I really wanted to like this one but there was just so much going on with so many storylines and characters... Add to that a writing style that was fairly methodical and slow-build to the max and as soon as I finally fell into the rhythm of one storyline, the book would shift to another, and I would lose the thread and feel for the book. Multiple perspectives and storylines are fine, but you have to give people enough, especially early on, to get them to feel a connection to each before you skip between them - and to my mind this book did not do that. As a result it felt disjointed and I had a hard time connecting to the storylines enough to want to see how they would all tie together... This one just wasn't for me.

Science thrillers are somewhat new to me. I love the genre, it was just one of those things I thought existed better in movies and/or shows rather than books. However, to my surprise, this book proved that the books can be just as engaging. This was quite an interesting and engaging science thriller.

The premise of this book was intriguing, but the end result didn't feel like it came together like it should have. There were a lot of potential story lines or concepts that never progressed the way they could have and it made the story feel a bit too choppy. There were also a few characters and plot elements that seemed like the author couldn't decide whether to make them serious or silly. All that said, it was still an entertaining read and would probably do better in the movie adaptation than the book.

he Twin Paradox
By Charles Wachter
I want to thank the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read this book.
The best way I can describe it is Jurassic Park, Boys from Brazil, throw in a supercollider and you get turmoil in Texas.
I enjoyed the idea of the book. I was concerned with the morality that a large private corporation could clone histories greatest intellects and use them as children and teenagers.
The story gets bogged down in a lot of pseudo science. I actually live in the Corpus Christi area. I don’t believe the author has ever been to South Texas. His descriptions of the area were filled with errors.
The first one that bothered me was concerning a swamp cooler. Swamp coolers aren’t used in the coastal areas of Texas. Swamp Coolers work best in areas with low humidity. They do not function when humidity is greater than 35%. Corpus Christi’s least humid month is October with an average of 55%.
After this I was annoyed by all of the endless science that was tossed about as story progressed.Was there anything even remotely based on science in this book? A great sci-fi story makes me want to believe.

Having a hard time rating this book. While I did enjoy aspects of it, sometimes I found myself straying away from it. It took me a while to finish, but I am glad that I did. I think if you enjoy the sci fi aspect in a book a lot, you will enjoy this.

The premise sounded really interesting.. it had strong chapters at the start but then... once the story got going.. it went everywhere. Sadly, this book was not for me and I wasn't enjoying it so I had to stop reading at 40%. I'm sure there are people who would actually enjoy this sci-fi thriller.

Orphan Black meets Boys From Brazil in Charles Wachter’s The Twin Paradox.

A unique thriller that soeculates what would happen if the US government figured out a way to slow down time and places teenage clones of the world’s greatest minds inside a time bubble to see how far they can advance science in decades while the outside world experiences mere minutes.

Although I had trouble suspending disbelief for some of the events that occur, I thoroughly enjoyed the concept in this book and look foward to reading the next in the series. Strongly written with enjoyable characters.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, thanks to the publisher and author, as well as NetGalley, for providing an Advance Readers Copy of the Twin Paradox. I've been reading a lot of science fiction and time travel books lately, but this one is the most unique and interesting one I've read in years. Part hard science fiction, part time travel, part Lord of the Flies, part Boys from Brazil, part Island of Dr. Moreau. The author has a vivid and wide ranging imagination, and I was repeatedly stunned and delighted by every new twist and turn of the story. I'm so glad there's a sequel, as one book with this story and this group of characters definitely is not enough. I highly, highly recommend it, and I trust that many others will enjoy it as much as I did. Looking forward to The Divine Paradox.

I loved this book! Time manipulation, clones, government weapons programs. Add an organization that has collected genetic samples of great minds throughout history and now considers clones of these people as property. What could possibly go wrong?

Looking for an entertaining summer read? Here it is!

Thanks to Netgalley for this ebook. I am sure an avid scy=fy reader would really love this book and give it 5 stars. I am not that reader, the book was good, the premise was good, but there was so much scientific jargon that it just kept losing my interest. I just don't like scy-fy .

The writing was good and this would be a great read for a scy-fy fan.

This book was fun. Clearly Michael Crichton was an influence (though you could say that about anyone who writes a science fiction-y book about ignoring the laws of nature and folding those of science to one's will), and it was for the best. The Twin Paradox kept me highly entertained and while the science got a little too detailed, the ride was a blast. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

I was given an advanced copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 20%

I tried so hard to get into this book. From the blurb, it had my favorite things: cutting-edge research and a thriller-type vibe. I was excited by the prologue but the rest dragged on with a cast too big to keep track of. Whenever I saw a little hope that the book would pick up, it switched to another subplot and completely killed the buildup of suspense and that I was finally starting to see. I ended up caring very little about any of the main characters and had to put the book down because it was very long and I couldn't see myself getting into any of the suspense.

Overall, the concept is great, and the author can do a great job with evocative imagery. But the execution is messy and the book did not live up to my expectations.

I did not realize this book published last August. I am trying to read more advanced copies to give content/early review to my followers. Sorry but I ended up not reading this.

Review link:
http://www.passarella.com/blog/676/the-twin-paradox-charles-wachter-review/

Review Text:
Wachter’s debut novel, The Twin Paradox, boasts a lot of interesting, exciting and innovative ideas in a fast-paced SF thrill-ride that reintroduces famous and infamous people from history—in various incarnations. There’s some YA angst as several young characters discover shocking truths about their identities, political intrigue as multiple governments jockey for power in a new type of arms race, and the makings of a predatory dystopia by way of an extremely evolved and deadly ecosystem that may escape confinement. And not only is time not a constant in this tale, it is used in various intriguing ways as a deadly weapon. As the story opens, the reader might expect a sobering tale of (recycled) fate and shaded musings on the nature-vs-nuture debate, but Wachter skillfully veers away from those expectations to deliver one clever surprise after another.

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to Divine Paradox, the book two in The Twin Paradox Series, arriving January 2022.

I received a free copy of "The Twin Paradox" from Netgalley and Trevaney Bay in exchange for an honest review. I feel like I was tricked into this book actually- I received this book to review because the sequel is coming out early next year. And of course, because I loved "The Twin Paradox," I am set to pre-order the sequel. Tricky publishers, you got me!

There is a lot going on in this book. The United States has utilized two concepts that will change the world: the ability to make DNA replicas of people from the past and the ability to compress time. The story starts with a group of teenagers that are told that they are replicas of famous people: Martin Luther King Jr, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Catherine the Great... but what is important to note is that as 'smart' as they are, they are still basically children as they try to navigate what being these people mean, as well as what they are expected to do in terms of the time variation that has been created on a secret base in Texas that they are immediately sent to. In other words, they are smart children that make a lot of stupid decisions.

The summary mentions that this book has similarities to Jurassic Park- and it does. A group of people get stuck in a horror park and need to find a way out. It gets scary. It gets horrible. But it also gets very good.

This book is not for the faint of heart. There is quite a bit of blood and guts, mostly in part to ritual cannibals and large monsters that lurk in the dark. It sounds strange, but there is a LOT going on in this book- it feels a bit chaotic at times, but I think it works when the book is taken as a whole.
I loved how the author explained a few weird real-life creatures in nature and concepts of science- it often led me down the Wikipedia hole. He also did an amazing job of creating discussions for nurture vs. nature through various characters.

And now I wait for book two. Six months can not come fast enough! Read this book- I don't always recommend books that have a sequel in the works, but even as a stand-alone book, "The Twin Paradox" was unique and worth the read.

This was one of the most unique sci-fi/fantasy books I’ve read in a long time! It had a little bit of everything that any sci-fi junkie would love. The fast pace kept me reading this in mostly one sitting.

Four stars instead of five because some parts did feel a little over the top. Maybe the author got too excited and decided to add more crazy to top off all of the other crazy? I’m not sure.

I still have recommended this to several friends. I throughly enjoyed this book!

I wanted to enjoy this book. The synopsis seemed like it would be a fun blend of science-fiction and mystery. And I did enjoy parts of it, particularly the beginning when things were unfolding. That was fun. But around the 50% mark, things just got way too wacky for me. It was like every single possible sci-fi trope was being used, and the whole thing just veered off into the wildly unrealistic. Just as one egregious example for me: The fact that one of the genius kids resolved the P vs. NP problem seemed unnecessary and enough that it really made me stop suspending disbelief in the book.

Unfortunately, the whole thing just didn't work for me.

Imagine you are just approaching or in your early teen years. You are normal, doing all the regular things that kids do. Everything is great, until one day you discover that you are not who you think you are. You are not the you that you’ve grown to know, you are a clone. Not just any clone, but a duplicate of an famous intelligent or influential adult.

There was enough in that one idea to create a decent plot, but author Charles Wachter upped the ante by transporting the children to a facility in Texas that is the perfect definition of science running amok. Time moves at different speeds within the facility, and a dangerous world has evolved within its confines. The sci-fi story quickly morphs into a sci-fi horror, and there is a race against time to escape a cruel fate that has been left for them to blunder into its clutches.

I liked the heavier-than-normal doses of science, and the book teetered between a story for young adults while still capturing the interest of older readers. This is a multiple-book series, but I wouldn’t classify it as a cliffhanger ending. The main plot lines are wrapped up, though it is obvious that more adventures wait in the wings. For me, this was one of the top books I have read this year, and I am so glad it was introduced to me. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.

Reading the first few chapters of The Twin Paradox had me excited to dive in, but once I did I felt like I was drowning. The story went all over the place. The pacing did the same... at times I felt like it was about to give me ADHD just from trying to keep up with senseless ramblings, and other times it was so slow I struggled to keep my eyes open. The characters weren't relatable, nor did their actions make much sense most of the time. I also really struggled to suspend my belief long enough to really dive into the pseudo science of it all.
Halfway through the book I decided to give up and call it quits, which is why I am only giving one star... maybe it would have come together in the end, but where I left off it didn't look like it.
However, I did feel that while it was a challenging book to read, it might actually make a decent movie, and if that should get made, Ill be sure to watch it and if only to see how it ends!

The Twin Paradox is delightful sci-fi craziness, the first in a two-book series. A small group of honors high school students in an elite program learn that their destinies were created for them, prior even to their births. They are whisked away suddenly to a secret government facility, where they begin to learn the full story behind the mysterious Cornerstone Project. In short order, mad scientists playing God go too far, and the entire plot becomes a demented roller coaster ride into scientific implausibility.

Yes, it's implausible. It's science fiction. I feel certain the science is wonky. But it didn't matter, for me. I found the characters so much fun, the storytelling very imaginative, and the plot fast-moving and entertaining. I will definitely look for part two!