Elizabeth’s occasional seizures are resistant to conventional medical treatment, and interfere with just about every aspect of her life. Our heroine is Elizabeth Austin, a woman in her mid-to-late- 20s who has suffered from epilepsy ever since she was a young girl. Diehard Replay fans seem to also hold this, Grimwood’s 1976 debut novel, in high regard, so I decided to check out the earlier work first. That one won a World Fantasy Award for best novel in 1988, and has a pretty strong cult following. I’ve had his third novel, Replay, on my “to read” list for a while. The late Ken Grimwood is not a household name. What would it be like if Michael Crichton had teamed up with Nora Roberts to write a science thriller set just a couple of years in the future, and then brought in Ray Bradbury to tweak the ending? I suspect the by-product of that collaboration might be very much like this book. If you can ignore that flaw, this book has so much going for it. Grimwood writes sex like a man, and it's completely gratuitous at times and often a little bit ridiculous. My only criticism is much the same criticism I had with Replay.

It was thrilling and fantasy without being over the top (assuming you could get on board with the initial storyline.) Up until the very last page, I felt fascinated and addicted by Elizabeth's story much in the same way she was fascinated and addicted by Jenny's story. The book then turns towards her new obsession with these visions and this other woman's life, and I was left on the edge of my seat craning my neck to see where Grimwood would take it. Along the way of testing the transmitter, she discovers visions - very real, physical visions of another woman's life. In other ways I can see the same intriguing sci-fi thriller that I loved so much in Replay.Įlizabeth has had epilepsy her whole life and has her brain implanted with electrodes that help her control her seizures with the help of a remote control transmitter. It's not that it was not enjoyable, but I was anxious to get to the good stuff. In some ways I can tell: there are times where I wanted to rush him through some of the details and the medical talk. Breakthrough was apparently Grimwood's debut novel.

Ken grimwood