Strange Attractors

by William Sleator

Max finds himself in possession of a time travel device which is eagerly sought by two desperate men, the scientist who invented it and the scientist's alter ego from a different timeline.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Time Travel, Adventure

169 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

William Warner Sleator III was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland on February 13, 1945, and moved to St. Louis, MO when he was three. He graduated from University City High School in 1963, from Harvard in 1967 with BAs in music and English.

For more than thirty years, William Sleator thrilled readers with his inventive books. His House of Stairs was named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by the Young Adult Library Services Association.

William Sleator died in early August 2011 at his home in Thailand.

Reviews

[Davidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read was called STRANGE ATTRACTORS by William Sleator. The setting was in different time frames. The main characters were two scientists and two daughters, but the main character of them all was named Max. The scientists were both named Adam Sylvan and both daughters were named Eve Sylvan but only one of the families was supposed to be in this world and time frame. I found the book by where my last book was which was called 'The boy who reversed himself' by William Sleator also. The book I read before this one that was by the same author was a really good book so I decided to get this one also and I was not disappointed with either one.

The plot was that max had lost all recollection of the day before when he went to a scientific lab on a field trip with his class. The conflict was that the fake Sylvans had called him and wanted him to come to where they was at so they could talk to him and tell him lies and get a phaser from him that they thought he had. But the thing about the fake ones were that they wouldn't tell him what happened the day before so he couldn't get his memory back and so that's when they started to get him into things and they started time traveling.

The book was really good in my opinion with the way every thing happened. it was thrilling and it got me sucked into it right away. I don't know what books I will get after this one but hopefully I can find another one by this author just because his two books that I have already are just so good. The type of readers that might like this book is probably readers that like science fiction. It was one my favorite books that I have read in a while. I strongly recommend a book like this to anyone just because how the plot and everything was laid out so good.

[Swankivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of William Sleator's books, pretty much, are good for young science fiction readers. He has a way of taking even science fiction clichés and making them something to wonder about again.

This one dealt with time travel and did so really well. I love how this author really makes you get sucked up into experiencing the attitudes of the characters. Despite the weirdness that happened because of it in the book, I wanted one of those calculators. . . .

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because I used to read Sleator books when I was a teenager and I remember really liking them. Either they just aren't my thing not or this one was a dud. I really didn't enjoy this book at all. None of the characters were really likable, and the story just kept being like, "Here's some suspense. No, wait. Nothing's really happening. Just kidding." Or maybe just the same thing kept pretty much happening over and over and it became repetitive and therefore boring to me.

[Delia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty fun, adventure-filled read. It's short but full of non-stop action and has a GREAT ending. Plus the scientific aspect of it is well done too. It is a bit dated, though. Sleator mentions hoverpacks and robots, but no mention of a cellular phone or some type of recording device. It just doesn't age well, but if you can get past that, it's a great middle-school read.

[Andie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saved this paperback from being thrown out from the camp library. The main attraction to me was the ridiculous cover picture. The story itself was a bit ridiculous but amusing.

[E.L. Haines · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite Sleator book so far. Time travel is so hard to write without inconsistencies and paradoxes, and unfortunately even Sleator can't avoid these faults

[Devin Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great time travel dichotomy going on here. Confusing but I could stick with it more. I really think the good and bad character choices here is fun and the last line will stick with you for sure!!

[Jerome Ellison Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Sleator specialized in sleek tales of almost menacing urgency, in which first-person narrators describe various unforeseen domino effects. In his underrated thriller THE DUPLICATE, for instance, a teenager clones himself, only to confront the duplicate's own agenda, which involves further duplications of decreased fidelity. Like those of Borges, Sleator's narratives are thought experiments, and often mathematically inspired; but as young adult fiction, are kept on the accessible side of mind-bending.

STRANGE ATTRACTORS adeptly explores the problem of time travel, using theories of how systems are drawn into chaos, their outcomes dependent on minute variables (AKA the "butterfly effect").

Sleator translates such concepts into page-turners whose speculative logic unfolds in tandem with relatable human situations. (That said, his narrators can feel somewhat blankly functional.) In STRANGE ATTRACTORS, the "attractors" drawing linear timelines into chaos are an "attractive" girl and her father, who are alternate-timeline versions of people the protagonist has previously encountered. Their goal is to eliminate the competing set of selves by manipulating a "phaser," which can send objects back and forth in time.

Sleator brilliantly conceives of time travel not only as a problem of chronology, but of geography and physical position. His prose style cuts to the chase, and true to his flinty sensibility, he's not afraid to end on an ominous note. STRANGE ATTRACTORS is a satisfying read, if a bit cerebral at times, and rather more invested in plot than in character. It's also a lot of fun - a great example of the imaginative heights to which young adult fiction can rise.

[Diana Welsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

WILLIAM SLEATOR IS THE MAN! When I see his books I just can't help myself. I bought Strange Attractors at a library discard booksale.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, this book is about a teen named Max who visits the lab of a physicist on a class trip. But he wakes up the next day with no memory of the previous day and the visit to the lab.

It turns out, the physicist from the lab has invented a phaser that can transport people and objects around in time. The problem is, if you go into the past and mess around, it screws up the timeline of the world and splits off into two timelines. Now, there are alternate-universe versions of the physicist (Sylvan) and his teenage daughter (Eve) that have a phaser and are trying to usurp their place on earth and send them back billions of years, when the earth was made of molten lava. Each scientist/daughter pair are doing their best into manipulating Max into helping them. The real Sylvan and Eve are probably right, but the fake Sylvan and Eve are so, so sexy. Max isn't sure who to trust.

The main drawback to it is that, while the science and ideas are interesting enough to intrigue older teens and adults, it is written at a low level, perhaps for young teens. Especially at the beginning, the characterization and dialogue is contrived and corny. But it gets really good at the end.

Great story, totally worth a read, but I wish it was aimed at older readers.

[Julie Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max, a teenage science enthusiast, is about to go on a laboratory visit, only to receive a call the day before his trip from the people he's supposed to visit--Dr. Sylvan and Eve. And they want back an item he supposedly took from their lab--before he's been there. After piecing together the information he's got, Max realizes something odd is happening with time travel, all linked to a very special calculator, and there are in fact two sets of Dr. Sylvan and Eve. Max has to determine which one of them is the set he should trust, and sometimes his heart and his head vote differently. All he knows is that ultimately there cannot be two sets of the same people in one timeline, and if the wrong pair is removed, Max's universe may begin to unravel--with him in it.

The science on this is of course dubious, but then, you've got a calculator for a time machine so you do have to suspend disbelief. It's a bit convoluted, which you would probably expect from a story that involves chaos theory, but even for that you sometimes see internal glitches. That said, I did like Max's multiple conundrums and dedication to order, and I found the concept of a "ruined" timeline pretty horrifying. (Which, in science fiction, is usually delicious.)

[Paul Eccles · Rating 5 out of 5]

My godmother got me this book when I was 12. Read it several times from age 12-16. It's a great read, ideal for teens. The characters are well written and the plot is very intriguing - the time travel in this book is just outstanding, the imagination of the future and past is very convincing. The devolution into chaos and allusions to chaos theory are very thought-provoking yet accessible. I loved it!

[Kristen H · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this book only one star because I didn't really relate to this book. This book talks a lot about science tools and science expirements. Sleator wants Max to forget everthing he already knows so he won't give the phaser to anybody else. This book has good word choice because they used a lot of adjectives and don't use common words.

[Kyliecallme · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my FAVORITE books in middle school! So much so that I haven't seen/held it since the 90s but I still remember the title. Reading "Timebound" by Rysa Walker right now. Falling in love w/it... And the subject matter reminded me of this treasured old book, which I should really read again one day :)

4 stars only because IDK if younger Me's tastes are the same as my current ones :)

[Aiyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleator manages to take a simple pun and turn it into an intruiging story of the future, the choices we make, and chaos theory. Brilliant.