A review by allboutdembooks
Version Control by Dexter Palmer
4.0
I'm really on the fence between 3 and 4 stars, so I'm doing 3.5 and rounding up to 4.
I saw this book mentioned on a blog where it was described as a time travel book without paradoxes, and it definitely held true to how it was described. The author did a great job of presenting a world where a time travel machine has been discovered, but paradoxes don't exist due to the universe having a built in mechanism of the titular version control. I don't know if the thrill I feel about a time travel book without paradoxes makes up for the lack of thrills in this book, though.
Pros: The author did a great job playing around with time travel tropes such as the death of a child and dystopian government. Science was presented in what I imagine to be a more realistic fashion than what you usually see in sci-fi. I really liked the dream segments. The discussions on race in the book were well done. The characters were well-developed and consistent.
Cons: While all the pieces were there to make this one of my favorite time travel books of all time, it just didn't put them together correctly for me. There was little action/adventure/excitement, and while I don't need every sci-fi book to be an adventure, this one definitely could've used a little bit more excitement. The conflict just felt like it was missing something. I'd almost rather there be paradoxes in a time travel book if it means it will be more exhilarating.
I'll recommend this book when time travel books come up, but with the caveat that it's a little dull.
I saw this book mentioned on a blog where it was described as a time travel book without paradoxes, and it definitely held true to how it was described. The author did a great job of presenting a world where a time travel machine has been discovered, but paradoxes don't exist due to the universe having a built in mechanism of the titular version control. I don't know if the thrill I feel about a time travel book without paradoxes makes up for the lack of thrills in this book, though.
Pros: The author did a great job playing around with time travel tropes such as the death of a child and dystopian government. Science was presented in what I imagine to be a more realistic fashion than what you usually see in sci-fi. I really liked the dream segments. The discussions on race in the book were well done. The characters were well-developed and consistent.
Cons: While all the pieces were there to make this one of my favorite time travel books of all time, it just didn't put them together correctly for me. There was little action/adventure/excitement, and while I don't need every sci-fi book to be an adventure, this one definitely could've used a little bit more excitement. The conflict just felt like it was missing something. I'd almost rather there be paradoxes in a time travel book if it means it will be more exhilarating.
I'll recommend this book when time travel books come up, but with the caveat that it's a little dull.