Project Anastrophe: 08/03/09

Project Anastrophe (or project turning about) by George Karnikis is a science fiction environmental thriller that tries to set to rights the damages done to the earth from years of radiation poisoning.

Nick Papas leaves his wife and family to go fishing and sees a strange light shimmering on the water. Next thing he knows he's far in the future and being treated for radiation exposure. Rather than freaking out at his current situation he eagerly embraces his new home and falls head over heels for the lovely Norina Anderson, the woman put in charge of him. He then further agrees to help these future people undo the events that lead to the radiation poisoning of the Earth.

What works for me:

Project Anastrophe has cast of characters made up of different ethnicities than your usual Americans, British or Canadians (and sometimes French if you're reading Jules Verne). The book has a fairly tight time line which is important in a time travel that blips between present day and the future. The future is different but still recognizable.

What doesn't work for me:
The book suffers most from pacing and point of view problems. It starts off as a first person account of Nick's adventures into the future. By about page 80 as lots of extra characters and plot elements are introduced the novel suddenly switches to third person even when Nick is in the scene. It further digresses from the original POV ending as a third person omniscient. Without adequate segues these changes in POV are very disconcerting.

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