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bookph1le's review
2.0
It started out strong, began to crash and burn in the middle, and then fizzled out in the end. More complete review to follow.
Full review:
When I first started reading Towards Yesterday, I was hooked. I found myself devouring it on my Kindle for Android app, which is really saying something because I pretty much hate reading on my phone. I loved how unique the characters seemed, how real and authentic their voices were. So imagine my surprise when the rest of the novel failed to follow the same direction. Some spoilers ahead.
As my opening paragraph suggests, I found the sudden switch from multiple POVs to a single (for the most part) POV to be really disappointing. Though he initially seemed to be a strong character, I was not a very big fan of Jim after the jump back in time. He struck me as rather bland, and this was a big problem for me because there were other characters I found a LOT more interesting, so I wasn't happy to have to look at the world through Jim's eyes. I think this is the biggest downfall of the book, really. We have so many compelling characters--the crazed priest, the genius scientist trapped in a six-year-old girl's body--but we have to see the world mainly through Jim's rather dull gaze. I kept reading, sure there must be some chapters written from the six-year-old's perspective, but no such luck. That was a really wasted opportunity because the premise of her character was so interesting and unique.
The other thing I disliked about the novel was the way in which the Church of Second Redemption was portrayed. The first chapter told from the Father's point of view was so gripping, but then we don't get to hear any more of the story from his voice. The lengths he was willing to go to for his ideals were really fascinating, but because so much of what happens with the Church happens offscreen, the Church ultimately becomes kind of cartoonish. I simply couldn't buy that they had the kind of power to pull off what they pulled off, particularly because their behavior seemed liked it would have ultimately turned public sentiment against them. There just didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to their behavior.
I was also pretty disappointed in the ending. It's action-packed, but I found it ultimately unsatisfying. There was too much of a deus ex machina element to it for me to be very happy with it.
Still, I think this author shows a lot of promise. This was a really great concept for a novel and, had the execution been better, I think this would have been a really excellent read.
Full review:
When I first started reading Towards Yesterday, I was hooked. I found myself devouring it on my Kindle for Android app, which is really saying something because I pretty much hate reading on my phone. I loved how unique the characters seemed, how real and authentic their voices were. So imagine my surprise when the rest of the novel failed to follow the same direction. Some spoilers ahead.
As my opening paragraph suggests, I found the sudden switch from multiple POVs to a single (for the most part) POV to be really disappointing. Though he initially seemed to be a strong character, I was not a very big fan of Jim after the jump back in time. He struck me as rather bland, and this was a big problem for me because there were other characters I found a LOT more interesting, so I wasn't happy to have to look at the world through Jim's eyes. I think this is the biggest downfall of the book, really. We have so many compelling characters--the crazed priest, the genius scientist trapped in a six-year-old girl's body--but we have to see the world mainly through Jim's rather dull gaze. I kept reading, sure there must be some chapters written from the six-year-old's perspective, but no such luck. That was a really wasted opportunity because the premise of her character was so interesting and unique.
The other thing I disliked about the novel was the way in which the Church of Second Redemption was portrayed. The first chapter told from the Father's point of view was so gripping, but then we don't get to hear any more of the story from his voice. The lengths he was willing to go to for his ideals were really fascinating, but because so much of what happens with the Church happens offscreen, the Church ultimately becomes kind of cartoonish. I simply couldn't buy that they had the kind of power to pull off what they pulled off, particularly because their behavior seemed liked it would have ultimately turned public sentiment against them. There just didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to their behavior.
I was also pretty disappointed in the ending. It's action-packed, but I found it ultimately unsatisfying. There was too much of a deus ex machina element to it for me to be very happy with it.
Still, I think this author shows a lot of promise. This was a really great concept for a novel and, had the execution been better, I think this would have been a really excellent read.
racer951y's review against another edition
4.0
Good read
Although a little overly wordy in a few areas (like explaining the whole process of laminating a name badge when it had nothing to do with the story), I still enjoyed this book very much. I had not read a sci-fi book with this premise to date and I thoroughly enjoyed it to the end. Although a bit predictable in parts there was still enough mystery to keep my attention the whole way through.
Although a little overly wordy in a few areas (like explaining the whole process of laminating a name badge when it had nothing to do with the story), I still enjoyed this book very much. I had not read a sci-fi book with this premise to date and I thoroughly enjoyed it to the end. Although a bit predictable in parts there was still enough mystery to keep my attention the whole way through.
dhagen's review
3.0
Towards Yesterday by Paul Jones is a story about time travel, but not your typical time travel. The world finds itself transported 25 years into the past. People have become younger while retaining their memories; and the dead are alive, remembering their lives up until the time of their death.
Jim Baston and a group of scientist find themselves working against the clock in order to prevent the extinction of mankind.
The story was enjoyable and interesting from beginning to end.
Jim Baston and a group of scientist find themselves working against the clock in order to prevent the extinction of mankind.
The story was enjoyable and interesting from beginning to end.
uncannyvalerie's review
3.0
I really liked the idea of this story, and the majority of the plot. I would have liked less focus on the serial killer and more focus on the experiences of the people reconnected by the slip.
See my full review a href="http://www.ifyoulikebooks.com/2013/05/toward-yesterday-by-paul-antony-jones.html">here.
See my full review a href="http://www.ifyoulikebooks.com/2013/05/toward-yesterday-by-paul-antony-jones.html">here.
altruest's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, rounded up.
This was a pretty good book, I loved the premise and the writing was pretty good. I wish it would have explored a few more of the social implications of the Slip back into the past, but my disappointment in that regard might just be my selfish love for really deep world-building.
Very short read for me, but I enjoyed it.
This was a pretty good book, I loved the premise and the writing was pretty good. I wish it would have explored a few more of the social implications of the Slip back into the past, but my disappointment in that regard might just be my selfish love for really deep world-building.
Very short read for me, but I enjoyed it.
krakentamer's review against another edition
4.0
Let's talk about 2 other books before I get into this review:
1) My favorite book of all time is Ken Grimwood's [b:Replay|341735|Replay|Ken Grimwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1441156728s/341735.jpg|1804797]. In Replay, a middle-aged man has a heart attack and instead of dying, wakes up earlier in his life, as a college student, complete with all the memories of the next 20+ years. He dies and re-awakens many times, and I don't want to spoil that book here, so I'll stop. But Toward Yesterday is exactly the premise of Replay, but extended to the entire population of the earth. Ok, so Toward Yesterday isn't exactly a truly original book, but there were many thought-provoking issues that came up, only some of which were brought up by the book, but quite a few that have me thinking (one, right off the top of my head: if a person was born only a short time (let's say "weeks") after the time reset, would they still be born the same person as before?)
2) Kurt Vonnegut wrote a book called [b:Timequake|9594|Timequake|Kurt Vonnegut|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405784951s/9594.jpg|6835609], in which the entirety of the population jumps back 10 years, and with all memory of future events intact; however, they do not have the ability to change any actions, as they do not have free will. As is often the case with Vonnegut, the book was the story ABOUT the story, which will probably only make sense if you've ever read much Vonnegut. I was really hoping for so much more from Timequake, but was ultimately let down, as I felt that the ideas and ramifications of the time reset event were not really explored to any degree at all.
So... Toward Yesterday is the book that I'd wished Timequake could've been, even though I could not stop comparing it to Replay. However, to be perfectly clear - Toward Yesterday is definitely not as good as Replay, even though it had potential to be.
To me, this book failed to be as good as it could've been on 2.5 fronts:
1) The final 1/4 of the book has an additional layer of drama to it that is totally unnecessary, in my opinion. It's also based on a coincidence that one of the characters themselves mentions must be a trillion to one. Unfortunately, it was telegraphed from nearly the beginning and simply added nothing to the book beyond padding the word count.
1.5) There is a romance sub-plot that also seems totally unnecessary, or at the very least - totally underused ()
2) The cop-out ending.
So in the end, I liked the book, but wish that it could've been just a little bit better.
1) My favorite book of all time is Ken Grimwood's [b:Replay|341735|Replay|Ken Grimwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1441156728s/341735.jpg|1804797]. In Replay, a middle-aged man has a heart attack and instead of dying, wakes up earlier in his life, as a college student, complete with all the memories of the next 20+ years. He dies and re-awakens many times, and I don't want to spoil that book here, so I'll stop. But Toward Yesterday is exactly the premise of Replay, but extended to the entire population of the earth. Ok, so Toward Yesterday isn't exactly a truly original book, but there were many thought-provoking issues that came up, only some of which were brought up by the book, but quite a few that have me thinking (one, right off the top of my head: if a person was born only a short time (let's say "weeks") after the time reset, would they still be born the same person as before?)
2) Kurt Vonnegut wrote a book called [b:Timequake|9594|Timequake|Kurt Vonnegut|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405784951s/9594.jpg|6835609], in which the entirety of the population jumps back 10 years, and with all memory of future events intact; however, they do not have the ability to change any actions, as they do not have free will. As is often the case with Vonnegut, the book was the story ABOUT the story, which will probably only make sense if you've ever read much Vonnegut. I was really hoping for so much more from Timequake, but was ultimately let down, as I felt that the ideas and ramifications of the time reset event were not really explored to any degree at all.
So... Toward Yesterday is the book that I'd wished Timequake could've been, even though I could not stop comparing it to Replay. However, to be perfectly clear - Toward Yesterday is definitely not as good as Replay, even though it had potential to be.
To me, this book failed to be as good as it could've been on 2.5 fronts:
1) The final 1/4 of the book has an additional layer of drama to it that is totally unnecessary, in my opinion. It's also based on a coincidence that one of the characters themselves mentions must be a trillion to one. Unfortunately, it was telegraphed from nearly the beginning and simply added nothing to the book beyond padding the word count.
1.5) There is a romance sub-plot that also seems totally unnecessary, or at the very least - totally underused (
Spoiler
It would've been very interesting to have pointed out that even though biologically there was only a 10? year difference between the lovers, one had an additional 20+ years aging and experience on the other, so, in effect, it was more of a 30+ year age difference2) The cop-out ending
Spoiler
The bomb killed all the team and destroyed the experiment, but it still worked out anyway because of ... alternate timelines spilling over? or something... whatever it takes to tack on an ending to the book, right?So in the end, I liked the book, but wish that it could've been just a little bit better.
amynbell's review
5.0
Imagine if everyone on earth time traveled without warning 25 years into their own past. Where would you find yourself? In a classroom or job long-forgotten? In a body more agile? Who in your life would not yet exist and who long-dead would suddenly be alive again? Would it be a blessing or a curse? This is the premise that Jones explores in Towards Yesterday.
I found this book to be extremely intriguing and found it to fill the niche left behind by the cancellation of the Flashforward television series (based on the book [b:Flashforward|337132|Flashforward|Robert J. Sawyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316727290s/337132.jpg|327550] by [a:Robert J. Sawyer|25883|Robert J. Sawyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1224975910p2/25883.jpg]). Only, rather than everyone on earth experiencing their future, everyone on earth is catapulted and seemingly left stranded in the past. The well-crafted plot and 3-dimensional characters of Towards Yesterday make for a compelling read.
This author is growing on me such that I'd instantly snatch up any book he puts out there. If you're a fan of time travel or post-apocalyptic novels at all, do yourself a favor and download this book to your Kindle for $2.99. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I found this book to be extremely intriguing and found it to fill the niche left behind by the cancellation of the Flashforward television series (based on the book [b:Flashforward|337132|Flashforward|Robert J. Sawyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316727290s/337132.jpg|327550] by [a:Robert J. Sawyer|25883|Robert J. Sawyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1224975910p2/25883.jpg]). Only, rather than everyone on earth experiencing their future, everyone on earth is catapulted and seemingly left stranded in the past. The well-crafted plot and 3-dimensional characters of Towards Yesterday make for a compelling read.
This author is growing on me such that I'd instantly snatch up any book he puts out there. If you're a fan of time travel or post-apocalyptic novels at all, do yourself a favor and download this book to your Kindle for $2.99. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
danlewisfw's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this, it was a very different take on time travel. The setup is that some scientists attempt to send a message back in time by one second and instead they send everyone's consciousness back 25 years into their younger selves. Of course this causes all kinds of problems. I do think there was one large plot flaw and it bothers me so its why the book is not getting five stars but other than that it was very well written and I am looking forward to reading more books from this author. #towardyesterday
garlongreeves's review
4.0
I enjoyed the novel, and the premise was interesting, but the ending was a bit abrupt, leaving you wanting a bit more.