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Geminus: A Time Travel Novella
Time is a fickle thing. Is the future as fixed as the past?
Cassie and Helen are twins spawned from a bolt of lightning that struck their mother while she was pregnant, as if from Zeus himself, or so their mother told them.
Like millions of other twin’s they share a special bond.
However, their bond is unlike any other, for Cassie remembers the future while Helen experiences the present. A fact the girls and their mother have kept secret from the world.
As Cassie and Helen head off to college their lives are about to be irrevocably changed forever.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 5, 2019
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Cory Swanson
20 books7 followersCory Swanson lives in Northern Colorado with his wife, two daughters, and his old blind dog named Kirby. When he’s not working himself to the bone teaching tweens how to play band and orchestra instruments, he can be seen camping with his family in his tiny trailer or traveling to strange worlds in his head in order to write about them. If the weather is decent, you might catch him riding his bike or running because he is afraid of death, and he’s heard exercise helps with that.
Cory has a Bachelors in Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado and a Masters in Music with an Emphasis in Conducting from Colorado State University. Neither of these degrees is helpful with his writing, but they do allow him to earn a living teaching music to middle schoolers, which he has done since 2004.
He began writing in 2016 after the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl. The absence of American Football in his life after that point left a gaping hole in his soul. He then proceeded to fill said hole with speculative fiction. It’s worked out okay so far, with his story, “The Musicologists,” being published in the anthology, Triangulation: Harmony and Dissonance, published by Parsec Ink and his novella, Geminus, was recently published by Castrum Press.
If you would like to witness a nearly middle aged man attempt to navigate the perils of social media, you can find Cory on Facebook under the handle @speculativemeculative, or at his website, coryswansonauthor.wordpress.com
Cory has a Bachelors in Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado and a Masters in Music with an Emphasis in Conducting from Colorado State University. Neither of these degrees is helpful with his writing, but they do allow him to earn a living teaching music to middle schoolers, which he has done since 2004.
He began writing in 2016 after the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl. The absence of American Football in his life after that point left a gaping hole in his soul. He then proceeded to fill said hole with speculative fiction. It’s worked out okay so far, with his story, “The Musicologists,” being published in the anthology, Triangulation: Harmony and Dissonance, published by Parsec Ink and his novella, Geminus, was recently published by Castrum Press.
If you would like to witness a nearly middle aged man attempt to navigate the perils of social media, you can find Cory on Facebook under the handle @speculativemeculative, or at his website, coryswansonauthor.wordpress.com
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 30, 2019
An okay read
It was about the two sisters where one could see and predict future. Things happened in their lives which led to a twisted ending.
I wanted more from the book and the writing. Something which would keep my interest going. Emotions were lacking.
It was about the two sisters where one could see and predict future. Things happened in their lives which led to a twisted ending.
I wanted more from the book and the writing. Something which would keep my interest going. Emotions were lacking.
December 23, 2019
Remember the Future and Recall the Relationship
Remembering the future was a great device. However, what I really loved was the dynamic between the sisters, which ultimately was the center of the story. It was a beautifully written reminder of my relationship with my sister and made it a sweet and thoughtful read. The storytelling was bittersweet and on point. I look forward to reading more from Cory.
Remembering the future was a great device. However, what I really loved was the dynamic between the sisters, which ultimately was the center of the story. It was a beautifully written reminder of my relationship with my sister and made it a sweet and thoughtful read. The storytelling was bittersweet and on point. I look forward to reading more from Cory.
May 2, 2020
Well written!
I wish this book had delved into the reasons why this happened. Maybe just a touch more. But I’m easy on that with novellas. I’m upset about the ending. But the fact that cared enough about the characters to be upset at the ending speaks volumes about the author’s ability to write characters. It’s well written well executed and flawlessly edited even if I didn’t necessarily agree with the author’s intent!
I wish this book had delved into the reasons why this happened. Maybe just a touch more. But I’m easy on that with novellas. I’m upset about the ending. But the fact that cared enough about the characters to be upset at the ending speaks volumes about the author’s ability to write characters. It’s well written well executed and flawlessly edited even if I didn’t necessarily agree with the author’s intent!
Read
December 30, 2019A very provocative book. I loved it.
This book really makes you think whether you would want to have the ability to predict the future. I didn't want to put it down once I started reading it. I did have to, but I managed to read it in two days.
A.Kester
This book really makes you think whether you would want to have the ability to predict the future. I didn't want to put it down once I started reading it. I did have to, but I managed to read it in two days.
A.Kester
November 16, 2019
Powerful, riveting, funny, and sweet. A beautifully written story with enough twists to keep you reading when you really should have gone to sleep already.
March 7, 2020
Geminus came to my attention a little while ago on Twitter when I tweeted I was looking for new books to read. It’s a 98-page novella with a great premise: one twin can remember the future. It’s an interesting premise that I have not seen before, so obviously I snagged the book through Kindle Unlimited.
Cassie and Helen’s mom told them that they were conceived when she was struck by lightning. Okay, that was a bit strange but adds to the uniqueness of the plot. Or so I thought. It is mentioned several times in the book and becomes a “Yeah, I know” aspect.
Swanson skims over the girls’ upbringing and high school years, getting straight to the point. They end up going to separate colleges but then Helen misses her sister too much and transfers to Cassie’s college. I can’t tell you what they were majoring in, how they really spent their time, or much about their individual characters because Swanson doesn’t add depth to anything in this novella.
Cassie remembers they went and looked for their father, which leads to her and Helen meeting an orderly, Chip, and his mother. Chip knows a neurologist and is utterly convinced that there is something wrong with Cassie. We’re about halfway through this speeding train of a novella and it’s about to crash.
As Helen and Cassie live their lives, we are graced with a line here and a line there of Helen’s growing frustration with Cassie’s gift. Somewhere around the halfway mark in the book, the author (or editor) seemed to simply give up. There are editorial errors and the story leaps from moment to moment without any buildup or purpose except to get to the end.
By the end of the book, the mother’s lie had been outed and the family changed forever. Meanwhile, I am left wondering why I spent 50 pages reading about the buildup to meeting their father, seeing snippets of Cassie’s gift, yet nothing came of it. Even for a novella, there was so much potential built in the first third of the book that the last two-thirds of the book simply make me mad and left me feeling cheated as a reader.
If you are looking for a quick read with one-dimensional characters and shallow development, this novella is for you.
Cassie and Helen’s mom told them that they were conceived when she was struck by lightning. Okay, that was a bit strange but adds to the uniqueness of the plot. Or so I thought. It is mentioned several times in the book and becomes a “Yeah, I know” aspect.
Swanson skims over the girls’ upbringing and high school years, getting straight to the point. They end up going to separate colleges but then Helen misses her sister too much and transfers to Cassie’s college. I can’t tell you what they were majoring in, how they really spent their time, or much about their individual characters because Swanson doesn’t add depth to anything in this novella.
Cassie remembers they went and looked for their father, which leads to her and Helen meeting an orderly, Chip, and his mother. Chip knows a neurologist and is utterly convinced that there is something wrong with Cassie. We’re about halfway through this speeding train of a novella and it’s about to crash.
As Helen and Cassie live their lives, we are graced with a line here and a line there of Helen’s growing frustration with Cassie’s gift. Somewhere around the halfway mark in the book, the author (or editor) seemed to simply give up. There are editorial errors and the story leaps from moment to moment without any buildup or purpose except to get to the end.
By the end of the book, the mother’s lie had been outed and the family changed forever. Meanwhile, I am left wondering why I spent 50 pages reading about the buildup to meeting their father, seeing snippets of Cassie’s gift, yet nothing came of it. Even for a novella, there was so much potential built in the first third of the book that the last two-thirds of the book simply make me mad and left me feeling cheated as a reader.
If you are looking for a quick read with one-dimensional characters and shallow development, this novella is for you.
March 5, 2020
An Enjoyable Taste of Speculative Fiction
The thing I most enjoy about speculative fiction is getting to explore that sliver between what is and what could be if our universe took a slight left turn instead of following the road we’ve always known. Geminus does a great job exploring the idea of only being able to remember the future and how it might affect the lives of otherwise normal people who can only recall the past.
The story that Cassie and Helen’s mom used to pacify their curiosity about how they came to be(them being twins) and who fathered them was cute. I thought for awhile they may actually be supernatural offspring of the gods and half expected Zeus to show up. But then this would have been a completely different story.
I’m not a twin, but I’ve known some. Twin connections are fascinating. Cassie’s special memory situation was used well to create an even tighter bond between the sisters, and I like how it forced them to rely on one another in varying ways.
There were several lines that stood out and either made me smile, laugh, or think.
I’m not sure what to think about the ending, though. I felt the details of Cassie’s abilities were not unexplained enough and the story took a quick, unexpected turn at the end. But so is life, I suppose. I would have liked a little more clarity, but appreciate that the book forced me to think and come to a conclusion on my own.
The thing I most enjoy about speculative fiction is getting to explore that sliver between what is and what could be if our universe took a slight left turn instead of following the road we’ve always known. Geminus does a great job exploring the idea of only being able to remember the future and how it might affect the lives of otherwise normal people who can only recall the past.
The story that Cassie and Helen’s mom used to pacify their curiosity about how they came to be(them being twins) and who fathered them was cute. I thought for awhile they may actually be supernatural offspring of the gods and half expected Zeus to show up. But then this would have been a completely different story.
I’m not a twin, but I’ve known some. Twin connections are fascinating. Cassie’s special memory situation was used well to create an even tighter bond between the sisters, and I like how it forced them to rely on one another in varying ways.
There were several lines that stood out and either made me smile, laugh, or think.
I’m not sure what to think about the ending, though. I felt the details of Cassie’s abilities were not unexplained enough and the story took a quick, unexpected turn at the end. But so is life, I suppose. I would have liked a little more clarity, but appreciate that the book forced me to think and come to a conclusion on my own.
January 26, 2020
Intriguing premise as two sisters experience the world very differently. While Helen has a normal memory that recalls past events, her twin Cassandra only remembers future events. This novella does a good job of exploring what it would mean to live without knowledge of the past but with images of the future forever guiding your path. Is there such a thing as free will in those circumstances? Or is there no way to avoid the inevitable if you've already seen it happening? I think the concept could have been pushed even further but there is no denying the idea is a fascinating one to think about and I was engaged in the story and finding out what was the ultimate fate of these devoted sisters. A quick and imaginative read that raises a lot of interesting philosophical and mind-bending questions.
June 18, 2020
Really Good but Needs A Good Sound Editor
So I need to start off by saying that the narrator really did a great job but my biggest complaint is that you can tell this book never went through a good sound edit. There are times it's either hard to hear because it's muffled or it goes the other way and echoes.
As for the story, it had a fast pace with some time lapses that work well for the story. One twin sees the past and the other one sees the future and they basically go on adventures. My daughter (13 year old) read this one too and said she really liked it but also said to be ready for an emotional rollercoaster... which means it's a book that may make you cry. There was some language including one f-bomb but no sexual content.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
So I need to start off by saying that the narrator really did a great job but my biggest complaint is that you can tell this book never went through a good sound edit. There are times it's either hard to hear because it's muffled or it goes the other way and echoes.
As for the story, it had a fast pace with some time lapses that work well for the story. One twin sees the past and the other one sees the future and they basically go on adventures. My daughter (13 year old) read this one too and said she really liked it but also said to be ready for an emotional rollercoaster... which means it's a book that may make you cry. There was some language including one f-bomb but no sexual content.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
January 22, 2026
Geminus is a clever and emotionally engaging time-travel novella that stands out because of its unique twin dynamic. The idea of one sister remembering the future while the other lives only in the present is both fascinating and thoughtfully explored. The story moves quickly but still gives you time to connect with Cassie and Helen, and the mystery around their abilities keeps you turning pages. A well-written, imaginative read that leaves you thinking about fate, choice, and how much control we really have over time.
January 25, 2020
Time is relative.
This story is interesting I'm that you study two very different girls who happen to be twins. As different as night and day, they are yet yet very loving. You learn of the struggles they have trying prove to everyone what they already know. Just how the one is different. I really liked this book. But I felt it needed a little more background information on the twins.
This story is interesting I'm that you study two very different girls who happen to be twins. As different as night and day, they are yet yet very loving. You learn of the struggles they have trying prove to everyone what they already know. Just how the one is different. I really liked this book. But I felt it needed a little more background information on the twins.
January 3, 2020
Oh, my, leaves the reader wondering
Twins who need each other even in college because their differences help each other through life. Medical testing about one twin presents complex possible difficult truths to deal with — leaving the reader to figure out to some degree. This would be a good novella for a lively book group discussion. Deceptively easy read until the neurologist opinions.
Twins who need each other even in college because their differences help each other through life. Medical testing about one twin presents complex possible difficult truths to deal with — leaving the reader to figure out to some degree. This would be a good novella for a lively book group discussion. Deceptively easy read until the neurologist opinions.
May 16, 2022
The story might have been good,I do not know because I couldn't get past the horrible sound quality and the Narrator sounding like she was telling a fairy tale to children.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
November 11, 2019
Finding our place in the future
With just the slightest tweak on reality, Cory masterfully plays with questions of fate and freedom. This short read brings thoughtful insight into questions wrestled with since our species began to remember.
With just the slightest tweak on reality, Cory masterfully plays with questions of fate and freedom. This short read brings thoughtful insight into questions wrestled with since our species began to remember.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews