This book is so far over the top it nearly burns up on re-entry, It's got evil corporations, human cloning, time variables, wormholes, international intrigue, supervillians, evolution gone wild, dodgy physics, a plucky bunch of kids who clean it all up, and a bunch of other things I've already forgotten. As the immortal Joe Bob Briggs used to say: there's a lot of plot getting in the way of the story.

But, if you completely suspend your disbelief, don't think about any of it too much, and go with the flow, it's a fun adventure story. The characters are YA-level complicated, 2 1/2 dimensional at best. The writing is crisp, and the author mostly does a good job of sketching the scientific background stuff without bogging down.

All in all, think of the book as comparable to a summer blockbuster movie: invest a few hours, enjoy the thrills, cheer for the good guys, hiss at the bad guys, and watch a bunch of stuff get blown up.

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in preparation for the book to be adapted to the screen.

I loved the premise of this book, but it gets somewhat chaotic. I don't want to give spoilers, but what could have been a major plot point that is introduced in the prologue is not even acknowledged during the whole first book. I am definitely going to read the second book to see what happens, but was rather disappointed at the missed opportunity.

This was a well researched book. I enjoyed it.

Unexpected and totally brilliant. It kept me guessing. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from this author.

The Twin Paradox felt like it was a novel designed to be turned into a screenplay - everything seemed to fit together nicely, with the twists and turns designed to be shown visually rather than allowing the reader to slowly glean understanding. Evoking strong feelings of Michael Crichton, this was a quick and easy read that didn't push the bound of the genre, but wasn't a bad entrant either.

It's an interesting premise - several famous people are cloned and brought up ignorant of their origins until high school graduation. It's hoped these teens can fix the problems of a secret time warping installation in Texas. As expected things go from bad to worse with many twists and turns. The world building is detailed. At times it felt like a lecture series and I yearned for less detail. The action is over the top, but never actually suspenseful until the very end. It almost feels as though one plot rear-ended another and they are stuck together with little unity..

Where do I even begin with this book? There was a lot of stuff going on in here. It was action from start to finish. This one would appeal to people who like books like Jurassic Park and Sci-Fi that involves messing with time and nature.

There are several sets of characters that we follow through this tale but the primary one is a group of American teens, who at the beginning of the book are told that they are clones of great minds of the world, including Leonardo DiVinci, Isaac Newton, and Catherine the Great. Then there is a young man, Jimmy, who is a diver working on an offshore oil rig when disaster strikes...and an assorted crew of men who work for the government and/or for a project called Cornerstone. At Cornerstone, they have found a way to make 1o years pass in 3 minutes. They are using this to try to make leaps in technical advances over other nations.

Ok, there is A LOT going on in this book, as I mentioned earlier. Man messing with nature, clones, cannibals, wormholes, espionage, strange/dangerous animals created at the hand of men, man trying to control time. A lot of the storylines in the book weave in and out throughout. Early on it was a bit hard for me to follow but I eventually remembered who everyone was. The book was definitely fast paced but at times I felt like it was a bit too much. This is a good one if you are looking for a crazy adventure ride of a read.

3.5 stars

What to listen to while reading...
God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash
Clones by Smashing Pumpkins
Conspiracy By Paramore
Twin Paradox by Arpanet
The Kids Aren't Alright by Offspring
Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N Roses
Time is Running Out by Muse
Freak by Sub Urban
The Final Countdown by Europe

Well that was a trippy read! I’m not quite sure how to explain what I just read as there were several major things going on at the same time. The premise/s was/were amazing though.

Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Leonardo DaVinci, Martin Luther King, and Catherine the Great are all main characters in this story. Cannibals, time, and monsters are also in this story. In fact, this book could have been several books with all the wild storylines. It would make for an excellent movie!

And, I did research a bit and see that this book did get picked up by a movie studio.

The things I didn’t like… For the first half of the book, in many instances, I had no idea what was going on. At one point I almost gave up until I stopped and read a few reviews to see if I should keep going. Apparently I’m not the only one that felt this way. I stuck with it and loved the second half.

The Twin Paradox was definitely a major science thriller (Jurassic Park comes to mind) and it ended up being a really fun read. I can’t wait to jump into Divine Paradox when it releases in 2022.

*Thanks to Trevaney Bay and NetGalley for a copy of this book!*

Charles Wachter is the 2020’s Michael Crichton. Wachter has reimagined Jurassic Park into a time travelling government funded self containing terrarium.

“Dr. Hammond” has purchased the dna of some of the best figures of history like Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., and Isaac Newton to raise them from birth and have them create brilliant things in his “park” that allows people in the park to experience ten years in three real time minutes. The Russians of course are super jealous and raised themselves the most feared/worst figures of history such as Hitler, Genghis Khan, and Churchill like a special edition alternate universe comic book. The Russians want Hammond’s technology for themselves and wins over evil Isaac Newton’s clone with pokemon cards to talk him into destroying everything so they can catch up.

Hammond hires a father son conspiracy loving deep dive welding team to work on his park and to try to map out the cave systems. They become our guides in future Jurassic Park with Pirate and Hello Kitty all terrain war vehicles because Jurassic Park is dangerous and has a tribe that dismembers people and grows their limbs back so they can do it allover again. And flying bear bats.

The Russians sabotage the facility and its up to Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and deep divers to survive and escape or be stuck for their whole lives and probably eaten by a rainbow shark or giant piranhas.

I bounce around genres so I was excited to see this book land on science fiction and has its own set of unique spins that make it feel like something new and refreshing. Also very entertaining. Some slower spots but I tend to expect that a little more in stand alone (non series) books where character development or background and context need to be shared. I was glad to have received this book via Netgalley in return for my candid thoughts on it. Definitely made me more interested in looking up the author and thought the book went by quickly and I could understand why some other reviews were able to find parallels in the writing style of him and Michael Critchton. Not bad company!

This book was a wild ride, and is perfect for those who like twists, turns, and a bit of darkness then this will be a good book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Trevaney Bay for sending me an ARC of The Twin Paradox in exchange for an honest review.

As I first started reading The Twin Paradox, it seemed to be a rather straightforward Jurassic Park-type story. There’s a secret, inherently dangerous facility that is having problems—a time machine of sorts, instead of a dinosaur theme park—and a new group of people are brought to the facility to evaluate and fix the problem. While they are there, a saboteur causes a disruption to the facility, and we spend the rest of the story watching the characters try to survive and escape.

But there’s so much more going on in The Twin Paradox. Russian scientists. Clones. Spies. Corporate greed. Conspiracy theories. Stunningly poor security. More clones. Evolution resulting in plants and animals that are essentially monsters. Cannibals. Wormholes.

There were some parts of The Twin Paradox that I quite enjoyed. The cannibal scene is just wild. Alastair, Milk, and Zack’s escape is clever and fun. And the poison drinking game is like a twisted version of the one in The Princess Bride, and probably the best scene in the book.

But in the end, I think there’s just too much happening in this novel. All the storylines feel rushed, and that there’s only time to scratch the surface level, because we constantly have to move on to the three other things happening at the same time. Characters behave illogically in service of moving the plot forward. There were a number of times I was not entirely sure what was happening or why. I can see where Mr. Wachter was exploring this question of “do we get to choose who we are”? But in a novel with enough science fiction for ten different books, that question—like every other one posed by The Twin Paradox—ultimately got lost in the noise. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

What happens when the government tries to control time and clone the greatest minds in history? You get a group of teenagers who have just graduated from an honors program paid for by Gene-E Corp. trying to solve the problem. Their problems only grow when it is discovered that the Russians have also been able to develop the same technology and clone some of the most reprehensible people in history. To tell anymore than this would be to give the plot away.

This scientific thriller has great character development, an amazing premise, and a plot that once it gets past the world building, takes off at breakneck speed. Though a lot of the science was over my head, it didn't stop me from enjoying this book. If you enjoy a good sci-fi thriller, this first in a planned series book is for you!

Thank you to Trevaney Bay, Charles Wachter, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun imagining of what the world would be like if different historical figures all existed at the same time. A scientific breakthrough goes wrong, and the mastermind behind the problem decides the best solution would be to have some of the greatest minds from history troubleshoot the answer. The genius leaders seemed to inspire each other to be even more creative. I also like how some of the non-historical characters had great creativity and problem-solving skills.

The story has many fascinating topics - manipulation of time, evolution, wormholes. I felt like there was a strong "nature vs nurture" component as well - to what extent are people products of their environment?

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

This book wasn't for me. Too scary. Too much horror. Too much weird. I wasn't sure what to expect out of this. I'm glad I tried it. Going outside one's comfort zone is always a good thing. But I am going to pass on future novels. No fault of the author, it's just not my thing.

I was excited to read this because I thought the premise was interesting, but it just didn't hold my attention and I didn't care enough about any of the characters or any of the plot points to finish. DNF at 30%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Trevaney Bay for the free ebook!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. This was just not up my alley. I couldn't get into it as much as I wanted to. I just felt like the story went all over the place.

A surprisingly good and VERY entertaining scientific adventure thriller great for fans of James Rollins, Michael Crichton, and Warren Fahy! The subjects of cloning and time travel all set on an island developing for millennia on its own was fascinating. The main characters, who can sometimes take second fiddle to the plot in these types of books, are pretty well drawn. Alastair and Jimmy were my favorites! It felt like a summer movie in book form and it's just as fun! Great summer beach read!

Incredibly creative and action packed, this is a novel for a science fiction lover both of YA and adult.

Twin Paradox is set in Texas and focuses upon the orientation of high school students that were recruited to work at a research firm called Gene E. There is a mystery to whom these students are;who they are "twins" or clones to.
Intensity increases when we learn that there are similar "factories" or labs in China and Russia and through time travel these cloans will meet to thwart each other's missions.

A bit hard to describe, and at times hard for me to follow. Some heavy technology descriptions but still a thriller and creative and intense. The Twin Paradox felt So much like a Michael Crichton book - in a good sense, but also in the sense that it could be mistaken for a script as the book is heavy on the action and explaining rather than showing as well as less than complete on some character development.

If you like techno-thrillers, cloans, spies, international intrigue and science fiction, this book is for you!

I loved the premise of this book, the time travel and the science behind it. But what I liked even more and appreciated was the fact that this YA book did not talk down to their readers.
I want more of YA books like this one!

Now this is science fiction I've been waiting for. There is so much packed in here ... time & DNA manipulation, nature taking it's revenge (almost like a bigger, badder Land of the Lost), thrills, chills and eeewww 😂😂

This one is slow in some parts as the scientific portions are delved into but (for me) it was enjoyable. There isn't much else I can say without giving too much away but if you enjoy Sci-Fi...snag this one.

I can't wait to read the sequel. I sincerely thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an E-Book. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.