The basis for the hit ABC TV series and the Aurora Award-winning novel that started it all!
FLASHFORWARD
Two minutes a... read full description
FLASHFORWARD
Two minutes a... read full description
reviews
Jan 26, 2012
Gavin
rated it: 
Two minutes and seventeen seconds. A small amount of time for most of us, but within the confines of Robert Sawyer's fantastic science fiction novel FLASHFORWARD, 2:17 becomes more than a number; it becomes the insight to what the future holds. You see, 2:17 is the amount of time humnaity checked-out. All seven billion. As you can guess, choas ensued if you were one of the unlucky ones awake at the time. Planes crashed. Cars drove themselves. I can only guess what that unlucky skydiver ex
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Nov 13, 2011
The Bird
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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2 comments
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Dec 17, 2008
Michael
rated it:
For me, Robert J. Sawyer novels are either hit or miss. They're either incredibly brilliant and I can't turn the pages fast enough ("Rollback") or I can't wait for the final page to turn just to be done with the novel ("Homonids"). And I'll admit I picked up this one because ABC has put it on the fast-track for development for a potential TV series. One that could air after "Lost" and is being sold as a "companion" piece for one of my favorite TV shows
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Jan 23, 2011
Matt
rated it:
(Cross-posted to Android Dreamer, my science fiction blog.)
Flashforward is the kind of novel that gradually gets better as it goes on. Despite the cool concept, I felt like early on I couldn't get into it, until I all of a sudden realized that it had suddenly become interesting on me. It isn't as outstanding as his Hugo Award winning novel Hominids but it is a strong story, a cool premise, and is made very good by particular awesome moments.
The concept is that for 2 minutes a More...
Flashforward is the kind of novel that gradually gets better as it goes on. Despite the cool concept, I felt like early on I couldn't get into it, until I all of a sudden realized that it had suddenly become interesting on me. It isn't as outstanding as his Hugo Award winning novel Hominids but it is a strong story, a cool premise, and is made very good by particular awesome moments.
The concept is that for 2 minutes a More...
Oct 17, 2010
Whitelady3
rated it:
Since last summer, when I saw the television series being announced, that I become curious about this book. Unfortunately I haven't been able to follow the show but was happy to see the book published in Portuguese and couldn't wait to pick it up and read it.
Though it's different from the television series, as I've been told, the book starts in a similar way, with a global blackout in which every person in the world has a glimpse of their future, for 2 minutes, into 21 years time. But More...
Though it's different from the television series, as I've been told, the book starts in a similar way, with a global blackout in which every person in the world has a glimpse of their future, for 2 minutes, into 21 years time. But More...
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Aug 02, 2011
I actually read this book as part of a selection for my book club. I want to read the book because I think the concept is interest and can stir a lot of discussion about science and the ability to have a glimpse of your future.
I found the book too heavy on the technical and scientific description. I think the author could have use the time to better develop his characters. Getting past all the physics theories and extended descriptions, the idea behind the story is interesting. See how people co More...
I found the book too heavy on the technical and scientific description. I think the author could have use the time to better develop his characters. Getting past all the physics theories and extended descriptions, the idea behind the story is interesting. See how people co More...
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Dec 20, 2011
CanaryK
rated it: 
Now, I've never watched this television show (and didn't it get canceled really early on or something?), but if it really was better than the book, I should watch it immediately.
Personal taste thing: I think Robert Sawyer's ideas are amazing and his writing style, while it isn't dazzling or anything, is enough not to ruin his ideas. I love it when a book just interlaces with itself so nicely, and the premise of this book allows for that beautifully (you know, with the whole "let More...
Personal taste thing: I think Robert Sawyer's ideas are amazing and his writing style, while it isn't dazzling or anything, is enough not to ruin his ideas. I love it when a book just interlaces with itself so nicely, and the premise of this book allows for that beautifully (you know, with the whole "let More...
Sep 14, 2011
Sandi
rated it: 
I’ve had Flashback sitting in my to-read pile for a long time now, but I kept moving books in front of it. It was a surprisingly fast and easy read, but it missed some of the depth it could have achieved considering its themes. The largest theme is freewill vs. determinism. That’s a pretty meaty topic for such a short book. Religion has been debating this issue for millennia and hasn’t come to a full conclusion. This book tries to take a scientific approach, but it’s nothing that can really
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(3 people liked it)
Aug 09, 2011
Brett
rated it:
First, let me start by saying that this is the BASIS for the US television show, nothing more. So ... if you're a fan of the show, you'll probably NOT like this book! Fair warning. Like many sci-fi books, this one deals with ideas rather than an important narrative. Don't misunderstand me - there IS a plot, but it seems to exist only for Sawyer to reflect on the nature of time and space. And reflect he does! I must say, some of the concepts he puts forward are not easy to grasp, and I foun
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Aug 09, 2011
procrastin8or
rated it:
I decided to read this book after the fact of the well received TV series. I was quite surprised to see that there was very little in common between the two aside from the subject of the event giving everybody an insight into their future. In the TV series, I believe the period is 18 months hence but in the case of the book it is 21 years. I'm not going to dwell too much on the differences because they are irrelevant and each deserves to be judged on its own merit.
The book concerns a team at CER More...
The book concerns a team at CER More...
Jul 22, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
I saw the pilot for this tv show a few months ago and found out it's based on a book and since the show was okay (I'll probably watch it for a few weeks and see how it goes) and I like things to do with time, I picked it up. There are some smiler things with the show, but it was like watching/reading something totally different which I always appreciate especially when both are okay. And the book was just okay. In the book, they sort of know what caused the whole world to black out and they spen
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Jun 18, 2011
yukoxoxo2000
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 13, 2011
Kyra
rated it:
One of those very rare cases where the tv show is better than the book.(IMO)
I've discovered don't like Robert Sawyer's books.
I had previous read his attempt at "intelligent design" SciFi book called "Calculating God" (which I *LOATHED*).
However, the concept of this book was so interesting, I was intrigued.
I enjoyed the TV show adaptation but wanted more answers, so I read the book.
I had to force my way through it. I don't kno More...
I've discovered don't like Robert Sawyer's books.
I had previous read his attempt at "intelligent design" SciFi book called "Calculating God" (which I *LOATHED*).
However, the concept of this book was so interesting, I was intrigued.
I enjoyed the TV show adaptation but wanted more answers, so I read the book.
I had to force my way through it. I don't kno More...
Mar 26, 2011
Mike
rated it:
Personally, I have a soft spot for time travel. If it has time travel, I will probably enjoy it, even if it's not good. Fortunately, Flashforward is good, although it is only kind of about time travel. The interesting thing about time travel is, almost universally, is that it asks the question, "What if I could go back or correct my mistakes?" or "What if I could see ahead and prevent my mistakes?" From the title you can probably infer that this book asks the latter question,
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Feb 26, 2011
Kris
rated it:
I picked up this book at Powell's because I was a fan of the TV show, and was curious as to how similar they were. The answer is, not very. The event itself is the same (in the sense that it happens), and a couple of the character names are the same, but the characters themselves are very different. That said, it stands up pretty well on its own right. The age of the book stands out a bit awkwardly in spots - it was written a little over a decade ago, but takes place about now. So some of t
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Feb 07, 2011
Nathaniel
rated it:
This is the book that the TV show was based on but, based on watching the first 5-6 episodes of the show, they had very, very little in common other than the fundamental premise that everyone in the world falls unconscious for about 2 minutes and has visions of what appear to be their future.
At times the book made attempts to really grapple with the philosophical question of free will, but as someone who's studied it a lot the discussion never really got interesting. Without giving aw More...
At times the book made attempts to really grapple with the philosophical question of free will, but as someone who's studied it a lot the discussion never really got interesting. Without giving aw More...
Jan 01, 2011
Yolanda
rated it:
This is another book that has recently been made into a TV show. While the concept sounded intriguing, when I found out it was based on a book, I decided to read the book instead. And wow, I wasn't wrong about the concept. It's amazing.
For two minutes, after the Hadron Collider is turned on during an experiment at CERN, the entire planet blacks out. And during that time, everyone has a vision of the future - 21 years into the future. Many are astounded by what they see in their futur More...
For two minutes, after the Hadron Collider is turned on during an experiment at CERN, the entire planet blacks out. And during that time, everyone has a vision of the future - 21 years into the future. Many are astounded by what they see in their futur More...
Nov 17, 2010
Rosenkavalier
rated it:
Flashforward di voi, giunti all'ultima pagina:
"Embé?"
Fine del flashforward.
Durante un complesso esperimento, svoltosi nell'LHC, l'acceleratore di particelle del CERN di Ginevra, un fenomeno inspiegabile causa la perdita di conoscenza di tutti gli esseri umani sul pianeta per circa 3 minuti, durante i quali ognuno vede se stesso agire nel medesimo lasso di tempo, ma trent'anni avanti nel futuro.
Se l'assunto di base è interessante, lo svolgimento lo è molto meno. Le implicazioni del viag More...
"Embé?"
Fine del flashforward.
Durante un complesso esperimento, svoltosi nell'LHC, l'acceleratore di particelle del CERN di Ginevra, un fenomeno inspiegabile causa la perdita di conoscenza di tutti gli esseri umani sul pianeta per circa 3 minuti, durante i quali ognuno vede se stesso agire nel medesimo lasso di tempo, ma trent'anni avanti nel futuro.
Se l'assunto di base è interessante, lo svolgimento lo è molto meno. Le implicazioni del viag More...
Nov 14, 2010
Emily
rated it:
Like many others, I picked up this book because I enjoyed the television show. Well, let me warn you right off the bat: this is nothing like the television show. In fact, I like the television show more (and I'm still very sad that they cancelled it!). But don't let that turn you away from the book. It was a fascinating concept and a quick read (but okay, I skimmed most of the heavy science parts).
In April 2009, a physics experiment causes a worldwide temporal displacement: a " More...
In April 2009, a physics experiment causes a worldwide temporal displacement: a " More...
Nov 08, 2010
Laura
rated it:
I watched Flashforward for several episodes on ABC because I thought the concept was interesting. Unfortunately, the execution was bad and I bailed on the show half-way through the season. Apparently I wasn't the only one as it was cancelled. The concept still appealed to me though and I was interested enough to read the book.
The book is much better than the show. Some differences:
1) The show followed scientists and an FBI team. The book only focuses on scientists
2) More...
The book is much better than the show. Some differences:
1) The show followed scientists and an FBI team. The book only focuses on scientists
2) More...
Oct 28, 2010
Silver Thistle
rated it:
Robert Sawyer always finds great stories to write about. His ideas always draw me in and I think I'm in for a fantastic tale. Then I reach the end and I feel like it could have been more.
Flashforward had a great pull - See your own life 20 years into the future for 2 minutes and try to work out how to get there.
It was a brilliant start and a real page turner. I loved reading about everyone's flashforward, I was rivited by all the connotations that flashforward threw up. E More...
Flashforward had a great pull - See your own life 20 years into the future for 2 minutes and try to work out how to get there.
It was a brilliant start and a real page turner. I loved reading about everyone's flashforward, I was rivited by all the connotations that flashforward threw up. E More...
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Oct 06, 2010
Jordi
rated it:
Libro en el que se basa vagamente la serie de televisión del mismo nombre.
En el libro el salto no es de seis meses, sino de 21 años (como al final de la serie). En el libro hay muchos menos personajes, supongo que porque las series de TV tienen que tener más personajes danzando por ahí. Los tres personajes principales son Lloyd, Michiko y Theo. Lloyd es un físico canadiense trabajando en el LHC del CERN, prometido con Michiko que es una ingeniera que trabaja en el mismo equipo, y finalmente More...
En el libro el salto no es de seis meses, sino de 21 años (como al final de la serie). En el libro hay muchos menos personajes, supongo que porque las series de TV tienen que tener más personajes danzando por ahí. Los tres personajes principales son Lloyd, Michiko y Theo. Lloyd es un físico canadiense trabajando en el LHC del CERN, prometido con Michiko que es una ingeniera que trabaja en el mismo equipo, y finalmente More...
Sep 27, 2010
Christine
rated it:
Theo and Lloyd are two scientists working on the high energy, acclerated particle experiment at CERN. In the midst of the experiment something completely unexpected happens and everyone is given a glimpse into their own future, precisely two minutes 20 years into their future. When everyone comes back to the present the world is understandably in complete turmoil. Theo’s future is bleak indeed and he begins a journey to tempt the fates and change his own future while Lloyd begins to question
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May 15, 2010
Thee_ron_clark
rated it:
After catching the first episode of the series modeled after this book, I figured I would enjoy reading about it as well.
The story is about a scientific experiment that causes everybody on the planet to black out if they are already awake and to catch a two-minute glimpse of themselves 21 years in the future. Some find that they see nothing, because they are dead at that point. Those who are sleeping during the event are unable to distinguish their dreams from the visions.
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The story is about a scientific experiment that causes everybody on the planet to black out if they are already awake and to catch a two-minute glimpse of themselves 21 years in the future. Some find that they see nothing, because they are dead at that point. Those who are sleeping during the event are unable to distinguish their dreams from the visions.
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Mar 31, 2010
Lucy
rated it:
After watching the tv series I heard that it was based on a book, the theme of the show intrigued me so I got the book, it is very different from the show, the premise is that the characters in the book in fact take a glimpse at their lives 21 years into the future, as apposed to the few months that feature in the show. It is a thoughtful book, posing the question, if we were to know our future how would that affect our present day lives…? Do we have free will, is the future set in stone or can
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Mar 10, 2010
Kat
rated it:
http://tinyurl.com/yl7nlst
Forget the book, watch the series.
Sawyer is not that good a writer, but his ideas are phenomenal. There's a lot of stumbling around in the book-- mostly via descriptions of the physics that take pages, and descriptions of the characters that don't advance the plot or make us care for the characters any longer or any more than we do.
I was particularly confused by the ending. I'll admit that the physics has to be explained, and that Saw More...
Forget the book, watch the series.
Sawyer is not that good a writer, but his ideas are phenomenal. There's a lot of stumbling around in the book-- mostly via descriptions of the physics that take pages, and descriptions of the characters that don't advance the plot or make us care for the characters any longer or any more than we do.
I was particularly confused by the ending. I'll admit that the physics has to be explained, and that Saw More...
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Jan 22, 2010
Alyce (At Home With Books)
rated it:
How would you change your life if you knew what awaited you twenty years in the future? Would you try to change your fate? Would it even be possible?
Flashforward explores the answers to these questions through a cast of characters whose consciousness is temporarily and accidentally displaced into their future selves for a few short minutes.
This book presents a lot of food for thought about the permanence of our future, and the question of free will. The main question being: I More...
Flashforward explores the answers to these questions through a cast of characters whose consciousness is temporarily and accidentally displaced into their future selves for a few short minutes.
This book presents a lot of food for thought about the permanence of our future, and the question of free will. The main question being: I More...
Jan 10, 2010
Brendan
rated it:
The selection for my science-fiction book club's meeting this month is RJS' "now a major television series" novel, Flash Forward. The novel tells the story of an experiment at the LHC which seems to project the entire human consciousness ahead 21 years, or thereabouts, for 2 minutes. A whole bunch of people die because of it (the people all blackout and crash their cars and so on). Various interesting stuff happens, and a solid, thought provoking, quick-paced story ensues. Some additio
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Dec 29, 2009
Kenny
rated it: 
"FlashForward," the inspiration for the hit ABC television series, is nothing more than that: inspiration. It is hardly anything like the series, and thank goodness for that, because Sawyer is such a poor writer that one can only explain his numerous awards as being given for clever concepts, not execution. His book is full of hackneyed situations, paper-thin characters, a bumpy and unsatisfying storyline, and a climax that is not climactic but ultimately depressing and pointless. Give
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Dec 21, 2009
Tony
rated it:
Robert Sawyer reportedly is NOT happy with the current TV series based on his book. I have not seen it so I can't comment. But the book is very different from what I had expected, given the hype of the show. It's really an interesting psychological study of how people treat prophecies that they believe to be true, and how some of those prophecies might become self-fulfilling. It's quite touching in the traumas, emotional turmoils and resolutions of its several major characters over time. That
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