At a research facility in San Diego shrouded in secrecy, a world-changing discovery has been made. Despite the success, there is an undercurrent of uneasiness. To discover the cause, a high school english teacher is brought in.

“…the secret to instant travel might not be trying to manipulate the traveler, but rather to manipulate the distance traveled.”

Mike Erikson may not be a physicist, but with a high IQ and eidetic memory, he’s uniquely suited to the task of figuring out the Albuquerque Door project. Why do the scientists refuse to unveil their work, even after hundreds of successful tests? How does it function? And why does everything feel wrong?

Why is this on our bookshelf?

This author obviously expects his readers to be science fiction fans. He obviously knows science fiction fans. His characters are science fiction fans. And science fiction fans should definitely read this book.

Rating (5 stars)

If I tried to describe how this book plays out, it’s part mystery, part classic sci-fi, and part thriller.

I went into reading this book with absolutely no expectations… which is a bit unusual. It was on my large to-read stack and I more or less selected it at random. I didn’t know anything about it except it was sci-fi. But this science fiction novel deserves to become a classic.

Instant transportation à la Star Trek sounds like an old school plot point, but Peter Clines puts a new spin on it. I was simultaneously reminded of old school science fiction while marveling at how fresh the story felt.

I’m usually annoyed by main characters who are just magically smarter than anyone else and able to solve the problem while everyone else is clueless. However, despite his photographic memory and high IQ, Mike Erikson is completely sympathetic main character who is well-fleshed out. He may be a genius, but he’s human and readers can identify with him regardless.

I couldn’t put it down. The Fold is one story I’ll be recommending to all the science fiction fans I know.