The Bootstrap Paradox
About this audiobook
In the heart of Detroit, a house flipper and his employee uncover a hidden room that holds a mysterious water tank, triggering a chain of events that will test the limits of their understanding. As they investigate further, they find themselves trapped in a dark fantasy world where the line between reality and their greatest horrors blurs.
"The Bootstrap Paradox" is a mind-bending urban fantasy, a dark mystery that takes the idea of an "escape room" to new labyrinthine depths. Immerse yourself in this fast-paced adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering what twist or turn lies just around the corner.
Step into a realm where magic and reality intertwine, and nothing is as it seems. Can you resist the temptation to unravel the mysteries that lie hidden within the pages of "The Bootstrap Paradox"?
Editorial review:
I loved this tale although I'm not sure I understood how it worked all the time. It starts with a deceptively ordinary description of the main character, Fredrick, and his young assistant, Sam, preparing to renovate a long uninhabited house (think jungle-like garden, damp walls and dodgy wiring). In the process they discover a door which has been boarded up and plastered over, and behind the door a tunnel leading downwards. There is, however, apparently no space for the tunnel within the wall or on its other side.
Using pleasingly innocuous and non-technical means (such as dropping a heavy wrench attached to a piece of string down the tunnel) Fredrick establishes that there is a gravitational anomaly within the chute and that therefore it must be a portal of some kind to another world. He and Sam venture down the tunnel and from then on we are in a maze of parallel worlds and time loops, with doppelgangers, gravity wells and a vicious and almost indestructible bug which burrows inside the victim and begins to grow immediately, leading to lethal consequences for the host.
The structure of the novel worked well, the world-building was clear and the tale was reasonably plausible, given that it entails time anomalies and parallel worlds. I did doubt that anyone finding a potential portal to another world would instantly think only of merchandising it rather than finding an expert to check it out for safety - but different times, different attitudes. The dialogue was sharp and frequently funny and the characterisation convincing. Fredrick was a likeable protagonist, resilient, brave and inventive, and well contrasted with his simple young assistant, whose reactions were entirely credible. I did find the almost instantaneous conversion from vengeful villain to willing accomplice of one of the characters unlikely, although strong doses of greed do usually explain irrational responses to danger.
The contrast between the narrator's everyday approach to life and to the twisted worlds he is trapped in, plus the considerable ingenuity he displays in extricating himself from the different situations, all add to the fun. I didn't always follow the science behind the various scenarios but so graphic were the descriptions and so suspenseful and occasionally gut-wrenching was the action that my lack of comprehension became irrelevant.
In short, none of my caveats impaired my enjoyment of the novel and I highly recommend it to keen science fiction readers.
- Jenny Hill (Jaye Sarasin) author and book reviewer
About the author
I write to entertain, and I hope that comes through. If you like stories where something mysterious has happened and a small group of people are struggling to figure out what they should do next, then this is the kind of sandbox I dig around within. I aim to publish 2-3 books a year.
