The Chronology Protection Case

Phil D'Amato #1

by Paul Levinson

[A Phil D'Amato Story] What to do when the Universe itself is after you, bent on preventing you from revealing a secret which could unravel its very existence? Dr. Phil D'Amato -- who later appears in the novels The Silk Code, The Consciousness Plague, and The Pixel Eye -- makes his very first appearance. Sturgeon Award Nominee, Nebula Award Nominee. Basis of the low-budget movie by Jay Kensinger, and the Edgar-nominated radio play by Mark Shanahan.

Genres: Time Travel, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

36 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Paul Levinson, PhD, is an author, professor, singer-songwriter, media commentator, podcaster, and publisher. His first novel, The Silk Code, won the Locus Award for best first science fiction novel of 1999. Entertainment Weekly called his 2006 novel, The Plot to Save Socrates, “challenging fun”. Unburning Alexandria, sequel to The Plot to Save Socrates, was published in 2013. Chronica - the third novel in the Sierra Waters time travel trilogy - followed in 2014. His 1995 award-nominated novelette, "The Chronology Protection Case," was made into a short film, now on Amazon Prime Video. His 2022 alternate history short story about The Beatles, "It's Real Life," was made into a radioplay, streaming free, and an audiobook, in 2023, and it won the Mary Shelley Award for Outstanding Fiction. "It's Real Life" was expanded into a novel, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles, and published in 2024. Paul Levinson was President of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), 1998-2001. His nine nonfiction books on the history and future of media have been translated into 15 languages around the world, and have been reviewed in The New York Times, Wired, and major newspapers and magazines. Two shorter books, McLuhan in an Age of Social Media and Fake News in Real Context, were published in 2015-2016, and are frequently updated. Levinson appears on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and numerous other television and radio shows and podcasts. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was reissued on CD and remastered vinyl and is available on Bandcamp and iTunes. His first new album since Twice Upon A Rhyme -- Welcome Up: Songs of Space Time -- was released by Old Bear Records on CD and digital, and Light in the Attic Records on vinyl, in 2020. Levinson is Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University in NYC.

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Reviews

[Leon Brokepocket · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had only heard of this book and author a few hours ago.

Let me just say this..

Give Gordon Ramsay: "A Brief History of Time", "The Da Vinci Code" and "Final Destination" and this is the luscious luncheon he would cook up!

Perfectly paced and zero fluff. Straight to the point, no-nonsense story-telling; yet brilliantly descriptive: succinct.

I have just finished reading it yet could easily go back in for round two.

Don't believe me?

Read it!

[Nooilforpacifists · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passible. For the plot, not the writing, which is a few levels up from Dick and Jane. I’ve read a few of his other works, and have the same critique.

[Theresa Sivelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting idea. Made me think, that is for sure.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

A science detective story involving quantum mechanics and how the universe can’t allow the paradox of time travel. It’s interesting, and has some moments of tension, but I was unconvinced by the mechanism used by the quantum mechanics and even more bothered by the inability of the author to escape the detective tropes—detective falls for beautiful woman in distress at first sight, etc. It makes its point, but takes a long time to do so, and most of it is just a dialogue of physics conjecture between people.

[Pamela Huxtable · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well produced dramatization.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too far fetched ...