Overstrike: Volume 1 of the Fixpoint trilogy by CM Angus

'When Matt Howard’s grandfather told him he must alter history to protect his newborn son, Matt thought the old man was crazy…

… Then he realised it was true.

Overstrike spans 4 generations of a family haunted by the prospect of an approaching alternate reality where their child has been erased from history.

Touching on themes of retro-causality, ethics and free will, and exploring ideas of cause, effect and retribution, it follows the path of Matt Howard, whose child, Ethan, is at risk, as he, his father and grandfather attempt to use their own abilities to manipulate reality in order to discover and prevent whoever is threatening Ethan.

Overstrike is volume I of Fixpoint, a trilogy about a family who discover their inherited ability to manipulate reality. It enables them to effect changes in order to safeguard themselves and all that they hold dear. But even seemingly small changes in a timeline can have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences. Follow the stories of the Howards, on a journey exploring reality, time and our own sense of self.'



MY REVIEW
When I heard that this book was about the multiverse, I was immediately intrigued. The science in this book is pretty plausible and I liked its interweaving with the family dynamic of four generations of the Howard family - the youngest of whom will be killed in the future unless their forebears utilise their unique talent for bending time and matter to their will to ensure their descendent's survival.

The great thing about the Howards is their relentless ordinariness. They're a lower middle-class family doing ordinary things - apart from their inherited condition of being able to see the Rift - all the parallel universes that exist side by side with ours. As a rapacious and increasingly fascist British government attempts to control the Howards' innate skill to its own nefarious ends, the family becomes increasingly wily in outwitting them, building up to a truly wonderful climax in preparation for book 2 of the series. It was an absolute page-turner in its final moments and you can't say any fairer than that.

That said, I felt the female characters in this book were underused and seemed rather passive and unquestioning of the husbands who are constantly absent with no explanation. Hopefully this will be addressed in book 2.

It's a great concept that would translate well to film, I think, it reminded me very much of 'Years and Years' in terms of its epic sweep and use of bodily invasive tech.

Author Bio
CM Angus, author and writer of Speculative fiction, Sci-fi and Horror grew up in the North East of England and now lives in Yorkshire with his wife and children. He is interested in all things creative & technological.

Currently working on Fixpoint, a series of books with each piece tackling different aspects of discontinuities in time and is a Speculative Fiction spanning 4 generations of a family haunted by the prospect of an approaching alternate reality where their child has been erased from history.

Overstrike, Volume 1 of Fixpoint, will be published by Elsewhen Press in early 2020.

To buy in the UK, click here.
To buy in the US, click here.

Follow CM Angus on Twitter here.