A bitter old man gets another chance at life. Will he live better this time or will he make the same mistakes? The story follows Paul Sheppard through his last year of high school in the late 1950s and through college. Are our lives fated or can we change?
Size: 466 KB (89,771 words)
Genre: Time Travel
Sex Contents: Some Sex
Tags: Ma/Fa, Heterosexual, Time Travel, Humor, DoOver, Oral Sex, Slow, School
Review by Quasirandom [other reviews by Quasirandom]
Reviewed:
I have a Thing for do-over stories—where the protagonist finds themself returned to an earlier point in their life. A chance to do things over, hopefully better this time. The appeal may be a reflection of my middle-age, but I still roll with it. My point being, I’ve read a lot of them, including most of what’s on SOL.
This is a good one. The focus here is on using the do-over to specifically become a better person, rather than improve their fortunes. There’s a lot of learning anger management, a fair amount of romance, and (unfortunately) not enough physics. (The opening act seems to promise more physics.) I love love love the resolution of the final relationship—respect for that redemptive decision.
Okay, that might last be a bit of a spoiler, but it can’t be a big one given the title itself implies Paul succeeds.
Content warning: late 1950s America. I realize that’s a nostalgia point for some, but I’m a Gen Xer who’s spent his whole life sick of Boomer nostalgia being weaponized at my generation, making the era typically a Big Nope for me—and this story pulls me in anyway.
Review by Teloz [other reviews by Teloz]
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
Time travel stories are one of my favourite genres, but this one breaks the mould a little bit. I'm not going to spoil the story by going into that too much, suffice it to say, that it's different enough to hold your interest.
Sadly, I have to say that the attention of an editor would have improved things considerably, but the story is so good that the errors are at least bearable, you'll probably only get irritated if you're a nit-picking old fart like me.
A good story, read and enjoy!
Review by fuzzywuzzy [other reviews by fuzzywuzzy]
Reviewed:
Well, finally! Finally I've finished it!
Now I'm not going to get into a philosophic lecture how time travels in mysterious ways, and how the most minute change in the history of man would wreak bazillions of changes by the year 2016. No, why should I bugger up such an enchanting tale of a stupid ignorant son of a bitch nerd with an IQ close to the 200 mark who completely buggers up the lives of three wonderful women, his entire academic journey to greatness leaving people discarded in his wake like flotsam after a storm.
Paul is given the dubious task of entertaining a whole passel of BEMs by being dropped into the lap of himself at the ridiculous age of sixteen!
There he re-enacts "The Rakes Progress." Steals the Nobel Prize for Physics from under the outstretched arms of the inventor of the Bubble Chamber, pulls off a quickie getting Patents on the He-Ne Laser, and ensures the future of Ferraris by patenting Bernoulli's Theorems in Practice, and the dirty little S-O-B then marries his true love and becomes her house husband; oh, and saves some lesbian friends from a fate worth than death!
That's my kind of guy!!
Enjoy.
Review by Threesheets [other reviews by Threesheets]
Reviewed:
It seems like the best way to travel back in time is to recycle yourself. Well that works for me, it be so sweet to be 14 again with the knowledge we have now. This is SOL though and that just ain't gonna happen. DRAT ! ! !
This came across as being a really good story. Yes Paul came over as being almost too perfect but heck he's doing it again. Joe J. did it again too and look how HE changed the history. Well Paul did it and changed history too but he also at least attempted to keep it close to the first time around. With the exception of the Ferarri connection he really didn't hink around too much, just tried to better himself which is a good idea even now.
The story is well written, although sometimes, I had to struggle to connect all of the dots but it still flowed well. The sex was there but not an integral part of the story so it could have been deleted and the story wouldn't have suffered. Since there was so little the story length wouldn't be adversely impacted either.
Read it you're going to like it if this is the genre you are interested in.
