Book ~ "Flashforward" (1999) - Robert J. Sawyer

From Amazon ~ What would you do if you got a glimpse of your own personal future and it looked bleak? Try to change things, or accept that the future is unchangeable and make the best of it? In Flashforward, Nobel-hungry physicists conducting an unimaginably high-energy experiment accidentally induce a global consciousness shift. In an instant, everyone on Earth is "flashed forward" 21 years, experiencing several minutes of the future. But while everyone is, literally, out of their minds, their bodies drop unconscious; when the world reawakens, car wrecks, botched surgeries, falls, and other mishaps add up to massive death and destruction.

Slowly, as recovery efforts continue, people realize that during the Flashforward (as it comes to be called) they experienced a vision of the future. The range of visions is astounding--those who would be asleep in the future saw psychedelic dream landscapes, while others saw nothing at all (presumably they'd be dead). But those who saw everyday life 20 years hence have to come to grips with evidence of dreams forsaken (or realized). Soon, the physicists who caused the Flashforward are struggling to help the world decide whether the future is changeable--and whether the experiment is worth repeating.

Gord had read this book recently and recommended it. I'd read Mindscan by Sawyer a few years ago and enjoyed it. I enjoy time travel stories and murder mysteries, and this promised both.

It has an interesting premise. The entire world stops suddenly ... as a consequence, many die in accidents (planes, trains and cars crash, people fall down stairs, etc.). For many who survive, they get to see 2.5 minutes of their life 21 years in the future. If you see some psychedelic, it meant you were sleeping at that time in the future. If you don't see anything, well, it meant you were dead.

I found this book boring. Its very science fictiony so a lot of stuff when over my head. Plus I found the writing draggy so found myself skipping ahead a lot. I found the characters cold and didn't really care about them. I thought the ending was silly.

Book ~ "Mindscan" - Robert J. Sawyer (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ Jake Sullivan watched his father, suffering from a rare condition, collapse and linger in a vegetative state, and he's incredibly paranoid because he inherited that condition. When mindscanning technology becomes available, he has himself scanned, which involves dispatching his biological body to the moon and assuming an android body. In possession of everything the biological Jake Sullivan had on Earth, android Jake finds love with Karen, who has also been mindscanned. Meanwhile, biological Jake discovers there is finally another, brand-new cure for his condition. Moreover, Karen's son sues her, declaring that his mother is dead, and android Karen has no right to deprive him of his considerable inheritance. Biological Jake, unable to leave the moon because of the contract he signed, becomes steadily more unstable, until finally, in a fit of paranoia, he takes hostages.

I'm not usually into SciFi stories but this one caught my attention because it was set in Toronto in 2045 (and the Blue Jays still aren't winning!).

And given the storyline, I wasn't expecting to like it ... but it drew me in right away.

Excellent bizarre story! I'd definitely recommend it!

Here's the author's blog.