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Flashforward

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 5,939 ratings · 877 reviews

The basis for the hit ABC TV series and the Aurora Award-winning novel that started it all!

FLASHFORWARD

Two minutes and seventeen seconds that changed the world

Suddenly, without warning, all seven billion people on Earth black out for more than two minutes. Millions die as planes fall from the sky, people tumble down staircases, and cars plow into each other.

But that’s the...more

ebook, 181 pages

Published April 1st 2007 by Tor (first published January 1st 1999)

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Jan 26, 2012 Gavin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

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 experienc...more

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Jun 27, 2011 The Bird from Twin Peaks rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Yadira Good review and I agree with you, this book was a disappointment.
Just a little nitpick, you say "all VCRs across Europe say "REW" for their rewind fun...more
Oct 12, 2011 11:09am

The Bird from Twin Peaks I suspected it was actually true that the buttons were/are in English. I only mentioned it, though, as an example of the trifling yawnfest of interjec...more
Nov 13, 2011 07:18am

Tria FYI, *not* everyone knows what a Pyrrhic victory is. I've met plenty of people, nearly all literate and many who read a lot and/or were very intellige...more
Jan 10, 2013 12:08pm

Feb 15, 2013 Cecily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-or-futuristic

The only thing this shares with the TV series of the same name is the concept of everyone in the world simultaneously blacking out for two minutes, during which they have a “flashforward” of their future. In the TV series that is 6 months hence; in the book it is more than 20 years hence, so the implications are very different.

It’s a fantastic concept and it’s explored in a variety of interesting ways, but it is really badly written (how has Sawyer won literary prizes?).

Although it is primaril...more The only thing this shares with the TV series of the same name is the concept of everyone in the world simultaneously blacking out for two minutes, during which they have a “flashforward” of their future. In the TV series that is 6 months hence; in the book it is more than 20 years hence, so the implications are very different.

It’s a fantastic concept and it’s explored in a variety of interesting ways, but it is really badly written (how has Sawyer won literary prizes?).

Although it is primarily sci fi (set at CERN), there is a murder investigation to widen its appeal, and a poor pastiche of Arthur C Clarke's 2001.

After the flashforward, people pool their sightings on a website to see if they match (e.g. if I was lunching with John, was he lunching with me?). Some find their visions reaffirming and others want to fight against their apparent destiny - echoes of Oedipus and Scrooge. Meanwhile, investigation is under way as to what caused it, amidst recriminations regarding those who died, e.g. when vehicles crashed and surgeons passed out.

Would you want a flashforward? What are the political implications for governments; insurance implications; would patent offices be swamped; would it weaken or strengthen religious belief; how would small children cope with what they see as an adult 20 years hence; could you marry someone if you knew that you would be with someone else in 20 years time? And of course the big one: is our future immutable or do we live in a multiverse?

One oddity is that most of it is set last year (2009), which was the near future when it was written in 1999, so there is unintended entertainment from the things he got wrong, though I do live in hope of newspapers voluntarily dropping horoscopes because "printing such nonsense was at odds with their fundamental purpose of disseminating truth".

Despite the high ideas, this book has weaknesses common to poor sci fi: teaching readers the science with dialogue between experts who would already know whatever it is along with trivial references to life in the future which irritate rather than illuminate or amuse (Ikea's Billy bookcase will still be around in 2009, but George Lucas still won't have filmed all of Star Wars). And there is plenty of other plodding prose, "As headquarters of numerous international organisations, Geneva attracted people from all over the world." Wow (not). There are also odd holes in the plot; for instance we are meant to believe that CERN has no emergency procedures, even of the kind that an ordinary office has?

So, read it for the concept, try to let the poor writing wash over you, and pay attention when Sanduleak is first explained.(less)

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Dec 17, 2008 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, read-in-2008

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.

Being a book-snob, I knew I had to try the...more 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.

Being a book-snob, I knew I had to try the original novel before the series comes out, so I can spend hours boring friends and family about how the book is better. I've tried to get help for this condition, but so far, no luck.

Thankfully, "Flashfoward" falls into the category of really good Robert J. Saywer novels. The premise is that on the day an experiment is conducted at the CERT supercollider, people experience a flash forward of thirty years into the future for two minutes. Everyone has visions for about two minutes of where they'll be and what they'll be doing thirty years hence. Then everything shifts back and we have to deal with the fallout and ramifications of things.

The driving focus of the story is a mystery. One of the lead characters sees no vision of the future, but by talking to others determines he was murdered two days before the events everyone saw. He then begins to slowly try and unravel who killed him and why in an attempt to prevent that future from becoming reality.

One of the many interesting debates in the story is whether or not the future is "set" or can we make changes to it. Two character are engaged, but in the future he sees himself married to another woman. So, should the two continue their path to marriage given than it appears things don't work out? Do we have free will? Is the timeline set or are there an infinite number of universes based on decisions we make today that change things in small but interesting ways? Or all we just robots acting out some grand drama and we have no control over our lives? Sawyer brings up these questions and some theories on the nature of time and free will vs determinism in a fascinating way. To counter the engaged couple, Sawyer gives us two scientists who have a vision of engaging in sexual intercourse at a lab during the flashforward. The moment is thirty years from now, but when they get back the two find each other, meet and begin a relationship. Will the passion still be there in thirty years or have they changed the future? Were they destined to meet? Did the flashfoward push them together sooner?

The novel also brings up the interesting idea of if you know too much about your future, can that be a negative thing? One aspiring author sees himself in the future, working as a waiter and having never "made it" as a writer. Rather than toil, he decides his life is over and commits suicide. The novel also brings up that this happens to a lot of other people, many of whom lose hope over not seeing their dreams come true or the future as something that want to move forward to.

Reading the novel, I can see the potential for a great TV series here and why it could be a good companion show for "Lost." You've got a diverse set of characters who are thrown together and must come to grips with a central mystery of what happened and why. There is a similar interconnectedness among the characters like we have in "Lost" as well. Will it work as a TV show if you remove or have to solve the "will I or won't I be murdered?" thread that drives the main plot? Yes, it could. While that plotline is sufficiently satisfying and drives the story forward, it's still the philosophical questions that Sawyer raises that really linger with the reader after the final page is turned.
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Oct 18, 2012 Nessa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sci Fi fans

Shelves: review, fiction

The TV adaptation of Flash Forward became something of a phenomenon a few years ago. Clever marketing campaigns hyped it up beyond belief (at least in the UK), and all my friends were talking about it. I never watched a single episode, but a friend did tell me about it in great detail – everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes. During this time, almost everybody gets a detailed view of their lives twenty or so years into the future. If they'll be alive in the future, that is...

For the hu...more

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Jan 15, 2011 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, mystery-and-espionage

(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 and 17 seconds, the w...more (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 and 17 seconds, the whole world fell unconscious and had a vision of what their lives would be like in 2030 (the book is set in 2009). It follows a handful of story lines as the scientists linked to the experiment that they believe caused the event try to figure out if the future is concrete. The most interesting story of the bunch is that of Theo, a Greek-born physicist who didn't have a vision of 2030, because he would be dead by then. He goes on a quest to figure out who it is that is going to kill him, and starts to gradually put together the pieces based on visions other people had about him at the time.

I haven't seen the television show that was adapted from this, but I will hazard a guess based on this simple fact: In the long cast list I am looking at, only one single character is present in the television show that is from the book. Leads me to believe they took the basic concept and made something else entirely. Last time I watched a visual adaptation of a novel I liked that pretty much ignored the source material, I was gravely disappointed (Bladerunner. Yuck) so I will not be watching the show any time soon.

The prose is solid, but not awe-inspiring. His dialog is good, but not exemplary. Sawyer is not a writer you read for perfect prose (if you want that, see the work of Ursula K. Le Guin), but has great ideas. His characters are good and believable, and he does a great job of getting me interested in what he's talking about. I still much prefer Hominids but this was definitely a good read.(less)

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Apr 10, 2013 Space rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: time-travel junkies, tech-heads

Shelves: e-books, favorites, time-travel

My grief, this was fantastic. Seriously. I've never read a time-travel book before that didn't have time-travel in it. Here is a completely original idea, done with superb craftsmanship. The basic premise is that an experiment at CERN using the large halon collider produces a quirk, in which the entire human race is shown a flash from the future. The whole world simultaneously sees a two-minute glimpse of the world twenty-one years in the future. Now what do we do with that knowledge?

Excellent p...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Suzanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very hard book to rate. The TV show was SO much better.

I was drawn to read this because I loved the TV show Flashforward of a couple of years ago, the one that didn’t make it past two seasons. I thought it was such a fascinating premise: Everyone on earth blacks out for two minutes and sees a vision of his or her own future. They get to observe exactly what they’ll be doing six months hence, leading afterward to much contemplation by characters (and viewers) about whether the future i...more This is a very hard book to rate. The TV show was SO much better.

I was drawn to read this because I loved the TV show Flashforward of a couple of years ago, the one that didn’t make it past two seasons. I thought it was such a fascinating premise: Everyone on earth blacks out for two minutes and sees a vision of his or her own future. They get to observe exactly what they’ll be doing six months hence, leading afterward to much contemplation by characters (and viewers) about whether the future is fixed or mutable, and if fixed, is there anything such thing as free will.

The book was said to be the “inspiration” for the TV show. Not even the basis, only “inspiration.” And that’s about right, because there are few similarities except the idea, the black-out/flashforward event, and a couple of characters, or at least their names. Some of the characters’ situations are similar, but assigned to other characters, and the start point of the story, which affects the suspense angle, begins elsewhere. The flashforward of the book is a leap of 21 years, not 6 months, as in the TV show, which creates a whole other set of ramifications. But the main problem with the book is substantive quantities of silliness in the thinking of characters who are supposed to be scientists, ridiculous plot devices, completely unbelievable motivations, and near the end, a over-long chase scene that might work cinematically but was hopeless on the page, that had me saying out loud to no one in particular (in my empty apartment), “This is stupid.”

But I can hardly give less than 3 stars to it when, for the first ¾ of the book, I confess I could hardly put it down. Nevertheless, I do NOT recommend this book except to the most die-hard sci-fi fans who don’t mind mediocre writing and pseudo-scientific discussions of quantum mechanics that even I, a person most ignorant of all things scientific, could see were not well thought-out even within the context of the story. Put the TV show on your Netflix queue instead, which is what I am going to do right now so I can re-watch it for the joy of trying to decide, do we have free will? Or is everything preordained? What happens a year from now is going to happen, right, whatever it turns out to be? If I knew what that would be, would my actions make any difference? Would I have read this book if I’d known it would be this stupid?
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Aug 02, 2011 Tracy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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May 17, 2010 Whitelady3 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, portuguese, 2010

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 not everyo...more 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 not everyone has such visions. Theo Procopides, one of the main characters, doesn't see a thing... since 21 years from now he'll be dead. Does this mean that the future is already written? Don't we have free will? It's around this questions that the story evolve, showing different theories (like Shrödinger's Cat, Minkowski’s Cube and the Block Universe), to justify the different opinions and views on the future.

As far as characters are concerned, they're pretty basic, stereotyped, but perfect for such book. It was easy to relate to them, even if I thought Simcoe was arrogant. I liked how some future events were shown, such as the end of monarchy in England, and it was curious to watch the action taking place in 2009 when the book was written in 1999, specially because it was in 2008/2009 that the CERN's LHC started to work (I remember my brother telling me there was to come a new Big Bang... fortunately nothing happened :P ). And finally, the writing was very accessible even when it went on about Physics. I don't know much about that, I'm more of a History girl, but subjects as Higgs Boson were easy to understand. Even the more philosophical part was nice to follow, as I think everyone had the same doubts before. I was surprised to see the position I defend explained in the book, using the example of Ebenezer Scrooge. I know we can't see into the future, but one can have a vague idea of what will happen if he makes the choices he usually does. When we do something extraordinary, may it be because we took a different path of that we usually follow or because something out of the ordinary happens to us (after all there are things out of our control), we're possibly changing the future. I at least have the notion that if I hadn't made some choices I wouldn't be where I am today...

But getting back to the book, I didn't like the ending that much but it was a nice second incursion into science-fiction, after my experience with Scott Westerfeld. I was positively impressed and can't wait to read more books of this genre and of this author. I'm particularly curious about his Neanderthal Parallax series.(less)

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Mar 17, 2013 Luna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Se, per un errore nello spazio-tempo, poteste vedere 2 minuti della vostra vita fra 21 anni.... 2 minuti, senza spiegazioni, senza nessun altra possibilit�, un frammento, un brandello di voi, essere dentro di voi in quello che sarete fra vent'anni..... pensereste che � l'unico futuro possibile, oppure che � una possibilit� che potete cambiare? La nostra vita � come leggere un libro, che ci appassiona ma il cui finale � gi� stato scritto, oppure esiste veramente il libero arbitrio e possiamo sceg...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Naima rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ho visto la puntata pilota della serie 'flash forward' e mi ha subito conquistata: idea geniale, scienza, elucubrazioni filosofiche, sentimento, giallo... C'era tutto! Poi nei titoli di coda leggo che la serie si basa sul romanzo di Sawyer: doveva essere mio! E cosi �� stato. L'idea di partenza �� davvero strepitosa: tutta l'umanit�� perde i sensi, nello stesso identico momento per lo stesso lasso di tempo e.. Durante questi minuti tutti hanno una precognizione dello stesso momento che si svolge...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Nick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction

I wanted to love this book, but although it's a fascinating premise, I found the writing a little flat.

It lost momentum in several places, getting bogged down in technical explanations instead of proceeding with the narrative. As a consequence, references to Dyson spheres and quantum physics felt like point-scoring rather than essential exposition.

I've read Arthur C. Clarke, I enjoy reading about Dyson spheres and space elevators and all the other things that human progress might make possible;...more I wanted to love this book, but although it's a fascinating premise, I found the writing a little flat.

It lost momentum in several places, getting bogged down in technical explanations instead of proceeding with the narrative. As a consequence, references to Dyson spheres and quantum physics felt like point-scoring rather than essential exposition.

I've read Arthur C. Clarke, I enjoy reading about Dyson spheres and space elevators and all the other things that human progress might make possible; but in this book it just seemed to get in the way.

Similarly, the detailed ins-and-outs of international politics and the United Nations seemed a bit laboured. It felt like there was too much being explained by the narrator, and not enough use made of the characters.

Without going into spoilers, I felt that more could have been made of Michiko and how the flash-forward affected her (view spoiler)

It makes the characters look more like place-holders, mannequins to hang the ideas on and no more.

There is an air of peril which drives things through to the later chapters until the matter is resolved(view spoiler), but after the high-minded meta-physical discussions, those scenes came across as formulaic as a TV movie (view spoiler). I don't really like TV movies. That's why I read books.

To be fair, the ending, though bitter-sweet, is broadly uplifting.

But now that the plot has been played out, there's nothing there that would particularly draw me back. It's not a book I think I'd read twice.(less)

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Apr 07, 2013 M.R. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I came to reading this book after having read Factoring Humanity and Calculating God and thinking: gee, this guy has some really great ideas and I ought to read more of his work. I wasn't disappointed. Sawyer presents us with a fascinating, intriguing possibility and then delves into the side-effects and unintended consequences of such an event. All the way through the text, the story always remained credible to me. When I read this, it was extremely timely as the first of the dubious lawsuits h...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Richard Thompson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best2013, sci-fi, read-alouds

An enjoyable read-aloud.

We were watching the ABC series based on the book at the same time that I saw reading the book to Maggee. It was interesting to see how little of the book beyond the basic premise — high energy particle physics experiment cause a global blackout and visions of the future — was used in the series. A lot of the book involves two or more scientists swapping arcane theories about the causes and consequences of the Flashforward; Maggee commented that probably wouldn't have mad...more

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M.R. A lot of what's on cable TV was once thought not to have made really compelling television on broadcast channels, so that's not saying much. Moreover,...more
Apr 07, 2013 09:50pm

Jan 13, 2013 Jason Wilkerson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When the TV show Flashforward came out I was a big fan. Joseph Fiennes, while not possessing the skill of his brother, is a fine actor, and John Cho was a surprise in a role that required more of a serious take than we were used to seeing from him at that point. Unfortunately it found itself victim to Winter Olympics and shuffling schedules and only lasted one full season. Prior to watching the series, I decided to read the book upon which the show was based. Thankfully, the show took the premis...more When the TV show Flashforward came out I was a big fan. Joseph Fiennes, while not possessing the skill of his brother, is a fine actor, and John Cho was a surprise in a role that required more of a serious take than we were used to seeing from him at that point. Unfortunately it found itself victim to Winter Olympics and shuffling schedules and only lasted one full season. Prior to watching the series, I decided to read the book upon which the show was based. Thankfully, the show took the premise in a totally different direction from the book, but that’s not to say that the book is not a brilliant work in itself.

In the year 2009, physicists Lloyd Simcoe and Theodosius Procopides perform an experiment at CERN in Switzerland. They set the Large Hadron Collider for an experiment that's supposed to produce the Higgs Boson, a particle that existed the moment of the big bang but has never been observed. Instead of finding the Higgs Boson, though, all humanity blacks out, as well as all electronic recording devices, and consciousness is displaced 21 years into the future for a period of two minutes. Lloyd sees himself in bed with another woman other than his fiancée, Michiko. Michiko sees herself sitting at the foot of the bed of a daughter she does not know yet, and Theo sees nothing. Believing themselves to be responsible they seek the reason for the displacement, while Theo seeks to find the reason behind his possible death in the future and prevent it from happening.

Flashforward (the book) takes place mainly in Switzerland on the CERN property, mainly we read about the characters dealing with issues of morality and crises of conscious as well as coming to terms with the futures they see in their flashforwards. It's interesting to see these characters trying to figure out what happened and the scientific processes behind it. But we also see theories of quantum physics which sometimes enter the realm of existentialism, looking into questions of fate versus freewill and questions about whether the future is set or do we have the power to change it. In this way the book is very powerful as the author doesn't always try to answer the questions, but he prefers to throw out the theories and let the reader choose what they believe.

One of the things I really enjoy about Sawyer's writing is the fact that he doesn't spend too much time telling you about the character's surroundings as some authors due (God rest Michael Chrichton, but he can get a little two wordy on describing the trees surrounding a character). His prose is fresh, while not overbearing, and makes for an easy and refreshing read.

One thing that's kind of unfortunate about the book though is at times it can be unintentionally funny. Flashforward was written in 1999 and takes place primarily in 2009 so at times Sawyer makes observations of 2009 that don't quite hit the mark. While the Large Hadron Collider has only been run once but still isn't fully operational (although it's supposed to be operational this month, the book takes place in April). Sawyer also observes that in 2009 glasses are virtually nonexistent because laser surgery is so prevalent and there is no need for glasses. There are many other instances of this, but not enough to make the book unreadable. This is a sci-fi book relying mainly on a type of time travel, so errors in the facts of that time are only expected and I'm sure we'll see more that will make us laugh when we hit 2030!

I highly recommend giving this book a try. It’s quite interesting to see the material prior to adaptation especially considering that the adaptation was cancelled prematurely. Also to those who are fans of true science fiction this book is also a real treat and one of the finest I’ve read in the genre.

4.5/5(less)

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M.R. The TV series failed PRECISELY because they took the story in a vastly different direction -- into conspiracy theory -- in order to make a "Lost" clon...more
Apr 07, 2013 10:02pm

Oct 02, 2012 Craig rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, I purchased this novel when the ABC show was on-air.

And then I didn't read it because I was really enjoying the show and didn't want any spoilers (as I didn't know how closely the show and novel were linked).

And then the show ended prematurely and I suppose bitterness over that pushed me away from the novel.

And then...

Well, you get the point. Years after the show ended, I finally read the book. (I'm actually rewatching the series on Netflix which prompted the read.)

Thoughts? It may be the fi...more So, I purchased this novel when the ABC show was on-air.

And then I didn't read it because I was really enjoying the show and didn't want any spoilers (as I didn't know how closely the show and novel were linked).

And then the show ended prematurely and I suppose bitterness over that pushed me away from the novel.

And then...

Well, you get the point. Years after the show ended, I finally read the book. (I'm actually rewatching the series on Netflix which prompted the read.)

Thoughts? It may be the first time in my life that I have preferred the cinematic version to the original source material. But that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate this novel. They are very different takes on the basic concept - different characters, different subplots (one of the main plots made it to the show somewhat unchanged - otherwise the show is a whole different ballgame.) Honestly, I was fascinated by the completely different directions each take approached the central idea of what caused the Flashforwards - the show used it for 20-some episodes as part of the intrinsic mystery while the book answers it in the first paragraph.

What I really liked about the book was the accessible yet somewhat in depth discussions of physics and philosophy - something the show often touched upon, but was too afraid to tackle head on the way the novel could. While I know the theoretical physics involved would be well beyond my paygrade if something like this were to actually occur, I didn't feel like the novel was "talking down" to me at any point.

At the same time, in the interest of making the story more exciting, I think the show hit some high notes that were a bit low in the novel - particularly with the idea of chaos in the world. The book glosses over the massive chaos that happened on the day and then makes it seem like - for the most part - everything afterwards was basically life as usual. There's no urgency or great clash of hope for change... Sure, the show could stray towards the melodramatic more often than was necessary (Really, the main love triangle? As much as I loved the show, I can't imagine many viewers gave two craps about this part of the story by the end...) but there was a genuine sense of urgency and conflict that needed a correlary in the novel, I think. I personally think if you give the whole world a glimpse of their future that all heck would break loose. The show at least tried to address this. The book glosses it over.

Also, some of the predictions come across as just silly.

At any rate, I enjoyed reading this. Sort of a slower paced, slightly more intellectual take on the main premise as compared to the show. As I said, though, I actually prefer the more mainstream take on it presented on television for once. This is one of those shows (along with things like Firefly and Outcasts) that I wish the gods of television had been kinder to. I think the writers did a good job of taking the central premise of the novel and running with it a different direction.

Definitely a novel worth reading, but if you've never seen the show, I would have to suggest watching it instead.

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M.R. Clearly, you prefer fantasy to science fiction. As for silly predictions, 10 years ago, North Korea trying to make war on us again probably would have...more
Apr 07, 2013 10:13pm

Craig I have to admit that I am very confused by your comments here. I said many times that I appreciated the novel's point of view and saw it as a more int...more I have to admit that I am very confused by your comments here. I said many times that I appreciated the novel's point of view and saw it as a more intellectual take though I felt it ignored certain possibly important reactions to a global consciousness shift.

I'm not sure where that places me on the fantasy/sci fi line. I enjoy both but would have to say that I enjoy sci fi a good bit more than fantasy despite what you say. As for the rest of your comments, I would have to say that I agree on nearly every level though I am not sure why these comments are directed at me. I said "some" predictions come across as silly. By no means did I attack most of them. This seems to be your main attack of my review/thoughts... It makes me feel like you didn't really read the rest in a way.

Trust me, I understand the reaction against some idiot who would choose the modern visual take on a story versus the original literary version... I feel, though, that I did a decent job here distinguishing between the two and I by no means attacked the novel. In fact, I said it was intellectual (which I personally see as a good thing), in depth yet accessible, etc...

Perhaps what we are arguing about is semantics. Certainly those predictions would have seemed stupid to me 25 years ago if one or two people had told me about them. What, though, if everyone in the world saw a version of the future and it was the same future? Certainly people would try to make a difference if they all saw the same thing. Perhaps not - that is a major theme of both the novel and the show after all...

I am genuinely confused, though, why you took such great offense at one single line of my review. I really enjoyed both incarnations of this story for very different reasons and am interested to see more from you as to why you disagree with me so strongly.

(Also, "pro" wrestling was popular long before 25 years ago. In fact, it was extremely popular up until the 1920's when people began to question its reality. Since then, it has had ups and downs. The first modern "golden age" of professional wrestling is considered to be the 1940's through the 1950's and a good deal of that is considered to be related to its popularity on television.) I loathe it as well, but it isn't an acceptable example in your argument...(less)
Apr 07, 2013 10:58pm

M.R. This is the problem with writing versus talking: it's sometimes difficult convey the degree of disagreement, particularly if the discussion is a long...more This is the problem with writing versus talking: it's sometimes difficult convey the degree of disagreement, particularly if the discussion is a long one (it turns out length is a faulty indicator). I didn't take 'great offense,' I just commented at length.

I was merely pointing out that those predictions you considered silly in the book might not actually have been all that silly. The first reason for that is that the characters in the book were clearly lacking a huge amount of information about events that would have occurred between the present just before the event and the events that were perceived to have occurred 22 years in the future. The fact that everyone saw ahead the same amount of time (if they saw anything at all; the ones who didn't were presumed to have died in the interim) doesn't mean they all saw the same thing: they saw fragments of their own lives, and some of those fragments were later found to have overlapped, which was discovered only because of the database. Once aggregated, the overlaps then revealed a degree of consistency and allowed a bigger picture of the future to be assembled.

Other commenters have suggested that the characters' reactions were silly; again, I have to wonder if we forget that emotional reactions to such a startling event would vary quite a bit and would depend greatly on our own personal histories. One man's silly is another man's reaction based on back history (and the knowledge of that back history then renders the reaction predictable, though not always purely 'logical').

As for why I'd bring it up at all: I like science fiction and want to encourage more people to read it, BUT I find that many readers who aren't that familiar with hard sci-fi have, paradoxically, a more difficult time taking it seriously (even when the scientific basis behind the story is sound) than they do fantasy. Perhaps that's because nobody expects you to 'clean up' fantasy to make it more plausible, whereas truth -- especially in particle physics -- is much stranger than fiction, and fictional extrapolations from science are somehow expected to seem more 'real' and comprehensible. Yet what seems 'real' to you in sci-fi may very well depend on how much you know about science. I think that's one reason a lot of people don't give science fiction a chance: you don't need to be scientifically literate to unquestioningly enjoy fantasy. Fantasy is just easier for them to swallow and temporarily suspend disbelief for the sake of the story.

I also think that maybe that's a reason ABC and its production company so drastically changed the story once they got TV rights to the novel: they figured a conspiracy theory thrown in there would garner more viewers (or at least alienate fewer) than something that required some grasp of science and got into the scientific part of the story -- which, in this case, lies at the heart of the plot -- because the majority of the American public either is scientifically illiterate, has science anxiety, or both. That's one reason NOVA is on PBS and not on ABC during prime time.

ps -- I concede the part about pro wrestling; but you have to admit that compared to the wrestling that made it onto TV during the 1950s, today's 'pro' wrestling is vastly different in rules and behavior, not to mention marketing, and is essentially a different activity (I'm not sure I'd call it sport, since it doesn't equate to Olympic wrestling).

Does that answer your question?(less)
updated Apr 08, 2013 10:05am

Aug 28, 2012 Michael Juge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

‘Doubtless’ a great read
4.5 out of 5 stars. Robert Sawyer sure knows how to explore that whole free will verses determinism thing in the most entertaining way. First, let’s get on with the comparison between the novel and the television series. I loved both, but they are completely different stories outside of the starting premise that an experiment involving a Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is instrumental in accidentally causing all humanity to black out for a couple of minutes to experience a v...more ‘Doubtless’ a great read
4.5 out of 5 stars. Robert Sawyer sure knows how to explore that whole free will verses determinism thing in the most entertaining way. First, let’s get on with the comparison between the novel and the television series. I loved both, but they are completely different stories outside of the starting premise that an experiment involving a Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is instrumental in accidentally causing all humanity to black out for a couple of minutes to experience a vision of the future. Of course, the act of the entire human race suddenly losing consciousness makes for a bit of a mess as planes crash upon take off and landing, cars collide into each other, people tumble down flights of stairs, milk is over-frothed. And this is where the novel and the TV series diverge.
In the TV series, the flash forward is set 6 months in the future, whereas the novel it is set 21 ½ years in the future. This sets the tone for an entirely different set of problems, especially for those who didn’t have a vision. Additionally, the main characters are different (outside of Lloyd Simcoe) and the story itself goes into a completely different direction between novel and the TV series.
Sawyer did an outstanding job of exploring the various theoretical physics models of the universe and its implications for the human condition in a way that was digestible for those of use without degrees in the hard sciences. The main character Lloyd was attempting to find the Higgs Boson particular with the LHC at CERN; however, he inadvertently caused the flash forward which caused the deaths of millions (car crashes, planes falling from the sky, etc). Naturally, Lloyd feels immense guilt. Meanwhile his partner, the young Theo had no vision at all, which he soon realizes means that he is dead in 21 ½ years. Theo wants to find how he died in order that he may prevent it. Theo and countless others hope that the future is not set, that time is not immutable. But Lloyd sees it differently. Given his own guilt, he hopes that time is immutable; he posits that we live in a block universe whereby time is analogous to layers of film stacked upon itself. Everything that happened has happened and that which is going to happen has already happened, just as the ending of a film has been finished whether or not you you’ve seen the ending. Casablanca will always end the same way, will always be the way it has always been no matter where you are in the film. I forget the particulars of the theory, but Lloyd calls this a “block universe.” The important thing is that a block universe is completely deterministic, completely immutable. We cannot change anything.
Sawyer showcases some of the most intriguing concepts coming out of physics, most of which are in conflict, through the discourse and the drives of the characters. The story itself is engaging, rarely did I find myself skimming through, and Sawyer assumes the reader is capable of asking oneself some hard questions about what it is free will. I’ve always counted on Sawyer’s ability to do this, as he is a remarkable and accomplished story teller with talent for creating original and cerebral concepts to explore the human condition in an entertaining way. That being said, Sawyer, this is a message for you. Please use that Thesaurus option in MS Word. You have penchant for the word “doubtless,” don’t you? At first I thought it was just a strange Canadian thing like watching hockey or being polite. But my Canadian friends never say “doubtless.” And levitating cars in 2030? Really, Sawyer? Really? We’re going to drive cars that levitate? Are they also going to fold up and fit into our wallets? I think you’re spot on so many points that that little part about levitating cars (not flying, I grant you) threw me off. Other than those two little objections, I am a total fan of the novel. Sawyer has me thinking late at night about free will and whenever an author does that, I know it’s a winner. Good going!
(less)

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Aug 15, 2012 Sol Gonzalez rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ciencia-ficción, 2012

Hasta que comencé a buscar el libro en Goodreads no me dí cuenta de que el título en ingles era FastForward, lo que me hizo pensar que tal vez tuviera alguna relación con la serie que salió en el 2009... pero como no la ví no me dí cuenta sino hasta que leí la reseña y es posiblemente muy parecida, sin embargo es notablemente distinta.

La trama del libro es acerca de un fenómeno que deja a la población inconsiente por cerca de dos minutos, mientras echan un vistazo a su vida en 30 años.

La histor...more

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Jun 25, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, audiobook

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 14, 2012 Boom rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

{http://kiddywonkus.blogspot.com/2012/...}

I've just finished Flashforward, and I'm having difficulties sorting out my thoughts. I think that it is because I'm not entirely sure what I just read. Yes. The premise is easy: Everyone in the world flashes forward twenty-one years to see their future... so I'm not really sure why I'm confused.

But I think it's because it sort of reads like a crime novel that meanders around the philosophical aspects of quantum physics.

As I said, though, I'm not really...more

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May 23, 2012 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, sci-fi, time-travel, philosophical, detective, mystery, aurora-winner, male-author, 1990s, book-club-sword-and-laser

As with quite a few people my first introduction to this book came through the show based on it. Very loosely based on it. I liked the show but being TV it had to take a more exciting angle on it. Turn the flashforward into some big conspiracy, with heroes and villains and a much shorter time frame.

The book though is much more peaceful. There's no conspiracy. It was an accident. And the vision was over 20 years later rather than 6 months. There is a lot of heavy science in this book but, for me,...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi

I really enjoyed Flashforward when it was a TV show and was sad when it was canceled. I've had this book on my "to read" list since then and finally took the time to read it. It's a quick read, heavier on the scifi than some of the more popular scifi-lite that we're seeing more of these days, and as with any good scifi, filled with philosophical questions (despite a slight against philosophers at one point in the book).

There are plenty of summaries of the plot here, so I won't go into that. How...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read January 2012: raced through this as I found it an easy read. Liked the concept, had downloaded this after watching the first episode of the tv show, but not liking it (too much like Lost, which I found to be more annoying than entertaining, with all the new questions and few answers every episode) and it had languished in my library until I ran out of other things to read. Reminded me of many of the Michael Crichton and Robin Cook science fiction books I've read over the years - interesting...more

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Dec 20, 2011 CanaryK rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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's try to piece t...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Sandi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, sci-fi

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 be d...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Brett rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 found myse...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Jun 18, 2011 yukoxoxo2000 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, audiobook

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. What would I feel if I had a glimpse of my future? I’d love to see if I’ll be happy with my family in years to come, but what if I will be single and penniless? It’s controversial, and thinking of my future was thrilling while reading Flash Forward.

In this book, scientists conducted a high energy experiment which caused an unexpected global blackout for 2 minutes. People suddenly fell unconscious while their minds were flash forwarded (as they coined the word for the blackout) to 21 years in th...more

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Jun 13, 2011 Kyra rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi

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 know why but I just don't like his writing style.

I don't think it's just...more 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 know why but I just don't like his writing style.

I don't think it's just because there's a lot of physics involved, I'm able to read other SciFi that explores concepts that are over my head and I just sort of skim the science-y bit sand get the general gist.

I don't like or connect with any of his characters. THe two main characters are two male physicists dealing with the outcome of their experiment & their future. One spends the whole book trying to figure out if he should marry someone if they may not stay together. Second guy spends a lot of the book trying to figure out why someone may wnat to kill him & lusting for first guys almost wife.

I've been trying to put my finger on it, but I can't pinpoint it - but something about how the author writes his characters rubs me the wrong way. Making one of the main characters think about how he he has to be politically correct and call people melanin-Americans" (the kind of exagerrated over-correcting that in my experience, racist people use). The only people I hear talking about "politically correctness" are usually complaining about being "forced" to use polite terms. people that stress/emphasize the fact that they're using the "correct" terms.

Then there are the depictions of people feeling 'yellow fever' & thinking about an "exotic" Japanese woman and repeated mentions of "almond eyes". I know there are people out there who are like that, & I don't have a problem with their representation.
It felt more like 'here's how the author sees Japanese women' than, "author is writing a character that has these thoughts". Again, I can't really point to a specific sentence that proves it, it was just the feeling I got as I read the book.

So go watch the tv adaptation which expanded on these ideas in a better way - then if you're still curious read the last section of the book.(less)

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About Robert J. Sawyer

Robert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in...more Robert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in Toronto, the son of two university professors. He credits two of his favourite shows from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Search and Star Trek, with teaching him some of the fundamentals of the science-fiction craft. Sawyer was obsessed with outer space from a young age, and he vividly remembers watching the televised Apollo missions. He claims to have watched the 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey 25 times. He began writing science fiction in a high school club, which he co-founded, NASFA (Northview Academy Association of Science Fiction Addicts). Sawyer graduated in 1982 from the Radio and Television Arts Program at Ryerson University, where he later worked as an instructor.

Sawyer's first published book, Golden Fleece (1989), is an adaptation of short stories that had previously appeared in the science-fiction magazine Amazing Stories. This book won the Aurora Award for the best Canadian science-fiction novel in English. In the early 1990s Sawyer went on to publish his inventive Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, about a world of intelligent dinosaurs. His 1995 award winning The Terminal Experiment confirmed his place as a major international science-fiction writer.

A prolific writer, Sawyer has published more than 10 novels, plus two trilogies. Reviewers praise Sawyer for his concise prose, which has been compared to that of the science-fiction master Isaac Asimov. Like many science fiction-writers, Sawyer welcomes the opportunities his chosen genre provides for exploring ideas. The first book of his Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, Hominids (2002), is set in a near-future society, in which a quantum computing experiment brings a Neanderthal scientist from a parallel Earth to ours. His 2006 Mindscan explores the possibility of transferring human consciousness into a mechanical body, and the ensuing ethical, legal, and societal ramifications.

A passionate advocate for science fiction, Sawyer teaches creative writing and appears frequently in the media to discuss his genre. He prefers the label "philosophical fiction," and in no way sees himself as a predictor of the future. His mission statement for his writing is "To combine the intimately human with the grandly cosmic."

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Quotes from Flashforward

“Naturally, one does not normally discuss plans to commit murder with the intended victim.” — 14 people liked it

“As laser-bright moments; diamond-hard memories; crisp and clear. A future lived, a future savored, a future of moments so sharp and pointed that they would sometimes cut and sometimes glint so brightly it would hurt to contemplate them, but sometimes, too,
would be joyous, an absolute, pure, unalloyed joy, the kind of joy he hadn't felt much if at all lo these twenty-one years.” — 3 people liked it

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