Refraction

by Wick Welker

How many times does it take to destroy the world before you can save it?

In 1986, physicist Timothy Straus hears voices that teach him how to create a space-warping engine that will change the world. In 2098, a fighter pilot hears voices that help him fight an authoritarian corporatist regime in the ashes of nuclear fallout. In 2155, the only self-aware robot on Mars struggles to steer humanity away from a demagogue who speaks from the shadows. Told through kaleidoscope storytelling across space and time, these three people are connected in ways they could never imagine. As they pull on the strings of the multiverse, what they can’t see is that every villain begins as a savior—every enemy starts as a friend. With the power to refract reality, will they learn that one person can’t save the people? That only the people can save the people?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Time Travel, Space, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adult

472 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2021

About the author

Wick Welker is the the winner of the Self Published Science Fiction Contest SPSFC4 with Saint Elspeth and a two time finalist of the competition as well. Start with either Dark Theory or Saint Elspeth for an intro into his writing.

Contact at wickwelker@gmail.com. Follow on Twitter @wickwelker.

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buddy read with my friend, Terry 😊

Holy crap on a cracker!!! This went from a 4.5 to a 5 Stars as it blew me away! Mind Blown people!



At one point I thought I’m not going to understand all of this science as it has major science stuff in it BUT, I understood it in my own little way!



I’m pleasantly surprised at the end game of the book. I didn’t have a clue where this was going but I just wanted to get there!! The book delivered for me 5 times over.

I enjoyed these characters and wanted to know what the frack was going to happen to them and what this message was that they all kept getting! As this is told through 3 timelines it does keep you on your toes. Now, someone smarter than me might figure it all out and yay for your smart brain, but I enjoyed the what the - journey!!

I recommend to all heavy ish science fans!

PS-I want a signed paperback from the author 😏

Happy Reading!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[TXGAL1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

REFRACTION is the debut title of Wick Welker’s entry into hard science fiction. I was lucky enough to be offered an early read in exchange for an unbiased review and was eager to do so.

Science fiction is not something that I normally gravitate to in my reading, but I do enjoy watching it, being a visual person. REFRACTION presented an intriguing story starting with the present (1988) and then fragmenting into two storylines in the future. When they all come together at the end, it is mind-blowing!

Tim Strauss is an exceptional main character. Strauss is a brilliant college professor constantly drawn to his lab that contains the project he has been striving so hard to complete against many odds—he is certain that it will benefit mankind. Jo Strauss, Tim’s wife, is concerned the Casimir Drive project is “driving” Tim to madness and has him visiting a psychiatrist. With the pressure from work, home, and himself, Tim doubts himself but not the work.

Strauss’s path to project completion alternates between two separate stories taking place in the future. This method of storytelling successfully drives three pulsating timelines forward towards the shattering conclusion. I loved it!

REFRACTION was a nail-biting read for me, except for the bits that were definitely beyond my casual read of comprehension. However, I was not dissuaded from rating REFRACTION from anything other than 5 stars. REFRACTION by Wick Welker is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[Khalid Abdul-Mumin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing Hard Sci-Fi space opera offering!
It has taken me quite sometime to finally get to reviewing this after reading so more thoughts on it after a reread but for now, in brief:

-- I absolutely loved the way Wick Welker executed the plotline of this book. The timeline jumps made it so intriguing and full of suspense making me eager to get to the ending and finally discover "what's up".

-- The characters were well fleshed out and deep, the pacing exact and lean, the story heartbreaking, the themes highlighted profound and metaphysical providing ample food for thought and the speculative science discussed amazing and thought provoking. Really looking forward to reading more hard sci-fi books from him.

I'll highly recommend this to any Space Opera native.

2022 Read

[Wick Welker]

This is my hard science fiction debut novel. It's got a little bit of multiverse, terraformed Mars, corporate dystopia all told in Cloud Atlas style with a dash of Asimov. Enjoy!

Updates:
6/1/22: Now available as an audiobook on Audible!

11/15/21: Refraction just made it to the quarterfinals of the SPSFC!

9/24/21: Refraction placed 5th in Hugh Howey SPSFC cover art contest among 300 contestants! Thanks to everyone that voted!

8/30: Refraction, as well as other great indie books, are being judged in Hugh Howey's Self Pub Sci Fi competition (SPSFC). Included in the SPSFC is an audience choice voting for best cover. I think Refraction has a great cover but there is some stiff competition. Check it out here, anyone can vote--->https://pollunit.com/en/polls/ffcxij5...

7/1: Just entered Refraction into Hugh Howey’s SPSFC!! Wish me luck.

4/30 Update: Out today 4/30! Thanks for everyone who did an ARC for me. Initial reviews seem very positive. Much appreciated!

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
This was easily one of the best sci fi stories that I have read in quite a while.

Refraction waa an incredibly engrossing piece of science fiction. It hit on some of my favourite tropes of the genre, while keeping the story fresh and exciting. This is predominantly a sci fi thriller, yet I feel like this book had so much more complexity and depth than most of the other books in the subgenre. 

Told of multiple perspectives and timelines, I found each chapter and character to be equally compelling. Equally engrossing was the world building and cultural developments surrounding the Martian colony as well as future Earth. The contrast between the utopian and dystopian societies made for a memorable background to the main storylines.

The scientific theories explored in this novel were easily one of my favourite aspects. The author's love of physics and other theoretical concepts was clear right from the start. Certainly, as a piece of fiction, the plot required liberties so I wouldn't necessarily call this strictly hard science fiction. Yet, I have a lot of appreciation for science fiction that goes beyond the anesthetics of the genre.

Needless to say, I binge read this chunky novel in a weekend and really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend this one to readers who enjoy thrilling stories in the vein of Dark Matter and Interstellar. 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author.

[Zitong Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Men manufacture their own versions of truth.”

My thanks to the author Wick Welker for sending me an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, so to my understanding, this is Welker’s sci-fi debut and well, he’s done himself good here. This novel, Refraction explored a wide host of incredibly fascinating and concepts through three different time periods while managing to link all three together despite the centuries of difference at the end in a way that I did not expect almost until the final reveal. The premise and the makeup of this novel is incredibly interesting and as someone who hasn’t read too many hard sci-fi, it happened to be quite fresh and original for me and at how things were executed.

I’ll admit, a lot of the science and more technical aspects of the novel were well beyond me. There is a fair bit of it, especially at the start, where it did take me a little while to get properly engaged into the plot and the characters. Once we got past the early expositional phases of the novel where we are introduced to three different worlds in essence and a substantial number of characters, I became quite invested, and who knew I could enjoy following a robot president around so much?

The worldbuilding here is truly fascinating with this idea of refracting alongside the other stuff. Each of the three different eras were well thought out and sort of showed humanity at its high and low points regarding how cruel the upper classes can be. I thought Central Cell was, while not exactly unique in the dystopian nature of it where so many suffer so that a monopoly can control everything, it was presented in an interesting fashion and I liked the idea of how their currency worked. I also really liked New Athens at how that concept was explored in that it is essentially a utopia, where the world is a lot like more how I would like our current society to be, yet I liked at how the author highlighted just how fragile and untrusting humans can be and the amount of damage that can cause, which are things we still today in our world.

“We destabilize people halfway around the world and sit and watch as the rich get richer and the poor - well, we just stop hearing from them altogether.”

I found there to be a lot of quotable material regarding human nature and politics and all that, and look, I eat that stuff up. It’s not necessarily profound or anything, but I love at how dramatic these certain phrases can be - and they do manage to be impactful. As to how much it exactly contributed to this novel, it didn’t do anything for the plot or characters, but they are engaging ideas to dwell upon, and it makes you think, which is great. I’ve attached some quotes/short passages as parts of this review, where I found these points to be particularly relevant to the political situation today, even if this is a science fiction novel, because I found this book explored humanity as a group in genuine ways.

The characters here were good, but it almost felt like they were there to expand upon the ideas. However, they certainly were better built up compared to characters in other sci-fi novels and I could understand their motivations and fears and that they were not only vessels for the ideas explored even if some of it was that. I just found that some of the changes in character development in some parts were almost too drastic and too sudden, and like I understood it was necessary to advance the plot, but in some moments, I really did wish for a bit more time for things to settle. However, the opposite can be applied in my view, where things could have potentially moved ahead a bit faster. Look, these are hardly major criticisms at all and these things with pacing and character development really did come down to my personal preference. I can totally see people adoring these characters and how everything was executed. It wasn’t perfect for me, but it was still great nonetheless, though I suppose in a sense that I’ve read better is all.

“Men create philosophies - ideologies - as a cloak to veil their tyranny. The true madness of men is the consensus of cruelty.”

This is a solid book that I think sci-fi fans would enjoy a lot, if not love as it does explore some great ideas with a strong plot and good well written characters. 8/10


Preorder Refraction here: https://www.amazon.com/Refraction-Wic...

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refraction is the absoultely breathtaking science fiction debut of Welker, who graciously offered me an ARC to read and give an honest review.

So let's start with the cover. It's absoultely beautiful. This visually stunning cover captures the essense of of novel within perfectly. The reds and blues and the TexasH rocket against the background of space captivated my attention immediately.

Refraction is told over three time periods, through multiple perspectives, Earth in the 80's, a post-apocalyptic dystopian future Earth, and a futuristic utopia that is terraformed Mars. The author himself describes it as having a Cloud Atlas, Kaleidoscope kinda vibe, and with an Asimov twist.
I know, you're sold, right? So was I! Trust me, if that sounds like your kinda thing, you won't be disappointed!

It's a proper hardcore sci-fi novel, so yes there was lots of science in it, but quite suitable for everyone.
*rubs hands together with giddy glee*
It had me shouting "Science, bitches!" like Jesse Pinkman out of breaking bad.

We first meet Timothy Straus, an optimistic schizophrenic physicist, who has been hearing voices. These voices that burden his waking hours teach him how to create a space-warping engine that will change the world, or at least save it from an almost certain impending nuclear fallout. Or so he hopes.
Timothy Straus was the highlight of the book for me. I really felt for him as he struggled with his illness and the stress it put on his relationship with his wife and and his colleagues. I think that the author did a fantastic job of creating a character who is both vulnerable, yet so very competent. The subject of mental illness was handled with compassion and understanding. Straus' wife Jo was a delight. Such a caring and compassionate woman, who cared so much for her husband and loved him despite his troubles and the strain it put on their marriage.

"You don't understand that weapons are more powerful when they're destroyed."

Caleb Stranger, Straus' great-great-grandson and the Straus fortune heir, is training to become a fighter pilot. Cal is a solemn youth who struggles to keep up with the rest of his class mates in their training. He's not the best pilot, but that's not all his fault, he works hard but he too hears voices and they have some unpleasant side effects, leaving him distant, distracted and introverted.
Cals mother, one of the ruling class of the Central Cell, is somewhat distant, leaving Cal feeling alone, misunderstood and troubled by the voices in his head.
Unexpectedly, his doorman Raz seems to hold some answers.
Cals chapters were so much fun to read. Raz was a little mysterious and Cal seemed to really seemed to crave his validation and want his guidance. So he really didn't need much encouragement when Raz suggests that he join him and his fight to take down the authoritarian corporatist regime of Central Cell.

"Hey," Raz said, looking down at him with a cold stare. "Don't you dare tell him it's going to be okay if you're not willing to do anything about it."

On a terraformed Mars in 2155, we follow Custos 'the dreamer', the only self-aware robot on Mars as he tries to steer humanity towards a utopian society that the people of Earth could only dream of. That is until, a wraith, a demagogue, who stalks the shadows and whispers into the hearts and minds of the people, inciting fear and sowing discontent in his wake. How can you fight someone who may not even exist?

"Are we any different than the past?...We find ourselves at the same precipice as the past world powers. Here we are. We are the leaders and philosophers and we are asking the same questions. Will we finally elevate humanity and continue or will we fall just like everyone before? Are we any different? Can humanity ever escape the cycle?"

As the story progresses, we begin to see the plots converge, and how these three seemingly unrelated plots align. The most exciting aspect for me of course, was the multiverse. I'm not exactly sure what it is about the thought of hypothetical collection of potentially diverse observable universes that really excites me but, this really captived my attention.
Through the process of refraction, our protagonists are able to see through to other parallel universes and are able to catch glimpses of what could be, if they could make sense of them.
This unbelieveable power has the potential to save humanity from themselves, if it doesn't end up destroying them first.

"You're just a shard of a multidimensional being."

It was an absolute joy to read. You can really see the love and the painstaking research that went into this book to produce a absolutely fantastic science fiction novel.
The story was brilliant, the characters fantastic and the setting, out of this world, if you'll pardon the pun.
The author creates three separate and very different worlds that are all captivating and unique in nature and breathes life into them. Each world is wonderfully fleshed out with it's own set of vibrant characters full of hopes and dreams and beautifully flawed. Welker not only captures the past, but manages to create a erie believeable post-apocalyptic dystopian version of Earth, and also, creates a futuristic terraformed Mars setting too, that left me wondering how is it that they haven't already started this process already?
The pacing was great. At the very beginning I was wondering how everything would tie together in the end, it seemed like such a huge undertaking, but they managed to effortlessly pull the strings together perfectly. I was greatly impressed.
The foreshadowing was perfect! I don't want to say too much incase I spoil anything but it made the ending all the more satisfying for the delicate trail of breadcrumbs that was left along the way.

And the ending!! Oh the ending! The twist! I literally gasped! I had so much fun trying to guess what would happen and who would do what... it was thrilling! I felt that it had a positive ending, poignant, yet hopeful.

Altogether, a fantastic read and an extremely impressive sci-fi debut, which I'd safely recommend to anyone seeking a thrilling science packed fantasy novel!

[Efka · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 5-star rating is not something that I hand out usually and with ease. There were only two clean cut fivers for me during the whole year 2020 out of 42 books I've read. This year is not (yet?) very ripe with fives also. There were just a couple of books with this rating, one of them being a modest magnum opus of a modest author - Stephen King and his "The Stand". So, when I DO rate a book with a fiver, you better be sure to take a note, because there's a lot I require from a book to get this rating. And does "Refraction" fulfill these requirements? Oooooh yeah.

First of all, let's start with plot. There are three different storylines that take place in quite different times. The first one is a story of a pretty much regular physicist of the 80ies and his revolutionary experiment to create an engine for a space travel. Second one is a story of a young pilot in a post apocalyptic earth during the very end of 21st century, and the third one is based on an artificial intelligence in terraformed utopian Mars around mid-22nd century. Now, that is already quite an ambitious aim to fluently combine regular, dystopian and utopian motives in one book, and I have to say that Wick Welker not only achieves it with ease, but also every storyline of those three is very beautiful and well executed. You could read any of them as a standalone story and you'd like them. Even more, in the final quarter of the book all those storylines get combined - seamlessly and complementing each other really really well.

The characters are also quite impressive, especially the brilliant physicist, Timothy Straus, who perceives himself as a schizophrenic and though that might not be the truth (or it might be pure truth - depending on your take on the book and his story, that's another impressive feat of this story), his slow but continuous decline is conveyed really impressively. Cal Stanger, the pilot, and Custos, the AI, are also good characters, though Timothy is a hands down winner as the best character for me.

The book is presented by the author as his hard sci-fi debut. You shouldn't be afraid of that "hard" part. Yes, it's quite technical, but well explained and generally not too hard to understand even if you're not too familiar with particularly this or any similar genres. If you are, though, then understanding and following the technical parts of this book would probably be peanuts to you. It's not that hard as, say, Liu Cixin, and not so technically cumbersome as Alastair Reynolds' "Revelation Space" series - both who are frontrunners for me when I think of really hard science fiction - so no biggie to get on well with a technical part of this book.

A bonus fun part for me was the aforementioned engine for space travel. You see, the last book I've read before starting "Refraction" was Stephen Hawking's "A brief history of time". In this book, one of the main points that caught my attention, (besides black holes, obviously) was something called Casimir effect. I won't start explaining what that is, you can easily google it if you want, but Hawking spent quite some time explaining it in his book, because this effect is basically about making energy out of nothing and it is a valid theory, despite thermodynamics and Newtonian laws might say otherwise (and they both are right, quantum physics is sooo strange and fun at the same time). So, I started reading "Refraction", came up to the point where Straus is building his space engine, and you probably already guessed what kind of drive that engine is. It's a Casimir drive. Lots of homework done right by the author here, guys, and not only on technical parts, but on sociology, psychology, economics, governments, etc.

Last but not least, this guy can write and he does so very smoothly and very evenly. All the story is paced just right, there's not too much dialogues, not too much reflection, not too much action, not too much anything, it's so well balanced!

I'm quite happy that I've got a chance to participate in this "A book for an honest review" deal, because I really liked it and I can only recommend it for everyone who's at least a bit interested in sci-fi, you won't be disappointed. A definite 5* from me.

[Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story told in three parts in three different times. In 1986, Timothy Straus hears voices that guide him towards grand scientific achievement. In 2098, Caleb Stanger hears voices that lead him to revolt against the government. In 2155, the only sentient robot on Mars tries to lead the people past fear and a dangerous individual in the shadows into a brighter day. Despite the span on time and space these individuals are connected in unforeseeable ways.

Refraction is a thought provoking book to put it lightly. Many ideas are discussed from scientific, to political, to human nature, and beyond. The characters in the book find themselves fundamentally fighting against human nature along with the apathy of those with plenty.

The three timelines used were done in an excellent fashion. The timelines tease the story out slowly and I would have never imagined the end at the beginning. Some interesting events occurred starting with scientific discovery from Timothy Straus. I wish I could get into more, but any elaboration feels like spoiler territory. The revelations later in the book are well worth the read, even if they do feel heartbreaking.

Refraction is a mystery with tragedy seeping into nearly every aspect of it.

[Nicholas Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A physical copy was gifted to me by the author. Thanks, Wick Welker! However, my views in this review are not influenced by that gifting and are entirely mw own.

I'm always hesitant when picking up self-published books. You never know what you're gunna get. And that's probably unfair give that the same thing can happen with traditionally published books. Overall, I can say I had a very exciting experience.

Refraction is a hard science fiction novel spanning several centuries and following three characters: Timothy Straus, a physics professor in the late 1980s whose research on the Casimir Drive is hindered by his episodes of hearing voice in his head and the lack of trust and funding from his university; Cal in 2098, Timothy's great-great grandson who also suffers from voices in his head who struggles to be a space fighter pilot in a consumerist and meritocratic society when his doorman Raz pulls him into the beginnings of revolution; and Custos in 2155, the robotic president of the Martian colony of New Athens, founded after civilization of Earth fell apart. Each of the men's stories, and timelines, eventually become intertwined when Timothy's research in the future gets taken advantage of and used for nefarious purposes.

The most notable thing I have to commend about this book is the science! It is meticulously detailed and explained to a fine point. I am more of a right brain person, so I didn't necessarily understand everything or knew when real science ended and when the science invented by Welker actually began, but it is so well thought out. Some of this science is told in small enough paragraphs that still convey the function and importance of what it does. There wasn't a whole lot of info-dumping, whether for the science or the history or the politics or the economics, but there were some few moment of it. The science info-dumping is mostly done in a university classroom setting, so it was appropriately used. Welker has a gift for explaining science without being tremendously overbearing.

The economics are also well-explained. As I said in my updates, there is a critique of capitalism involved. Thankfully, Welker actually explains what capitalism can do but also its long-term shortcomings on a massive scale. He also doesn't need to beat us over the head with its importance and doesn't need to constantly remind us of its effects. It's present enough where readers, at least to me, know what it has done in the long term. Capitalism isn't the only economic system touched upon; or, at least, it's not the only system of how money moves that is touched upon. The pitfalls of those are discussed as well.

All three of the stories and perspectives are interesting. As someone who attempted to get in academia at one point--my focus was religion and theology, not science--I genuinely felt for Timothy the most. His struggles with the voices, respect from his peers and co-workers and wife Jo, and his mental health were both interesting and saddening to watch. Plot-wise, I think the way his story ended make sense, but I'm still a bit sad about it. Cal was probably my least favorite of the perspectives; and when I say "least" I do not mean terrible or bad or uninteresting. There was still a lot of important stuff going on in Cal's perspective, but something about his perspective just did not enthrall me as much as Custos' and Timothy's for a time. It eventually picked back up, but perhaps it was a combination of his personality and the pacing during the early part of his perspective. Again, Cal isn't a bad character or perspective; just not as strong. Custos was my second favorite perspective. He started off slow, but when more things were revealed along the way it became interesting.

I think the pacing is perfect for the most part, but again during Cal's it felt, to me at least, a bit slower. Again, it might just be me. I love how things eventually tied together in the plot. I cannot believe the author had been writing this since 2014; though as someone struggling with their own unlaunched writing career, it shouldn't surprise me. The prose was the perfect fit for this book. Simple, but not too simple, and still able to covey the thoughts and themes of the story.

I really did enjoy this book, but I have a few other critiques: When we are first told that Cal is descended from Timothy, Cal says he was his great grandfather, but throughout the rest of the book everyone says great-great grandfather. That first one needs to be corrected. Two, I would like to have see more of Jo perspective. I really felt for her, but we got so little time with her. I am glad the epilogue focused on her, but I just would've liked a little bit more.

All in all, a solid 4 out of 5 stars. Welker is one to watch.

[Steve Kimmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an ARC, my first, so I believe I’m meant to declare that this will be an honest review despite the free copy. I’ve never met the author, and I’m not personally acquainted with him, other than being Goodreads Friends, thanks to similar fiction tastes.

I enjoyed this SciFi story.
It’s touted, I believe, as Hard SciFi, which is often not to my taste if the Science side is allowed to dominate over the characters in the story, regretfully often the case in the classic SciFi that I once enjoyed by Clarke, Asimov and Bear. However, here I think the author got it just right.

There is a science plot framework constructed around some fancy concepts (in this case, various parallel timeline possibilities in a multiverse, and a device based on the interesting Casimir Effect). The story operates across three time periods: in the late 1980’s where important discoveries based on the Casimir Effect are made; about 100 years later on a dystopian Earth; finally another few decades later with action mainly on a terraformed Mars. However in each timeline there are interesting characters leading the storyline. It took me a little time to pick up the story, being spread across three periods from the start, as is the case with many books constructed that way, but by the time I knew the characters in each, at about the 10% mark in the book, I found the story very easy to follow. No confusions about where I was in the story.

The author has a dystopian thread to the story as I mentioned above. This is partly based on the old standby of nuclear conflict but also intriguingly upon economic turmoil, undoubtedly influenced by issues such as the 2008 Banking collapse. The author also manages to squeeze globalisation and wealth inequalities into the plot, so it’s a very idea rich storyline in places with contemporary resonances.

Strong points. The easy to read prose, nothing flowery, which means it doesn’t get in the way of a well told, interesting and, in places, dense (in a good way) plot. Some excellent characterisations such as the scientist just far too deeply immersed in his work, in the 1980’s storyline.
Weak points? Nothing general, but it’s a deep and dense plot in places and inevitably some threads work better than others. For example, I found the digital currency in one timeline, and the plan to undermine it, a little strange. For characterisations, maybe more buildup explaining the all consuming rage in ‘The Copperhound’ which leads to an important vendetta towards the end of the story.

Despite being a bit of a science geek I don’t like large info dumps of the science behind any SciFi story and I’m pleased to say this was mostly absent here. This is speculative fiction after all so the bare bones of any science involved in the story is sufficient for me. However, for once, after reading this novel I would recommend the reader looking up the Casimir Effect, a not very well known but well established and strange consequence of Quantum Mechanics, on an online popular science website. Absolutely not necessary to understand its role in this story but it’s an interesting topic for science geeks which I was happy to be reminded of!

In summary, Hard SciFi which hit my sweet spot for that particular genre; interesting, certainly thought provoking in places, and a straightforward read. Not perfection but a very good entertaining first SciFi novel by the author.
On the plus side of 4.5*.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sci-fi that makes you think

I've always been a fan of stories that make me stop and think. Ones that make me question how the world around us really works. Ones that make me look at the future, and wonder how we're going to get there. This book made me do this several times, not just contemplating the future, but also the past and present as well.

Overall, I thought this was a good story, one that kept me guessing, and that was also filled with interesting characters put in some very challenging situations. I enjoyed the science, which as I noted, kept me wondering. In the end, the resolution to this story felt right, and also gave me hope looking forward to our own future in space.

I was lucky enough to win this ebook in a giveaway on Goodreads. I want to thank both the author and Goodreads both for making this possible. I think if you enjoy sci-fi, especially ones that make you think, this is one I wouldn't pass up.

[Milda Page Runner]

Sorry, this isn't working for me. The writing is just too raw. Dialogs feel very staged and not natural and the prose simply doesn't flow.
I've read the stretch where ten sentences in a row started with 'he': He saw, he thought, he sat, he pressed, he looked etc. Instead of thinking about the plot I was thinking how to fix it so it doesn't sound so repetitive...

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big, sprawling space opera from Welker, predicated upon a 'multiverse', but focused upon the future of humanity. Welker develops the tale along three time lines: mid 1980s in the USA, where we follow the strange career of a physicist at a Georgetown, 2098, which features Cal, a pilot trainee in 'Central Cell', the last city left on Earth after a nuclear war, and 2155, on Mars, where the lead becomes Custos, a self-aware robot who is now president of New Athens, a thriving city on terraformed Mars.

At Georgetown, the physicist Tim, is working on project that utilizes quantum forces to act as an engine, while still engaging in teaching undergrads. We know from the prologue that Tim invents the Casimir drive, which now powers spaceships among other things. Yet, Tim keeps hearing voices, and often (if not always) these voices provide math and such that feature in his work. Is he going crazy? His wife thinks so, as does his boss at the University, but hey-- look at the mad genius!

Central Cell at first seems to be utopia, where Cal and his mother in in opulence, but we quickly learn that the riches of the city are largely at the expense of the rest of humanity, who live off the garbage from the city, and elsewhere barely live at all. New Athens also seems utopian, but represents a more collectivist social democracy, where poverty has been eliminated and people are free to invent and really live. Yeah, the folks on Earth are pretty bad off, but the 'dream' is to someday bring them to Mars so they can share and partake in the future of humanity.

How do all these timelines relate? Welker keeps you guessing for some time and I will not spoil the surprise with spoilers. I will say, however, that the main characters really take backseat to the social situations and dynamics of each timeline. Is humanity doomed to fall into authoritarian plutocracy or are other possibilities possible? Welker gives us humanity at its finest and its worst, and like all good science fiction, gives you something to chew on concerning society today. I liked this, but I did have some issues. First, it felt like something from the golden age of science fiction, especially regarding the tech and visions of the future. Second, things like terraforming Mars; this was purportedly done in less than 100 years primarily by just using mirrors to melt the icecaps. The handwaves at tech is what really reminded me of the golden age era. Lastly, there were some things I could just not buy, such as why Custos stopped refracting, even when New Athens seemed to be threatened. Worth a read and I will check out more of Welker's work, as I believe this was his first science fiction novel. 3 refracting stars!

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Refraction didn't work for me. It's ambitious and tries to be fun at times but too many things annoyed me after the first 50 pages or so. The deliberately fragile worldbuilding, unnatural* conversations that clearly served to inform the reader, everything about the wifes role in the story, and sadly much more.


*by my standards.

[Khira · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great sci-fi read that combines my favourite elements of sci-fi: science, philosophy, an original premise, and some great plot twists. The novel follows three strands in time that track humanity's (and protagonists') attempts to create different social and economic structures that would ensure prosperity of humanity, yet failing time and time again and being constantly under some unknown threat. I loved the themes of what defines a soul through a multitude of different versions of ourselves, the psychology in the rise and fall of great powers, and in-depth explanations of the physics behind the phenomenon of 'refraction' in this story.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 stars

I received an ARC of Refraction (a million thanks to author Wick Welker) back at the beginning of April ahead of its official publication on the 30th of April (my birthday, coincidentally) in exchange for a review. At that time I was in the middle of a reading slump, but I still began reading this book wanting to support the author and have a review out before its release. Well, here I am, on the 4th of July, over two months after the release date, and almost exactly three months ofter I received it, I have finished Refraction. It's safe to say I am pretty late to the party. But I arrived early. It's like I drove to the party way before anyone else, then got preoccupied in my car and by the time I finally got inside, they were stacking chairs. People are passed out on their couches at home before I enter the building.

Ok, to the review. My overall experience with Refraction was... mixed. But good mixed. Up until the 60-70% mark, it was looking to be a solid 4 stars, with the potential of 4.5. Then something occurred that made me change my tone a bit. I suppose I should start off my setting up the general idea of what this book is about, so as to effectively convey my feelings. Refraction is, for better or worse, very centred on America. They even bring their political ideals up to Mars with them. Now I'm not going to sit here in ignorance and say that it should have been based around anywhere else, because I couldn't imagine trying to write about a place I haven't lived in. But anyway. Basically, there are three timelines: one is in the 1980's America and deals with physics professor Timothy Straus as he attempts to build his invention called the Casimir Drive (my brain kept changing "Casimir" to "Kashmir", as in the Led Zeppelin song, but my brain does this kind of thing a lot) which will change the world as we know it - if only Straus can stay sane enough to complete it. The second timeline takes place in 2098 at a place called Central Cell, a civilisation that has emerged after nuclear fallout, and follows Caleb "Cal" Stanger as he attempts to pass a flight test to maintain his citizenship, but learns some harsh truths about the world he thought he knew. The third timeline occurs on a human colony on Mars called New Athens in 2155, and its self aware robotic president Custos. If I'm being honest (which I will try my hardest to be) none of the perspectives were anything particularly special or standout to me at least, but since there were three, the story wasn't too bogged down by an uninteresting narrator like single POV books can sometimes be. Now that you have a background, let's dive into some specifics.

Out of all three timelines, I expected to enjoy Custos' the most, but I ended up liking his the least. A lot can be done with robot or android characters, as human or as machine as they can be, and I always enjoy reading another take. Unfortunately, Custos was a bit one dimensional for me, and never truly peaked my interest, even at the beginning when Martian politics were involved. But while I wasn't interested in the character all of time, it doesn't mean I didn't like it at all. All the things required to colonise and terraform such a vast, and volatile, land like Mars are discussed in detail, and the amount of research and cross referencing done behind the scenes really stood out, and made it all the more immersive, even if the characters broke that immersion for me.

I did expect I would like the 80's timeline, which I did, but not for the reason I had assumed I would. Straus' POV chapters had some amazing scientific theorising and experimentation and I just ate it up! The best hard sci-fis are when the author/director/etc actually convinces you the audience that his theory is, for all intents and purposes, humanly possible. Like, you could hop down to Bunnings (translation: hardware store), grab all the bits you need and properly make the things described in the story. That was what it felt like in Refraction, and it was amazing! I know it can be really hard to make the delivery of said information interesting, but I more often than not forgive this easily if the details are compelling enough, and for me they rarely aren't. On top of this, you had Straus who I believed was the strongest and most developed of the three main perspectives. I have in my notes that Straus kind of reminded me of a scientist Van Gogh, in that he wasn't respected or taken seriously during his lifetime, but his influence on history truly makes an impact, as you see in the future timelines. The only real issue I had with this POV is that maybe a little more could have been done to make it feel, you know, 80's, because that's what I was originally looking forward to.

The perspective I am the most conflicted about is the middle time period. It was a pretty standard utopia-at-first-glance-but-then-oh-no!-it's-actually-a-dystopia setting, kind of reminiscent of the dystopias written during the Cold War when nuclear holocaust seemed ever so near. The setting was the strongest part of this timeline, where it falls short is its characters. Cal was just... cringey. I have no other way to explain it. He wasn't cool, he was a wannabe. There is even a line from him where he says "I've changed. I'm different now" and as soon as I read that, I couldn't help but say it out loud, after I had finished snorting, in an edgy emo teen voice. (Oh man, I'm doing it again as I write this... and again as I reread this review two years later.) His arc as a character was too rushed and didn't allow for any nuanced examination of where he was as a person and where he ended up, but that really ties into the ending which I will briefly discuss after this. The background characters in this timeline were very shallow and I felt nothing for them (ooooh, a bit brutal there, Isabella). I also used to frequently ride a horse called Raz so seeing a character called the same thing was a bit strange for me.

Then there is the ending. Well, the last 30%ish I mentioned before. In theory, it is a very clever ending. It ties all the plot lines together nicely and allows for an interesting climax for all three perspectives at once. That's not where my problem lies. I'm going to have to do a little skirting around spoilers so bare with me here. There is kind of an Obi-Wan/Anakin thing going on between two characters (can't really say who because that's a spoiler). We all know what happens there, right. Anakin ends up joining the Sith, which causes a rift between them (haha, rift) and Obi-Wan has to stop him, they fight blah blah blah. But Refraction's Anakin never felt like they would have chosen that path if plot hadn't needed them to do so. The event that is supposed to split up their friendship didn't feel that momentous, and all it took was a few monologues (which were well written, yes) for everything to be end up the way it did at the end. Plus, the relationship between "Anakin" and "Obi-Wan" never felt that strong to begin with, certainly not strong enough to cause "Anakin" to hold such a grudge against "Obi-Wan". Hey, but that fight was cool so I guess it's all ok. I also think that more foreshadowing was required throughout the story to hint towards some of the reveals at the end, which was rather genius, if a bit out of left field. This is not me getting stroppy because I didn't see many of them coming (I read it over 94 days, I was never going to guess anything at that rate) and blaming it on the book, just maybe a little more work could have been done.

But what do I know. A case can be made that I am completely off on everything I have said thus far. Me telling Welker how to write is kind of like a kid in his first season of ripper rugby explaining to an All Black how to score a try. Ok, I'm from NZ and we use rugby metaphors/similes all the time, but I can acknowledge that it may need a little bit more explaining for you international folk. The All Blacks are, of course, our national rugby union team (if I need to explain who the All Blacks are, then you truly are beyond help), and ripper rugby is a version of rugby union that little kids play here. Kind of like Saturday football (though we have that too) or baseball. It's pretty similar to the rugby you see on tv except without the tackles (because it's not good for young kids to bash their heads together; they don't play tackle until about 10) instead they have these tags velcroed on at the waist which opposition players rip off instead of tackling. This all sounds pretty straightforward, but in reality it's a whole bunch of kids running around with a ball half again the size of their head and coaches yelling not to tackle, because all little boys want too be All Blacks here, and have been tackling their mums and dads since they could walk. ANYWAY, that was a long unwarranted explanation for that comparison that was quite unnecessarily detailed and probably not worth using a saying that would only make sense to fellow Kiwis. Oh well. Wow, that was convoluted 🤦‍♀️ 😂. Basically, I'm saying I that feel too much of an amateur to give suggestions to Wick on how to write a book that he has clearly put so much effort and time into developing. I know that it is one thing to review a book, and another matter entirely to actually write one, let alone one as good as Refraction.

Would I recommend Refraction? Um, yes!! I don't know why anyone wouldn't! It is one of those books where I can acknowledge that it is really good, despite my own personal enjoyment, and those types of books I will never fail to recommend. A bajillion thanks (yes the amount of thanks has increased over the course of this review) to Wick Welker for sending me an ARC of his science fiction debut. Sorry I took so long to finish it 😂.

[Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I randomly picked this up when I scrolled through SPSFC entries and premise sounded interesting to me.

I love when book spans many years so you can see progress of people, this book does it with three timelines each following a character that helps shape the next change. Concept was intriguing and all physics and theories explaining it were believable in story's setting. Resolution was a bit off for me personally but I still enjoyed my time reading this book and would recommend it.

[Alex LB · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the most Asimov-like book I have read, and that is both a compliment and a critique. This book has it all: parallel dimensions, prestigious college science labs, the terraforming of Mars, nuclear destruction, and a sentient robot. It has brave and brash main characters that believe in science and the good of mankind. The science is well-thought-out and the societal politics are complex and illustrative of the same kinds of grand ideas as something like Foundation.

It also has a complete lack of any complex female characters. We have the long-suffering wife/girlfriend or the power-hunger harpy. One of the major conflicts is dependent on a female character being fridged. There is also a lot of grandstanding and lecturing in place of realistic dialogue. The characters really like to explain everything, which honestly is consistent with their characterization, but I didn’t like the feeling of being patronized.

There was some inventive twisting of tropes, and while I knew the vague shape of the big reveal, I was still surprised by how some of the elements played out. One of the big ideas in this book is that all this has happened before, and all this will happen again. So I suppose I can’t fault it for some of the recycled ideas and on-the-nose political messaging. This book is a great recommendation for fans of the Foundation series, but if you are like me and quit that series because of the lack of female characters and the wooden dialogue, you will probably feel the same way about Refraction.

[William Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for 2021 SPSFC

Overall Thoughts
This was a very interesting book, concerning time, space, and human nature. There are some clunky lines, some “tell” where there could be “show,” and I think it could probably be a bit shorter to tighten up the plot a bit, but overall, I really liked the message of the book and the struggle the main characters went through. It’s told in three time periods, each about 80-100 years apart, showing what happens to Earth and Mars over the next couple hundred years. There are some twists I saw coming, and others I did not. While some of the prose was a bit sophomoric, the intent behind the words was enough to captivate me, and make me read with interest as the layers unfold nicely toward the end, peeling back one by one until all the reader’s questions are answered.

Plot
As I said, this is told in three time periods, one in the 1980’s, one in the end of the 21st century, and one in the middle of the 22nd century. There is about equal words given to each time period, and the connections between them become more obvious as the book progresses, where we start to see how some characters are descendants of others, or related by other means. The main thrust of the story concerns the development of a highly efficient drive that allows for FTL and sub-FTL speeds by bending space and time (like Star Trek’s warp bubble). However, several of the characters start hearing voices and discovering that they might be able to see events in other realities. I won’t spoil anything else, but the story goes from there to a really satisfying conclusion!

Setting
This is set mainly on Earth in the 1980’s, Earth after a nuclear and economic apocalypse, and on Mars in the cradle of a new civilization. I never felt the version told here was far from events that could actually happen, especially with the resources horded by wealthy people in our world, and what they use those funds for. There are some great descriptions of how the wealthiest and the poorest live, contrasted with recent history and a possible future on Mars. I thought there could have been a little more fleshed out on how the Mars colony was formed, but then I also said the book was pretty long, so I’m fine with giving that up in lieu of it not being any longer. In all, I never felt pulled out of the worldbuilding here. A solid effort.

Character
These characters are a great vehicle for the reader to see the world build in this book, and while there was a depth of emotion, I felt they were hampered just slightly by the quality of the writing. I connected strongest with Tim Strauss, the inventor of the new drive, as his story is set in the 1980’s and went through some very heartfelt struggling with mental illness. The characters in other time periods I didn’t connect with as thoroughly, mainly because some of the emotions were unsubtle—more told than shown. That said, as the book progressed I really was cheering for all the characters to get to their personal goals, as well as to stop the big bad of the book, who slowly became clearer as the story went on. I don’t want to say more on how things developed, because it will lead to some pretty big spoilers, but I’m always happy when I don’t completely figure out the twist. In this case I had several theories, none of which were quite right, but all were very close.

Score out of 10 (My personal score, not the final contest score)
Temporary score until more books in the contest are read: A great philosophical take on how power affects us, and how we affect society. Hampered a bit by the writing, but overall a very satisfying story that keeps you guessing as to what’s really happening. 7/10.

[Asimov Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Refraction is a Science Fiction novel by Wick Welker that follows three separate stories:

1. The research of a university professor in the 20th Century
2. The struggles of a qualifying student pilot in the 21st Century
3. An AI President's battle for the acceptance of his people in the 22nd Century

Each story is unraveled chapter-by-chapter in fragments, gradually revealing elements and historical events that provide continuity to the timeline. In the 20th Century, the university professor exhibits schizophrenic tendencies that lead to a genius discovery providing agency to future citizens of Earth to travel across the Solar System. However, we soon find that the discovery comes at a grievous cost to society.

I found this novel to be quite easy to pick up and start reading, but when it begins to delve into the other time periods, things can start to feel a little slow. Each individual storyline is introduced at a similar pace, making it feel like you have to read three times as much to start getting to the good stuff. I estimate there are about two different events in the first 200-250 pages of the story that really got my attention and made the pace feel a bit faster, but that would quickly dissipate as the chapter would end and move on to the next time period. The rest involved a lot of explaining that allows us to understand the social climate of the three time periods and their characters.

There is also a lot of hard science-y stuff that is covered that might get you stopping to wrap your head around what the characters are talking about. If you like explanation of things like manipulation of physics to attain near-light and FTL speeds, you will probably relish these moments. There is also a lot of explaining that helps us understand the history of the universe in this novel. I personally found that this was done against the principles of "show-not-tell" A lot of the explanations seemed a bit socratic, with the majority of it taking place within dialogue between two or three characters. This might have been natural in the case of the university setting, but I feel could have been more creative in the case of the other stories. That being said, there is a potential reason why there is a lot of "telling" in the story, but it may be better for you to read the novel and figure that out for yourself.

From somewhere around the 200-250 page mark, the story really picks up and there are a lot of turning points which make reading feel more effortless. The story itself is around 430 pages long, so keep this in mind if you are willing to dedicate half your time reading to the setup. Because the stories are fragmented, it made some of the discoveries in some time periods interesting, adding context to the others. However, it made me wonder what it would be like to read the three stories as a collection of unfragmented short stories. I don't think reading in this way would necessarily spoil the others, but don't take my word for it, I haven't tried it! It's probably best to give it a read the way the author intended, then re-read the story lines in "centuries", skipping around to the relevant fragments. That said, I got a lot of enjoyment out of re-reading the first few pages after finishing Refraction.

One thing that I think could rub a lot of people the wrong way is the presence of strong/powerful female characters, all but one or two of which acting somewhat as antagonists or pseudo-anatagonists in the story. If you read the entire book, it's an interesting dynamic, but if you don't have the patience, it would probably leave you with a sour taste (if noticed). That said, I enjoy that every one of the characters have pretty fatal flaws, even the ones that attain great power.

If you enjoy figuring out advanced physical concepts, multiple storylines that share connections and the inner workings and consequences of society and culture, you will probably enjoy Refraction.

I personally enjoyed this book, and I'm curious to see how Welker's next Science Fiction novel, Dark Theory, will pan out. My copy of Refraction came with a sneak peak of the first two chapters, and it seems to be an exploration of the relationship between humans and robots in the face of a calamity.

Thanks for the good read, Wick!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's much to praise about Refraction, but also a fair amount to critique. The story is well layered and complex, with sci-fi elements front and center. I think readers who live and breathe sci-fi will eat this one up. Though I occasionally dabble in sci-fi (The Martian remains one of my all-time favorites), I don't read it quite as often and tend to pick up other genres first. In spite of that, I found myself enjoying Refraction quite a bit.

The settings (including the past, future, and far-future) are engaging and well-developed. The interweaving between them kept me guessing at how everything would ultimately connect, up through the very end. I appreciate how complex concepts, both scientific and moral, are included.

So why is this one three stars, instead of five? There is a lot of info-dumping and moral speechmaking. I wasn't entirely put off by it, since I think that can sometimes be a positive feature of the sci-fi genre, but I think it could've been done a bit more smoothly. On more than one occasion, I found myself rereading sections after realizing that I had inadvertently zoned out.

Additionally, I felt that the characters weren't as developed as the science/plot was. Though this is an engaging sci-fi, I was reading it for the science and mystery, not the characters. I couldn't have cared less what happened to any of them, since none of them felt "real" to me. This book seems to suffer from a case of plot-before-character, limiting my engagement with the story.

(I jumped between the kindle version and the audiobook--reading the majority via audiobook--and want to note that narrator John Fleming did a great job.)

[TennesseeReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wick Welker is our generation's Michael Crichton. That's high praise! They have many similarities and both write excellent books. Sadly, Michael is gone but thankfully Wick is just getting started!

The less said about this book the better. I had no idea what to expect going in. I've read two Wick Welker books before this. Dark Theory, 5 stars and a personal favorite of mine, and Saint Elspeth, 4 stars. I was expecting to like this book, just as I liked the others, but I came away loving this book!

Three books I've read of Wick's and there seems to be a common theme throughout all three that I've read. The human condition. How humanity seems to be its own worst enemy. Saint Elspeth talked about it through an alien "invasion" while Refraction talks about it through time and dimensions. Both are compelling while making excellent science fiction.

Just like Saint Elspeth, there's a lot of technical and scientific jargon that I didn't know. But also like his other books, Wick doesn't make you feel stupid with it. Like Michael Crichton, it's all made believable through the story. Wick is clearly smarter than you and I and while he doesn't make you feel stupid, he doesn't talk down to you either.

Wick Welker is a name you should be looking out for. He continues to knock it out of the park with every book. I eagerly look forward to more work by this excellent author!

[Jean-Charles Garaud · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
It was my first attempt at a novel from Wick Welker and I loved it, I have to say I enjoy reading SciFi and time bending or time warping stories, this one was no exception, but the author brought a new view to the party with his concept of refraction.
Refracting, means presenting the multiple possible consequences of choices to be made by an individual faced with a decision or another and another until past and future get mixed.
Well written novel, portraying an interesting new approach to multiple personality disorders or are these really disorders, scientific discoveries and human history with a specific catching atmosphere to it.
The story is original, as are the torments of Timothy Straus, a man, scientist, of the 1980`s, real enough to get us to suffer with him and Jo his wife.
The fears of Cal, a teen-ager in 2098 coming from an upper-class and highly privileged family, when faced with an uncertain future, in the year 2098, in a world, the Cell a bubble of wealth, where everyone needs to prove himself as being successful to be allowed citizenship.
The utopia of New Mars colony and New Athens where people finally live in peace and harmony in a society with equality and full-employment lead by a sentient robot, Custo, in the year 2155, earth being in the meantime a desolated planet after total destruction wrought by a nuclear war.
These three worlds, their development and futures happen in some way linked and one ends up caught in the story(s) and the adventure of human society(s) and life. The book is even more gripping, leaving the reader with some unanswered questions.
Great reading experience, to be advised to any reader, lover of fiction.

[Hannah Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refraction was an absolute delight to read! It was truly engaging from start to finish. The science was digestible for someone with only a passing interest in physics, and the world building is impeccable. 10/10 will be recommending this one to everyone I know!

[Michael Everts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wick Welker’s, Refraction, published April of this year, 2021, is a FIT 2B Read, scifi debut novel for the author.
I received this novel directly from the author, with the intent to provide an authentic objective review. While Welker has published other novels, this is his first foray into science fiction. I intend to continue reading his work, as I found Refraction highly enjoyable.
I understand he has a new release that is either out now or coming out very soon. I expect to move it up on my TBR following this enjoyable reading experience.
This being a 2021 release with some similarities to Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary (attempting space travel, recruitment to service or calling themes), it’s worth briefly comparing the two novels . They are very different plots, of course, but in terms of enjoyability, they are on the same playing field. Hail Mary, for me, had great dialogue and character interactions. Refraction was very enjoyable and the more unputdownable.
As with all of my reviews, I will begin with a spoiler free review, character analysis, and plot summary. Following that summary, I will write my 5 likes and 5 dislikes that will include spoilers.
Refraction, splits its chapters and points of view among three timelines, Mid and late 1980s, 2098, and 2155. This immediately sets a quick pace that serves the story well. The novel is 450 pages, and split among three timelines, a lot needs to get done, and get done quickly.  
The first main character the reader meets is a physicist and college professor Timothy Strauss. The year is 1986, and while Strauss is clearly a brilliant physicist, his brilliance is enhanced by the voices he hears in his head. With the “aid” of these not quite clear, voices or directions, Strauss attempts to invent warp drive propulsion. Strauss refers to the project as a Casimir Drive. Because he hears voices and is not clear if they are real or just psychosis, his emotional and physical stability are impacted.
Strauss is so prone to be noticeably affected by this, that the chair of his department at the University, Dr. Van Wert, takes preemptive measures to respond to eventual episodes and frequently sits in on Strauss’s lectures.
The early set up in this timeline conditions the reader to examine the relationship between Strauss and his wife, his child, his students, and Van Wert. Welker builds  suspense with each trial and error in building the space-warping drive and cultivates strong sense of mystery about what the voices are and where they are coming from. The reader is also introduced to ideas around nuclear conflict.
The 2098 timeline introduces main character Cal Stanger and his friends Jelena and Benedito. Cal and his friends are space cadets at Central Cell Air Academy preparing for their Senior Year final exam, the Jupiter Run.
This time line also introduces us to Cal’s mother Minzy Stanger, a socialite and apparently important citizen of Central Cell. Central Cell is presented as a sensible post apocalyptic  future earth society. 
Like Strauss in the late 80’s timeline, Cal hears voices. While we, the readers find suspenseful and care about the Jupiter run, we are more interested, again, in the mystery of the voices. Our curiosity is also piqued about the world of Central Cell and how things run there. One of the things that survives an apocalypse is wealth disparity and the opportunities for the haves vs the have nots.
Jumping forward in time to 2155, this timeline features Custos, the sentient robot Mayor of New Athens, the first colony on Mars. When Custos is first introduced, he seems to have been riding a wave of support and enjoys high job-approval rating. This Mayor has a knack for making enlightened decisions in governing and is an effective time-binder, meaning he understands and has learned from the failures of governments of the past and is not bound to make the same mistakes in the future. 
This timeline would, of course, not be that interesting without conflict or mystery. Welker gives us both here. There are politicians that may think Custos is too calm, cool, and collected and we also have, surprise surprise, mysterious messages.
Unlike the other timelines, the focus on the mysterious messages comes in a different form. Custos navigates the political terrain while at the same time, enlists the help of government scientists to attempt to decipher and find the point of origin of the cryptic messages.
Having three story lines is a great device for keeping the story fast-paced and filled with a number of familiar themes. The feel of the novel is at times dystopian and alternate history, at times thriller, with small bits of horror, hard sci fi and military scifi.
There may have been some sacrifice of meaningfulness in some of the themes, as there was great set-up and interesting resolutions, but some of the stuff in between was absent. The story does offer resolution to the mysteries presented in the first half, and the reveals are all satisfying.
While the Mars colony is not written to be a deep dive into philosophy, it is exciting to think about a not too distant future settlement on a nearby terraformed planet, knowing what we know now, and thinking about how we might have the chance to start from scratch, with leaders who potentially have learned from the past.
This is definitely a book to recommend to readers looking for an accessible science fiction read with good doses of space, science, and action with original ideas, suspense, and mystery that wraps up with a worthwhile and enjoyable conclusion. 
Refraction is a very fun read. The novel is original and a great FIT 2B Read first entry into the scifi genre for WIck Welker. Most effective is that the story is well told and features suspenseful mysteries with satisfying surprises and reveals. To avoid telegraphing too many spoilers, I’ve saved those for now, and my 5 likes and 5 dislikes segment.
L1. 
Right from the get go, Strauss is an interesting character. Being the quirky genius is nothing new, but Welker introduces us to the quirks in novel ways. I especially like Strauss reaching out his hand to shake Jia’s hand while she is far across the room.
DL1. 
Because I enjoyed the book so much, I wish there weren't so many minor interruptions in believability in the anarchy storyline. While it otherwise might have slowed pacing, Jelana's willingness to join with Cal and Raz was too instantaneous. Of course she was motivated by saving her parents, but, with little hesitation, she was fully on board to become a fighter pilot for the anarchists. Then there are “bricks” and the story about the financial system of Central Cell and the meaning of the name. The story may have benefitted from spending more time earlier in the book setting up the world in such a way that the reader wouldn't be questioning if it made sense that these 3 prominent students were completely ignorant about the meaning of the name of their government. Then the big one is the reveal of the giant 150 story tower in the center of it all with fighter jets, turrets, and an armed military. The way it is presented as, "you know that big gray tower..." appears to diminish the scale and scope of it. It also reinforces the cadets as less informed. There are a number of other smaller moments as well, and any one of them is explainable or acceptable, but each is still a stutter, stumble, or pause in the flow of the story, even if the pace is still strong and the action still enjoyable.
L2. Good world building. Welker doesn't rush into the Mars story without taking the time to establish the setting, allowing the reader to establish grounding on this foreign, tho somewhat familiar world.
DL2. A lot of interesting things are thrown at us, and I mean really feel like they are thrown at us. Credit to the author because those things build the world and the story, but some of these ideas would be better served with more page time. Occasionally,  big reveals like the board of trustees that run central cell, needed more than just a few paragraphs. In two or three pages, we were given all of the description of the tragic conditions of the world outside of Central cell, what happens to central cell citizens who can't afford health care, the copper mines, economics, and the philosophy of the ruling class of central cell. Those topics together could be several chapters instead of a few pages. This isn't to say it didn't serve its purpose, because the way its presented is consistent with the pace of the rest of the book. The missing bits, though, is where I add the words “kind of” when calling it dystopian.
DL3. 
There were a few really great moments  that I would have liked to have seen a little more prose wrapped around. The moment when Cal cradled the dying man's head and was stroking his hair, was a great revealing moment for this character. Its because it is such a great moment, that I bring it up now, because I feel there was an opportunity to have made the moment even more special. The characters are well written, but there was room for improvement. This moment might have been one to exploit. 
We also find out Cal, who we also know as the Copperhound, was stuck suffering in the copper mines. Please tell me more, please elaborate and make me feel his pain, distress, fear, desolation, etc. There were opportunities in the book that could have been used to make some characters even more dynamic . Cal’s sort of validating or coming to recognize Raz’s/Custos actions was likewise short-changed at the end of the book. I will say though, If I had 6 likes,  I’d list Copperhound at #6 as a badass villain name.
Expanding further on the characters side of things, Jo, Strauss’ wife, is well written. She is a minor character, but she displays strength and depth in subtle ways. The nuance is refreshing. I was at times confused if I liked or didn’t like her or if I thought she was right or wrong. She was not black or white. I could see a mind at work.
DL4. 
At times character voices feel as though they could be interchangeable. Especially on mars.
L3. 
Martian political focus respecting the value of a robot’s ability to time bind and the benefit that that provides to society. Avoiding making the mistakes of the past because the past is learned from and not forgotten only to be repeated with the same disastrous effects.. Custos cites corporate trustees running a nation and comparing it to Roman history and goes into election and voting reform, etcetera.
I like that a utopian idea presented, during Custo’s conversation with Dev, is the idea of freeing the human mind to pursue any creative output. The untapped potential and ingenuity of the human mind, speaking about benefits of automation and not from the perspective of profit hoarding and cost cutting. 
DL5. 
I alluded to this in the non spoilers segment...Agent Starkens dialogue with Cal feels very author's voice. Using her in a not subtle way to share backstory with the reader. The attempt to disguise this by having the pace be quick and confrontational is not an adequate distraction from the plate of information pie we are being served.
We get similar treatment one section later when Strauss is talking to his 2yr old son. The dialogue again lacks subtlety and Strauss delivers an unnatural feeling speech to his child, things us readers are meant, I believe, to think about..if we haven't done so like we are supposed to. In each case, it feels like the information being told is information the reader should gain elsewhere.
 It happens again when custos is talking to Dev about automation. Its of course important for the reader to get this information, but sometimes character conversations become just too convenient a vehicle for this. It takes me out of the story if I am finding a conversation is happening only for the purpose of telling me something I should be able to pick up on in other ways.
Finally, we get this treatment when Custos is discussing gravitational waves and at times when Strauss is speaking to his research assistant.
L4.
 I was considering for a dislike, to call out the idea that, even in the filth and despair people lived in, there would still exist some form of culture that included art or play of some sort, even if as a coping mechanism. The existence of those things would not make the world any less dark or dismal, and could perhaps add a layer that adds to the misery of the situation. Humanity adapts even if it doesn't thrive. Welker, however, paints the visual of a place so beaten down, with sewage running through the middle of town and thousands of the dead stacked in piles.  It still feels there are pieces to the picture that are missing, like something has got to give. But for sure ,Welker is selling the tragic environment, even if, as I just mentioned, I wanted more.
L5. 
Great pacing, the pace at the beginning is patient without being boring, little by little we get more world building and small bits of action. 2/3 thru the book, everything is well set up and all three story lines get riveting at the same time.
Not quite rising to the level of a dislike, I have a few nit picks as well...
NIT PICK #1 . The class at the very beginning of the book is something I can't shake. Strauss starts the class, has 2 or 3 exchanges, has an episode and then announces he is ending the class a few minutes early. The class could not have been more than 5 or minutes long. I think, overlooked, was incorporating something that could be inferred as passage of time so people like me wouldn't nit pick this, but the way it is written, there's not really room to consider the class was more than a few minutes long from the point the class filled in and the class was dismissed.
NIT PIC 2. I like the idea of the exchange with Dr. FAR, dev, and custos and how impressive custos’ knowledge is. Farr is impressed as well, and even quips, "Astrophysics is one of your passing interests?" I like the exchange if its between two humans. The fact that Custos is a sentient robot with basically (as far as she knows) an advanced computer brain in a highly technological future, the exchange with this other expert doesn't feel quite right. The humorous surprise Far expresses, doesn't feel right.
* Food for thought. ...when raz is discussing mirrors to explain multiple dimensions to cal, I can't help but question if in all the other realities, cals and razzes have similar discussions and then consider, have the razzes in these other dimensions used the same refraction vision to make decisions on high probability outcomes in other realities? If they are all doing the same thing in each reality...looking to other realities, which razzes in which realities are actually making the high probability for success actions that the other razzes are copying? Whos copying who? Which came first?
The obvious answer would seem to suggest that you would have to go to further-out realities to find dimensions where Razzes are not aware of the refraction and are simply just making decisions. Where that fails though is that if you get further out from the prime or native reality to find a raz that is authentically acting rather than observing other realities, that raz has to be completely different from a raz that has been using refraction.  Unfortunately tho Raz is specifically stressing that they need to observe similar realities not the more distant ones that veer so far away. The idea of refracting is way to significant to be absent in a similar reality that could provide the strategy based on a spontaneous action by a version of yourself not watching another version of your similar self

[Manaswini · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could've been much smaller, avoiding a lot of repetitive chapters but going into my favourites because I think I'd recommend this to people for sure
I LOVED the ideas and the ending and the accidental emotional investment I experienced towards one of the characters. The science, politics and commentary about humanity was good food for thought

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2 wonderful stars! I found "Refraction" to be an absolutely spell-binding, almost undefineable (is it alt-history? scifi? grimdark? and is that a dash of YA in there, too) book that 100% locked me in! And along the way, it managed to touch on subjects I've dreamt about after watching countless science shows or even studied in the past, touching on almost ALL of my electives from my University days and a good deal of my required courses, too! I will say this (esp. in preparation for my Amazon review): this book was one of those rare combinations of being both extremely fascinating (and oh boy did it require the ol' brain matter working overtime) and a sheer joy to read!

Wick Welker may not have a lot of books registered to his name - yet - and apparently this is also his first scifi endeavor (though I did just gleefully note that there be zombies in that thar' list, arrr! Oh wait, that's pirates...um, arrrr... that's better) - but he already shows incredible aptitude in managing a complex yet clear plot while keeping his cast both believable, sympathetic and even in some instances very relatable. Trust me, if you've ever worked in research or development of any kind, you know how the 'madness' can overwhelm you ... not to mention the despair that must come with legitimately seeking new discoveries and knowledge.

Having said that, throughout the course of this book and especially at the end, I imagine this is one of those special tales that could - and perhaps even should - hit every single reader in a completely unique way. For some, it may seem like a treatise about advanced physics (or a horror story of those theoretical lectures dealing with same when all you really wanted to do was learn organic chemistry... oops, sorry, that was one of my shards). For others, it will no doubt offer a look into how fragile our concepts of such "mundane" topics like, well, gravity which remains - at least to this very definitely non-Hawking entity - still truly undefined and unexplained in so many ways. Heck, you can even add climate change, cryptocurrency, religion and/or the determination of whether or not humankind is innately fundamentally good or not if you are up for it. I think all would be fair game.

As for myself, I got quite a sense of the historical in the unique construction of Welker's story, in large part with the well-worn adage about 'those that don't remember same are doomed to repeat it.' Part of that came from such statements as this:

“Once someone sees the benefits of contributing, they are always willing to do their civic duty. We’re not a traditional city, we’re a massive cooperative of hundreds of millions of people. If you come and work, you’ll have education and healthcare, which then opens the door to employment..."

My reflection then centers on the location I now live in which is, for want of a better description, still very much influenced by 18th to 20th century norms of old Europe. In our region, for example, entire cities and industrial centers were either run by The Church (note all caps) or select Business Families (in our case, both Textiles and naturally wine and beer production led the way). In the first case, today we look at some of the realities of those set-ups with even shock, as there are no shortage of pictures featuring the extensive child labor that was used to run them. Small hands were perfect for those first automated looms! Yet in their own time, these literal villages that sprang up around these "elitist investments" (including almost always a castle-like residence for the owners) were seen as the dream of the common man, where if a child worked the entire family would benefit from housing, sufficient sustenance, healthcare and education. The adults were then tasked obviously with harder jobs for however long their relatively short lives would allow but still, this boggles the mind of today's society! But was it wrong for THEN? It is these kind of philosophical, time-relevant discussions that for me at least were at the heart of so much of Welker's story. And yes, he did this for war, economy, national and international diplomacy and more. Overall, a great mind exercise that would not only make for a superb book club selection but also get the most set-in-their-ways scifi reader to challenge their usual approach to the genre!

Hm, how else to phrase it. Let's say, if you're one of those people that needs a comparative to help sell you the book, imagine crossing some aspects of "The Watchmen" with "Interstellar" and even maybe "Inception" or "Looper" thrown in to boot. Heck, if you want to prove you're of my generation, you could even throw in a reference to the amazing 1980 scifi classic "Altered States" (starring William Hurt mind you!) that really through me for a loop or three! Now that's NOT how I'll remember this book but if it helps you break down the barrier of reluctance you may have towards reading it, then so much the better. If you're looking for literary comparisons, well, there's a real feel of Rhett Bruno to the plotting here (esp. his relatively new "Vicarious") which is a great comparison because RCB is probably the best scifi writer out there right now. But again, this book is too unique to start throwing out random publisher blurbs like that. Trust me on this.

But why the half-star "deduction" from a full 5'er rating. No real negative reason, that's for sure. I did wish we could have met some of the side players a little more in depth (the lab crew, getting to know Cal's main two friends better, etc.) ... and yes, I'd still love to, well not argue but let's say dive more into some of the physics that I am not qualified to even discuss (ok, so no one could get out of the time bubble but they were able to get in and not be squished in a timeless vise of spaghettification? How did that work?).

Other things that popped up was a general feeling that it was kind of weird that Tim Straus was often referred as just Straus. Even his wife does it. Oh and let's not forget this one:

"Cal pulled a batman and already visited me in my bedroom last night."

A batman reference in 2098? Now if she had said Spider-Man, sure, but Batman? Bah! Make mine Marvel! Hee hee. Folks, take me seriously here (yeah yeah, I know): this is really, REALLY good scifi. Read it, enjoy it, leave reviews! Or we'll come back from the future and zap your brain to pieces! The Copperhound has spoken (ye gods, what a great reveal that was)!

[Horng Jiunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mind set ablaze, heart marred with anxiety as I walked with the characters. For me, Refraction definitely raked up alongside my favorite sci-fi like Project Hail Mary, Dark Matter and Remembrance of Earth's Past: The Three-Body Trilogy. An amazing treat!

[Jessica Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an entertaining and well paced hard scifi novel. There’s a lot of big ideas here, coupled with many minor plot points, and they all flowed nicely together to make an engrossing story. We have things such as the multiverse, political unsteadiness, socioeconomic issues, mental health, a dystopian timeline, terraforming, philosophy, and so much more. We are introduced to 3 different povs, each following a different timeline, and I was impressed with the way the author managed to connect them all in the end.

One of the main plots in this novel is something called refraction (hence the name of the book). This is the ability to catch a glimpse into the multiverse, seeing different scenarios playing out several different ways. I won’t get into it more than this because it’s interesting to discover on your own!

The first pov we have is in the oldest timeline, and it follows a brilliant man named Timothy Strauss. He is a nuanced character diagnosed with mental health issues, and we get to experience his journey as a physics teacher who also happens to be working on a project that can change the world. Him and his wife are both fleshed out characters written in a way that has you emphasizing with them throughout their story.

We next have a younger man named Cal, who lives in the dystopian timeline of this novel. He is in an academy training to pilot advanced ships. The dystopia aspect of this timeline really intrigued me. He lives in an area called central cell, and it houses the rich, where the only currency is digital and referred to as “brics.” Areas of the planet outside of this city are extremely poor, I don’t want to get into too much detail because the reveal of this made for a great read.

Lastly we have my favorite pov, which is of an anthropomorphic robot named Custos. This character and this timeline is my favorite of the 3. Custos is the president of a futuristic city of Mars called New Athens, where they are trying to almost “perfect” humanity. The social and economic aspect of this was incredibly interesting to me as it involved a way of living where everyone and everything is equal, I once again can’t go too much into this. Custos is extremely nuanced and the story surrounding him and what he is trying to achieve is nuanced as well. This story also focuses on what fear can do to the human psyche. The author does this by showing and not telling, and it was really interesting to watch it unfold. You will no doubt make comparisons to our current political climate.

All in all this was a great read and I loved the pacing. A lot of times in hard scifi I feel as though I’m stuck with cookie cutter characters who are only there to act as a lens for the reader to view the plot through. I have a few minor gripes but still very much enjoyed the story. Some of the dialogue felt a bit forced at times, and I found some of the characters to make rash choices. I think this could have been avoided if certain parts of the novel were a bit longer. This did not at all take away from my enjoyment, and I will continue to read books by this author. I recommend to any sci-fi fans!