Rewrite: Loops in the Timescape

Physicist Benford returns to the science of time travel first charted in his 1992 novel Timescape (coauthored by Hilary Benford) with this sometimes puerile but otherwise accessible look at specialized scientific theories and the emotional and moral quandaries they create for humanity. It’s 2002, and disillusioned history professor Charlie Moment has apparently died in a car accident. To his shock, Charlie awakens in 1968 with his memories and intellect intact in his 16-year-old body. Eager to rewrite his life, Charlie becomes a screenwriter. An encounter with Philip K. Dick shows him he is a “reincarnate,” one of a group that includes Casanova and Einstein. They die and reappear in order to redirect history. Though desperate to correct the future, Charlie finds himself pursued through time by an all-too-familiar villain from his first past. Benford’s blend of hard science, pop culture, and character study is entertaining, but the hypersexualization and commodification of women throughout the book, coupled with Charlie’s own misogynistic outlook, make the story as a whole feel dated and disappointingly immature. (Nov.)