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Sync
"An engrossing multiverse adventure.” —Michelle Anne Schingler, Foreword Reviews
"A well-executed debut whose compellingly human cast enriches the standard ‘parallel universe’ science-fiction trope.” —Kirkus
Every day we each make thousands of decisions. Sometimes it’s the big ones that change our lives, sometimes it’s the tiny ones. What if all the choices not made led to billions of alternate realities where different versions of our lives unwind? On a cold and rainy night in New England, the paths of two strangers collide—a young man fleeing from his past, and a forty-something woman dreading what her future holds. When his past catches up to him, the two of them embark on a journey of danger, adventure, and self-discovery. Ultimately, they each need to face the question, How far would you go to help someone in need? K. P. Kyle’s debut novel is a riveting technothriller/road trip/parallel universes combo with a healthy dollop of romance. It will keep you hooked until the very end and make you ponder the choices you’ve made in your own life.
"A well-executed debut whose compellingly human cast enriches the standard ‘parallel universe’ science-fiction trope.” —Kirkus
Every day we each make thousands of decisions. Sometimes it’s the big ones that change our lives, sometimes it’s the tiny ones. What if all the choices not made led to billions of alternate realities where different versions of our lives unwind? On a cold and rainy night in New England, the paths of two strangers collide—a young man fleeing from his past, and a forty-something woman dreading what her future holds. When his past catches up to him, the two of them embark on a journey of danger, adventure, and self-discovery. Ultimately, they each need to face the question, How far would you go to help someone in need? K. P. Kyle’s debut novel is a riveting technothriller/road trip/parallel universes combo with a healthy dollop of romance. It will keep you hooked until the very end and make you ponder the choices you’ve made in your own life.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2019
8 people are currently reading
481 people want to read
About the author
K.P. Kyle
2 books19 followersK. P. Kyle was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, where her mother was the founder and owner of the much-beloved independent bookstore Narnia Children's Books. She received her BA from the University of Chicago and her DVM from Cornell University. She has lived in South Boston, Massachusetts since 2002, with the exception of two years spent in Senegal. She works as a veterinarian and shares her home with a bush dog and a black dog.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 9, 2019
Author KP Kyle thrusts her heroine Brigid, a forty-something telemarketer losing her mother to dementia, right into a life-altering choice -- Ignore the young man on the side of the road, or open her car door to her fellow man and his problems. Without spoiling the story, it can be said that the young man, Jason, is on the run, and the trouble on his heels is far more serious than Brigid and her trusty dog Lithium had anticipated. Alternating between Brigid and Jason’s point of views, Kyle’s technothriller grounds itself in the tangible real-world questions of love, loyalty, and justice, wrapped in the hard-hitting action of a Bourne Identity book/movie. Kyle’s fast-paced style handles both chase scene and techno-speak well, slowing down only to concentrate on what really matters in the end: the people who help us on our journeys.
May 6, 2019
Sync begins on a dark and stormy night as Brigid is driving home after visiting her mother in a nursing home. She is distraught because her mother failed to recognize her, her Alzheimer’s exacerbated by the late time of day. The sleet combined with her own tears, impairing her vision so she nearly struck a hitchhiker, coming to a stop after swerving to avoid him. Repentant, she offers him a lift. He is filthy and she soon realizes he is also starving and penniless. She feeds him and offers him a place to shower and sleep until morning, however before morning, someone breaks into her home. She soon learns he is on the run from some very suspicious and dangerous characters.
In fact, he was one of ten subjects in a study exploring the multiverse, but new researcher came on board, things went awry, and now he’s on the run from law enforcement and some very thuggish and violent people. Brigid throws herself into rescuing him and the pair along with Brigid’s dog, Lithium, head straight into the eye of the storm.
Let me start with what I liked about Sync first. The actual conspiracy is a good one. The conspiracy takes place in Chicago where after Homan Square no fictional police corruption will ever match reality so it’s no surprise that the conspirators can enlist law enforcement. The conspirators do an excellent job of tidying up loose ends to avoid detection. I also like the idea of exploring the multiverse as something that could be done for pure or applied research, for good or ill. But then, the rest falls apart.
First, the characters seem not just unrealized, but unrealistic. For example, rather than allowing Brigid to be an empathetic person feeling for a hitchhiker on the roads in a storm, her motivation is given as a desire from some distraction and excitement in the face of losing her mother to Alzheimer’s. Like an encounter with a rapist/serial killer might be a diversion from her troubles? It’s as though the author decided not one person was allowed to act out of altruism. Altruism is how humanity has survived, don’t erase it.
It often seems as though K. P. Kyle needed the characters to do something and cast about for an explanation, not really considering if the explanation made sense. Brigid seems foolhardy and obtuse. Jason seems alternately feckless and stubborn, someone who should never be asked to fend for himself. The other characters, except perhaps Jason’s sister, are equally puzzling.
Then, since the story depends so much on the theory of the multiverse, it would help if it were ever adequately explained. Explanations are proffered by Jason and Ana, the professor who headed the original research project. Neither of them is up to the task which is odd as the theory is not that complex or hard to understand at all. Jason talks about Schrödinger’s cat and Ana mentions the double-slit experiment before deciding they’re too complicated to explain. They are not.
The story rests on a very specific theory of the multiverse called many-worlds theory. The explanations sound like research notes from someone who didn’t understand the concept but memorized it for the test.
The physics we are all used to, gravity, thermodynamics, entropy, and so on explain the world as we can see it with our senses. However, with the technology to observe atoms and inside atoms, we discovered the particles did not follow those rules. A whole new physics called quantum mechanics was developed to identify the rules governing how the world worked at that level. String theory was created to unite the old and the new physics, but it only works if there are more dimensions than the four we are used to. Somehow those dimensions occupy the same space as the dimensions we can see, either because they’ve been smooshed or they’re not within our sensory range or the range of our technology. They occupy the same spatial and temporal dimensions, but differently and we don’t know how. This is not as weird as it sounds, we can’t detect radiation without a machine, we can’t see these dimensions, but we can measure their effects such as dark matter. There are at least six more dimensions, but some think there may be an infinite number.
So the theory explored in Sync is the many-worlds theory. Basically, the idea is every action we take creates another world where we chose differently. Of course, all the rest of the people in history and today are also acting and making decisions and creating new alternate realities. Every reality is like a tree, branching out into new alternate realities into an infinite omniverse of every possibility. These are not alternate histories, but simultaneous histories all happening at the same time. This is not a difficult idea, though it is more a thought experiment than something science is going to prove any time soon. However, if many-worlds were true, the idea that somone could go back to one they have visited is not sustainable. Their presence changed it irrevocably, either creating new branches or ending it.
The test of understanding is being able to explain to another. Kyle failed the test.
Sync will be released May 14th. I received a copy from the publisher through LibraryThing.
Sync at Allium Press
K. P. Kyle on Facebook
★★
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
In fact, he was one of ten subjects in a study exploring the multiverse, but new researcher came on board, things went awry, and now he’s on the run from law enforcement and some very thuggish and violent people. Brigid throws herself into rescuing him and the pair along with Brigid’s dog, Lithium, head straight into the eye of the storm.
Let me start with what I liked about Sync first. The actual conspiracy is a good one. The conspiracy takes place in Chicago where after Homan Square no fictional police corruption will ever match reality so it’s no surprise that the conspirators can enlist law enforcement. The conspirators do an excellent job of tidying up loose ends to avoid detection. I also like the idea of exploring the multiverse as something that could be done for pure or applied research, for good or ill. But then, the rest falls apart.
First, the characters seem not just unrealized, but unrealistic. For example, rather than allowing Brigid to be an empathetic person feeling for a hitchhiker on the roads in a storm, her motivation is given as a desire from some distraction and excitement in the face of losing her mother to Alzheimer’s. Like an encounter with a rapist/serial killer might be a diversion from her troubles? It’s as though the author decided not one person was allowed to act out of altruism. Altruism is how humanity has survived, don’t erase it.
It often seems as though K. P. Kyle needed the characters to do something and cast about for an explanation, not really considering if the explanation made sense. Brigid seems foolhardy and obtuse. Jason seems alternately feckless and stubborn, someone who should never be asked to fend for himself. The other characters, except perhaps Jason’s sister, are equally puzzling.
Then, since the story depends so much on the theory of the multiverse, it would help if it were ever adequately explained. Explanations are proffered by Jason and Ana, the professor who headed the original research project. Neither of them is up to the task which is odd as the theory is not that complex or hard to understand at all. Jason talks about Schrödinger’s cat and Ana mentions the double-slit experiment before deciding they’re too complicated to explain. They are not.
The story rests on a very specific theory of the multiverse called many-worlds theory. The explanations sound like research notes from someone who didn’t understand the concept but memorized it for the test.
The physics we are all used to, gravity, thermodynamics, entropy, and so on explain the world as we can see it with our senses. However, with the technology to observe atoms and inside atoms, we discovered the particles did not follow those rules. A whole new physics called quantum mechanics was developed to identify the rules governing how the world worked at that level. String theory was created to unite the old and the new physics, but it only works if there are more dimensions than the four we are used to. Somehow those dimensions occupy the same space as the dimensions we can see, either because they’ve been smooshed or they’re not within our sensory range or the range of our technology. They occupy the same spatial and temporal dimensions, but differently and we don’t know how. This is not as weird as it sounds, we can’t detect radiation without a machine, we can’t see these dimensions, but we can measure their effects such as dark matter. There are at least six more dimensions, but some think there may be an infinite number.
So the theory explored in Sync is the many-worlds theory. Basically, the idea is every action we take creates another world where we chose differently. Of course, all the rest of the people in history and today are also acting and making decisions and creating new alternate realities. Every reality is like a tree, branching out into new alternate realities into an infinite omniverse of every possibility. These are not alternate histories, but simultaneous histories all happening at the same time. This is not a difficult idea, though it is more a thought experiment than something science is going to prove any time soon. However, if many-worlds were true, the idea that somone could go back to one they have visited is not sustainable. Their presence changed it irrevocably, either creating new branches or ending it.
The test of understanding is being able to explain to another. Kyle failed the test.
Sync will be released May 14th. I received a copy from the publisher through LibraryThing.
Sync at Allium Press
K. P. Kyle on Facebook
★★
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
May 22, 2020
What I liked most about Sync were the characters. Truly likeable protagonists whom you want to succeed. As a kid Michael Crichton was my favourite author, and Sync is like a Michael Crichton thriller, near future science mixed with riveting suspense, but populated with much warmer people. I really liked it.
May 28, 2019
This book was written by a veterinary colleague of mine so I was very excited to read her first novel. Very interesting take on the parallel universe theory with characters you fall in love with immediately, a love story, and a mystery that will make it very hard to put the book down. Read it within 2 days. Highly recommend.
December 12, 2020
I first became aware of Kyle’s debut novel at the Thrillerfest conference, when she participated in the debut author program. I was intrigued by the premise, since I love parallel universe stories, and immediately purchased a copy and was lucky enough to get it signed.
There are so many things that I love about this book! The premise, of course, but also the characters, the storyline that had me reading way too late into the night, the wry, subtle humour, and the ending.
The characters are likeable and compelling, and I particular enjoyed the complexity of the two main characters, Brigid and Jason, who are significantly flawed but still manage to be the heroes of the story. I always love stories that have regular people thrust into extreme circumstances and this definitely delivered. The point of view switches between these two throughout the story, and Kyle does an exceptional job of this. In fact, for a debut novel, I found the entire novel to be extremely well executed, especially her handling of the explanations of parallel universes. She provided just enough information for the reader to understand what is happening without overloading us with details.
The book starts with Brigid, who is middle-aged and at a low point in her life, picking up a hitch hiker in the middle of the night. That hitch hiker is of course Jason, who has been on the run for months and is a cold and starving. Brigid offers him a place to stay, since her need to help people is one of her overriding traits, and when someone breaks into her apartment that night, trying to abduct Jason, the story goes from there and doesn’t ever stop.
Throughout the story, the internal dialogue of Brigid and Jason provides moments of giggle worthy humour as well as some of the interactions between the all too real people. Which establishes a layer of warmth to the whole story that is a big part of why it is so compelling.
The ending! I’m not going to go into details because I don’t want to spoil it, but I thought Kyle handled the ending beautifully. Lots of resolution but also with a good dollop of uncertainty. My favourite kind of ending. I’m not sure if this was to set things up for a sequel, or it was just the ending the story needed, but regardless, it works!
Needless to say, I loved this book. Kyle has pulled off an action-packed compelling story with a warmth and humour to it that captivated me throughout. I highly recommend this for anyone who likes parallel universe stories, or just stories about flawed individuals doing their best to do the right thing.
There are so many things that I love about this book! The premise, of course, but also the characters, the storyline that had me reading way too late into the night, the wry, subtle humour, and the ending.
The characters are likeable and compelling, and I particular enjoyed the complexity of the two main characters, Brigid and Jason, who are significantly flawed but still manage to be the heroes of the story. I always love stories that have regular people thrust into extreme circumstances and this definitely delivered. The point of view switches between these two throughout the story, and Kyle does an exceptional job of this. In fact, for a debut novel, I found the entire novel to be extremely well executed, especially her handling of the explanations of parallel universes. She provided just enough information for the reader to understand what is happening without overloading us with details.
The book starts with Brigid, who is middle-aged and at a low point in her life, picking up a hitch hiker in the middle of the night. That hitch hiker is of course Jason, who has been on the run for months and is a cold and starving. Brigid offers him a place to stay, since her need to help people is one of her overriding traits, and when someone breaks into her apartment that night, trying to abduct Jason, the story goes from there and doesn’t ever stop.
Throughout the story, the internal dialogue of Brigid and Jason provides moments of giggle worthy humour as well as some of the interactions between the all too real people. Which establishes a layer of warmth to the whole story that is a big part of why it is so compelling.
The ending! I’m not going to go into details because I don’t want to spoil it, but I thought Kyle handled the ending beautifully. Lots of resolution but also with a good dollop of uncertainty. My favourite kind of ending. I’m not sure if this was to set things up for a sequel, or it was just the ending the story needed, but regardless, it works!
Needless to say, I loved this book. Kyle has pulled off an action-packed compelling story with a warmth and humour to it that captivated me throughout. I highly recommend this for anyone who likes parallel universe stories, or just stories about flawed individuals doing their best to do the right thing.
July 30, 2019
This was a GoodReads giveaway of a Kindle Edition ebook.
I won this a while ago, but due to my ebook bias I had set it aside. I am working my way around my biases.
This was a good book, but unfortunately I had read Blake Crouch's Recursion not too long ago and I can not help but make comparisons while I was reading this. This version of the multiverse was good and had an exciting conclusion. It just seemed to lack a certain polish. Certainly it had all of the elements, but something about the delivery that just seemed just a bit duller in comparison. Otherwise I likely would have rated it 4 stars.
This was a GoodReads.
I won this a while ago, but due to my ebook bias I had set it aside. I am working my way around my biases.
This was a good book, but unfortunately I had read Blake Crouch's Recursion not too long ago and I can not help but make comparisons while I was reading this. This version of the multiverse was good and had an exciting conclusion. It just seemed to lack a certain polish. Certainly it had all of the elements, but something about the delivery that just seemed just a bit duller in comparison. Otherwise I likely would have rated it 4 stars.
This was a GoodReads.
January 7, 2020
I’m usually pretty hooked on any books time travel related, so I kept reading on despite the story being flat.
In the end this is the worst book I’ve read in years. Seems like it was written by a teenager, who didn’t have the life experience to write about real life let alone alternate realities. No depth here.
Speaking about time travel, I wish I could go back and choose not to waste my time on this book. Usually goodreads ratings are pretty spot on. Makes me wonder how many of these readings were people who knew the author?
In the end this is the worst book I’ve read in years. Seems like it was written by a teenager, who didn’t have the life experience to write about real life let alone alternate realities. No depth here.
Speaking about time travel, I wish I could go back and choose not to waste my time on this book. Usually goodreads ratings are pretty spot on. Makes me wonder how many of these readings were people who knew the author?
October 12, 2019
Thrilling story and a clever plot. I loved the writing style of the two main character perspectives, especially with how their actions eventually lined up. I just wish there was a bit more character building to Brigid. She kind of just starts doing things she normally wouldn’t do and we don’t truly get to learn why. Overall, absolutely loved this book.
August 5, 2019
Sync is not typically the type of book I read, however, the plot and characters were so engaging I couldn't put it down. Even if you have no knowledge of anything science-related I would recommend this book on sheer entertainment alone.
June 15, 2019
An interesting story - a real page turner. Well written - recommended.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this story. Appreciate it.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this story. Appreciate it.
July 4, 2022
Quick chapters. Good pace. Interesting story. Enjoyed it.L
December 7, 2024
If you are into Stranger Things and the movie Jumper put together in one this is a page-turning read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews