Provocative, unpredictable and surreal, Roundabout is another reality-bending and ingenious tale by the writing duo of Jeff Rake and Rob Hart. Packed with tension and suspense wrapped around explosive action, it challenges our perception of the world as we know it. Twisting and turning as it confounds and disorients readers in the best of ways, making you ask, “what the hell did I just read?” with a furrowed brow and a smile on your face.
Following the unsettling events of Detour, Roundabout kicks off with six astronauts on the run from their own government. Accused of selling information to the Chinese, they’re labeled as traitors and subjected to a nationwide manhunt. But it’s a ruse to hide the fact these six individuals are from a parallel universe, the result of a perception-warping experiment by a billionaire and his scientific team. With strange phenomena gripping people all over the planet, likely explained by the opening of a pathway between worlds, those in power will do anything to capture and silence the astronauts before they can reveal the truth…and find a way back to their home on the other Earth.
The second book in this budding series, Roundabout feels like the middle episodes of an addictive show you binge watch on a streaming service. The first book was explosive, messing with your head while introducing you to the characters and hooking you with a wild concept. Then this second book advances character development, puts them through difficult challenges, and sets the stage for what’s to come in book three and beyond. And that’s the best way to consume these books, as they drip information and develop events with cliffhangers at the end of each one. Building anticipation for the next episode.
Also, it needs to be said that while this story can be enjoyed on its own, it’s highly advisable to read Detour first to understand the background to hit the ground running with Roundabout. There are many mind-bending concepts and critical details that are important to understand to get the full reading experience and not feel like you’re constantly trying to catch up. Plus, Detour is a hell of a story, so you don’t want to miss it anyway.
It’s an intriguing two-book start to a series that holds a lot of promise. It’ll be fascinating to see where the authors go from here with the next installment. Whatever they have in store for readers next, it’s sure to be entertaining, captivating and brain-twisting. Jump on this bandwagon now, because the ride is just getting started.
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Purchase Roundabout
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Barrington Books
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