The Gone World

December 18, 2017
This chronological pretzel of a science fiction thriller embeds a murder investigation into an alien mystery that could end humankind. In 1997, NCIS Special Agent Shannon Moss is on the trail of a missing Navy SEAL who may have murdered his family. She ends up tracking him through her own past and into the near future, thanks to a secret military project that travels through time and space. Unfortunately, the futures to which she travels aren’t guaranteed to come about, so they’re inadmissible as evidence. Worse, she finds increasing signs that all possible futures are doomed by an alien intrusion called the White Hole. Bouncing back and forth in time, Shannon pieces together how the crew of a missing spaceship are linked to a terrorist conspiracy, and looks for ways to disrupt the chain of events that leads to the White Hole. Sweterlitsch (Tomorrow and Tomorrow) invests the reader in Shannon’s struggles to save the world and rescue those trapped in the “thin space” where time loops endlessly. Unfortunately, the well-plotted resolution that unravels the knotty time puzzle also undoes everything that makes Shannon worth following through this complex story. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Co.

Brittany Pressley narrates this bone-chilling thriller set in 1997 and many possible futures. Shannon Moss, an agent in the secret Deep Time program, recounts her investigation into a multiple murder case in her past. At the same time, she's racing against the destruction of mankind, called the Terminus, which comes closer every year. The plot is complex, and descriptions of deaths are disturbingly graphic. Using a no-nonsense tone of voice, Pressley doesn't always change her intonation when shifting from narrative to the characters' dialogue. Fortunately, Pressley adjusts her vocal range and characterizations to fit the other men and women, specifically their occupations and origins. While the story's timeline may vary, Pressley stays focused on the horrific murders and the hunt for the killer--in whatever time period he might be found. M.B.K. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine