3.5/5

The many plots were quite hard to follow, but the complexity added to the story. It was very well written, it just took some dedication and focus that I don't often show to books that I read for "free reading"
This was a bit of a deterrent from reading it, so it took a long time to get into the book and actually continue reading it.
If you want something you need to focus on a lot that will still take you away into an incredible sci-fi world, then this is definitely a good choice.

Thank you, NatGalley and Melville House Publishing | Melville House for a free copy for review. This was a fun scifi debut about a mysterious tech company that doesn’t seem to DO anything, but maybe they actually invented time travel….. It was interesting to read how these 3 characters stories played out.

Jin Woo Chong’s Flux is a novel that takes a long long time to come into focus. Knowing that the book deals with time travel may help but possibly only with the even less coherent middle section.
Flux starts with three seemingly unconnected story lines. A man is sacked from his job at a popular magazine after a takeover and within a few minutes of that has met a girl, been given a job offer and falls down an elevator shaft. A young Korean-American boy called Bo is dealing with the death of his mother. And sometime in the future, a man called Blue is trying to get answers from another man called Lev about a company that offered boundless free energy but turned out to be a sham. In amongst this is a strange subplot centred around a 1980s police action program and its star. Chong does eventually bring all of these threads together in an time travel driven but emotional way but he takes what feels like a long time to get there.
Chong also plays fast and loose with his time travel premise. The rules of time travel (and there really need to be rules) are never clear. And he doesn’t even bother to explain or even lampshade this until the very end of the book:
“Read every book ever written with some hokey plotline like that, they’ll never agree. What you’re dealing with is an exercise of the imagination.”
The closest analogue to Flux is Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown, in that Chong is using surreal styling and touchstones of popular culture to try and interrogate the Korean-American experience. But Flux relies too heavily on hand waved time travel mechanics full of bootstrap paradoxes and hints of predestination to carry a kind of moebius strip plot. An interesting experiment that does not quite land.

Flux is a complex sci-fi novel that hits so many different genres: speculative fiction, elements of cyberpunk and some neo-noir themes. The discovery of grief that is palpably woven throughout this story is wonderfully done. Also, it feels like the perfect read if you have recently gotten into the TV show Severance.

Flux by Jinwoo Chong is a wild mix of sci-fi, noir, and emotional storytelling that jumps between three different timelines. It follows Bo, an 8-year-old dealing with the loss of his mother; Brandon, a 28-year-old who just got laid off; and Blue, a 48-year-old caught up in a corporate scandal. Their stories connect in surprising ways, all tied to a mysterious tech company that seems to mess with time and memory. It’s got a bit of Severance vibes, with a deep dive into grief, nostalgia, and how our past shapes us.

Thank you to Netgalley and Melville House for the ARC of this novel.

Jinwoo Chong creates an emotional take on the time travel story. Young Brandon/Bo loses his mother in an accident that sets his life on a collision course with sadness. As an adult he loses his job, and is offered a new one shortly after, but when it seems too good to be true, he starts questioning his life so far.

At first this novel is confusing, there’s a lot going on, switches in POV, and story lines / timelines. But, throughout the novel, Brandon is fleshed out, his different thoughts and ideas throughout his life and time while disjointed culminate in a full character. The timeline settings and the near future / alternate now is intriguing and very possible in our timeline as well. The reader who will appreciate this novel is experienced and okay with being left in the dark throughout most of it, as well as okay with figuring some things out for yourself, as not much is clearly outlined. I did really enjoy this, especially because I felt like I needed to know what was really going on!

4/5 stars for sure.

This book is such an engrossing little gem. Following three primary narratives, the reader is acquainted with a man on the brink of collapse, a family torn apart, and a man revisiting a painful past. All of these narratives feature Raider, the onetime tv detective, in varying capacities.

There is something really special about this story. More than anything, it’s a sad story laced with a little something that just keeps you wanting to read more, to know more, to see something good come through for our narrators. In some ways, it becomes very clear what’s going on with the story, but it didn’t change how invested I was.

I loved the way that the different narratives were woven through and the different voices used throughout. Every time I picked it up to read, I found myself not wanting to put it down. It’s a story of complicated family dynamics and searching for that something that’s always just out of reach. This review has ended up a lot more vague than I intended, but I think that’s best. I really enjoyed reading this book, and the ending really hit so well for me.

This was a unique reading experience and I will definitely be looking into reading other works by the author. This was a really special little book for me.

3.5 stars..
Author Jinwoo Chong constructs a complex story set in three different time periods, throws in corporate shenanigans and time travel, as well as complicated family dynamics. At the same time, he keeps the pace moving along fast following Bo, Brandon and Blue (three Asian Americans), each in one of the time periods, who all experience shocking events in their lives. All three are connected by their deep love for an iconic 1980s detective show called Raider, whose main character was played by an Asian American, and whose life imploded, after revelations about his abused past before the show completed its run.

The story follows:

-Eight-year-old Bo and his young brother lose their mother in a horrific accident, and the family is scarred irreparably afterwards.

-Twenty eight-year-old Brandon loses his job at a magazine, and gets a new job at a tech startup. The startup's owner is a charismatic, beautiful, genius, and whose chief operating officer (COO) fascinates Brandon. Brandon is deeply puzzled by the startup's activities, and wonders why he keeps repeating certain actions while at work.

-Forty-eight-year-old Blue is implanted with a ridiculously expensive technology to allow him to speak again, in exchange for testifying against the former COO of the defunct tech startup.

I won't get into the time travel stuff, but it is important for creating the story's weird, loopy feel and for its denouement.

I loved all the references to the in-story tv show Raider, and its powerful effect on the psyches of Bo, Brandon and Blue.

Each time period is wonderfully drawn, with Chong gradually revealing details about Bo, Brandon and Blue. They're each hurting and never recovered from painful events in their lives, and suffer intense regret and difficulty connecting with others.

From that perspective, the story is tragic and moving. At the same time, it was a little difficult to connect with the narrative, because of the way the author initially dropped the reader into the lives of Bo, Brandon and Blue, eliciting some confusion. This did gradually resolve the further I read, and I began to gleefully notice the connections between the story threads, even while caring for the three main characters.

This is an inventive, fast-moving story, that also deals with bigotry and grief, and how these can derail lives.

Did I enjoy this book? Mostly. Chong kept me intrigued and reading till the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Melville House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review.

An interesting book with a unique plot and perspective on grief. I think this is going to be a book that either brings a lot of people in or pushes them away.

Thank you to Melville House Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review. I was immediately intrigued by the cover and simple title. I love a genre bending work as this also roped me into reading the book. The time jumping really worked for me as well as the discussion on race and prejudice. What really did not work for me personally was the character work. I did not bond with nor care for the characters at all. By the time the plot was picking up at about 70% into the book, I don’t feel we really were connecting with anybody on an emotional level or understood the true motivation of the main character. The climax of the entire plot line seemed rushed to me and like the author did not know how to really wrap up the story. I feel we could have done without some filler pages toward the beginning of the book, or benefitted from some extra development toward the 60% mark. By the time everything was happening, I felt very disconnected from the plot and characters as a whole. The premise really intrigued me, and I wanted to know how it would all play out, so I finished for the plot. If this would not have been gifted to me , I may not have ended up finishing. Solid three stars for the writing style, diversity, original ideas, and general feel. Would read work by this author again and look forward to it!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Flux by Jinwoo Chong is a mixed third and first person multi-POV speculative novel. Brandon has recently lost his job after a hostile corporate takeover by Io, a woman who makes an awfully lot of claims about a technology she’s trying to develop. Meanwhile, we also see Bo, who lost his mother recently in a car accident, and Blue, who is in the middle of a high tech trial.

The speculative elements come into play a lot more in the back half of the book and it’s still more of a light touch than a harder sci-fi. I agree with the assessment that the novel is more of a mixture of genres as there is a kind of noir vibe going on when we see Raider in Bo’s POV and there’s the sci-fi twist in Blue’s POV. I really liked how these genres all mix together due to how they are connected to the themes and the three POVs.

I don’t feel like I can really talk about characters or plot without hitting on the big twist, so instead I’ll focus on the thing that captured my interest the most: the themes. Brandon is half-Korean and lost his connection to his Korean ancestry when his mother passed away. He stopped speaking the language, he makes mention of how American-Korean fusion food feels more and more authentic to him as lines continue to blur, and he deeply admires the character of Raider, who was an Asian detective on TV when he was a kid and the main representation the community had for years. Bo also has a complicated relationship with his Korean ancestry, though his is more linked to the character of Moto, who Raider takes in and raises after his parents die. Representation on its own is powerful, but Brandon has to wrestle with the messy legacy the actor behind Raider left behind.

As an immigrant who has had to deal with my own morals when it comes to separating the art from the artist, I understood why Brandon was talking specifically to Raider and not to the actor who played Raider and his desire to separate the two. That was his childhood hero. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘don’t meet your heroes,’ but what if your hero was a TV character who became your whole world after your mother died?

Content warning for mentions of racism

I would recommend this to fans of speculative fiction exploring themes of identity and what means to be in the diaspora and readers looking for books exploring separating the art from the artist

You know those movies you watch or books you read and, when you reach the end, you’re certain it would be a completely different experience the second time? Now add in that you have no idea what is going on the entire time and you’re not sore you like any of the characters. Add in an 80s era detective show with (of course, because it’s the 80s) blatant misogyny and racism.

It might be better and make some sense the second time and buy time travel is only real in this book, not my life, so I’m not sure I’ll reread it.

A Thought-Provoking Sci-Fi Thriller with Room to Grow

Jinwoo Chong's "Flux" is a captivating sci-fi thriller that explores the complexities of time travel and its potential consequences. The premise, involving a device that allows for limited time jumps, is intriguing, and the story moves at a brisk pace.

What I Liked:

Unique Concept: The "Flux" device, with its limitations and unpredictable side effects, offers a fresh take on time travel.
Intriguing Characters: The main characters are well-developed and face morally ambiguous dilemmas.
Fast-Paced Action: The story keeps you on the edge of your seat with its suspenseful plot twists and action sequences.
What Could Be Better:

Some Predictability: While the core concept is strong, some plot points felt a bit predictable.
Character Depth: While the main characters are engaging, some supporting characters could have benefited from further development.
Overall:

"Flux" is a solid sci-fi thriller with a compelling premise. While it may not be groundbreaking, it's an enjoyable and thought-provoking read that will keep you entertained.

Recommendation:

If you're a fan of time travel stories and enjoy fast-paced thrillers, "Flux" is definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A fascinating look at several different timelines that was confusing to follow but ultimately pretty rewarding. I enjoyed the different perspectives and trying to weave the story together.

read this one a bit ago. it is bizarre in all the best ways and unoiquely mindbending which worked very well for me, though might not for others. 4 stars. tysmf for the arc.

The weaving together of multiple timelines made it challenging for me to really immerse myself in the story and understand what was going on right off the bat. It wasn’t until about halfway in that the relationship between each of the timelines became clear to me. Maybe it’s because I don’t typically read sci-fi, but this book felt unnecessarily convoluted. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I couldn’t read this on my Kindle, the formatting was super wonky — which was such a bummer! I had such high hopes for the ARC, but I’ll need to pick up a physical copy before I can review it I think.

"Flux" by Jinwoo Chong is a captivating and thought-provoking novel that explores themes of identity, love, and the complexity of human experience in an interconnected world. The novel blends speculative fiction with elements of psychological realism, offering a fresh take on the struggles of self-discovery in the modern age. Chong’s prose is both poetic and precise, drawing readers into a world where technology, memory, and emotion intertwine. The characters are deeply human, their flaws and desires resonating long after the final page. This book is a challenging yet rewarding read that I am still thinking about.

I had to DNF due to the formatting of the book. It entirely broke any chance of getting into the story. This might be good but I couldn’t get into it enough to know.

Flux by Jinwoo Chong offers a fresh take on time travel, intertwining the lives of three characters across different timelines. Eight-year-old Bo loses his mother in a tragic accident just before Christmas. Decades later, 28-year-old Brandon is reeling from a job loss after a hostile corporate takeover, and 48-year-old Blue is entangled in a high-stakes trial involving a defunct tech startup and its dark secrets. Without spoiling "too much", as their individual stories unfold, an experimental technology capable of manipulating time begins to connect their lives.

This debut is a unique blend of neo-noir and speculative fiction. Chong weaves these disparate threads into a cohesive narrative that explores grief, trauma, and Asian identity in America. I wholeheartedly enjoyed it and can't wait to dive into I Leave It Up to You!

Thank you to NetGalley and Melville House for the free ARC in exchange for this unbiased review.