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jess_mango's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 out of 5 stars
A sci-fi light novel about time travel but more about learning about what you value in life. Tom Barren lives on Earth in 2016 in a world that is straight out of Jetsons and other 1960's visions of the future. There are flying cars, clothing recycling/generating machines, teleporters, and more.
Tom's father invents a time machine and let's just say that Tom goes a bit rogue and goes back in time and ends up altering the timeline and when he comes back to 2016 it is the one we live in. Tom views it as a sad dystopian society.
A sci-fi light novel about time travel but more about learning about what you value in life. Tom Barren lives on Earth in 2016 in a world that is straight out of Jetsons and other 1960's visions of the future. There are flying cars, clothing recycling/generating machines, teleporters, and more.
Tom's father invents a time machine and let's just say that Tom goes a bit rogue and goes back in time and ends up altering the timeline and when he comes back to 2016 it is the one we live in. Tom views it as a sad dystopian society.
welkinvault's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Thoroughly enjoyed this time travel science fiction novel
carinadiaz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Went on for far too long.
michelekendzie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
one of the most unique and fascinating novels I’ve ever read
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Self-referential, smart, science-y... an eminently readable time travel comedy of errors and horrors
I'm at a bit of a loss to summarise this book any more succinctly than above. I thought it was a fairly sraightforward "alternative future utopia" tale, with a rather lacklustre failure of a man set to travel back in time. But almost immediately that is turned on its head.
He opens with a narration you know is a hooker:
"Maybe the first person is the wrong way to tell this story. Maybe if I take refuge in the third person I'll find some sort of distance or insight or at least peace of mind. It's worth a try."
So you are aware from the start of Tom Barren's awareness of us, his readers, and you know he's going to be telling us his own story: "but I'm not the microscope, I'm the thing on the slide."
Great start. And yes, I was definitely hooked. I love books that aim for something different, give their narrator a unique tag. This is Mastai's first book and I was already excited about his writing from the first chapter.
There follows a little world-building as Tom's apparent Utopic society ("imagine that the last five decades happened with no restrictions on energy") is described - a world of "universal plenty". Though of course, ads can now be marketed to your specific tastes and even your mood, hunger and time to spare. Food synthesizers, clothing recyclers - everybody's fantasy of a future paradise where want is unknown.
But of course, Tom has already prepared us for the worst... he's not exactly a success in life, even in this world of opportunity and pleasure. Some wrong choices, some chance encounters, some life events all combine to place him at the heart of the world's first time travel experiment... going back to the moment the world started to become the Utopia he knows. And yes - he manages to screw it up.
From this point onward, concentration is required, as it often is with time travel stories. The author even helps out a little, by inserting occasional summaries of previous chapters into the narrative (though I didn't quite see the need).
I LOVED what happened next, and not least because the story just wouldn't stay still. It jumped around like three time travel plots combined, though seamlessly meshed together. Mastai's plot is incredibly well constructed, and Tom himself is an impressive character who grows (I won't say how, as it isn't quite as you'd expect!) through the story.
Hugely entertaining, mind-bending stuff. Both inside the genre and outside at the same time, I've never read anything quite like it. Wonderful narration, eye-widening ideas (sorry, mustn't explain!), and very, very assured writing for a debut novelist.
Please say you've got more ideas for future books, Mr Mastai. I can't wait to read them.
And PLEASE someone, make this a mini-series. Too much material for a film, it would spoil it to cut it down. This needs to be on television.
Wonderful choice for a book group, and for anyone who likes time travel/dimension-swapping stories, or just likes to try out new writers - this is now my top read of the year so far.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.
I'm at a bit of a loss to summarise this book any more succinctly than above. I thought it was a fairly sraightforward "alternative future utopia" tale, with a rather lacklustre failure of a man set to travel back in time. But almost immediately that is turned on its head.
He opens with a narration you know is a hooker:
"Maybe the first person is the wrong way to tell this story. Maybe if I take refuge in the third person I'll find some sort of distance or insight or at least peace of mind. It's worth a try."
So you are aware from the start of Tom Barren's awareness of us, his readers, and you know he's going to be telling us his own story: "but I'm not the microscope, I'm the thing on the slide."
Great start. And yes, I was definitely hooked. I love books that aim for something different, give their narrator a unique tag. This is Mastai's first book and I was already excited about his writing from the first chapter.
There follows a little world-building as Tom's apparent Utopic society ("imagine that the last five decades happened with no restrictions on energy") is described - a world of "universal plenty". Though of course, ads can now be marketed to your specific tastes and even your mood, hunger and time to spare. Food synthesizers, clothing recyclers - everybody's fantasy of a future paradise where want is unknown.
But of course, Tom has already prepared us for the worst... he's not exactly a success in life, even in this world of opportunity and pleasure. Some wrong choices, some chance encounters, some life events all combine to place him at the heart of the world's first time travel experiment... going back to the moment the world started to become the Utopia he knows. And yes - he manages to screw it up.
From this point onward, concentration is required, as it often is with time travel stories. The author even helps out a little, by inserting occasional summaries of previous chapters into the narrative (though I didn't quite see the need).
I LOVED what happened next, and not least because the story just wouldn't stay still. It jumped around like three time travel plots combined, though seamlessly meshed together. Mastai's plot is incredibly well constructed, and Tom himself is an impressive character who grows (I won't say how, as it isn't quite as you'd expect!) through the story.
Hugely entertaining, mind-bending stuff. Both inside the genre and outside at the same time, I've never read anything quite like it. Wonderful narration, eye-widening ideas (sorry, mustn't explain!), and very, very assured writing for a debut novelist.
Please say you've got more ideas for future books, Mr Mastai. I can't wait to read them.
And PLEASE someone, make this a mini-series. Too much material for a film, it would spoil it to cut it down. This needs to be on television.
Wonderful choice for a book group, and for anyone who likes time travel/dimension-swapping stories, or just likes to try out new writers - this is now my top read of the year so far.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.
drridareads's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to first to read i got to read this book. It was amazing.
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai is one of the best books i've read this year.
I loved it so much.
It's a story about a screw up Tom Barren. It was so cool that the protagonist was a screw up and normal and ordinarly and life like. He makes rash descisions like us, these spoil everything. The only reason he has a cool job is because his dad is super cool and has just invented time travel.
As I mentioned the main character is a screw up and makes rash decisions. This story is about him making an extremely illogical, unsafe and emotion driven decision to go back in time.
What i really liked is that just because he's the main character he doesn't suddenly become hero like and intelligent and handles the time travel coolly. Nope he spoils the past and with that screws up with the present.
Tom's views and narration with self pity and everything made the book more engaging.
The author addreses issues with time travel.
Overall i'd rate this book 4.5/5, i'd give it 5 but the start was kind of slow paced and sometimes the sci fi stuff was a little too much for me.
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai is one of the best books i've read this year.
I loved it so much.
It's a story about a screw up Tom Barren. It was so cool that the protagonist was a screw up and normal and ordinarly and life like. He makes rash descisions like us, these spoil everything. The only reason he has a cool job is because his dad is super cool and has just invented time travel.
As I mentioned the main character is a screw up and makes rash decisions. This story is about him making an extremely illogical, unsafe and emotion driven decision to go back in time.
What i really liked is that just because he's the main character he doesn't suddenly become hero like and intelligent and handles the time travel coolly. Nope he spoils the past and with that screws up with the present.
Tom's views and narration with self pity and everything made the book more engaging.
The author addreses issues with time travel.
Overall i'd rate this book 4.5/5, i'd give it 5 but the start was kind of slow paced and sometimes the sci fi stuff was a little too much for me.
drjoannehill's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Bought for me last birthday - I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, because the cover looks like a romantic comedy bestseller sort of thing and the title is verging on ungrammatical which is something I dislike. Not something I would usually pick up without knowing about it first. In reality, I found the first 20% quite difficult or not really me - it was slow going and the main character Tom (by his own admission as this is written in first person as a memoir) is a self-centred, failing, unliked person. However, it then picked up as the main part of the story kicked in - which boils down to time travel that sets off a major change to the timeline and Tom finds himself in a different present day. Cue lots of philosophical discussion, quantum physics, and an adventure. It's not a romance at all but speculative fiction / sci fi.
Name checking The Time Machine and drawing from a bit of the story, and also drawing from a bit of Back to the Future 2 ... For regular time travel fans I can't say if this is a decent read or not. But I found it entertaining and I read about half of the 390 pages in one day. There's some parts that could do with more detail to be convincing, but I'll leave those to other readers to find rather than picking holes in it. Close enough to 4 stars to get the 4.
Name checking The Time Machine and drawing from a bit of the story, and also drawing from a bit of Back to the Future 2 ... For regular time travel fans I can't say if this is a decent read or not. But I found it entertaining and I read about half of the 390 pages in one day. There's some parts that could do with more detail to be convincing, but I'll leave those to other readers to find rather than picking holes in it. Close enough to 4 stars to get the 4.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Car accident, and War
hb1998's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
suvata's review against another edition
4.0
Before:
The only problem with requesting ARC's is that I feel obligated to read them ahead of everything else. I'm a sucker for a time-travel book so this one was too tempting to resist.
After:
This is a great book. It reminded me a bit of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in that it is humorous and written in a conversational style. In this story Tom Barren's genius father invents time travel. Tom finds himself in 2016 after traveling back to 1956 and screwing everything up. Now he is stuck in a future that really isn't the future it was supposed to be. Sounds a little confusing as time travel generally does but it's all pretty clear while you're reading the book. This is a wonderful light-hearted look at a popular sci-fi trope.
The only problem with requesting ARC's is that I feel obligated to read them ahead of everything else. I'm a sucker for a time-travel book so this one was too tempting to resist.
After:
This is a great book. It reminded me a bit of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in that it is humorous and written in a conversational style. In this story Tom Barren's genius father invents time travel. Tom finds himself in 2016 after traveling back to 1956 and screwing everything up. Now he is stuck in a future that really isn't the future it was supposed to be. Sounds a little confusing as time travel generally does but it's all pretty clear while you're reading the book. This is a wonderful light-hearted look at a popular sci-fi trope.