A very interesting and original debut! I'm not sure I can really explain it, but I know I enjoyed reading it. So I'm going to let the publisher's summary do it for me.

"Combining elements of neo-noir, speculative fiction, and '80s detective shows, FLUX is a haunting and sometimes shocking exploration of the cyclical nature of grief, of moving past trauma, and of the pervasive nature of whiteness within the development of Asian identity in America.

In FLUX, a brilliant debut in the vein of William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Ling Ma’s Severance, Jinwoo Chong introduces us to three characters —Bo, Brandon and Blue— who are tortured by these questions as their lives spin out of control.

* After 8-year-old Bo loses his mother in a tragic accident, his white father, attempting to hold their lives together, begins to gradually retreat from the family.

* 28-year-old Brandon loses his job at a legacy magazine publisher and is offered a new position. Confused to find himself in an apartment he does not recognize, and an office he sometimes cannot remember leaving, he comes to suspect that something far more sinister is happening behind the walls.

* 48-year-old Blue participates in a television exposé of Flux, a failed bioelectric tech startup whose fraudulent activity eventually claimed the lives of three people and nearly killed him. Blue, who can only speak with the aid of cybernetic implants, stalks his old manager while holding his estranged family at arms-length.

Intertwined with the saga of a once-iconic '80s detective show, Raider, whose star has fallen after decades of concealed abuse, the lives of Bo, Brandon and Blue intersect with each other, to the extent that it becomes clear that their lives are more interconnected and interdependent than the reader could have ever imagined.

Can we ever really change the past, or the future? What truth do we owe our families? What truth do we owe ourselves?"

Thanks to NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

The author needs to put a disclaimer at the front of this book that just says TRUST ME, IT WILL MAKE SENSE. Although the emotional payout of this twisting tale of identity and unchecked capitalism is well-worth the cognitive load of puzzling through the plot, it requires a high tolerance for being confused at the start. The basic premise follows an ex-magazine editor with a painful family history and a deep-rooted obsession with a 1980's police procedural who is hired by a strange, Theranos-esque company to serve in an ill-defined role. Time and reality begin to blur with the past and fiction as the story jigsaws itself into shape between our narrator's present at the company, an unnamed whistleblower from the near future filming a documentary, a child's Christmas fractured by tragedy, and a day in the life of the grizzled fictional detective around which the narrator's attention continuously returns.

Needless to say, there were several parts of the story where I found myself completely lost at sea. It takes a while for the core insidiousness at the center of the faux-Theranos company to take shape, but once it does it provides context for a lot of the strange transitions and narrative framing that has occurred up until that point. By the end of the story, I was amazed by how intentionally the author had pulled things together, taking four seemingly disparate plot lines and knitting them into the course of a single life. However, this payoff is a long time coming and requires a HUGE amount of trust in the author and a reluctant acceptance that often things aren't going to be made especially clear. It doesn't help that the technical aspects of how the main twist functions are never truly explained, leading to broad clarity that still feels unsatisfying on a personal level. I will say that the author has a truly exceptional attention to detail, and routinely called back to or gave context to small details or moments that would otherwise been lost - such as the connection between the movie star's son and the politician. The most meaningful details of the story were the relationships between the main character and his family at different stages of his life, and the heartfelt exploration of traumatic grief that is felt by Bo, his brother, and his father in different ways. There is also some interesting commentary about the parasocial relationships we form with celebrities, and the inevitable dissonance between idealized fiction and disappointing reality.

4.5/5, rounded down to 4..

This is a very strong debut novel by Jinwoo Chong.

The novel has a particularly engaging premise, and the three viewpoints are nicely balanced. The author does a good job of giving just enough guidance and structure to make the plot clear, without over-explaining or talking down to the reader. It does take a while to get going and to connect with the main character and his arc, but once that happens the story picks up pace nicely.

Although the characterisation is generally okay, I found some of the main character's behaviour hard to understand. It also felt like a key motivator for him - guilt - was dropped in bluntly in the middle of the story. This motivator helped explain things, but it could have been weaved through better, including the effect of his realisations on his subsequent actions.

The writing is fluid and evocative without being overwrought, making the story easy to visualise. For this reason I think <i>Flux</i> would make an excellent movie.

There's some (mostly) deftly-explored themes about cults of personality, the effects of trauma and cultural assimilation. There were one or two instances where the writing became a little bit too blunt/direct about the 'message' for my tastes. It's likely that aspects of the themes would have resonated more with me if I was of a similar background to the author and the main character, but that's hardly their fault.

I'd recommend this one - particularly for sci-fi readers who like a contemplative story.

Thanks to Melville House, Netgalley and Jinwoo Chong for this ARC (provided in exchange for an honest review).

OMG OMG OMG Get this book. Not just because it's been heralded as one to read, and Jinwoo Chung as an author to watch. Not just because of the glowing review in the NYT Books, and not just because it's a complex and nuanced look at our current world through the eyes of individuals that don't always have a voice. I love this book because I know Jinwoo Chong! He was my student at my high school - a gifted and kind tutor. What an amazing feeling to know the person behind this book that will make top ten lists all year!

ANYWAY, Flux is aptly named as nothing stand still for long as we learn more and more about three males - 8 year old Bo, 28 year old Brandon and 48 year old Blue. The three are related in some way, revealed at the end and as we learn about their lives, Chong adds speculative fiction elements in time traveling and a noirish component via an 80's detective show.

Admiss their travails there is corporate espionage, tech startup culture, gay life, and the every day indignaties of contemporary life in America. The structure, plotting and pacing is perfect and I cannot wait to see what this 27 year old writes next! if you love contemporary fiction, the novels of David Mitchell or Charles Yu, or are just read to see what the new young guns are writing about, Flux is for you!
#Melville #flux #JinwooChung #PHS #PrincetonHigh #IdeasCenter #Netgalley #Edelweiss

Thanks to NetGalley and Melville House for an ARC of this title.

There's some interesting stuff happening in this book, but the prose kind of gets in the way. Part of this is to weave together the three separate storylines in a way that keeps you from putting together what's going to happen, but that means it also gets in the way of making sure you know what's actually happening. I like mind-bend-y stuff, but at a certain point you need to make sure I can tell how my mind is actually bending.

RIYL: Primer

Ambitious, resonant sci-fi that pulls from a multitude of tropes (some sections are scenes from a television show that exists in-universe, which I'm sure the author had some fun writing) in service of something that feels very unique. There's something very specific about the tone that I don't tend to find in what I read, where it feels somewhat hardboiled and self-serious, taking place in a compelling but thinly constructed universe that's really just a light backdrop for psychological shenanigans. For lack of a better description, this novel felt very cinematic to me, at least in the way scenes are structured, and not just in those TV show sections. I suppose it's something about the way Jinwoo Chong approaches writing some of the more abstract moments, where there's enough focus on the visual and auditory details that something that would otherwise be obtuse is actually very vivid. None of the individual concepts at play here are particularly novel, but it all comes together into something I can't say is like anything I've read before. The arresting cover art is also very fitting. I feel like it sets the tone for the novel as a whole.

What a wonderfully imaginative and exciting novel! Jinwoo Chong's début "Flux" zig-zags all over the place as it tells a story about a sinister company, time travel, a 1980s cop show, and a bereaved and confused man at three different points in his life. However, despite many different story lines, it never fails to be entertaining. I was gripped throughout, found the book difficult to put down, and will be recommending this to readers of everything from John Darnielle to Ernest Cline.

Flux by Jinwoo Chong is a debut novel that revolves around three main characters: Bo, Brandon, and Blue. The author uses a clever and original method to bring the readers both forward and backwards in time. Eventually, the lives of these three characters intersect. Jinwoo Chong allows the reader to discover the experimental technology used in this story. It is a book to savor slowly since the story sometimes switches from present to past and back again. It is done so quickly that it can be difficult to keep the timeline straight. But I did find that it was easier to grasp the story line as the novel unfolded. Throughout the book references to an ‘80’s detective show called Raider are integrated into the timeline. Jinwoo Chong shows promise as a debut author. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a little science fiction mixed with the reality of grief and family trauma. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advance copy of this book.

Honestly I love anything this author puts out! I had such a good time reading this. It’s perfectly paced and I would highly
Recommend it to anyone :)

I was initially drawn to this incredible debut because I love Jinwoo Chong's short fiction, and needed to read even more of his writing. Then I saw this stunner of a cover and I could not wait for the pub date to arrive to begin reading. And what a complete gift of a novel this is. Completely original, haunting, bittersweet--easily one of the best speculative novels I've ever encountered. I hope this magnificent book finds the wide and engaged audience it so richly deserves.

I really enjoyed the three storylines and the way that they converged at the end. I thought the integration of the 80s noir show was clever. However, I felt like there were many loose threads that were not as wrapped up as I would've wanted by the end (Why did Lev want Brandon to work for him so badly? What was the point of the fall down the elevator? What was the end goal of the company and nefarious technology? etc.). I love the cover. I would read something else by this author.

There were a lot of formatting issues in the Kindle ARC that might deter some readers.

The premise here is great, and the representation is a breath of fresh air. However, the structure didn't work for me, and I struggled to follow this novel. There were too many perspectives, and the characters weren't given enough space to become compelling. I had a hard time remembering which perspective was which because they sounded the same. Readers who like experimental style and/or convoluted stories that require deep focus would enjoy this book.

"A blazingly original and stylish debut novel about a young man whose reality unravels when he suspects his mysterious employers have inadvertently discovered time travel - and are using it to cover up a string of violent crimes...

Four days before Christmas, 8-year-old Bo loses his mother in a tragic accident, 28-year-old Brandon loses his job after a hostile takeover of his big-media employer, and 48-year-old Blue, a key witness in a criminal trial against an infamous now-defunct tech startup, struggles to reconnect with his family.

So begins Jinwoo Chong's dazzling, time-bending debut that blends elements of neo-noir and speculative fiction as the lives of Bo, Brandon, and Blue begin to intersect, uncovering a vast network of secrets and an experimental technology that threatens to upend life itself. Intertwined with them is the saga of an iconic '80s detective show, Raider, whose star actor has imploded spectacularly after revelations of long-term, concealed abuse.

Flux is a haunting and sometimes shocking exploration of the cyclical nature of grief, of moving past trauma, and of the pervasive nature of whiteness within the development of Asian identity in America."

Yes to all of it, but a huge yes to Raider!

I was so excited to read FLUX from Jinwoo Chong! It very much lived up to the buzz!

Four days before Christmas, 8-year-old Bo loses his mother in a tragic accident, 28-year-old Brandon loses his job after a hostile takeover of his big-media employer, and 48-year-old Blue, a key witness in a criminal trial against an infamous now-defunct tech startup, struggles to reconnect with his family.

What follows is a fantastically mind-bending travel through time, both literally and metaphorically. Chong does an excellent job of keeping us unbalanced but desperate for more, the pages turning faster and faster as you delve deeper into the story of these characters.

I love how literary this genre-bending novel is - Chong writes with such aching prose, especially when dealing with the grief all of these characters. No character is entirely perfect nor entirely flawed, which is the mark of a smart writer and a well developed story.

I would absolutely recommend this debut novel!

While I can appreciate the ambition behind this novel, in the end, it left me with too many questions. From the start, the reader has to learn to just go with the flow of the story and not try to connect the dots, or the people too quickly, because as the story develops the connections start to become clearer.

I loved that Chong isn't afraid to expose the underbelly of the tech industry and how it uses people involved in ways that most people never realize. There's also a lot going on here with the various characters, and Chong explores various facets of Asian culture through the wonderfully diverse characters he has created.

This is a dazzling debut novel, that blends genres in a truly unique way and has a lot to offer with style and creativity; I look forward to what this author creates in the future.

Unfortunately this book didn't do it for me..
Even though the prose had a nice flow to it and this helped immensely with the quick pace of the book, I felt that almost everything else was lackluster.
The plot was pretty confusing and took, in my opinion, too long for everything to connect and make a cohesive story. When that finally happened (around the final third) I had literally no interest in any of the characters and so the final act didn't have the impact it could have had.

Thanks to NetGalley and Melville House for providing me with an arc.

After his mother dies in an accident with a bus; Bo distances himself from his father and brother, taking solace in his favourite tv show about a rogue detective. Brandon has just lost his job and fallen down an elevator shaft, he’s having a bad week. Things seem turn around when a mysterious benefactor offers him employment with a shady company. Blue, left estranged from his family and only able to speak with the help of an implant, hunts down his former boss looking for answers. These characters are all connected by love, death, loss and time.

This was my first ARC read with NetGalley, given free to read in exchange for an honest review. This was a confusing experience, a bit convoluted and hard to follow, but with an interesting concept and style. The narrative of the three characters as well as the tv detective spliced between the chapters is pretty haphazard for most of the book, but everything mostly comes together by the end.

Being a debut book, it definitely has some rough edges to it and a very experimental style, but it was weird and unique enough to keep me reading to the last page. It also touches on modern themes of racial identity, sexuality and cancel culture

This was something that I would normally skim-read if I wasn't going to review it. The idea for this work was super cool but ultimately it fell flat for me because of a few things. The writing style/narrative voice was hard to read at times which made it hard to feel truly engaged in the story. I also think that the characters could have used a bit more work, but I can see why they were sort of shoved to the side because (and my last gripe) there was so much going on. The author was too ambitious in what they could cover and well-develop/explain in so many pages (which is impressive but ultimately what sunk this read for me). The different commentary and rep. was super interesting and probably my favorite part of this book--the way Chong weaves Asian identity and social ostracization/cancel culture was interesting to me. Overall, I would love to read more by this author in the future because I can tell that they are talented, but this specific read just wasn't my cup of tea.

i read up to page 145 or so in a more thorough way, then just skimmed through the second half or so. i hate to say this, because i thought the premise was great, but the structure and the narrative development were a massive letdown for me. the writing style never made me feel even remotely engaged, even though most of the topics that the novel tackles do appeal to me. i think it was too ambitious in its scope, which made it ultimately too confusing for me to really process what was going on most of the time.

i did like the way chong tackles cancellation culture & asian identity within the north american context, and i do think this book may appeal to other people if they’re willing to put a bit more effort into its reading.

Confusing, maddening, but so satisfying in the end! The less said about the plot, the better. Just go in blind! It was a wild ride for sure; I appreciate the author's intelligent writing and the effort that must have went into coming up with the plot of this book.