THREE STARS

I read Flashback with an expectation. After having been swallowed-up by Drood, then completely spellbound by Terror, I expected to be blown away yet again by Dan Simmons. I was blown away, but not in a good way. Oh, the writing is just as excellent and genders a just-as-easy-to-follow flow as the other two, but with one noticeable exception, the story-line. In my opinion, it left little to be desired. The roller-coaster ride was ever so predictable, actually detracting from the talent of this author‘s skill as a writer.

Flashback is a noirish mystery that takes place in the year 2032, and is titled thus because it is a drug that allows it’s addicts to go back in time to re-experience, through an out-of-body sensation, past incidents in their own lives. Enter Nick Bottom, an ex-cop, who has been hired to solve a six year old murder that he couldn’t solve the first time around. Yada, yada, yada ….. I see you already get the picture.

Don’t get me wrong here, there are sub-stories that eventually meet-up with the main one, and I must admit, in a most delicious way, but I saw it coming from a mile back. While Flashback is an entertaining read (it had to be to get me through approximately 550 pages), it left me ….. oh, what do I say here?…. it left me feeling indifferent.

Hey, you may like this book enough to give it five stars.

That is, of course, if you're not a sleuth like me.

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