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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
What a fun book! I really did not expect to like this as much as I did, but it was an enjoyable ride.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Eli Teague lives in Sanders, Maine, the town that time forgot. A chance encounter with a Model A Ford and its driver when he was a kid sets Eli on a collision course with all of America's history. That is, if the faceless men don't get him first...
Peter Clines impressed the shit out of me with [b:The Fold|23164927|The Fold|Peter Clines|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1416182070s/23164927.jpg|42710963] and [b:14|15062217|14|Peter Clines|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338999953s/15062217.jpg|20716929] so it was a no-brainer when Crown came knocking with an ARC of Paradox Bound.
Time travel stories are something that's hard to do well. Peter Clines takes an admirable stab at it in Paradox Bound. Instead of traveling through all of time and space, Eli and the searchers travel through American history, searching for the missing American dream.
Feeling more like a road book than a standard time travel story, Paradox Bound has a lot of innovative things about it. The faceless men, generic feds with no faces, protect the American dream until it is stolen and lost to history. Scores of people scour history looking for the American dream and the power to shape the country. Eli and Harry are just two such searchers, tooling around in a Model A and trying not to die.
The book maintains a pretty gripping pace. While I knew Eli wouldn't die, I wasn't sure about Harry or any of the other characters. Peter Clines did a great job with time paradoxes and keeping the proceedings logical while still being outlandish.
While I enjoyed this book, I didn't love it. I think Clines set the bar a little too high in [b:14|15062217|14|Peter Clines|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338999953s/15062217.jpg|20716929] and [b:The Fold|23164927|The Fold|Peter Clines|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1416182070s/23164927.jpg|42710963]. It had a less serious tone than either of those books. However, that wasn't the part that really rubbed me the wrong way. Eli makes a couple leaps in logic in the last 20% of the book that really didn't sit well with me. I can buy time, sorry, history travel, but I couldn't buy the conclusions Eli jumped to.
Paradox Bound is a fun book but I didn't think it was nearly as good as his previous two outings. Three out of five stars.
Peter Clines impressed the shit out of me with [b:The Fold|23164927|The Fold|Peter Clines|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1416182070s/23164927.jpg|42710963] and [b:14|15062217|14|Peter Clines|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338999953s/15062217.jpg|20716929] so it was a no-brainer when Crown came knocking with an ARC of Paradox Bound.
Time travel stories are something that's hard to do well. Peter Clines takes an admirable stab at it in Paradox Bound. Instead of traveling through all of time and space, Eli and the searchers travel through American history, searching for the missing American dream.
Feeling more like a road book than a standard time travel story, Paradox Bound has a lot of innovative things about it. The faceless men, generic feds with no faces, protect the American dream until it is stolen and lost to history. Scores of people scour history looking for the American dream and the power to shape the country. Eli and Harry are just two such searchers, tooling around in a Model A and trying not to die.
The book maintains a pretty gripping pace. While I knew Eli wouldn't die, I wasn't sure about Harry or any of the other characters. Peter Clines did a great job with time paradoxes and keeping the proceedings logical while still being outlandish.
While I enjoyed this book, I didn't love it. I think Clines set the bar a little too high in [b:14|15062217|14|Peter Clines|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338999953s/15062217.jpg|20716929] and [b:The Fold|23164927|The Fold|Peter Clines|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1416182070s/23164927.jpg|42710963]. It had a less serious tone than either of those books. However, that wasn't the part that really rubbed me the wrong way. Eli makes a couple leaps in logic in the last 20% of the book that really didn't sit well with me. I can buy time, sorry, history travel, but I couldn't buy the conclusions Eli jumped to.
Paradox Bound is a fun book but I didn't think it was nearly as good as his previous two outings. Three out of five stars.
Despite giving it three stars, I paradoxically liked this story
I've read everything from Peter Clines that I could find, save his most recent trip titles ("Dead Moon", and "Terminus". In sure I'll get to them eventually. "Paradox Bound" is my least favorite of his stories - but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. I just wasn't as captivated as I have been with his other works. Harry is a good character. If this story were made into a movie today, I'd envision Keira Knightley starring as Harriet 'Harry' Pritchard. I enjoyed the character Eli less. He's drawn as an educated and clever fellow, but then he just can't get his head wrapped around the time (history) traveling that is central to the story. It's annoying. After all, he's a fellow that has been fixated on his three encounters with a certain young woman (who doesn't seem to age) and very old car over a span of twenty years. So much so that he's devoted himself to the study of American automobiles. And yet he keeps referring to the seat he's sitting in while traveling with Harry in a Ford Model A Business Coupe as a "rumble seat". Which is highly unlikely. It's clear he's in the cab with Harry - so he can't be in the rumble seat. That contraption is a flip up seat located where the rear trunk on most modern sedans and coupes would be. Out in the open air. Not in the cab. That niggling detail aside, the story is entertaining and ends well. I don't recommend this story as your first exposure to Peter Clines. I'd recommend his Ex-Heroes series. Or his novels, "14" or "The Fold". Save this one until you're already a fan.
I've read everything from Peter Clines that I could find, save his most recent trip titles ("Dead Moon", and "Terminus". In sure I'll get to them eventually. "Paradox Bound" is my least favorite of his stories - but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. I just wasn't as captivated as I have been with his other works. Harry is a good character. If this story were made into a movie today, I'd envision Keira Knightley starring as Harriet 'Harry' Pritchard. I enjoyed the character Eli less. He's drawn as an educated and clever fellow, but then he just can't get his head wrapped around the time (history) traveling that is central to the story. It's annoying. After all, he's a fellow that has been fixated on his three encounters with a certain young woman (who doesn't seem to age) and very old car over a span of twenty years. So much so that he's devoted himself to the study of American automobiles. And yet he keeps referring to the seat he's sitting in while traveling with Harry in a Ford Model A Business Coupe as a "rumble seat". Which is highly unlikely. It's clear he's in the cab with Harry - so he can't be in the rumble seat. That contraption is a flip up seat located where the rear trunk on most modern sedans and coupes would be. Out in the open air. Not in the cab. That niggling detail aside, the story is entertaining and ends well. I don't recommend this story as your first exposure to Peter Clines. I'd recommend his Ex-Heroes series. Or his novels, "14" or "The Fold". Save this one until you're already a fan.
Like all of the books by Clines that I have read, Paradox Bound is a lot of fun. There's a cool premise that tweaks the traditional time travel narrative a bit, some interesting characters, and some very memorable moments throughout.
Unfortunately, the book also feels a bit bloated, some of the nerdy stuff feels pandering, and there are quite a few question marks left around that feel a lot like plot holes to me. I suppose this is inevitable with time travel stories.
Still, I had a great time reading this one - on a 1-5 scale it's really more of a 3.5 than a 3. I just couldn't quite get myself to click that fourth star, though.
If you're interested in Clines, his best, in my opinion, is "14." It suffers from some of the same problems (bloated and pandering), but was even more wacky and fun and engaging.
Unfortunately, the book also feels a bit bloated, some of the nerdy stuff feels pandering, and there are quite a few question marks left around that feel a lot like plot holes to me. I suppose this is inevitable with time travel stories.
Still, I had a great time reading this one - on a 1-5 scale it's really more of a 3.5 than a 3. I just couldn't quite get myself to click that fourth star, though.
If you're interested in Clines, his best, in my opinion, is "14." It suffers from some of the same problems (bloated and pandering), but was even more wacky and fun and engaging.
Paradox Bound was a good book. A good adventure, with solid characters in Eli, Harry, and all the other side characters well fleshed out. I did enjoy it, but I did not find it gripping in an "I must finish this!" way. The idea that the American Dream is a thing to search for was...interesting. But I have to admit, I find the idea of the "American Dream" very...American. Is there not a more global idea? Something that would need finding in Canada? Europe? It could be that I am just very jaded right now in the current political climate. I do think Peter Clines is a fantastic author. I think this was done very well, and everything, from the faceless men to Eleanor, were written perfectly. So if you like his writing, definitely check this out. See if maybe you're in a better place to believe than I was.
I loved this! My first Peter Clines novel and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. A little bit of steampunk, a lot of adventure and a good helping of history travel thrown in kept me hooked and entertained.
Yes, there were parts were Eli was jumping to some wild conclusions with little or no evidence but hey, it’s a work of fiction; suspend your disbelief and just go with it. Fun, fast paced and well written with a great cast of characters some of which we only get to see a glimpse of, so perhaps there may be more to come with Harry, Eli and Eleanor?
Yes, there were parts were Eli was jumping to some wild conclusions with little or no evidence but hey, it’s a work of fiction; suspend your disbelief and just go with it. Fun, fast paced and well written with a great cast of characters some of which we only get to see a glimpse of, so perhaps there may be more to come with Harry, Eli and Eleanor?
adventurous
medium-paced
Ever wonder what would have happened if Dr Who and Doc Brown had a literary child?
Welcome to Paradox Bound, a fabulous foray into time travel, American History, muscle cars and chasing after your own personal dream.
What I didn't like: Let's be honest... writing time travel mechanics is superbly tough. That being said, I had a couple points of contention with his uses of paradox and quantum entanglement that was poorly explained. But, it's scifi... you knew it was scifi... To quote Rhianna 'this is what you came for'.
What I did like: What a unique storyline! In a society that seems to be stuck on Super Hero movies and reboots this was truly a breath of fresh air. A madcap mix of Back to the Future, National Treasure and Cannonball Run, with hints of Dr Who and Brigadoon... or maybe it's closer to Footloose... I really enjoyed the main characters; which weren't really totally filled in, but had enough going for them for us to root for them. And I loved the villains; though who doesn't love faceless hoodlums wearing masks?
If you're looking for a good read to escape to that may actually take you away, Paradox Bound will be a good read for you!
Welcome to Paradox Bound, a fabulous foray into time travel, American History, muscle cars and chasing after your own personal dream.
What I didn't like: Let's be honest... writing time travel mechanics is superbly tough. That being said, I had a couple points of contention with his uses of paradox and quantum entanglement that was poorly explained. But, it's scifi... you knew it was scifi... To quote Rhianna 'this is what you came for'.
What I did like: What a unique storyline! In a society that seems to be stuck on Super Hero movies and reboots this was truly a breath of fresh air. A madcap mix of Back to the Future, National Treasure and Cannonball Run, with hints of Dr Who and Brigadoon... or maybe it's closer to Footloose... I really enjoyed the main characters; which weren't really totally filled in, but had enough going for them for us to root for them. And I loved the villains; though who doesn't love faceless hoodlums wearing masks?
If you're looking for a good read to escape to that may actually take you away, Paradox Bound will be a good read for you!
So entertaining, unique, and a little nerdy - perfect combo! The audiobook is a great listen!!