Book #1 Quantum Radio Wasn't What I Was Hoping For

- August 06, 2024

I decided to do a reading challenge. I will read 100 science fiction books. It might take a couple of years. I hope to discover the best that science fiction has to offer. First, I need to figure out which books to read.

Instead of going to a science book list or a website, I chose to see that was popular on Kindle Unlimited. An author on the top was A. G. Riddle. I chose his book Quantum Radio because I thought it had an interesting concept. I jumped right in to give the book a try.

Quantum Radio was a disappointment, but is that my fault for not researching the book more before reading it?

Quantum Radio

Quantum Radio by A G Riddle is a science fiction thriller book though some describe it as military sci-fi. The book follows a physicist, named Dr. Tyson Klein, who discovers a signal from another universe using a particle accelerator. A mysterious group is trying to stop him from uncovering what the signal means even if it means killing him.

Dr. Tyson Klein, an American CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) scientist in Geneva, Switzerland, is doing research in the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator. He finds a message from another universe after analyzing data he received on the collider. After he makes an announcement of his discovery, he learns that there is a secret organization watching him and trying to stop him from understanding the message he was getting from this other universe. People he thought were his friends betray him. After barely escaping an assassination attempt, he flees and the secret mob chase him until he returns to Washington DC where he meets up with his mother, also a scientist, and his former girlfriend. They discover more about the message and how the quantum radio works. Dr. Klein or Ty ends up joining with an odd team of people to journey to the universe that is sending the message through what they call a quantum radio. They have a chance to save both universes from this group of mysterious multi-universal manipulators.

This is a book that began as a conspiracy thriller with deeper themes but turned into a cliché action story by the second half. I was expecting more from a sotry about receiving messages from another parallel universe and ended up being disappointed.

I can see why this book was popular. There were some positives. I really enjoyed the science discussed in the book at the beginning, especially how the main character explains how the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) works. He also explained how it might be possible to receive messages from different universes or from the other side of our own universe. The possibilities of these theories were interesting to me.

He makes the story seem believable by connecting it to real organizations and places. Ty works for CERN, a real organization. The scientists he meets in Washington DC work for DARPA, also a real organization. The book discusses past technological advancements in WWII German rocket and missile technology and how scientists developing rocket technology earlier would have changed history. In discovering more about the WWII German rocket technology, I learned about the Peenemünde Army Research Center which is now a museum you can visit in Germany today. I loved how he described his journeys in Switzerland and in other places in Europe. I felt like I could easily picture the settings, and I could tell the author did his research.

The themes were great. The author supported the themes of being in control of your future, family, and regret well. The themes were explored as we got to know our main characters. As the story progressed, we learned how these characters have special skills and knowledge they need in the other universe and learn why they were brought together. It wasn't by chance. The characters learned that life has many possibilities and if you aren't happy with your life, you have the power to change it.

So, the first half of the book was set up well with its science, themes, and settings and was engaging and full of promise. However, I felt that second half of the plot and what they discover about the other universe was disappointing and cliche. I went from reading an intelligent sci-fi thriller to an alt-history adventure to a multi-verse secret agent story. I didn't feel like the author executed the different subgenres very well. I wish he went deeper into what it would mean to be able to communicate with other universes. The book ended up reminding me of the TV show Sliders.

So, is it my fault that the book wasn't good? Did I expect too much? I think that even if I expected an alt-history action thriller I would still be disappointed by the ending. The book didn't end, but tried to set up a multi-verse franchise. I still think I would have been disappointed.