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Time Clock
"If you could know how much time you had left to live, would you want to know?"
That was the question Abby innocently asked a group of coworkers after the funeral of a colleague. But No one thought much about Abby’s question after that day, that is, until a countdown time clock appeared on each of the coworker's computers.
This seemed to be an ill-timed prank until Robert, the IT director, was discovered to have died over the weekend and the time clock on his computer read, "TIME EXPIRED."
The coworkers furiously adjusted their lifestyles and the time clocks began to change, some for the better, some for the worse. They questioned the time clocks as some kind of sci-fi interference, that is, until the police began to investigate the multiple deaths as homicides.
The question to you is, “would you want to know?” Be careful how you answer because you just may find out.
That was the question Abby innocently asked a group of coworkers after the funeral of a colleague. But No one thought much about Abby’s question after that day, that is, until a countdown time clock appeared on each of the coworker's computers.
This seemed to be an ill-timed prank until Robert, the IT director, was discovered to have died over the weekend and the time clock on his computer read, "TIME EXPIRED."
The coworkers furiously adjusted their lifestyles and the time clocks began to change, some for the better, some for the worse. They questioned the time clocks as some kind of sci-fi interference, that is, until the police began to investigate the multiple deaths as homicides.
The question to you is, “would you want to know?” Be careful how you answer because you just may find out.
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 8, 2018
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 25, 2020
What a great premise. You gotta love a story that can be captured by a title and subtitle: “If you could know how much time you had left to live… would you want to?” The blurb on the back makes this truly compelling: “the coworkers furiously adjust their lifestyles and the time clocks begin to change.” It really is a great idea.
I enjoyed this story by a friend. It was interesting to stop and think of these scenes and this dialogue coming from the mind of Curtis Walker: baseballer, artist, accountant, and once-impoverished advertising major who filled his college apartment with cardboard furniture, including television, VCR, cordless phone, cordless phone charger, cardboard recliner....
The book takes place largely in an office building filled with hard-drinking accountants and bookkeepers. The characters are jaded and their mind-numbing jobs are the whole focus of their lives. I can’t recall a main character with a happy marriage or with children. Consequently, there is a lot of talk about the office and office gossip, not unlike the play Glengarry Glen Ross.
In fact, much of the reading centers on dialogue between coworkers. The book would benefit from more scenes, and more scene changes. And while dialogue is an easy way to reveal facts and backstory about characters, some of those things can also be revealed through scenes. Maybe what I am saying is what has been said so often to me: show don’t tell. I hate that phrase so much, because I have heard it so much.
But I guess it’s true.
Nevertheless, TIME CLOCK is an entertaining novel, and it works: the author ties up all the loose ends and all the conflicts are resolved. That is never as easy as it looks, and Curtis makes it look easy.
Finally, this book is brief. Whereas my first attempt at a novel was something like 200,000 words (too many of those scenes I spoke of), this one is about one tenth as long. That is a serious victory! Publishers are more willing to take a chance on shorter books, because smaller books have larger profit margins.
Good job, Curtis G. Honeybadgers forever.
*I read the paperback, not the Kindle Edition.
I enjoyed this story by a friend. It was interesting to stop and think of these scenes and this dialogue coming from the mind of Curtis Walker: baseballer, artist, accountant, and once-impoverished advertising major who filled his college apartment with cardboard furniture, including television, VCR, cordless phone, cordless phone charger, cardboard recliner....
The book takes place largely in an office building filled with hard-drinking accountants and bookkeepers. The characters are jaded and their mind-numbing jobs are the whole focus of their lives. I can’t recall a main character with a happy marriage or with children. Consequently, there is a lot of talk about the office and office gossip, not unlike the play Glengarry Glen Ross.
In fact, much of the reading centers on dialogue between coworkers. The book would benefit from more scenes, and more scene changes. And while dialogue is an easy way to reveal facts and backstory about characters, some of those things can also be revealed through scenes. Maybe what I am saying is what has been said so often to me: show don’t tell. I hate that phrase so much, because I have heard it so much.
But I guess it’s true.
Nevertheless, TIME CLOCK is an entertaining novel, and it works: the author ties up all the loose ends and all the conflicts are resolved. That is never as easy as it looks, and Curtis makes it look easy.
Finally, this book is brief. Whereas my first attempt at a novel was something like 200,000 words (too many of those scenes I spoke of), this one is about one tenth as long. That is a serious victory! Publishers are more willing to take a chance on shorter books, because smaller books have larger profit margins.
Good job, Curtis G. Honeybadgers forever.
*I read the paperback, not the Kindle Edition.
Displaying 1 of 1 review