Review : The Fold by Peter Clines
The Fold by Peter Clines
Pages : 384
Genre : Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction
Stand Alone
My Rating : 3/5
About the Book :
That is, until an old friend presents him with an irresistible mystery, one that Mike is uniquely qualified to solve: far out in the California desert, a team of DARPA scientists has invented a device to “fold” dimensions; it shrinks distances so that a traveler can travel hundreds of feet with a single step.
The invention promises to make mankind’s dreams of teleportation a reality. And, the scientists insist, traveling through the Door is completely safe.
Yet evidence is mounting that this miraculous machine isn’t quite what it seems—and that its creators are harboring a dangerous secret.
My Thoughts :
The first time I read The Fold’s summary, I immediately knew I wanted to read it. Something about its premise reminded me of the sci-fi movies and books I loved as a kid, those where time travel and reading thoughts always turned wrong. And true to the genre, The Fold took me exactly on the same kind of trip.
I enjoyed a lot of The Fold. Peter Clines’ style is dry but effective; it may be in part because his main character is very logical, a man of mind and intelligence. Whatever the reason, it’s a writing free of flourishes, descriptive in a clinical way. It’s not something I would turn to normally and it took me a few pages to get used to it, but once I did, I felt it work very well with the story’s style and pace.
Once I was hooked on the story, I had a hard time letting for of the book. I wanted to find out what happened next. The writing made it really easy to slip from one paragraph to the next and imagine The Fold as if it were a movie I was watching. It was a solid read for me, very entertaining. I also liked the bunch of characters Mike met, though I would have liked to get to know them more. And as the consequences of the device revealed themselves, I was very, very captivated.
And then, about 2/3 in, the story took a turn for the worst – in more ways than one. I knew things were going to take a wrong turn for the characters, and I was eager to find out how. I just didn’t expect it to go exactly like this. It was such a shift in genre and scene, it completely took me out of the story. A book I had sped through suddenly became one I struggled to want to read. What a disappointing turn of events!
In the end, The Fold was a bit of a letdown. I didn’t have specially low or high hopes for it – I was looking forward to reading it, but had no idea what I would experience. And unfortunately, its ending makes it hard for me to remember what I enjoyed so much about the first 2/3. I still think it had some excellent aspects, and I think I would read something else of Peter Clines – though tentatively. The sci-fi aspect was still very entertaining to read about!
My sister might like this but I don’t think it’s for me.
It definitely had some great moments. I loved the first two thirds of the book so I would still recommend it, but with caution.
I really want to try him, but never have. Maybe not this book…
I haven’t read anything of his, but I heard some good things on his “Ex-heroes” series (I think that’s the title?)
I went to read some other reviews of The Fold last night, and noticed others who didn’t enjoy the ending, but also some who loved it. You might end up in the second camp?