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The Oppenheimer Alternative Kindle Edition
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While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a weapon based on nuclear fusion the mechanism that powers the sun. But Teller’s research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system including Earth.
After the war ends, Oppenheimer’s physicists combine forces with Albert Einstein, computing pioneer John von Neumann, and rocket designer Wernher von Braun the greatest scientific geniuses from the last century racing against time to save our future.
Meticulously researched and replete with real-life characters and events, The Oppenheimer Alternative is a breathtaking adventure through both real and alternate history.
Advance Praise for The Oppenheimer Alternative
- “I loved it!”
Lee Smolin, author of The Trouble with Physics- “An imaginative restructuring of a phantasmagoric life into an alternative phantasmagorical story. Oppenheimer fans will be intrigued.”
Martin J. Sherwin, co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer- “Really great, a page turner; I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Another fine addition to the Sawyer canon!”
Andre Bormanis, co-executive producer, The Orville and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
- “Incredibly realistic: the characters, locations, the era, and even the science. I felt like I was back in Los Alamos and I should know: I worked there! Breathlessly riveting; Sawyer pulls it off masterfully.”
Doug Beason, former Associate Laboratory Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- “I knew many of these physicists, and Sawyer nails them accurately.”
Gregory Benford, author of The Berlin Project
About the Author
Robert J. Sawyer’s novel FlashForward was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name.
He is one of only eight writers ever to have won all three of the science-fiction field’s top awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo (which he won for Hominids), the Nebula (which he won for The Terminal Experiment), and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (which he won for Mindscan).
A member of the Order of Canada and one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, Rob lives near Toronto.
- “Really great, a page turner; I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Another fine addition to the Sawyer canon!”
- “An imaginative restructuring of a phantasmagoric life into an alternative phantasmagorical story. Oppenheimer fans will be intrigued.”
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJune 2 2020
- File size1741 KB
Product description
Review
"Sawyer's characterization of the man himself are well done and pull back the layers of Oppenheimer's morals, genius, and grief. Science fiction fans will devour this smart speculative tale.
— Publisher's Weekly
"Sawyer employs a no-nonsense style reminiscent of that of Isaac Asimov or Ben Bova, which makes the narrative easy to navigate—helpful in a book that boasts a full three pages of dramatis personae. While familiarity with the real Oppenheimer is not necessary to follow and enjoy this story, some background would enhance the reader's appreciation as Sawyer builds up his speculative internal history. The result is a realistic and intriguing look at Oppenheimer and his work."
— Booklist
"This is probably my favourite Sawyer book of all he's written; but then, I like "pure" SF. The writing is extremely clever and should appeal to all levels of SF readers, from those who will get all the "in" jokes or references to those who won't even realize they're there. This book is a solid award contender!"
— Amazing Stories Magazine
"I enjoyed it tremendously! Really great, a page turner. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Another fine addition to the Sawyer canon!"
— Andre Bormanis, co-executive producer, The Orville and Cosmos
"Sawyer portrays brilliantly and poignantly the struggles of the scientists who started it all and were consequently obliged to bear an unbearable burden."
— James Christie, Chair, Project Ploughshares, member organization of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
"Sawyer has outdone himself! No one could have taken on this project with such gusto and with such a search for the truth as this outstanding author. I've never read such a complete and thrilling account of Oppenheimer's world."
— Jonas Saul, author of the Sarah Roberts series
"The feel and detail of the Manhattan Project figures is deep and well done. I knew many of these physicists, and Sawyer nails them accurately."
— Gregory Benford, author of The Berlin Project
"A truly science fictional work of alternate history which turns on the decisions—and discoveries—of the great physicists who wrote the history of the 20th century: Einstein, Fermi, G�del, and Oppenheimer. They are the vividly realized, all-too-human characters who people this novel, and give its brilliant speculations human life and blood. Bravo!"
— S.M. Stirling, author of Dies The Fire
"Incredibly realistic: the characters, locations, the era, and even the science. I felt like I was back in Los Alamos—and I should know: I worked there! Breathlessly riveting; Sawyer pulls it off masterfully."
— Doug Beason, former Associate Laboratory Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory
About the Author
Robert J. Sawyer,
a Member of the Order of Canada and a Globe and Mail and Maclean's bestseller, is the author of 23 previous novels, including FlashForward, the basis for the ABC TV series. His most recent novel, Quantum Night, was long-listed for CBC's Canada Reads
Praise for Robert J. Sawyer
"A new Robert J. Sawyer book is always cause for celebration."
— Analog Science Fiction and Fact
"Robert J. Sawyer is a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation."
— The New York Times
"Sawyer not only has an irresistibly engaging narrative voice but also a gift for confronting thorny philosophical conundrums. At every opportunity, he forces his readers to think while holding their attention with ingenious premises and superlative craftsmanship."
— Booklist
"Robert J. Sawyer is by any measure one of the world's leading (and most interesting) science-fiction writers. His fiction is a fascinating blend of intellectually compelling big ideas and humane, enduring characters."
— The Globe and Mail
"Sawyer, an articulate fountain of ideas, is the genre's northern star—in fact, one of the hottest SF writers anywhere. By any reckoning Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors ever."
— Maclean's: Canada?s Weekly News Magazine
"A polished, exciting writer. Sawyer writes with the scientific panache and grandeur of Arthur C. Clarke and the human touch of Isaac Asimov."
— Quill & Quire
Product details
- ASIN : B084H26X5S
- Publisher : SFWRITER.COM Inc. (June 2 2020)
- Language : English
- File size : 1741 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 377 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #137,586 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #235 in Alternative History
- #418 in Alternate History
- #462 in High Tech Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers ever to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He has also won the Robert A. Heinlein Award, the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award, and the Hal Clement Memorial Award; the top SF awards in China, Japan, France, and Spain; and a record-setting sixteen Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards (“Auroras”).
Rob’s novel FlashForward was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, and he was a scriptwriter for that program. He also scripted the two-part finale for the popular web series Star Trek Continues.
He is a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest honor bestowed by the Canadian government, as well as the Order of Ontario, the highest honor given by his home province; he was also one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Rob lives just outside Toronto.His website and blog are at sfwriter.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon he’s RobertJSawyer.
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I have a fondness for a certain type of SF. Those stories set in our present world, or a world only incrementally distant from our ‘now’.
The attraction is in how we respond to the foreign element, the plot device that turns the book from fiction, to science fiction.
Examples of this subgenre are James P Hogan’s early work... giants star, the two faces of tomorrow , thrice upon a time.
TOA is an order of magnitude above these with respect to the reality of the world he creates. Sawyer does something far more impressive with respect to world building than Herbert did with Dune, or most any other SF writer who builds a world from scratch. Sawyer builds a different, flawless, coherent world from the fragments of this one.
In a sense it is an alternative history, but it holds together much better than that. It is our world down to the colour of the carpets even after the ‘SF’ element appears. The characters he’s chosen react exactly as you’d expect them to, they see a problem and turn to it as they do with any problem.
One could argue that he’s written a SF book that isn’t SF... a novel that simply introduces a large problem into our small world.
Fascinating read. It might not scratch the SF itch for some readers, but for those who value solid character studies of those in events larger than life? This is a read you mustn’t miss.
As for the scifi, it appears only at the end of the novel as an improbable solution to an unsolvable scientific problem. 90% of the novel is about Oppenheimer and the interactions and conflicts between scientists .
Contrary to many people I liked the ending, which in my opinion should have been the central story, if a scifi novel was the intention.
Because it deals with real scientists and real events, there are details that had to be included, but I did get a little tired of how these various geniuses did or did not get along or what they thought of one another’s personalities and theories. That being said, I am in awe of the skill it took to write this book. And the detail was necessary to pull off the story, which is brilliant.
And I loved the end result! In this time where so many don’t believe in science, it’s heartening to see a story where scientists are heroes.
And I though the ending was brilliant. It played out perfectly to what the story presented beforehand through all its characters.
Top reviews from other countries
But I did really like this book because is a sweet departure from his usual novels.
Still twists, science and great character deptiction applies.
It's obvious (as always!) the amount of research and attention to detail the Author used in writing this book.
Everyone is so vivid, the history being displayed under your eyes...
Again, it's a gem, and prepare yourself for the final twist.
Hats off to Robert Sawyer for such a compulsive read.
Sorry.
