Something No One Knows: A Time Travel Sci-Fi Mystery

by Joshua Gayou

From the award-winning author of the Commune series and All Gifts Bestowed comes this mind-bending new science fiction novel.

As a high school sophomore, Aiden Kelly's biggest problems should be his failing grades, his abusive father, being a self-proclaimed loner, or getting pummeled by the football team. Instead, Aiden's number one dilemma is a guy named Tony, a senior who seems to know all sorts of things that should be impossible to know.

Oh, and he may also be a sociopath. So, you know: No. Big. Deal.

When Aiden crosses Tony's path in the vice-principal's office, they form a mysterious connection, and only Tony knows the truth about it. But as their friendship grows, the strings of destiny tying their lives together slowly begin to unravel with deadly consequences.

Now, Aiden must decide which is worse: to return to his degenerate, loner existence, or experience the friendship of a lifetime - where one of them might not survive.

With a heavy foot grounded in realism and characters that leap out of the audio, Something No One Knows is perfect for fans of The OA, Sense8, and The Butterfly Effect.

Genres: Audiobook, Time Travel

459 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2021

Reviews

[Paul Ataua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started well enough and then within a couple of chapters it had lost me. I am not sure what happened. There were class schedules, a psychologist, a description of different teachers, a new kid at the school, and lots of what to me seemed like superfluous droning on. I spent a lot of the reading time thinking about what I could possibly say about it when, about half way through, one of the characters suddenly exclaimed “What the fuck is all this?” and I had the answer to my question. I stopped there. I’m sure it must all come together in the second half, but I didn’t have the patience to wait around. I’m sure the fault is mine as almost everyone else here seems to be raving about it, so maybe you should just ignore this review. You'll probably love it.

[Marko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea what I was about to read when I picked up (i.e. downloaded) this book. First of all, this was the first book by Joshua Gayou not narrated by the majestic R.C. Bray. Also, I started this one immediately after finishing another fresh release by the same author (Udo the Digger), and that one hadn’t pressed all my buttons in the right order.

But - oh, man - this was tour de force in every sense. This is an award-winning material. A story so small and yet so big, so common but leftfield at the same time. Besides being set in the age of my youth (making me totally relate to a number of details from the era), it had me hooked from the start on account of the characters being amazingly real, detailed and relatable in every sense. Even the stereotypes we find in every such book don’t feel stereotypical, but rather set in the right place and time.

Also, it is great how the author doesn’t throw everything into our faces, leaving enough to think about when the book is done. I bet there will be many theories about who, what, where - and especially when. Can’t wait to discuss those and see how many branches will be created.

Recommended!

[Amanda Esthelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a unique way to write a story about time travel, I adored it. It was incredibly character based and character driven which made the connections super strong. An emotional read all around and absolutely heartbreaking end.
It had me thinking a lot about the lengths we will go to get what we want, and when what is right changes the path you have assigned to yourself. A pretty core concept I got from this is how necessary it is to deviate from the path you’ve chosen in life to be the person you want to be and to be better than you were previously

[Josh Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where oh where do I begin with this story?

I can't tell you the last time I had a story that evoked such strong emotions from me. There were a couple of points in the story where I found myself tearing up because of the scenes that Josh brought to fruition.

I really didn't know what to expect from this story given the title and blurb but man, I am glad I stuck with Josh Gayou as he has never let me down before. This, in my opinion, is his finest work given the depth of the human condition it goes into, the scenarios he develops, and the vivid nature of the characters he has created. To say that I was sucked in would be the understatement of the century.

If you are looking for something new, please check this out. I don't want to spoil any of the story in this review but I will say that Tony's character was absolutely amazing. I truly didn't know how to feel when this story ended. I felt like a part of my soul had died and I was stuck trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces.

5/5

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early on, I wasn't sure, but, it wasn't long before I was totally captivated, and couldn't stop listening. I've thought about this story all day long. It was that thought provoking, and straight to the heart, memorable.
Well done, Joshua!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've listened to this year.

The multi-cast narration was phenomenal, nothing flat about it. Ups, downs, loud, soft, yelling, screaming, hysterical laughing.

This is one of those books you need to hear to more fully appreciate. The cast must have really studied the text before recording. There is just no way I could have read this at a dry run and fully get the sense of the characters' emotion intent.

This book takes place at a time where I would've been the same age as the characters and that really helped. ( I'm in my 40's)

The dialog man... it was perfect. The timing the content the emotions I was right there with them laughing my ass off and trying not to cry.


Anyway, if you were a high schooler in the 90's just grab the audiobook. I won't spoil anything and i couldn't begin to do the book justice with a plot review. Listen to the book, you will not regret it.

[John O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this one, it brought me in at the start, but then the character changes and back and forth just dragged on. I was hoping for something in the end to bring it all back around and a great ending. The ending was good, but to me…it was just good.

[Jkane · Rating 2 out of 5]

The description of the novel was so intriguing, alluding to time travel, or something equally interesting. That part of the story occupies at most 5% of the novel, and probably closer to 1%. That was the biggest disappointment for me. The novel itself, though, was pretty boring for the most part.

I tried to listen to this novel a few years ago, when it first came out, but I just couldn't get through it. I decided to give it another go this year. This novel starts out well, with an interesting high school story. A kid growing up in an abusive household with a drunk for a father who is arguably more of a detriment to his son when he is not getting physical. His verbal abuse is so significant that it's easy to see how hard this could be on a growing kids' psyche. Then our protagonist picks a fight with another bully at school, making fun of him in class. The next thing we know, our protagonist has abuse at home and the threat of abuse at school. He has no refuge, until he meets a new friend, one that is altogether scary to anyone who comes across him. The story is basically a coming of age story, showing how important a friend can be. Unfortunately, it drags at multiple times throughout the novel because but for a few isolated incidents, nothing is basically happening.

I was very disappointed in the novel because I am a big fan of Gayou's Commune series (except book 5, which was a bait and switch). This novel is more like a book you'd be forced to read in school, rather than a guilty pleasure you read because the pages fly by, entertaining you continuously. I had hoped that the time travel/sci-fi aspect of this book, alluded to in the description, would allow Gayou to really explore something interesting. He did very little with it, in my humble opinion. The story could've been told as a normal story with zero sci-fi in it, and that would not have changed anything.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I could think about throughout this book was the John Hughes films of the 80's with a bit of a sci-fi twist. This story was basically 2 tales...Aiden, a meek Sophmore in HS who is bullied and has a horrible homelife with an abusive father, and Tony, a cool senior who has no fucks to give and has a badass hot rod. Aiden is journaling his life... Tony is writing letters to a girl in his class. Aiden is struggling throughout with his sexuality. Tony appears throughout to be a time traveler. Somehow, fate brings Tony and Aiden together when they should not be. However, Tony knows what a horrible (and short) life Aiden will have if he continues to get back onto his own timeline. In the end, he sacrifices everything to save Aiden. It's more of a coming out of the closet, teenage angst, sappy love story than it is a typical dark Josh Gayou novel.

[Brenden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish. If you write a book wanting others too read, give your readers a little bright light. Give them something. Just a little. There are plenty of things in life and others to whinge about and most could be far worse than being dragged though a pubescent teenager who's wimpy ramblings make up the first half of this book. I could quote some sentences but why put myself and others through it again.
What compounds this prose is the exhaustive descriptions, slow pace and frustrating action. Go watch some lawn grow on a sunny day and you will be far more satisfied than being caught up is this tale.

[Julia Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good. Recommend!

[Don Preston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abandoned 2/3 of the way through.
It just wasn't going anywhere and I got bored waiting.

[Bob Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, Joshua knocks it out of the park with this deep thought provoking novel about "Time Travel"As before, I will not divulge any "spoilers" However if you think you are going to read a story about "Time Travel" per se, you may be disappointed. It won't be a story about some dude going down into a root cellar to grab some "put up" jam preserves in 2019 central Missouri, then coming back out into a 1862 era Confederate state with all the scenarios you can think of. In fact you may be fifty pages into it and think you're reading a "Breakfast Club" teenage coming of age story filled with the usual adolescent angst. When the heck is the main character Aiden going to be transported? When is the story going anywhere? If you've read my review of his epic series "The Commune" you'll note I'm partial to his writing style, developement of his characters both emotional and psychological. His writing is "Deep". In fact a few chapters into it, I felt as though I was reading a Stephen King novel, I mean the "Old" Stephen King as in "Hearts in Atlantis". Tony is this weird Timeless" character who helps Aiden in his quest to discover himself emotionally, sexually and overall what it means to be "Human" a finite individual filled with ideas of what and where his purpose in life is truly about. All of us feel "special" as if we are all knowing. Our daily interactions with other people define us. A lot of the story takes place in High school. That alone is a deal breaker for me! Imagine if you could go back in time to your old high school and ask that one girl out, that you were always scared of her rejecting you and telling everyone what a loser you are. Then imagine what if she said yes and one thing leads to another, you get married at 17, have kids, live in the same old town, never go to college, get divorced, you get the picture. (Also to be PC, interchange any gender neutral pronoun you are comfortable with in my personal description). You choose a different "Path" the infamous "Six degrees of Seperation" smacks you upside the head with a 2x4. That's what the book is about, at least to me. As usual Joshua "fills" his characters with physical descriptions and vocabularies to match. Just as a "Gayou" translating tool, in one part of Aiden's interaction with some Mexicans, he alludes to the fact that he over hears them saying what sounds like the word "Charlie" and can't fiqure it out. As the resident Mexican here, I LMAO, because what Aiden heard was barrio slang of "Cha-le" which means "damn!" or "damn dude!" If they said 'e`chale" that would mean "do it" or "put it" In context of the narrative it was "Chale`" It could be said at that point Aiden was accepted by the Hispanic Clique.
In the end the story evolves into one of many possible endings where it circles back upon itself making you understand that every second of every day you have the ability to forever alter your future destiny and those around you for better or worse. For those of you that need a PG filter it does have graphic violence and language. Joshua writes from a place within that is filled with raw, unrelenting visceral emotion, put into words. Sometimes it's hard to follow, feels as if it's losing its arc, but in reality isn't that what Life does? The story grabs you, makes you think, makes you feel. When I finished it, I felt sated, sad then hopeful. That alone is worth a 5 point rating to me.

[Christopher Morgan, · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book you want to read twice

Normally a book set in high school is a book I would of read as a teen myself. However I have read the commune series by Joshua and loved it and knew this book would be more than just a teen drama.

It is for a more adult target audience than its setting. The book is more mature beyond its years and would of worked at college or a university setting.

It has mystery and if you remember high school or grammar school for me I loved English and reading Shakespeare which is a key plot point of this book. I would have to think on the whole book to digest all the similarities.

This book has science fiction elements. It's told from 3 points of view Karen aiden and Tony. I see myself in both Tony and aiden.

I hope others enjoy This as much as me

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, what a beautifully written book. Joshua Gayou is well known for his Commune series. Which is a really really good series. This book is nothing like that. This book doesn't get the love Commune does. That's a shame because I believe this is his magnum opus. I have read all his books and this is by far his best. Beautifully written, excellent character development and a great story with depth.