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And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
"This is the natural order of things: for each decision we make, there is an infinite number of possible outcomes, only one of which comes into being. It is an infallible truth; our future is born, singular. But for you, that is no longer the case."
Jack Davies led an unremarkable life, serving fast food in a nondescript seaside town by day and playing computer games by night. Unremarkable that is, until Professor Jericho ordered a sausage and a cup of tea.
After discovering he has the ability to move through time and space, Jack embarks on a journey to repair a tear in the fabric of reality, with only his high school stalker, a television news crew and a crossword puzzle for help.
With every moment of indecision, the problem gets more complex.
And Jack never could make up his mind.
Jack Davies led an unremarkable life, serving fast food in a nondescript seaside town by day and playing computer games by night. Unremarkable that is, until Professor Jericho ordered a sausage and a cup of tea.
After discovering he has the ability to move through time and space, Jack embarks on a journey to repair a tear in the fabric of reality, with only his high school stalker, a television news crew and a crossword puzzle for help.
With every moment of indecision, the problem gets more complex.
And Jack never could make up his mind.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2010
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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July 28, 2016It's mine, so no rating. :)
Well, what a strange experience it has been to revisit this story seven years after I wrote it. And The Walls Came Tumbling Down was my second published novel and the first I self-published.
I remember losing entire commutes to and from work because I was trying to get the plot sorted in my mind. Science is not my strongest suit (unless it's social science), which actually doesn't matter. There isn't much sciency stuff in this story, or not the real sciency stuff. It's more of an amateur interpretation of quantum mechanics, apparently. I did no research prior to writing this story. None.
What I do now know is that it's along the lines of the 'many-worlds interpretation', which asserts "the objective reality of the universal wavefunction and denies the actuality of wavefunction collapse."
Yeah, so there.
As if I know what that means... (I do, but only because I looked it up.)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-wo...)
Mostly, it's about the characters (no surprises there) and the journey they take. It's about consequence, regret and making amends. It's...not as miserable as it sounds! And it's a cheap read (99c). Good that, eh?
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down will be re-released as a second edition on August 1st, 2016.
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Well, what a strange experience it has been to revisit this story seven years after I wrote it. And The Walls Came Tumbling Down was my second published novel and the first I self-published.
I remember losing entire commutes to and from work because I was trying to get the plot sorted in my mind. Science is not my strongest suit (unless it's social science), which actually doesn't matter. There isn't much sciency stuff in this story, or not the real sciency stuff. It's more of an amateur interpretation of quantum mechanics, apparently. I did no research prior to writing this story. None.
What I do now know is that it's along the lines of the 'many-worlds interpretation', which asserts "the objective reality of the universal wavefunction and denies the actuality of wavefunction collapse."
Yeah, so there.
As if I know what that means... (I do, but only because I looked it up.)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-wo...)
Mostly, it's about the characters (no surprises there) and the journey they take. It's about consequence, regret and making amends. It's...not as miserable as it sounds! And it's a cheap read (99c). Good that, eh?
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down will be re-released as a second edition on August 1st, 2016.
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Want to read
September 23, 2016Wow.
I can't believe I waited for so long to read this book. I've known about it (or at least the first edition) for years, and I've always thought 'oh, time travel isn't really my kind of thing'. Shame on me, and a shame for me, as I should have trusted in Debbie McGowan's amazing writing style to pull me through and convert me. It seems it doesn't matter quite what she writes, her amazing skill to hook a reader and drag them along for the ride comes into play whatever the genre.
This is truly one of those fabulously clever instances where I can't believe this comes from someone's imagination. Sometimes I really think that authors must have links to alternate realities (which is certainly apt, in this book's case!) from whence they channel real events. I can come up with no other explanation for quite how...clever this book is. I'm at loathe to keep using the word, but really, I can't think of anything else that will cover how I feel about this extraordinary tale.
I'm not going to tell you about it. I'm not going to talk about characters and plot and what works and what doesn't. Because if you just give this book a chance, you'll understand what I mean. It's out of this world, and out of this dimension. Unparalleled, in fact.
Please try it, and give it a decent chance. The story and it's conclusion are amazing, and you certainly won't regret it.
I can't believe I waited for so long to read this book. I've known about it (or at least the first edition) for years, and I've always thought 'oh, time travel isn't really my kind of thing'. Shame on me, and a shame for me, as I should have trusted in Debbie McGowan's amazing writing style to pull me through and convert me. It seems it doesn't matter quite what she writes, her amazing skill to hook a reader and drag them along for the ride comes into play whatever the genre.
This is truly one of those fabulously clever instances where I can't believe this comes from someone's imagination. Sometimes I really think that authors must have links to alternate realities (which is certainly apt, in this book's case!) from whence they channel real events. I can come up with no other explanation for quite how...clever this book is. I'm at loathe to keep using the word, but really, I can't think of anything else that will cover how I feel about this extraordinary tale.
I'm not going to tell you about it. I'm not going to talk about characters and plot and what works and what doesn't. Because if you just give this book a chance, you'll understand what I mean. It's out of this world, and out of this dimension. Unparalleled, in fact.
Please try it, and give it a decent chance. The story and it's conclusion are amazing, and you certainly won't regret it.
May 28, 2016
Unbelievably Good
I really liked this! So different from the other books I've read by Debbie McGowan.
At two different times I even had to put it aside for a couple days, thinking I wasn't going to finish...because I felt lost and out of my element.
There were times I could have used a flow chart or Cliff Notes but I made it through! Well worth the effort.
Wonderful fantasy and so thought provoking. Makes you questions actions you've taken and second chances you've been given.
I really liked this! So different from the other books I've read by Debbie McGowan.
At two different times I even had to put it aside for a couple days, thinking I wasn't going to finish...because I felt lost and out of my element.
There were times I could have used a flow chart or Cliff Notes but I made it through! Well worth the effort.
Wonderful fantasy and so thought provoking. Makes you questions actions you've taken and second chances you've been given.
November 16, 2018
( Format : Audiobook )
"It was going to be a long night."
Jack missed his dead grandmother, the on!y one in the family who hadn't ignored him. He hated his job in a tatty little fish and chip shop. It was raining again. There was nowhere else to go. A man came into the shop, struggling against the wind, and ordered tea and a sausage before leaving. An explosion of light - and Jack was dead.
Except he wasn't. Well, yes he was, but ...
With simple sentences, the author conjures up not just the bleakness of Jack's inner being but of the location, as well, an ability which continues throughout the whole book. This is a delicious, almost farce-like story of Jack's several journeys through time and dimensions to repair a rift and restore his world, together with the mysterious Professor Jericho, a chap called Brian, and a three man film crew headed by a girl he'd once known at school now a reported, named Kelsey. From confusion and terror, through repetition and chaos, Jack struggles to understand and restore things to a proper order. Quite delicious.
This reader was charmed and confused. But that didn't matter. Is the science correct? Who cares? It was a really fun story, and well read by English accented Hanniba! Hills. Great character voices, well paced and delivered with nicely intoned, enthusiastic expression.
Not having read anything by author Debbie McGowan previously, I had no idea what to expect. Now I will actively seek out more books by her. My thanks to the rights holder of And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, who, at my request via Audiobook Boom, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. It was great fun, and, somehow, very English. Especially the rain!
"It was going to be a long night."
Jack missed his dead grandmother, the on!y one in the family who hadn't ignored him. He hated his job in a tatty little fish and chip shop. It was raining again. There was nowhere else to go. A man came into the shop, struggling against the wind, and ordered tea and a sausage before leaving. An explosion of light - and Jack was dead.
Except he wasn't. Well, yes he was, but ...
With simple sentences, the author conjures up not just the bleakness of Jack's inner being but of the location, as well, an ability which continues throughout the whole book. This is a delicious, almost farce-like story of Jack's several journeys through time and dimensions to repair a rift and restore his world, together with the mysterious Professor Jericho, a chap called Brian, and a three man film crew headed by a girl he'd once known at school now a reported, named Kelsey. From confusion and terror, through repetition and chaos, Jack struggles to understand and restore things to a proper order. Quite delicious.
This reader was charmed and confused. But that didn't matter. Is the science correct? Who cares? It was a really fun story, and well read by English accented Hanniba! Hills. Great character voices, well paced and delivered with nicely intoned, enthusiastic expression.
Not having read anything by author Debbie McGowan previously, I had no idea what to expect. Now I will actively seek out more books by her. My thanks to the rights holder of And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, who, at my request via Audiobook Boom, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. It was great fun, and, somehow, very English. Especially the rain!
November 19, 2023
The Crystal lie.
Absolutely stunning !!!
The author Debbie McGowan imagination is amazing and running wild on this one.
Writing about time and time travel is the hardest in science fiction because of so many reasons, like the grandfather paradox and many other paradoxes and it’s almost impossible to write about it without making mistakes.
There were books or movies which took me years to figure or hear about the mistake in them.
In this book the author does exactly that and a pretty good job about it, has she messed up, can’t tell yet.
But joy listening to the book
Makes it worth it.
Narration by Hannibal Hills is beautifully done for each of the characters in this creation.
Recommended !!!
Oded Ostfeld.
Absolutely stunning !!!
The author Debbie McGowan imagination is amazing and running wild on this one.
Writing about time and time travel is the hardest in science fiction because of so many reasons, like the grandfather paradox and many other paradoxes and it’s almost impossible to write about it without making mistakes.
There were books or movies which took me years to figure or hear about the mistake in them.
In this book the author does exactly that and a pretty good job about it, has she messed up, can’t tell yet.
But joy listening to the book
Makes it worth it.
Narration by Hannibal Hills is beautifully done for each of the characters in this creation.
Recommended !!!
Oded Ostfeld.
February 6, 2019
I did find myself enjoying this book at times but others found it very difficult to get through. I did like the humour that our main characters displayed however I did not find myself really rooting for them as I do with most main characters. Time travel stories are one of my favourites and I tend to read or listen to a lot of them. I found myself really liking this book about half of the time and then the other half wishing that it had more to offer. The performance was very well done and I enjoyed it. It was easy enough to tell characters voices apart and there was some subtle changes in pacing and tone throughout the book. I really wanted to like this one more and more but it was just lacking/missing something. I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review via Audiobook Boom. This in no way affected my opinion of this work.
June 15, 2019
audible:This started out great!It then went a bit pear shaped with all the timey wimey stuff I got confused.Then hit repeat.The best thing about the whole thing was Hannibal Hills narration!
I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.
I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.
November 14, 2018
The book concerns time travel, parallel universes and humans neglect to nature. The characters were enjoyable, but the plot may be hard for some to follow. Being able to follow the plot didn't bother me, but I found it a little boring and the message seems to be a little forced into the story. The story takes place in basically the same 3 areas and since they are dealing with parallel universes, repeats itself a bit. The narration was good. The voices were unique enough to tell the characters apart from one another and was loud and clear and easy to understand.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews