Unhappenings

Wow, what a ride!

I have over 400 books in my library and I have never written a review, but this book is so good that I had to put my two cents in.
READ/LISTEN to Unhappenings!

I wish my mind worked like Edward Aubrey' s, then I could keep myself entertained all the time and, wouldn't spend so much money on audible. Unfortunately it doesn't. ( you can stop holding your breath audible, you will still get my money. haha) So I will continue to search for books and buy them.
I found Unhappenings a little hard to get into at first and did some re-listening to a few chapters, but once I was 1/4 of the way in it and met Penelope/Una/Athena and Hellena it grabbed my full attention and did not let go until the very end.
Josh Hurley did an excellent job. I completely forgot about him almost immediately. I was just listening to the characters tell me their story.
My advise is, buy this book.

Happy Listening!

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

For a time machine story, it dragged on and on...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

On balance, no. I really wanted to like this book and the concept, but it really seemed like the author was dragging it out. It started to be a journey just to get through it. That said, there are part that were somewhat fascinating, and conceptually there was some value, but on balance it was not worth the journey.

What could Edward Aubry have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Edit, edit some more, and then edit again.

Which scene was your favorite?

Some of the dystopian concepts were compelling, as were some of the paradoxes.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Only if it was edited.

Any additional comments?

This book disappoints as much because the concepts and characters are fascinating and you really want them to work. Unfortunately, like many things the devil is in the execution, and this one fails in that area. However, the performance is good, and there are some compelling parts. I give it a provisional recommendation, with large reservations.

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

A Timeless Love Story

If you enjoy uniquely written time travel science fiction stories, I think you will really enjoy Unhappenings by Edward Aubry. The book puts a different spin on multi-dimensional time travel while making it enjoyable to more than just hard core Sci-Fi fans. The book is more than a time travel mystery, thriller, adventure, it also includes a somewhat complex love story that becomes central to the book and its level of enjoyment. If any of that seems interesting to you, go and read or listen to Unhappening.

Think of how life would be if you were going along your normal schedule and then you found out that what had happened, sometime only seconds later; unhappened. You had a conversation with someone and the next day, that conversation did not happen and in some cases the person themselves no longer existed. What if your friends one day claimed they never knew you the next, and in some cases, were your enemies. How would you feel being young and in school and never knowing who your teacher would be that day? It would be quite strange to deal with such unpredictable events, and even more difficult when it is only happening to you. You would begin to think you were going crazy. This is exactly what is happening, or unhappening, to our main character Nigel who is only fourteen when he first notices and names these unhappening events. Years later, Nigel comes across a woman from the future that can sympathize with Nigel as she also experiences these unhappenings. The journey begins!

This book can make your brain hurt, but it balances the more difficult aspects of time travel with adventure, humor, and even some romance. All of this is wrapped tightly into this just over twelve-hour audiobook adventure. The book deals with many of the consequences that one may face when modifying the time-space continuum. Often these events set in motion by Nigel have tragic outcomes for people round him, and even those he loves. The book does all of this very well and wraps up the story on a single volume. I often like when authors have a few non-sequel books in their offerings; thank you.

You may be asking yourself what sets this book apart from your standard time travel genre. Let me say that the author weaves in some different zigs and zags then what would often be expected from a book of this type. Because of this, he keeps the book fresh and interesting. Often very complex concepts are explained in more simple detail, but not dumbed down so they are lost. I will admit that at times I felt the author spent a little too much time on a given concept then necessary, and nearer the end of the book it seemed that he quickly tied up all the loose ends just so the book would be done. Much more quickly than the lead up and middle of the story parts. I will say that I was happy when I looked back and could see all the many hints the author left for the reader to discover.

The narration of the audiobook version by Josh Hurley was remarkable. I think he could bring the words on the page to life and his voice was what I would have expected for a book of this genre. Not sure how to explain it, but the voice just seemed to fit the works written. The volume was consistent even with the large number of chapters, and the audio was professionally done.

Even with some of the negative things pointed out in this review, I would recommend the book to others that enjoy this genre or are interested in a love story having a time-travel path.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

READ THIS! Decent Time Travel Event...

While not at the top of my list for time travel books, it is in the top half. I like how the author stayed away from traditional ideas in time travel. That made those unexpected moments that I enjoyed. I think for any author of the time travel genre, it gets really sticky and problematic the further you go. This book was good about giving explanations to avoid getting bogged down by theory. The characters were pretty well developed and the relationships were strong. It has its share of ups and downs along the way. The ending was not as good as I hoped for, but it didn't ruin the enjoyment I had in getting there. The narration was great and I listened comfortably at 1.25X speed to save some time. For the best time travel books, see Lighting - Dean Koontz, The Schumann Frequency - Chris Ride and Replay - Ken Grimwood. If any of this was helpful, click YES. Later.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Loved it...

So much that I listened twice. Different take on time travel with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting throughout.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Hard to buy into at the end, and this is sci fi.

Would have ditched this one halfway through if I’d been reading the actual book instead of listening. I only finished it bc I wanted to see what happened and listening required no effort on my part.

Time travel stories aren’t new and although this one started out moving at a good clip and presenting some original ideas, by halfway through it started to drag. It went on and on circles without getting anywhere and at times was more of a romance than sci fi. The ending was weird to say the least. Didn’t really resolve the story satisfactorily, it seemed like the whole book was building to a specific conclusion but then it went in a totally different direction in the last couple chapters, and not in a surprise-ending way. More like a train moving north at 100mph towards a specific destination that suddenly turns east, keeps moving for about a minute at 12mph, then stops and that’s the end.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Twisting, Thrilling

Any additional comments?

This book is a very easy 5 star rating and on my short list of universal recommendations.

Unhappenings surprised me with its quality. I was expecting a solid 4 star book, instead I got one that had twists that caught me off guard and several long lasting moments where I had an strong emotional response to events happening within the story. That says something considering how jaded I've become.

It is fairly hard to describe the book or review it without giving away even the most general of spoilers. This is because the plot is made of woven threads of mysteries. Very early on, you are told in very broad strokes how the book will supposedly end. This lead me to the edge of my seat while I waited for the forecasted events to happen, or if they even would. It is a book about time travel after all, it should be easy to avoid bad ends, especially if you know they are coming. The mysteries aren't all there is, the romance is a strong story thread that polishes the latter half of the book. It provides motivation as well as a reason for the horrors that can come with it. Of special note, the romance never felt even slightly chick-lit.

Psychological Thriller, Suspense Thriller, Cerebral Suspense, Cerebral Thriller? I could use any one of those phrases to describe and categorize this book and in turn recommend it to others. That doesn't do it justice, though. I suspect if you pick this book up, you will simultaneously need to know what happens next and dread what could happen next. You'll feel happy, horrified, sad, and any number of other emotions.

So, if you want a book that will leave you questioning yourself as mysteries are solved and introduced piecemeal until a very satisfying ending, I recommend this book whole-heartedly.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Loved Josh Hurley

Any additional comments?

So I used my Kindle Unlimited to listen to this one. However, it wasn’t until I started thinking about my own review that I glanced through some of what people were saying about this book.

I think this is going to be one of those love it or hate it books once more people get a chance to read this. The story is one that makes you think in a way that may be uncomfortable for some and very confusing for others.

Time travel always finds a way to throw me off. I mean, we’re all linear thinkers and I do pride myself for being able to grasp things easily some people find difficult. But I can see where parts of this crazy book will completely befuddle the huddled masses.

So in the beginning I’m curious about the story behind the story. It opens up in the young life of Nigel and his experiences with unhappenings. Granted, at first he has no clue what’s going on. But upon meeting Penelope, one would think he would ask more pertinent questions regardless of if she will answer them. And you’d think that little miss, I know everything you don’t would slip up a time or two to give a few more clues. But then, maybe that’s the point, the reason to keep reading.

I did enjoy this. I couldn’t stop listening. Towards the beginning of the end, though, the villain’s motives were still very unclear. The “why” behind the story just seems to peter out. So I kept listening, wondering…

Twists and turns almost overwhelm the end of the book. Yet I followed every convoluted turn of events until finally I gained a certain understanding of character motivation.

I believe, if you’re a true time traveling fan, you will complete enjoy this book and sink into the twists and turns with a fond, “yeah, now we’re getting somewhere.”

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wow. I had no idea it could be this good.

Bought this on a whim. Only the second book to challenge my ability to see the end by the second chapter. Very clear and easy to follow, but don't miss 30 seconds. It is too tightly written. No sagging middle.

Narration was phenomenal. I can see the MC speaking of his memories. Mostly, Audible is hearing a book. This book was read to me over the span of a couple of days. I sat at the feet of a story telling master.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

I couldn't turn this off!

This story had me hooked from the beginning. I couldn't wait to get back to it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful