The Twin Paradox

This is by far the best science fiction I have read in decades. It is incredibly unique, creative, and well written. The characters are interesting and well developed. I can't wait to read the sequel!

This is a good book. I really enjoyed it and how it moved along at a great pace. The characters are well developed and the story is packed with action and adventure. The authors do a great job delivering a story with a solid plot and interesting subplots. Will look forward to the next book in the series to continue to follow the characters. Left the reader with somewhat of a cliffhanger, so hope it won't be too long for the next one!!

Wow, what a wild, fast-paced, action packed thrill ride. Yes, I realize that sentence is filled with buzz words that typically go with a summer blockbuster, and quite honestly that is how this book reads. From the very start of the book, an old man robbing graves, collecting body parts of famous/important figures in history, the story grabbed hold and didn't let go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Trevaney Bay for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

//TW: death, torture, violence//

All quotes are taken from The Twin Paradox by Charles Wachter.

All spoilers are marked with *SPOILER*.

~Quick Statistics~
Overall: 5/5 Stars
Plot: 5/5 Stars
Setting: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5 Stars
Writing: 5/5 Stars
Memorability: 5/5 Stars

“Albert Einstein, the second one, wasn't born yesterday. This was all bullshit.”

~Quick Review~
A timeless tale and a future classic, The Twin Paradox is an original and fascinating story that will stand the test of time. The Twin Paradox is full of adventure, science, theories, friendship, danger, and survival. Reminiscent of Jurassic Park, I could not stop reading this fantastically unique and vibrant novel.

“We are not built for this time period. This is a disaster. We should not exist. We died. Our DNA is outside its time period.”

~Other Information~
Publisher: Trevaney Bay
Page Count: 384 pages
Release Date: August 23, 2020

The Twin Paradox is the first novel in the Twin Paradox series. The sequel, Divine Paradox, is set to be published on January 31, 2022.

~Book Description (via Goodreads)~
With ten years passing for every three minutes on a remote stretch of Texas coast, planes fall out of the sky, evolved species are on the hunt, and people die inside one of the most vicious ecosystems ever grown—all a result of the government’s efforts to slow down time.

A lot can happen in ten years. That’s the point. Governments are always racing for supremacy, for scientific breakthroughs, for technological advantages—and these things take time.

Until something goes wrong.

With the grounded yet massive world building of READY PLAYER ONE, thrilling scientific questions of JURASSIC PARK, and the time-bending teen drama of BEFORE I FALL, Wachter’s THE TWIN PARADOX is a brilliantly plotted tale that is both intimate and massive, relentless yet deliberate, and explores the themes of self-acceptance, self- confidence, and natural selection in a richly hued and unforgettable world. Ultimately the eternal question of Nature versus Nurture is boiled down into this fast-paced thriller told over the course of five days and culminates in one single question:

Do we get to choose who we are?

~Characters~
The Twin Paradox has a large cast of characters: Alastair, Leo, Milk, Katherine, Zack, Isaac, Jimmy, Paul, and Ralls. Alastair, Leo, and Milk have been friends since they met at their school for super smart kids. Turns out, that school I mentioned? Well, it’s for super smart kids who are biological copies of history’s greatest individuals. Alastair is a copy of Albert Einstein, Leo of Leonardo Da Vinci, Milk of Martin Luther King Jr, and Zack and Isaac both of Isaac Newton. Jimmy is an ex diver for an oil rig, Paul is someone from the Pentagon, and Ralls is the manager of Cornerstone, a top secret project that practically consumes anyone it involves.

In terms of Alastair, Leo, Milk, Kat, Zack, and Isaac, it is very interesting to analyze their characters. On one hand, they are normal kids and act like it. On the other hand they are very similar to the historical figures that they are replicas of. The Twin Paradox begs the question: are we born the way we are or do we evolve into ourselves? It handles this question beautifully and shows that our environment truly does have an effect on us. *SPOILER* When Alastair discovers that he was the control in the experiment, and not truly a biological copy of Einstein, he is still himself. He is still an intelligent and stubborn kid.*

Milk, the intelligent, beautiful, and humane character that she is, was by far my favorite. Throughout the novel she is constantly calling Ralls out for his inhumane and possibly illegal experiments. Raising a class of kids as an experiment? Probably not the best thing to do. Running an experiment that accelerates time in an enclosed area, allowing that area to be evolved far past everywhere else? Most definitely not a good thing to do. Speaking of Ralls, I absolutely hated him (which I was probably supposed to, anyways). He was constantly concerned only about himself, and didn’t at all care how his actions affected everyone around him. I hated him so much!

“There is nothing special about us. There are no rules that keep us alive. Everyone dies. But because we are the center of our own story, we feel special, like we will buck the odds, but we’re not and won’t.”

~Writing and Setting~
The Twin Paradox, though written a little too sciency for my taste, was super visual and creative. I felt transported into the story, which was slightly terrifying, but I couldn’t stop picturing myself in the scenes.

A large part of the novel takes place in Cornerstone, a large circular jungle that is enclosed by Texas and the sea. Inside Cornerstone, ten years pass for every three minutes on the outside. After running the cycle at 3 pm for 8 months, millions of years have passed and millions of years of evolution have taken place. The once familiar ecosystem morphed into a dangerous, unfamiliar, and undiscovered biosphere. Navigating Cornerstone is a challenge that the characters must endure. And when it comes crashing down around its manager, Ralls, it becomes even more perilous to be inside Cornerstone.

“It’s called the Twin Paradox. If one twin left earth on a spaceship at the speed of light, time would pass slower for him, dilating to accommodate the speed, and then eventually, when he returned, his brother would be much older, or dead. Here, this is backward. Time passes faster.”

~Plot~
So much goes on in this novel, it’s hard to keep track. The novel was fairly fast-paced; I think the frequent changes in point of view allowed for that. Alastair and his friends are sent to Cornerstone by Ralls, unaware of what truly lies there. Once Jimmy’s workplace (an oil rig) sinks, and he sees some of the creatures from Cornerstone, Paul, from the Pentagon, is enlisted to hire Jimmy and his father to work at Cornerstone. However, despite the apparent smooth sailing the kids endure, *SPOILER* in secret, other countries are racing to keep up with the American’s and Cornerstone. This conflict causes the kids to become trapped in Cornerstone with the cannibalistic ‘humans’ that live in Cornerstone, not to mention the other creatures.*

“I am now alone in an infinite hell of your creation. You are the great Satan. I come to haunt your soul.”

~Overall Review~
I love this novel so much; it has the perfect mix of adventure, science, horror, friendship, and discovery. Personally, I cannot wait for its sequel, Divine Paradox. I need to know more about this world that Charles Wachter has created and brought to life, for it is so creative, unique, and sprightly that I feel so connected to its characters.

“The past is a terrible prediction for the future when it comes to complexity.”

What a thrill! This was suspenseful enough to keep me up all night reading. Science fiction fans are going to gobble this up but it has a lot cross over appeal as well.

Clever and imaginative! Great, multi-faceted characters. Very interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. Kept me intrigued from the first page to the last. Simply a GREAT read!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

The twin paradox by Charles Watcher is a fantastic science fiction novel. All the things proposed by Watcher seem plausible which is horrifying. Thought provoking and fantastic!

Holy Moly, what did I just read?! This science fiction novel was way out of my usual comfort zone, but I was inspired to branch out. It has suspense, the manipulation of time and genetics, characters with god complexes and clones of the most intelligent people the earth has seen. What could go wrong?!

A. LOT. A lot could go wrong. For all its craziness, I was definitely drawn in and couldn't put this down. Weird and over the top at points but nonetheless entertaining.

Five super smart high school students in a special honors program are graduated early. They are then taken to Texas to work on a project where 10 years can happen in 3 minutes. This book takes you places that would seem too extreme, however while reading it everything makes perfect sense. What a roller coaster of a ride, there is action, adventure, horror and science fiction. This has it all. A must read for sure! I loved every minute of this book and cannot wait to see what other books this author has in store for us.

In The Twin Paradox, Charles Wachter uses common sci-fi tropes (clones, conspiracies, secret government involvement, altering the flow of time) to weave together a romping good adventure, vividly alive in the reader's mind. 900+ pages flew by as the compelling story arc forced some extraordinarily interesting teenagers into a fight against nature, cannibals, and time itself.

Being clones of historical geniuses doesn't prevent Alastair, Milk, and Zach from also experiencing the usual gamut of adolescent problems: small stature, crushes, unfinished homework, school administrators. Learning to use time to their advantage only solves a portion of the challenges the trio faces in a hidden government testing ground where Isaac Newton's clone has learned to control time. (Sort of. There are a few glitches.) To make matters worse, the Russians have created their own batch of clones and a mirror time-control facility.
Two adults hired to map the changing landscape of the compound provide assistance to the kids in the form of Armageddon trucks, monster vehicles outfitted for any emergency, foreseen or not. Several scenes worthy of Indiana Jones add breathless adventure and physical challenges that pit technical and theoretical knowledge against the natural world gone wildly out of control.

Charles Wachter's The Twin Paradox is the best sci-fi I have read in a long time. His brilliantly clear writing stays out of the way of the story-telling, something many debut authors fail to achieve. Including an extraordinarily clear explanation of how time passes at different rates in different places (or would if this weren't fiction) eliminates a common frustration with the genre (understanding the made-up science). The brilliant structure of the tale only became obvious three-quarters of the way into the book, another hallmark of careful writing and editing. Both a movie version and a sequel are in the works, and I can't wait!

If you can compress time, so that in one small corner of the earth time passes much more slowly, you can have scientists and engineers make 10 years of discovery in a few minutes of earth time. Of course all great inventions get used for war, so the US is trying to make the most amazing weapons of the future. Russia and China are aware and trying to catch up or screw it up. What scientists would you use? Clones of the world’s great geniuses – Einstein, Da Vinci, etc. So these teenage clones who are just getting ready to be told who they are, and why, are tossed into the fray as the competition gets fierce. Very cleverly plotted and written, the Twin Paradox forces us to confront the nature vs nurture issue (are clones the same), new ideas of time travel, and of course, teen age angst and love. Well worth reading.

An Engrossing, Suspenseful, And Different Time Travel Novel

Pieces of history are gathered one by one, a treasure collected by one man named Arcady. Isaac Newton’s molar, a piece of Leonardo DaVinci’s pelvis bone, hundreds of fragments of past greatness all in one place, a collection representing the worlds most famous people. The final piece, a small snippet of hair from his young daughter whom he calls Catherine the Great.

Deep beneath the oil platform, Jimmy Jones is welding a new blowout protection valve on the wellhead while the rest of the crew and their guests party on the oil platform above. It’s the Memorial Day Steel Beach party, an annual fun day of eating and drinking. No one could have predicted the coming events.

It would seem to be impossible to wind these two events into one story, but Charles Wachter has done it. The result is one of the most exciting and challenging science fiction books you will ever read. It is not a quick read, but a history and science filled tome crammed with information that is sometimes challenging to comprehend, all wrapped around the awesome premise of controlling time itself. Imagine living 10 years of your life while only three minutes passes in the real world.

Thank you, NetGalley for a free ARC copy of The Twin Paradox

This book totally sucked me in! I flew through it in two days because I needed to know what happened next.

While I understood 0% of the science, I loved the premise and the world building. This book features some of my favorite sci-fi tropes— cloning, time travel, crazy creatures—and heaping doses of moral grey areas, which always makes for a thought provoking read.

I did get a bit squeamish with the ritualistic cannibalism, but it wasn’t enough to make me stop reading altogether, I just skimmed over those parts.

I really enjoyed the character’s internal conflict over living up to their predecessor’s greatness, and the nature vs. nurture debate—can the same DNA, when introduced into a different time and place, produce the same outcomes in people, plants and animals? Maybe, maybe not ;)

4.5 rounding up to 5

Astonishing!

Fast paced, complexity of time and space, harnessing Mother Nature, and discovery of the unknown. The Twin Paradox is intelligent, suspenseful, has an intriguing storyline, and interesting twists throughout.

Charles Wachter’s vivid imagination made “The Twin Paradox” one I did not want to put down. I enjoy the authors writing style, with the storyline peaking my general curiosity on the complexity of time. I wait with bated breath for 2nd book in the series - “the Divine Paradox”!

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and Trevaney Bay for providing me a copy of “The Twin Paradox” in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily.

TECHNICALLY I finished this novel around 1am on the 21st, but I’m still counting it as a one day read.
I absolutely devoured this novel, and I really enjoyed it. I found the plot line intriguing, and the characters to be both interesting and multifaceted. I am looking forward to the second book in the series!

Was the science the most accurate? I’m only a chemist, not a physicist, but I think I can comfortably say no. HOWEVER, a significant part of sci-fi is suspending your disbelief, and the science was at least rooted in theory (and didn’t try to explain how it worked in detail-which helped a ton. I’d rather a sci-fi novel say “and then this happened” than try to explain the minutiae of extremely improbable or impossible situations)
I received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley.

I may have accidentally kept calling this 'The Gemini Paradox' when trying to explain what I was reading to my friends, but do not mistake my inability to remember book names as a reflection on how much I enjoyed it. While not an advance review, I'm a little upset that I haven't heard more about this book! I got the JURASSIC PARK vibes with the mix of action and sci-fi. I look forward to the possible movie/TV show adaptations of this novel and the coming sequel DIVINE PARADOX (Jan 2022).

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.)

Loved loved, loved this book. Can’t wait to see the movie. I was given a chance to read this book for a review, I can actually say, that I couldn’t put this book down., with all the plot twists. Since this Covid thing and all the conspiracies theories I read, this fit right in. Just think what you could do with a clone of Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King and Katherine the Great. I recommend this book to all my friends already. Can’t wait to see what else this author has up his sleeve....

Let me reel this in a bit. *deep breath*
So, the “Twin Paradox” is an actual thought experiment relating to Einstein’s theory of relativity. I find quantum physics to be fascinating and this novel was incredibly satisfying for my inner nerd.

I haven’t had these sci fi feels since Jurassic Park or Blake Crouch’s Wayward Pines series. This was a fun science thriller to escape into and provoked plenty of deep thinking and consideration of ethics. Also, reading about teenage clone versions of some of the most brilliant minds in history was thoroughly amusing.

Although at moments I found it to be cheesy, it was fun and checked a lot of boxes. Was it totally out there? YES
Is that often how I like my fiction? YES

This book read like a Young Adult novel and had some silliness mixed in with some scaries, which was mostly fine. I did feel disappointed at the abrupt shift in a story that began with so much promise (I mean, what a cool plot concept) and shifted from Crichton into more of a Ready Player 1 type of narrative with the theatrics.

The two halves of the book just didn’t align, but even though it went off the rails at the end, it was still entertaining and I was in for the ride. This creative story has murder, ambition + greed, intrigue, politics, time acceleration, cloning, mutated creatures, and is a perfect pace. Overall, despite the incongruences, it was a compelling read.

To fully explain the story, I’m going to let the plot summary in the comments section do the heavy lifting, I’m just here to say it was fun.

Did I just encounter the next Michael Crichton with a side of science fueled Willy Wonka?! 🤯 IDK I think I’ll need to read the sequel that’s set to come out and find out. Thank you @netgalley for giving me something new with this one.
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🎬 THIS HAS BEEN PICKED UP TO BECOME A FILM ADAPTATION

This book is simply amazing. It is a wild ride through time, physics, and friendships. You simply have no idea where this book will go next, though at no point are you ever disappointed. And while I wished I could have read it faster, there were times when my eyes simply lost focus and I had to sleep. I can not wait to see what comes next!