. As time is now a fourth dimension through which you may move as well as through space, the book is a bit difficult to start. The first chapters are confusing, as is, in fact, the whole book. But after a few pages, I wanted badly to know what happened, happens or will happen. I just read it slowly, taking 40 to 50 pages a day and reading them again the next day to be sure I was not missing anything. Even that way, I did not exactly understand the ending. But I did not understand "2001, Space Odyssey" either.
If you are willing to make an effort, it is more than worth reading. I think it may be one of the books of Fall. I loved the idea and if the end -or what leads to it, had been a bit clearer, it would be five star rating.
December 15, 2020
I think I must be getting old for speculative sci-fi novels. ;)
This is the kind of book that I would have read in college and happily spent hours analyzing before writing an excellent paper about it. 20+ years out of college, I read it and my thoughts were these
- This is one of those books that has a whole new vocabulary to learn in order to understand the created universe (sci-fi readers will know what I'm talking about here). Unlike some other books I have read recently, I do feel like the book was worth the investment you put into learning the vocabulary, but it does make the beginning a challenge.
- Because the chapters switch back and forth between characters and time periods and you don't know who the characters are or how they relate until more than half way through the book, at that point you almost feel like you have to go back and read it again to really understand it.
- [POSSIBLE SPOILER HERE] When you get to the end, it is so confusing that you feel like you have to go back and read the whole book AGAIN to figure out what the hell happened to get you there (and honestly, to figure out what the hell happened, period).
Now, this is from the perspective of a 45-year-old woman who USED to be a brilliant English major and English professor and is now a substitute teacher whose brain has been dulled by 10 years as an exhausted stay-at-home parent, so if you are still in the brilliant college student part of your life, this may not be your experience of the book at all. This is just MY experience with it. Take it for what it's worth.
This is the kind of book that I would have read in college and happily spent hours analyzing before writing an excellent paper about it. 20+ years out of college, I read it and my thoughts were these
- This is one of those books that has a whole new vocabulary to learn in order to understand the created universe (sci-fi readers will know what I'm talking about here). Unlike some other books I have read recently, I do feel like the book was worth the investment you put into learning the vocabulary, but it does make the beginning a challenge.
- Because the chapters switch back and forth between characters and time periods and you don't know who the characters are or how they relate until more than half way through the book, at that point you almost feel like you have to go back and read it again to really understand it.
- [POSSIBLE SPOILER HERE] When you get to the end, it is so confusing that you feel like you have to go back and read the whole book AGAIN to figure out what the hell happened to get you there (and honestly, to figure out what the hell happened, period).
Now, this is from the perspective of a 45-year-old woman who USED to be a brilliant English major and English professor and is now a substitute teacher whose brain has been dulled by 10 years as an exhausted stay-at-home parent, so if you are still in the brilliant college student part of your life, this may not be your experience of the book at all. This is just MY experience with it. Take it for what it's worth.
November 5, 2016
Wow I just really couldn't get into this at all. I was excited to try something out of my comfort zone (time travel), but I clearly picked the wrong book to start with. We jumped back and forth between first person and second person (in different times of her life- so it wasn't really second person?), which was confusing. There were a lot of backstory holes that I guess the author thought it would be okay just not to tell us and a lot of questions and secrets that were never told or explained.
Also, the ending??? Literally make 0 sense. I get that he was trying to make this full circle, but you can't do that when you have gaping holes in your story.
For sure not my cup of tea. Do not recommend.
Also, the ending??? Literally make 0 sense. I get that he was trying to make this full circle, but you can't do that when you have gaping holes in your story.
For sure not my cup of tea. Do not recommend.
June 6, 2017
It's rare that a reader will come across books that is rated well less than three stars on Goodreads.
It's rarer still that I will check out a book that's less than thee stars and give it my time.
I was pulled in to this book not because I like science fiction, but because the blurb looked appealing and I wanted to know more about the possibilities of time travel. However, I was not "hooked" by the jumpiness if the narrative; instead I just wanted to figure out what the heck was going on. There are so many reasons to not read this book, and yet here I am giving it two stars and four days of my time. Maybe I'll get that time back when I travel to other centuries, like the travelers in this unsatisfying story.
It's rarer still that I will check out a book that's less than thee stars and give it my time.
I was pulled in to this book not because I like science fiction, but because the blurb looked appealing and I wanted to know more about the possibilities of time travel. However, I was not "hooked" by the jumpiness if the narrative; instead I just wanted to figure out what the heck was going on. There are so many reasons to not read this book, and yet here I am giving it two stars and four days of my time. Maybe I'll get that time back when I travel to other centuries, like the travelers in this unsatisfying story.
January 29, 2017
this one of those books that you try really hard to like but you just cannot like it at all . Yes there were ?s I had that never got answered in this book . I was so looking forward to reading this and yuck what a dud sorry . Just it stunk sorry but it did and stunk to high heaven . That is all I can say about it . I cannot say one good thing about this book sorry . a real dud .
April 5, 2018
Hated it with a passion. Bookclub book.
December 11, 2018
I’m not sure I’m any the wiser now than when I began the book. I kept thinking - several times - "Ok, I’ve got it now," then I lost it and it slipped away. Time travel and the understanding thereof, is indeed a very slippery concept.
It reminded me of something I saw in a David Bowie documentary hundreds of years ago, where Bowie was doing some experimenting with song lyrics. If I remember rightly, he would write the song out as normal, then cut it up, throw the bits in the air, and then stick it back together in a reasonably random order. Something like that. And that, in a way, is what The Tourist is like. Of course, if you’re going to write about time travel, you’ve got to be either very careful to avoid that feeling, or it’s something you aim for. I kept thinking if I was going to write this book - to end up with what the finished book is now - I’d write the story in a normal timeline, then remove all the bits that actually inform the reader as to what is going on, hone cut it up, scatter/shuffle the bits, tape it back together and there you have it; The Tourist.
But of course, we're expecting, after all that effort, for there to be an A-ha! moment. Some sort of reward for getting all the way through. Maybe at the end, I don't know. It would have been really good if there had been one at the end of this, I was waiting and waiting and...nothing. It just stops. That's the feeling, and I've seen elsewhere I'm not alone in my meh-ness.
So it’s either very clever and mind-bogglingly mind-boggling, or it’s a load of old cattle’s business. Actually, there are maybe three camps. It’s brilliant, it’s terrible, it’s ok. I can’t imagine, unless I missed several somethings (it’s entirely possible, I’m ruling nothing out), anyone finishing it and thinking “ah yes, just as I thought!”
It would maybe bear a second read sometime in the future (or in the past, like the book…) but not just now. Perhaps if I did re-read it, thinking I'd make sense of the whole thing, I wouldn't, because sense can't be made of it and I'd be right royally pissed off.
It feels like he’s teasing us with building blocks forming from the fog, something to make us feel like we might be reaching the solid ground of figuring out what is going on, then it’s gone. By the end, by the final pages, the final paragraph and I can’t figure out who was narrating, or when, or where and I feel cheated, more than anything. If he, the author had anything of an idea of what he wanted to communicate with this book, he doesn’t communicate it.
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It reminded me of something I saw in a David Bowie documentary hundreds of years ago, where Bowie was doing some experimenting with song lyrics. If I remember rightly, he would write the song out as normal, then cut it up, throw the bits in the air, and then stick it back together in a reasonably random order. Something like that. And that, in a way, is what The Tourist is like. Of course, if you’re going to write about time travel, you’ve got to be either very careful to avoid that feeling, or it’s something you aim for. I kept thinking if I was going to write this book - to end up with what the finished book is now - I’d write the story in a normal timeline, then remove all the bits that actually inform the reader as to what is going on, hone cut it up, scatter/shuffle the bits, tape it back together and there you have it; The Tourist.
But of course, we're expecting, after all that effort, for there to be an A-ha! moment. Some sort of reward for getting all the way through. Maybe at the end, I don't know. It would have been really good if there had been one at the end of this, I was waiting and waiting and...nothing. It just stops. That's the feeling, and I've seen elsewhere I'm not alone in my meh-ness.
So it’s either very clever and mind-bogglingly mind-boggling, or it’s a load of old cattle’s business. Actually, there are maybe three camps. It’s brilliant, it’s terrible, it’s ok. I can’t imagine, unless I missed several somethings (it’s entirely possible, I’m ruling nothing out), anyone finishing it and thinking “ah yes, just as I thought!”
It would maybe bear a second read sometime in the future (or in the past, like the book…) but not just now. Perhaps if I did re-read it, thinking I'd make sense of the whole thing, I wouldn't, because sense can't be made of it and I'd be right royally pissed off.
It feels like he’s teasing us with building blocks forming from the fog, something to make us feel like we might be reaching the solid ground of figuring out what is going on, then it’s gone. By the end, by the final pages, the final paragraph and I can’t figure out who was narrating, or when, or where and I feel cheated, more than anything. If he, the author had anything of an idea of what he wanted to communicate with this book, he doesn’t communicate it.
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