Lost In Time Archives - Sci-Fi Tips

Lost In Time Review: Dino-mite

admin — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:02:00 +0000

Author A.G. Riddle has previously been described as a blend between Michael Crichton and Dan Brown and you can see why when the synopsis of his latest book, Lost In Time covers dinosaurs and conspiracy.

When Nora, one of the inventors of the time travelling device, Absolom, is discovered murdered in her home, all eyes are on her partner (and one of the other founders) Sam. Despite proclaiming his innocence, in the face of overwhelming evidence, Sam is quickly convicted and sentenced to a fate worse than death. He is to be placed in the Absolom device and transported back in time to the Triassic period to an alternate dimension to live out the rest of his days alone (except for the dinosaurs obviously).

While Sam battles prehistoric predators, back in the present day, his teenage daughter Adelaide seems to be his only hope for uncovering the real murderer. However, even if Sam is cleared, the Absolom scientists claim to have no way to bring him back. But with each of them hiding their own dark secrets, Adelaide’s first challenge has to be working out who she can trust.

Lost In Time begins as a fantastically constructed murder mystery, a wonderful whodunnit where every suspect becomes more suspicious with every page turn. When the added complexity of time travel arrives, author A.G. Riddle is given permission to cycle through various genre gears; a trick executed with a gentle ease that never leaves the reader behind. Equal parts frenetic survival thriller and intelligent sci-fi study, Riddle’s beautifully linear storytelling is a welcome change from more traditional time travel tales. By anchoring the story in the present, readers are left to feel the full force of the rug pulled out from under them when it happens (again and again). Rest assured, this is primarily a murder mystery and there are red herrings and twists a-plenty.

Fans of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary will enjoy the entertaining riffs on ‘man of science’ vs nature, while those who love a near-future evil-corporation story will be sucked in with the elegant conceit of the Absolom device. A time travel machine once intended for commercial gain and convenience that has now been manipulated into a crime deterrent akin to the nuclear warhead… and of course sold to the highest bidder.

While some unforgiving readers may hear alarm bells ringing at the more clunky sections of exposition and strange decision-making from certain characters, as the book gains speed and turns its first (of many) corners, you soon realise it’s all been put there to wrong-foot you. You may be falling through time and trying to second guess the rulebook, but Riddle’s macro explorations of causality and collective responsibility are gifted with a swift confidence that keeps the pace of the story from ever deviating from its primary thread.

The idea of not just stranding someone in time, but in an alternate timeline with no hope of return should lend the story to carry an underlying tone of unfathomable horror, yet instead Lost In Time embroils you so completely in a time travel thriller, spiced with such delicious twists, that you’ll be too busy trying to guess your way through before you realise the ending was there all along.

Lost In Time by A.G Riddle is out now.

The post Lost In Time Review: Dino-mite appeared first on Sci-Fi Tips.

Lost In Time: Five Time Travel Movies You (Likely) Haven’t Seen (But Absolutely Need To)

admin — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 12:02:15 +0000

I’ve been asked to tell you about my favorite time travel novels, films, and TV shows. You likely know my favorites.

I’m not going to come at you with Terminator. Or Back To The Future. Or Groundhog Day. Or Planet Of The Apes (either the Heston or Wahlberg installment will do). Or even 12 Monkeys. All of which are absolutely amazing. And all of which you’ve likely seen.

No. I’m going to take you on a journey off the beaten path: five films of time travel you might have missed.

I hope you enjoy them.

5: Déjà Vu (2006)

Denzel Washington stars in this Tony Scott-directed film about an ATF agent who travels back in time to prevent a terrorist attack in New Orleans.

It remains one of my favorite Denzel films. That’s saying something.

4: Time After Time (1979)

Time After Time might have been the first time travel film I ever saw (if not, it was Planet Of The Apes–that scene with Heston on horseback and what he sees rising from the beach took my breath away).

But it was probably Time After Time that sparked my love of the genre. I think because of the scope and the romance and the cleverness.

It may not hold up to the glitz and special effects of today’s time travel blockbusters, but Time After Time, nearly 45 years old now, has an amazing storyline.

Malcolm McDowell plays author H.G. Wells, who, in 1893, shows dinner guests a prototype time machine. Later that night, one of the guests, who is, in fact, Jack the Ripper, uses it to escape the police, traveling to the future. When the machine returns (sans the Ripper), Wells pursues him to the year 1979, in San Francisco.

3: Palm Springs (2020)

This Andy Samberg film is a bit like The Hangover meets Groundhog Day. Andy’s character is attending a wedding in Palm Springs when he gets caught in a time loop. Expect a few surprises (and more than a few laughs).

2: Paycheck (2003)

Welp, they had me at Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman in this near-future sci-fi thriller based on a short story by Philip K. Dick.

Imagine if you had built a machine that could see the future, but you didn’t remember doing it. That’s all I’m saying—no spoilers here.

1: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Okay. Maybe you’ve seen it. But like all conscientious time-travelers, I allow for variables and unexpected events. And if it turns out you haven’t seen Edge Of Tomorrow, I envy you, because you’re in for a treat.

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in this Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity)-directed film written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects).

Imagine Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers (I imagine that’s how it was pitched at a meeting in Hollywood a few years before it began production).

Bug-like aliens have landed on Earth. And conquered Continental Europe. Tom Cruise’s hesitant character is part of the ground force going up against said alien bugs. Things don’t go well. The humans lose. Cruise is killed. And wakes up yesterday. That’s when things get interesting…

Lost in Time is out now.

The post Lost In Time: Five Time Travel Movies You (Likely) Haven’t Seen (But Absolutely Need To) appeared first on Sci-Fi Tips.

Lost in Time: Cover reveal and exclusive sneak peek

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 23:57:31 +0000

From A.G. Riddle, the bestselling author of The Extinction Trials, Departure, and The Atlantis Gene comes new sci-fi thriller Lost in Time, a time-travel murder mystery that promises ‘a twist you’ll never see coming’ and not only are we delighted to reveal its stunning cover above, but we are also giving SciFiNow readers a sneak peek into the book with the first two chapters!

But first, here is the official synopsis for Lost in Time…

Dr. Sam Anderson is one of the most celebrated scientists in history. Ten years ago, he invented Absolom – a device that changed the world forever. Now his life is about to be ripped apart – and his own creation may be to blame.

One fateful morning, Sam discovers that his girlfriend has been murdered and that his daughter, Adeline, is accused of the crime. Believing her innocent, but without proof, there is only one option – he must confess. But in the future, murderers aren’t sent to prison. They’re sent to the past. . .

Thanks to Sam’s invention, the world’s worst criminals are exiled forever, sent back to the time of the dinosaurs, where they live out their lives alone. Intent on clearing his name, he’s unaware that a secret is waiting for him in the past. And it might be his only hope of saving himself and his family.

In the present, Adeline embarks on a mission to find the person who framed her – uncovering more questions than answers. With conspiracies and secrets afoot, Adeline soon finds herself in the midst of a mystery that stretches across the past, present, and future – and leads to a revelation that will change everything.

A murder mystery, time travel and dinosaurs?! Yeah, we’re in… We have to wait all the way until September for Lost in Time to be released, but for those who can’t wait until then, simply click on the box below and you will magically* find chapters one and two…

Lost in Time by A.G. Riddle is published by Ad Astra on 01 September. Pre-order here.

*we still think the power of the internet is magical

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