Name: Gillian Rose's review of The Fold by Peter Clines
Item: The Fold
Rating: 4
Author: Gillian Rose

Peter Clines

Despite the secret gifts he was born with, Marco Leland is content to live a quiet life in a small New England town, until an old government friend tells him that DARPA scientists have invented a device that could make teleportation a reality; but the scientists that are working on the device are changing, people are dying and reality itself seems to be ... warping.

The Fold

Daniel Santos

A page-turning science-fiction thriller from the author of Paradox Bound and the Ex-Heroes series. Step into the fold. It's perfectly safe. The folks in Mike Erikson's small New England town would say he's just your average, everyday guy. And that's exactly how Mike likes it. Sure, the life he's chosen isn’t much of a challenge to someone with his unique gifts, but he’s content with his quiet and peaceful existence. That is, until an old friend presents him with an irresistible mystery, one that Mike is uniquely qualified to solve: far out in the California desert, a team of DARPA scientists has invented a device they affectionately call the Albuquerque Door. Using a cryptic computer equation and magnetic fields to “fold” dimensions, it shrinks distances so that a traveler can travel hundreds of feet with a single step. The invention promises to make mankind’s dreams of teleportation a reality. And, the scientists insist, traveling through the Door is completely safe. Yet evidence is mounting that this miraculous machine isn’t quite what it seems—and that its creators are harboring a dangerous secret. As his investigations draw him deeper into the puzzle, Mike begins to fear there’s only one answer that makes sense. And if he’s right, it may only be a matter of time before the project destroys…everything. A cunningly inventive mystery featuring a hero worthy of Sherlock Holmes and a terrifying final twist you’ll never see coming, The Fold is that rarest of things: a genuinely page-turning science-fiction thriller.

A Novel

Gillian Rose

Starts off with an amazing first chapter, then kinda backtracks a bit and it took until the middle for me to really love this book. But it was extremely smart and funny.

Jeff James

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.

My first exposure to Peter Clines' work was thanks to Audible, which recommended his earlier novel, 14. I rarely buy books without existing knowledge or recommendations to go on, but the summary sounded really interesting - a man moves into a Los Angeles apartment building and starts experiencing mysterious and possibly supernatural events - and the narrator, Ray Porter, was excellent. I ended up really enjoying that book, and added Clines to the short list of authors I plan on reading as thoroughly as possible. Accordingly, when I saw that he had a new novel coming out this year, I immediately wanted to get my hands on it.

In The Fold, teleportation is a reality... but it's not quite ready for public consumption. Enter Mike Erikson, a man with an eidetic memory hired to find out why the scientists involved refuse to share their invention with the world. Thanks to his observational skills and analytical mind, he soon discovers that things are not what they seem and that "the fold" is far more dangerous than anyone imagined.

The Fold's strongest points are its plotting and sheer readability. I tore through the book in a matter of days, and I was definitely hooked throughout, forgoing sleep and important chores so that I could continue reading. Clines is skilled at subtly injecting creeping horror into his stories, and I loved that feeling of being slowly drawn into something horribly doomed. Clines also injects timely pop culture references throughout, which makes the book feel grounded in the here and now

Anyone who has read Clines' previous work knows that he has a fondness for a certain brand of cosmic horror. When hints of a connection to the world of 14 started cropping up in The Fold, I immediately had a guess where the story might be going. Although this did make the book slightly more predictable for me, I was also excited to know that Clines was continue to play in a setting that I throughly enjoyed.

Unfortunately, the characterization in The Fold isn't quite up to snuff. Mike isn't given much depth other than his stated discomfort with using his intellectual abilities, and we are only provided the barest glimpse into his life before this story begins. Most of the time it felt like his function in the plot was more important than who he was as a person, and ultimately he became a kind of Holmes pastiche without the humanizing flaws or down-to-earth partner.

The other characters don't fare better. The supporting cast is a bit one-note, and Jamie, the love interest, reads like such a wish-fulfillment cliché that Clines hangs a lantern on it:

She sighed. “All that brain power and it never occurred to you why a cheerleader turned into a computer geek?”

“I just figured you were some Internet male fantasy come to life.”

I was also disappointed that the novel raises existential issues like whether you're still the same person after you teleport and then quickly discards them in favor of resolving the story with a series of bloody fights. In fact, the climactic scenes don't really have anything to do with the side effects of teleportation. Instead, they turn The Fold into the kind of story you could tell about any door into a hostile place, and felt like a bit of a re-tread of 14 in some ways.

Although I did enjoy reading The Fold, I definitely wish the characterization had been stronger. I think there might be a more interesting version of this book, perhaps in an alternate universe, where Clines draws his primary influences from Philip K. Dick's worries about reality and selfhood. I do still recommend checking out his work, however, and I'm hoping there will be further books in this world.

An old friend presents Mike Erikson with an irresistible mystery to solve: a team of DARPA scientists has invented a device that "folds" dimensions, promising to make mankind's dreams of teleportation a reality. Yet evidence is mounting that this miraculous machine isn't quite what it seems--and that its creators are harboring a dangerous secret.--

Janice Hopper

Well, that was a pleasant enough romp. It was pretty obvious early on what was happening in the plot, but I still followed along happily. I did kind of like reading about a super-smart guy with eidetic memory, someone who can close his eyes and watch a whole movie in his head, who doesn't need a computer to do spreadsheets or databases. 

And I thought I recognized the green cockroaches from 14 (another of the author's books.)

It's light and undemanding, and got pretty exciting toward the end.

Ewan

OK, this was a 4.5 but i gave it the 5 because for most of the book it was. 

Some minor spoilery stuff might be below.

Like many of the other reviews I feel this is two books. The first 70% or so was a fascinating sc-fi mystery yarn. Excellent dialogue and characters that were well fleshed out.

The final quarter takes a more dramatic turn, veering into sci-fi horror which seems to have put many other readers off. 

However, for me the end of the book played out like a David Wong "john dies at the end" book, which I happen to love dearly.

One of the easiest sci-fi reads, but also so fun every step of the way. 

Adam Goehrig-Bawany

Maggie Gordon

The book started off with an interesting main character and creepy sci-fi mystery, however, it rapidly devolved into generic science thriller. Alas!

James Paden

For the first 2/3rds of this book, it was a 4, maybe a 4.5. It was a fun read. Then it went off the deep end and I don't know what happened/. It sped up 5x and characters just stopped being interesting. So....you were warned.

Now in the favorite book category. Reminescent of The Martian in the way it is written.
Very entertaining, great character development, exciting and believable story.
All the trademarks of a great book!!
Loved it!!

Christina M Masters

I had never heard of this book. In fact, I had never heard of the author, Peter Clines, either. This was a book that was chosen by one of my book clubs and boy, am I ever glad it was! I was so pleasantly surprised by this book and how much I enjoyed it. I am not going to go too much into what the book is about (you can read the synopsis if you so desire), because I don't want to get into too much spoiler territory, but the quick and dirty version is that an extremely smart gentleman, who also happens to have an eidetic memory, by the name of Mike, is recruited by his friend who works for the government to go observe a super-secret project and report back his findings because nobody but the team who is working on said project seems to know a lot about it except for a few details here and there. And boy do the hijinks ensue.

This book was extremely fast-paced. I was hooked from the get-go. It has a very nice blend of sci-fi, horror, and even a bit of humor. Not to mention a good amount of fun pop culture references. Plus, being originally from San Diego (where the majority of the book takes place) it was a lot of fun for me whenever there were SD shout-outs. 

So, if you are looking for a fun weekend read and don't mind a bit of horror with your sci-fi (there are parts of the book that did get a little creepy) then you should definitely check this one out!

Jessica Nottingham

Accessible Science Fiction! That, my friends, is exactly what The Fold delivers. Quite well in fact, if I do say so myself. As a fair-weather reader of Sci Fi, I tend to shy away if things get too technical. I love the ideas that this genre puts forth. Especially because so much of what it offers up is actually plausible! Still, when I can't comprehend some of what I'm reading I tend to loose interest. The Fold walked that beautiful line between facts, and fiction. It gave me characters that I could love and understand. It gave me chilling mystery, and profound moments too. Long story short? This was a great read! 
 
Although I've never known anyone like Mike, with his staggering IQ and eidetic memory, he was so likable that I felt like we were friends. Imagine having a brain like a super computer. Able to recall anything that you've ever seen, heard, or even tasted. What would you do with such a power? If you're Mike, you'd work as a high school English teacher. I won't get into the particulars, since I'd rather you discover them for yourself, but trust me when I say that Mike is one fascinating individual. Watching him slowly unravel all the secrets surrounding the "Albequerque Door" had me riveted. Not two weeks before I read this book, I was reading an article about scientists working with dark matter, and looking at folds in space. After reading this book? Well, I'll simply say that I really hope things don't turn out that way they do in here.
 
I think what makes this book so accessible, honestly, is that it doesn't just dwell on the scientific aspect of things. The team working on this project feel like real people. We see how they interact with one another, along with their strengths and flaws. Every time it seemed like things might be getting a bit too heavy, something would happen to pull me back. I had such an investment in the characters of this book, such a deep need to see them through, that I couldn't stop reading. I knew what they were doing was dangerous, I just didn't realize how right I was. The twist here is amazing! 
 
My final verdict is a simple one, and that's simply that this book needs a spot on your reading list. While it wasn't perfect, it was a ton of fun to read! It's not often that I power through a Sci Fi book, but this one made it impossible not to. I hope there's a follow up, because I could definitely read more about Mike.

Jeremy Cote

I quite enjoyed the book. It was an interesting premise, and I found the author executed well. The best part of the story, in my opinion, was the main character Mike. I loved his ability, and it made the story through his perspective that much more enjoyable.

I found some parts of the book to be a bit weaker, particularly when science met fantasy, but it's a story after all, so you can only expect so much. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Bryan Alexander

The Fold is a fun book, a very engaging science fiction puzzle and adventure. 

I can only introduce the plot before revealing more, since it's entirely plot-driven. Our protagonist is assigned to scope out a top-secret military project, one that (as the cover suggests and says) claims to have developed teleportation. Mike, a school teacher with an unusual mind, has to suss out what's really going on, and explore some minor-seeming mysteries. 

There's much to enjoy in The Fold . Clines knows how to offer the right amount of mysteries to draw me in. He also does a good job in setting out key details early on, many of which appear neutral, but which become important in later chapters. The narrative is taut, cleanly focused on its main points. The Fold's dialog is fast-paced, too, livened by one-liners and rejoinders. I especially enjoyed the weird detective protagonist, whose gimmick ((view spoiler)[perfect, all-encompassing memory (hide spoiler)]) is fun.

But it's a light book. The characters are thin, their backstories and personalities solely present to advance the plot (i.e., one's story of how they became who they are is surprising, demanding follow-up, but is only there to give the narrator a crucial clue). The protagonist became repetitive half-way in, and I lost interest in him. Actually, some of the writing became excessively repetitious by the end, from Mike's ants to Sasha's single-minded vocabulary. Indeed, while I was very engaged during reading, I'm finding the whole thing sliding from my mind far too quickly after completing the book.

The other characters have started bugging me upon reflection. We're told that they are brilliant scientists, but we don't see them actually doing anything amazing. Mike out-thinks them consistently, which reduces the scientists to stand-bys. Worse yet, (view spoiler)[they didn't even invent the Door, but stole it from a 19th-century visionary and/or crank. Now that storyline deserves another story; The Fold slides past it too quickly. (hide spoiler)]

Another problem: I guessed the main plot development early on, partly because I'm a lifelong sf reader, partly because I'm a sneaky literary critic, and also because the opening chapter offers too many hints. 

The Fold draws on a lot of sf, especially in visual forms: Stargate, Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter, the Predator series, the great last chapters of The Time Machine, Star Trek (openly). It doesn't do much with that tradition, though. Compare with China Mieville's hilarious take on Star Trek's transporters in Kraken, which is barely a page, funny, makes sense, and even connects with that novel's ideas. 

In short, a fun, light read. A snack.

PS: don't miss this key reference, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8TUw...

Tyler Jefford

Pretty interesting read, good pace, great characters and picked up with a nice twist at the end. I will look out for more from this author (maybe even in this series.)

Daniel Santos &
The Fold by Peter Clines

Reviews

Join the club

Daniel Santos &The Fold by Peter Clines

Reviews

Join the club

Daniel Santos &
The Fold by Peter Clines