Last Year, Robert Charles Wilson
Last Year, Robert Charles Wilson
1 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
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Last Year

Author: Robert Charles Wilson

Narrator: Scott Brick

Unabridged: 11 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/06/2016

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction


Synopsis

Two events made September 1st a memorable day for Jesse Cullum. First, he lost a pair of Oakley sunglasses. Second, he saved the life of President Ulysses S. Grant.

In the near future of Robert Charles Wilson's Last Year, the technology exists to open doorways into the past--but not our past, not exactly. Each "past" is effectively an alternate world, identical to ours but only up to the date on which we access it. And a given "past" can only be reached once. After a passageway is open, it's the only road to that particular past; once closed, it can't be reopened.

A passageway has been opened to a version of late 19th-century Ohio. It's been in operation for most of a decade, but it's no secret, on either side of time. A small city has grown up around it to entertain visitors from our time, and many locals earn a good living catering to them. But like all such operations, it has a shelf life; as the "natives" become more sophisticated, their version of the "past" grows less attractive as a destination.

Jesse Cullum is a native. And he knows the passageway will be closing soon. He's fallen in love with a woman from our time, and he means to follow her back--no matter whose secrets he has to expose in order to do it.

About Robert Charles Wilson

Robert Charles Wilson was born in California and lives in Toronto. His novel Spin won science fiction’s Hugo Award in 2006. Earlier, he won the Philip K. Dick Award for his debut novel A Hidden Place; Canada’s Aurora Award for Darwinia; and the John W. Campbell Award for The Chronoliths.

About Scott Brick

Scott Brick first began narrating audiobooks in 2000, and after recording almost 400 titles in five years, AudioFile magazine named Brick a Golden Voice and “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy.” He has read a number of titles in Frank Herbert’s bestselling Dune series, and he won the 2003 Science Fiction Audie Award for Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. Brick has narrated for many popular authors, including Michael Pollan, Joseph Finder, Tom Clancy, and Ayn Rand. He has also won over 40 AudioFile Earphones Awards and the AudioFile award for Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense 2011. In 2007, Brick was named Publishers Weekly’s Narrator of the Year. Brick has performed on film, television and radio. He appeared on stage throughout the United States in productions of Cyrano, Hamlet, Macbeth and other plays. In addition to his acting work, Brick choreographs fight sequences, and was a combatant in films including Romeo and Juliet, The Fantasticks and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He has also been hired by Morgan Freeman to write the screenplay adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Philip on January 02, 2021

4ish stars. For a time travel book this is surprisingly not infuriating. And for a "sci-fi thriller" there's surprisingly more focus on characterization than action (mostly). Sure, there's the requisite doomed lovers side plot, but even that is bearable. Probably why the time travel premise works so w......more

Goodreads review by Bookwraiths on March 10, 2017

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths. Time Travel. Alternate timelines. Dystopian themes. Action and adventure. Love story. All these themes and more integrated by Robert Charles Wilson into an intriguing story, appropriately called Last Year. Time travel is now real! People from the 21st century having......more

Goodreads review by Sara on December 02, 2016

One of - no, THE - best time-traveling book I've ever read. The story takes place in 1876, but people from the 21st century have traveled back in time and are making a "resort" out of the time period. Visitors are able to travel back in time - for a hefty price - and see the world as it was before.......more

Goodreads review by Ira on April 17, 2023

Check out my full, spoiler-free, video review HERE. This was a fun, fast read.......more

Goodreads review by Liviu on December 10, 2016

Starts great and despite being a bit so-so on its blurb, the narrative pull of the first few pages was so great that I kept turning them and reading; unfortunately about half on, the book turned into a political screed and we had enough of such in real life this year, while simultaneously the utter......more


Awards

  • Locus Awards - Nominee