The Fold

Title:  The Fold

Author:  Peter Clines                                                                                   

Pages:  384

Year:  2015

Publisher:  Crown Publishing

My rating of 4.5.

Mike Erikson is not an ordinary high school English teacher.  He has an IQ of 180 and perfect recall memory of everything he has ever seen, an ability that his lifelong friend, who just happens to be with DARPA, would like to utilize to help provide further funding of a top secret project.  The project is a machine that allows people to travel to other locations with only a few steps—a doorway that folds space-time.  But the doorway is more than it seems, and it may lead to the destruction of the entire planet.  People on the project team change subtly after each walk through the gate, and Mike begins to notice the little changes that lead him to a discovery of magnificent proportions and unknown dangers.

Peter Clines writes in such a way that it was difficult to put the book down.  The Fold is a tale that combines mystery with science fiction and adventure.  Although the story keeps the reader on his or her toes from beginning to end with a decent pace throughout, it seemed to jump in to high gear during the last few chapters.  The action kicks into a higher gear as creatures from a parallel dimension begin to cross over into the project lab.  And they are not exactly friendly!                                                                 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Fold, and found it to be a story that was difficult to put down once I started reading.  Not many books have kept me that interested, but The Fold is now counted among them.  Perhaps Peter Clines’s experience as a screen writer is what makes the difference between an interesting story and a truly interesting story.  His writing style descriptively paints each scene to create the mental picture of what is happing in the characters’ lives and interactions with each other.  The basic premise of a device that opens a gateway to other places and, in this case, other dimensions are not totally original; however, this story brings freshness to the concept, and there are references to Star Trek® in various places.

What I did not care for in this novel was the somewhat excessive use of vulgar language by Sasha, one of the characters.  I understand that there are people who talk that way in the real world, but many still find the particular word offensive or at least a sign of poor manners and communication skills.  If this book was a movie, it would be rated R for language and one scene of somewhat descriptive sexual activity.

Overall, I would recommend The Fold for fans of true science fiction novels.

Note:  I received a complimentary copy for an honest review of this book.  The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility.