Space Travel and the Unintended Concequences of Playing God
By Karl Schroeder
TOR, $26.99, 351 pages
Karl Schroeder’s fascinating science fiction novel Lockstep will draw readers in right from the beginning. The story starts out as seventeen-year-old Toby McGonigal wakes up from what should have been a short trip to claim a nearby comet for his family. Instead Toby discovers 14,000 years have passed by and the surprisingly sprawling human civilization he was once a part of remains remarkably familiar. As the story unfolds Toby learns he is part of the Lockstep, a civilization where humanity survives through timed hibernation, and the Chairman of the Lockstep has ordered Toby killed. Hunted from all directions Toby befriends a trio of stowaways in order to learn how to survive while discovering the secrets of the hauntingly familiar Lockstep world.
“‘You’re right,’ the woman said, and now she sat on the edge of the bed, her expression very serious. ‘You and your family were the first to settle interstellar space. But Toby…that was fourteen thousand years ago.'”
Lockstep is an addicting page-turner as Karl Schroeder spends plenty of time building the world through Toby’s eyes. Although readers may not develop deep emotional ties with the characters, the storyline along with the journey makes it difficult for readers to put down this book. Perfect for adults, as well as, the young adult crowd, Lockstep offers plenty of entertainment for hardcore science fiction fans. An excellent read that is not to be missed.
Reviewed by Whitney Smyth
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