APRIL 2018 - AudioFile
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
The Barnes & Noble Review
With his first book, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, appearing only in 2014, Tom Sweterlitsch announced himself as one of those "new voices" that periodically serve to reinvigorate science fiction. Sweterlitsch's debut was, like many books that offer a revitalization of SF's sense of possibility, a hybrid tale -- part New Weird, part thriller, part counterfactual -- whose composite novelty picked up flavors of Clark Ashton Smith and Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick and William Gibson, Jeff VanderMeer and the Strugatsky brothers, filtered through Sweterlitsch's unique sensibility. His sophomore outing is an alternately terrifying and mind-blowing trip that examines whether human nature is fit to withstand the howling cosmological madness that underlies our falsely placid and fragile mundanity.
The Gone World opens with a prologue set in the year 2199, striking in its stomach-wrenching eeriness and initially half unfathomable, in an irresistibly teasing fashion. A young woman, Shannon Moss, agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is on a training mission, via time travel, to the ineffably alien day of the Terminus, a barely comprehensible celestial Armageddon event. But the mission goes kerflooey, and she almost dies -- and in the vision of time Sweterlitsch offers, that "maybe" means "actually," in some multiversal iteration. But in the tale we follow, a grievously injured Moss is rescued and brought back to her home time and base, the year 1997, known as "terra firma." She loses a leg to gangrene and is thereafter reliant on a computerized prosthesis -- which does not slow down her heroic, even superheroic exertions one whit. Stubborn, dedicated, unrelenting and self-sacrificing, Moss battles doubts, fears, and uncertainty to power through crises with her mantra, "Someone else would quit." Onstage every second of the narrative, Shannon will arouse in the reader every possible emotion, from sympathy to aversion, awe to incredulity, love to fear.
The reader soon learns that Shannon's 1997 is counterfactual to ours, due to one large discovery. The invention of the Brandt- Lomonaco Quantum-Foam Macro-Field Generator has permitted both unlimited faster-than-light space travel and time travel into the future only. A secret government program, Deep Waters, with departments Deep Space and Deep Time, has been long established. From an orbital station, expeditions go out to far galaxies and far eras.
The Gone World's vision of time travel is interestingly problematic. There in no singular assured future but merely a sheaf of possible timelines, "Inadmissible Future Trajectories." Travel, say, from 1997 to 2015 on one voyage, and you encounter one set of historical events. Travel a second journey, get a different result. Moreover, the presence of a person from 1997, terra firma, has the effect of destabilizing the probable timeline, collapsing it via a kind of Heisenberg observer process so that it evaporates when the traveler departs. In effect, one is visiting not so much the land of tomorrow as a country of ghosts whom one has inescapably doomed.
Ghosts, echoes, multivalent, even contradictory outcomes, overlapping identities -- these are the bugaboos and motifs that will bedevil Shannon and her companions. But there is one element consistent among their various shadowy destinations: The Terminus cuts across all futures and, in fact, seems somehow to be inching closer and closer to 1997.
Shannon's introduction to this crisis is an indirect result of her part in an NCIS murder investigation alongside her fellow investigators, and she begins to apply her deft intelligence to solving the case. She runs down all her leads as far as possible and hits a dead end. There's only one thing to do: jump to the future and see if the case was ever already solved.
Sweterlitsch's version of time travel is unique in that the time traveler experiences duration during the trip. Shannon must live for three months in her cloistered spacecraft before reaching 2015 and also subsist thus on the return leg. Once in that far-off year she remains undercover and lives there for six months, falling in love, ferreting out clues, and digging through records. She soon discovers that the first murders -- and others yet to come, from her perspective -- involve the crew of a vanished interstellar Deep Space ship, the Libra. Much to her horror, Shannon learns that the Libra was responsible for the Terminus and has in effect doomed all humanity. Now it becomes a race to forestall the actions of the Libra's crew, who are intent on killing anyone in their way. Shannon's desperate quest involves more trips to the future and incredible assaults on her life and mental health. The climax is a pull-out-all-the-stops Götterdämmerung.
Sweterlitsch's story manages to expertly fold and blend a half dozen different streams of science fiction into its telling while never losing its organic shape. First comes the counterfactual aspect. Shannon's 1997 is palpably different from ours, the outré machinations of the Deep Waters people forming the uncanny substrate for the more familiar cultural touchstones. (Black-humorously and ironically, Shannon is a big fan of The X-Files.) Second come the Phildickian aspects of foreknowledge and predestination. The NCIS is even resonantly equipped to issue "pre-crime warrants." Along these same lines, William Gibson's depiction of interlocked and intercommunicating continua seen in The Peripheral is closest to what Sweterlitsch delivers. Third come the intricate time-travel paradoxes so beloved by writers from Heinlein (" '—All You Zombies—' ") on down to Wesley Chu (Time Salvager). (One associational image that kept coming up for me, pulpish as it is, was that of the DC Comics bad guy the Time Trapper, who once erected an "Iron Curtain" across the future.) Fourth come the thriller-crime novel frissons. Shannon leaps off the page as a diligent and trained investigator, and the crimes she seeks to solve are limned with gruesome fidelity.
But it is the fifth strain of fantastika that is predominant in the book, and that aspect is Cosmic, or Existential, Horror. Like Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, like Jeff VanderMeer and the Strugatsky brothers and Stanislaw Lem, Sweterlitsch is intent on invoking the sense of a universe that is often malign and incomprehensible, and he triumphs at every stage. Consider this account by one of the Libra crew, remembering their encounter with the planet Esperance:
You could actually feel the change in the gravity they produced together -- a lightness, a lift, being pulled upward by the moons like a thread in your chest had been tugged. And the oceans responded, receding from the shore, following the moons' pull, a waning tide. The beach elongated as the ocean retreated, and the ocean floor was covered in lichen, a luminescent carpet that grew in the furrows leading deeper into the ocean. There were glassy rocks in twisting shapes like lava as it curls through water, and farther out still we saw crystals that dazzled like diamonds. The water receded far enough to expose the body of one of the leviathans, the ringing bodies we had seen from above -- or rather the crystal shape of the leviathan. It was at a distance but seemed more like a shape than a body, the same shapes the plants had grown into -- or maybe it was once a body but was crystal now. I don't know how to . . . I don't have the words . . . A crystal shape, like interlocking diamonds or pyramids inside of pyramids. A fractal.
I maintain that Sweterlitsch can channel the Weird Tales crowd with the best of his peers. And his prose is ultimately much more subtle, evocative and poetic than theirs. We saw the future of mankind dissolve. We saw men running to the seas to drown and saw men hanging in the air. We saw men, their mouths filled with silver. Remarque transitioned into other futures, but the white light shone above every sky, fouling every possibility.
I thought of something like wildfire scorching the skies of infinite Earths. I thought of the White Hole shining like a dead eye.
And he compounds the visual estrangements with deep ontological conundrums as well. One can compare his book to such postmodern SF landmarks as Barry Malzberg's Galaxies, with its indeterminate and ever-shifting ship of fools, and James Tiptree's "A Momentary Taste of Being," with its revelation of humanity's insignificance in the grand scheme of things.
This novel manages to be both cinematically vivid yet intellectually replete, at once immediately and grippingly hook- filled yet with time-delayed philosophical bombs. To bring it to the screen would require the combined talents of Lynch, del Toro, and Gondry. But it took only one exceptional man, Thomas Sweterlitsch, to render it on the page.
Author of several acclaimed novels and story collections, including Fractal Paisleys, Little Doors, and Neutrino Drag, Paul Di Filippo was nominated for a Sturgeon Award, a Hugo Award, and a World Fantasy Award -- all in a single year. William Gibson has called his work "spooky, haunting, and hilarious." His reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, Science Fiction Weekly, Asimov's Magazine, and The San Francisco Chronicle. Reviewer: Paul Di Filippo
Publishers Weekly
12/18/2017
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. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Gone World
One of the A.V. Club's Top 10 Books of the Year 2018
One of BookPage's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2018
“The Gone World has already created quite a stir....The book probes questions about consciousness and crime that call to mind, among others, True Detective and 12 Monkeys.”—EW.com
“I like to be freaked out and mystified simultaneously. The Gone World, a gory time-travel thriller, does both in surprising ways....Inception meets True Detective, but it also contains elements of Solaris, Interstellar, Twin Peaks, Minority Report, and even Stargate. To all this, it adds some innovative time-travel shenanigans.”—The New Yorker “Page-Turner”
“The Gone World will horrify and fascinate readers in equal measure. It is also a primer on cutting-edge theories about time travel and astrophysics...Prepare to be dazzled.”—Pittsburg Post-Gazette
“This is big-idea fiction that defies genre in the best possible way. Epic and mind-bending in scope, it carries the reader through on beautifully rendered, human moments.”—Blake Crouch, author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy
“Time travel is a classic science fiction plot element, but it’s rarely used so well as in Tom Sweterlitsch’s The Gone World...Proof that superb world building isn’t only the domain of extensive series.”—The A.V. Club
“In a word: Whoa! Edge-of-your-seat crime fiction that bends both time and mind.”—Sylvain Neuvel, author of Sleeping Giants
“The Gone World...is going to blow readers away....[Sweterlitsch’s] ingenious apocalyptic thriller weaves a spell of rapture within each carefully composed page burnished with shimmering prose.” —Syfy Wire
“A complicated, dazzling novel that keeps the reader hooked until the last pages...In many ways, it feels like it blends the supernatural and cosmic elements from True Detective, and the alternate universe elements of Fringe.” —The Verge
“Another visionary blend of science fiction and mystery.”—Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“As if [The Gone World did not have] a thrilling enough premise, Sweterlitsch stirs an intriguing end-of-the-world scenario into the mix...How the murder inquiry and the enigma of the terminal event are linked is just one of the many enjoyable aspects of this dark, page-turning SF thriller; another is the character of Moss... She is a resilient, vulnerable, and likable protagonist.”—The Guardian
“A fascinating blend that doesn’t skimp on the criminal investigation or the [sci fi]...Describing much more than [the] simple setup would rob the reader of the trippy experience of navigating the time-travel intricacies of this nail-biting speculative thriller.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Sweterlitsch has crafted a powerful and compelling protagonist in Shannon Moss...The Gone World displays the mesmerizing power of rich speculative fiction, which drives the investigation forward (and backward) in time. Transporting readers to increasingly hostile timelines, Sweterlitsch delivers visceral and unflinching action in this dynamic merger of murder mystery and futuristic vision.”—BookPage
“A mind-blowing fusion of science fiction, thriller, existential horror, and apocalyptic fiction...The power of this novel is two-fold: Sweterlitsch’s intricately plotted storyline will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the very last pages, and his extended use of bleak imagery coupled with his lyrical writing style make for an intense and unforgettable read.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Sweterlitsch offers a highly engaging—and deeply human—story informed by hard science and a refreshing sensitivity to trauma and disability...The Gone World is as unsettling as it is unforgettable.”—ShelfAwareness
“Billed as Inception meets True Detective, this scifi thriller follows a secret agent within the NCIS as she investigates a strange murder and a related missing-person case that...could possibly bring about the end of life as we know it.”—Io9
“An engrossing literary mashup of crime fiction and mind-blowing science fiction...There is endless invention in this novel. Sweterlitsch touches upon alternate realities, time travel, advanced technologies, and even Philip K. Dick-inspired notions of pre-crime warrants...This is marvelous stuff!...Highly recommended.”—The Missourian
“Sweterlitsch follows his futuristic, cyberpunk thriller Tomorrow and Tomorrow with a complex mystery involving time travel, alternate possibilities, murder,"terrorism" and one woman’s determination to prevent the end of time...For hard-core science-fiction fans.” —Booklist
“Amazing...combines science fiction and thriller with classic crime noir, time travel, existentialism, philosophy, religion and end-of-the-world scenarios, all strung together in the style of the best literary fiction you will find out there today....Tom Sweterlitsch has created an all-time original story that is both genre-breaking and trendsetting.”—Bookreporter.com
“At once futuristic, nightmarish and hard-boiled. Once again Sweterlitsch takes readers to another world and back again. Take the trip.”—Stewart O'Nan
“Compelling...The multiple futures and the contemporary setting showcase world-building at its finest, while the characterizations are thought provoking and grittily realistic...A page-turner from beginning to end!”—RT Book Reviews
“[An] investigation into the gruesome murder of a Navy SEAL’s family takes some science fictional turns...Sweterlitsch juggles all of these balls masterfully. His Moss feels fully realized and the plot is propulsive.”—Locus
“Thought-provoking and entertaining in equal measure. The way the future is presented, as one possibility of many, is good, solid theory and the author describes it in remarkable clarity...The character of Moss shines through.” —SF Book Reviews
Sylvan Neuvel
In a word: Whoa! Edge-of-your-seat crime fiction that bends both time and mind. Think True Detective meets 12 Monkeys. Throw in the end of the world and you can begin to imagine where this gut-twisting tale will take you. This is cross-genre fiction at its best.
--Sylvain Neuvel, author of Sleeping Giants
Blake Crouch
In Shannon Moss, Tom Sweterlitsch has created a protagonist reminiscent of Clarice Starling—fearless, damaged, driven—and placed her in the most original novel I’ve come across in years. I simply loved The Gone World. Set against a murder investigation spanning multiple realties, this is big-idea fiction that defies genre in the best possible way. Epic and mind-bending in scope, it carries the reader through on beautifully rendered, human moments. I promise you have never read a story like this.
--Blake Crouch, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy
APRIL 2018 - AudioFile
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
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2017-11-13
Sweterlitsch's latest (Tomorrow and Tomorrow, 2014, etc.) is a mind-blowing fusion of science fiction, thriller, existential horror, and apocalyptic fiction.Initially set in 1997, the story revolves around Shannon Moss, a federal agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who is assigned to track down a missing girl whose family has been brutally murdered in their home in southwestern Pennsylvania. When Moss realizes the potential killers are missing astronauts whose spaceship vanished while on a black ops mission called Deep Waters, involving time travel, she must figure out how members of a lost crew are now suddenly living clandestinely as domestic terrorists in America. An undercover time traveler herself for the Naval Space Command—she even lost part of her leg exploring a far-future Earth—Moss must track down the killers as the looming darkness of the Terminus, the death of humankind that is at the end of almost every Deep Waters journey, moves ever closer. The power of this novel is twofold: Sweterlitsch's intricately plotted storyline will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the very last pages, and his extended use of bleak imagery coupled with his lyrical writing style make for an intense and unforgettable read. When Moss leaves Earth on another time-traveling mission, for example, the author describes it like this: "[I] watch the lights of cities as they recede below, turning into skeins of light as delicate as illuminated webs, as they disappear from my view, replaced by the vast blackness of the ocean at night." Additionally, the subtle use of the Black Sun mythology adds an occultlike undertone to the story.This darkly poetic and profoundly disturbing glimpse into the potential last days of humankind will surely haunt readers' dreams long after the book is finished.
