A disenchanted scientist is sent into a version of his past and given a chance to change his future. Can he use is knowledge to avert the dystopian future he has lived through or is he doomed to repeat the mistakes of his past?
Size: 3568 KB (684,802 words)
Genre: Science Fiction
Sex Contents: Some Sex
Tags: Ma/Fa, mt/ft, Consensual, Romantic, Fiction, School, Rags To Riches, Science Fiction, DoOver, Time Travel, Anal Sex, First, Oral Sex, Slow
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 one of the good ones. In particular, it has the best examination of the science-fictional aspects of a do-over premise I’ve seen, including its implications of time travel. Refreshingly, the protagonist gets rich through advanced engineering and physics rather than the tired trope of memories of the financial markets. I like that. I also like that it’s pretty darn fun.
All of the above makes this a plot-driven story, but one that drives towards a character-based dilemma in a really effective way. Best of all, it NAILS the ending so, so well—way better than most such stories.
Highly recommended.
Review by NC-Retired [other reviews by NC-Retired]
Reviewed:
This is a very long, 66 chapters, nearly 4 megabytes in size, do-over story that covers a vast selection of sci-fi themes up to and including multiple dimensions where events, happened or not happened, causes a alternate reality from the one you are experiencing this instant.
But what really gets to me is the main character... a super human. He's the intellectual giant of the world. His drive to change the history of the world that he was teleported out of into his earlier teen age self is simply stunning. I cannot fathom being that driven. Well, I cannot fathom that level of intelligence either.
But I think it a well crafted story as it has just enough smoke and mirrors when the author describes fictional chemical, physics and mathematical concepts to support the plot. So... the descriptions are usually believable and not just called 'a mystery substance' as many other authors do in similar type stories. The readers need to suspend their disbelief is minimal.
If you like the fantasy of a better world than we are experiencing right now in 2020... then this tale may be what you need to be able to cope with the stupidity that is this reality.
Review by samsonjas [other reviews by samsonjas]
Reviewed:
What happens when the inventor of fusion in the near future is blown up by terrorists whilst powering up just one more test to puzzle over a negative quantity in the equation he doesn't understand? Why, he goes back in time to do-over his childhood and do-over the world and catapult us into a fusion-powered future, of course!
A lovely plot with likeable characters and nice feel-good progress and relatively low-key potential risks neatly avoided. The reader suspends disbelief on the physics and suspends disbelief that the six billion other people and politicians on the planet would let anyone achieve any of this, and in return the reader enjoys a ride on a space shuttle into the future!
There's a political undercurrent and depth on things like fiscal policy that are, presumably, the views of the author percolating and peculating through the voice of the MC. It does put a pretty clear time and place on the author's world-view; it won't take any background research for future readers to guess exactly when this story was written. Oh well.
The relationships are... I don't know, shallow? There's little expression of genuine love. And little show of emotion even when the story gets to bits that are supposed to be emotive parts. It almost feels like the sex is bolted on just to allow it to be published on certain sites. Oh well.
But, man, the science! Science fiction at its best! Read it for the dreaming :)
Review by manddscott [other reviews by manddscott]
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
As I come to the end of my relatively relaxed week, I managed to read another story which I can review. Beginning tomorrow, it is back to 15 hours/day of work, so my time will not be my own.
This story is about a man in a universe similar to ours, but it starts at a time in the not-too-distant future. Just as he discovers a way to make fusion work, Islamic radicals break into his lab bent on destroying it. As a result of the explosion they cause, he wakes up in another time line, or perhaps in his own past, once again a young teen, but with all the knowledge gathered through a lifetime before. He uses the knowledge to advance a multitude of developments, even influencing events from his own past.
For plot, this story deserves an outstanding 10. I will say that some of the science described may or may not be based on actual facts, and the story does discuss a variety of topics, from politics to international relations, death, philosophy and others.
For technical score, a A+ (9). Some chapters deserve a 10, others an 8. Many common errors, such as forth/fourth, to/too, pore/pour are the main detractions. They averaged only a few per chapter, and did not distract from the story.
For appeal, another outstanding 10. I like that the MC learned from his previous life's character flaws and, although he struggled with them, he managed to balance them, with the help of his love. I originally reviewed the story when the final parts were not posted, and have updated the score to reflect what I feel is the completion of it now. Previously, it still left too much unresolved.
Review by RabbiRabbit [other reviews by RabbiRabbit]
Reviewed:
A different kind of doover; a scientist goes back in time to his childhood, he is less interested in getting rich than he is in making the world a better place. Rich is a product of hard work, not a function of remembering when the Hunt brothers fucked around with the silver market.
Plenty of good looking women, relatively vanilla sex, exceptionally well drawn characters, a real plot, and did I mention lots of good looking women?
The football star in high school is a given, I guess lots of guys either wish they had been or or are reliving those "Glory Days." (I was raised in New Jersey, Springsteen references are mandatory.)
Other than the high school sports star this is a nontraditional doover and for that I am grateful. It is a well edited and well proofread story, and for that I am grateful, and once you have suspended disbelief that the transfer at death sent him back to his early adolescence, the rest of the story is quite believable.
The major question posed by the story is what if the technology of 2014 became available in in 1986? For those of you that are familiar with the futurist Ray Kurzweil the question has already been asked; for those of you that are not familiar with the head of engineering for Google, go read, "The Singularity is Coming," or, "The Age of the Spiritual Machine."
I asked Charlie Foxtrot eleven months ago to please finish the story and while not yet done he has apparently been re-inspired. For which i am grateful .
That said I question why you are reading this instead of reading the story.
