Review: The Fold by Peter Clines

Title: The Fold
Author: Peter Clines
Publisher/Publication Date: Crown, June 2, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction, Suspense
Format/Source: Hardcover Review Copy, Blogging for Books

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

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.

My Thoughts:

“Step into the fold. It’s perfectly safe.”

Hahaha, no. If someone ever told me that, I would be heading for the hills long before they finished trying to talk me into it.

So yeah, I read The Fold by Peter Clines, and I was up until one in the morning just because I wanted to finish it. I was at the part where everything was getting good, so sleep just had to take the backseat for a while. This was basically a story about scientific theory and even more speculation combined with what could possible happen if things were to go wrong when people play with forces they have little to no understanding of.

Where should I even start?

Well for one thing, The Fold was exactly my kind of book.

There are so many things that I want to say about this book—all of them good—because I loved it. Honestly I did. The concept is definitely what got me interested in The Fold. I mean it’s basically about a group of scientist who supposedly discovered a way to bend the fabrics of reality, “fold dimensions,” and cut long distances down by more than half, allowing a person to go from one place to the next in an instant. And it was an aspect of the novel that I thought was handled well.

The story begins with Mike Erikson, who’s doing a good job of ignoring his talents until his old friend shows up on the last day of work at a high school, approaching him with a proposition about a potential job. And that is exactly how Mike finds himself at the facility that houses the Albuquerque Door. From the beginning, his job seemed so straightforward, almost easy for someone like him, but alas thing didn’t play out that way. Just from the way the secondary characters spoke and the mystery surrounding how the Albuquerque Door was actually put together, I could tell that not everything was what it seemed with the project. I enjoyed seeing how Mike navigated his way around the facility, learning what he could so he could do his job, and getting to know the people who worked on the door.

The setting was definitely fitting even though it was mostly contained to the facility where the door was being worked on. I really can’t say much else because I don’t want to ruin the story for those who would be interested in this book. But let me just say that the beginning did a wonderful job of building up to the end. The pacing was done well and things weren’t revealed too early, it just seemed to work for me.

So yeah, I enjoyed The Fold. It had a satisfying mix of mystery, hints of action, and speculation about the possibility of creating something close to instantaneous teleportation.

Rating 5/5 

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review, thank you! 

About the Author…

PETER CLINES has published several pieces of short fiction and countless articles on the film and television industries, as well as the novels The Fold,Ex-Heroes, Ex-Patriots, Ex-Communication, Ex-Purgatory, and 14. He lives and writes in southern California.