How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (Paperback)
Charles Yu (author)- In stock
An infectiously inventive joyride through alternative universes, Yu’s genre-bending debut about a man with a time-machine is a wild and resonant exploration of the nature of memory.
With only TAMMY - a slightly tearful computer with self-esteem issues - a software boss called Phil - Microsoft Middle Manager 3.0 - and an imaginary dog called Ed for company, fixing time machines is a lonely business and Charles Yu is stuck in a rut.
He's spent the better part of a decade navel-gazing, spying on 39 different versions of himself in alternate universes (and discovered that 35 of them are total jerks). And he's kind of fallen in love with TAMMY, which is bad because she doesn't have a module for that.
With all that's on his mind, perhaps it's no surprise that when he meets his future self, he shoots him in the stomach. And that's a beginner's mistake for a time machine repairman. Now he's stuck in a time loop, going in circles forever. All he has, wrapped in brown paper, is the book his future self was trying to press into his hands. It's called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe. And he's the author. And somewhere inside it is the information that could save him.
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 9781848876828
Number of pages: 256
Weight: 243 g
Dimensions: 200 x 130 x 18 mm
Edition: Main
MEDIA REVIEWS
Brimming with alternative universes, futuristic landscapes and gleeful metaphysics... Yu's spirit of invention is infectious. * Sunday Times *
A man with a time machine shoots a future version of himself... The old time-travel paradox becomes a witty and plangent enquiry into the nature of memory. It's SF - but not as we know it. * Financial Times *
If sci-fi is the literature of ideas, Charles Yu is already a master of the form: there are more fascinating, bizarre and clever concepts per page than most writers manage in an entire novel. * Time Out *
A fantastic time travel story, one that blends fiction and reality, a sharp style of storytelling that blew my mind... this is one of the most important books of the genre to be published this year * SF Signal *
Highly inventive and hilarious * The Times *
pretty superb: involving, clever, perky, properly science fictional and above all funny... a most excellent debut * The Guardian *
A complex, brainy, genre-hopping joyride of a story, far more than the sum of its part, and smart and tragic enough to engage all regions of the brain and body * International Herald Tribune *
Buzzes with ideas, takes stylistic risks successfully, and is tightly focussed on the emotional impact of the story... Yu's enthralling debut makes me yearn for his next one * Scotland on Sunday *
'A small wonder of a novel.' * Time Magazine, 'Top 10 Books of the Year 2010' *
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“An exciting and emotional ride through time!”
Science fiction is generally not the area I hang out in at the bookshop but I'd heard a lot of good things about Charles Yu's debut. Turning to the first page, I read a short paragraph - the gist? Charles... More
“Different”
I judged this book by its cover, and title, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was more than I expected. Charles Yu has created the Science Fictional Universe as an exploration of Father/Son division and unspoken... More
“Not What I thought”
I really was looking forward to this Rob Grant sounding Red Dwarf Universe, however I personally found it fell flat.
Guy in a time machine switches back and forth between alternate times and realities, the Star Wars...
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