Thursday, April 28, 2022

The Paradox Hotel

Title: Rob Hart
Published: February 22nd 2022 by Ballantine Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Time Travel
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

First Sentence: Droplets of blood pat the blue carpet turning from red to black as they soak into the fibers.

Blurb: January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

My Opinion: Not usually a fan of science fiction or time travel, but a fan of Rob Hart since I read the Warehouse, I decided to give The Paradox Hotel a try. The oddities of this book will not resonate with everyone since the subject is a bit outlandish, the bureaucrats all read the same, and the quirkiness of dinosaurs showing up may throw a few people off.

Once you get into the flow and realize the title truly tells the whole story, January Cole and her situation grows on you. Not sure this story could have ended differently; the conclusion leaves you with a giant exhale you didn’t realize you were holding and the reality that the moments are really between the second.

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