Review by MorganKnightOfficial -- Doyle's Law

[MorganKnightOfficial]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Doyle's Law" by Sam Roberts.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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With technology becoming integrated into every aspect of our lives and the earth’s foreseeable future looking bleak as climate change strengthens its grip, we need a reminder of the damage our behavior is causing. This is exactly the purpose that Doyle’s Law by Sam Roberts serves – a prediction of what the not-too-distant future may hold.

In the year 2142, a disgraced scientist called Dr. James Ryburn is awaiting a shipment of mysterious rocks from Mercury on a space station orbiting Venus. He hopes to use the rocks to invent a new propulsion system and thus restore his reputation. The station’s decommissioning crew, however, is uncertain of his plans. Chief Jake O’Connor especially believes Dr. Ryburn’s plans to be nothing but drunken fantasies, considering the apparent decline in Dr. Ryburn’s mental stability after he begins to make impossible claims of seeing things that no one else notices.

When the docking of the rocks goes seriously awry and a decompression event changes the ship’s orbit catastrophically, Dr. Ryburn is forced into action. Even with the reluctant new trust of his crew, strange events lead to conflict and wild accusations among the men. This eventually results in a potential murder. The truth behind these events turns out to be far more sinister than the crew could originally comprehend, however, and soon Chief O’Connor finds himself on a thrilling adventure through time, learning not only the truth behind his past, but behind his future.

I found the description of the future in Doyle’s Law to be extremely informative and realistic. Roberts uses a fresh, scientifically-backed explanation of time travel, futuristic technology and the reaches of the universe that infatuated and educated me at the same time. Though the novel made use of a vast amount of scientific jargon, I was never bored or lost. The author did a fantastic job of blending reality with fiction.

Though the entirety of the novel takes place within the same day, the character development shown by O’Connor is remarkable. The message that your actions have consequences is made clear as O’Connor watches and silently chastises his past selves for their actions. This was an aspect of the novel that I appreciated: the theme that conveyed that the past has already happened and cannot be changed. The future is the only thing in your control. The absolute highlight of this theme was enclosed in O'Connor's beautiful parting words to Dr. Ryburn, "Good luck, Sir James Ryburn, the man who will take us to the stars." The only criticism I can give is that there were two places in the novel where the author used quotation marks incorrectly.

This book is completely deserving of its rating of 4 out of 4 stars because of the lasting reminder it left – changing the future is up to us. The perfect way in which the story’s puzzle pieces slotted into place, as well as the extreme emotions the narrative evoked from me made this a read that was completely worth my time. I recommend this novel for science fiction fans with an interest in space and time travel, but not for readers younger than sixteen due to the use of profanity and complex scientific terms.

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Doyle's Law
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[moowshiri]

I fully concur with you that the future remains in our hands. Therefore, we should try as much as possible to conserve the environment. I loved your review, thanks.