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Charles Wachter
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The Twin Paradox: Soon to be a Major Motion Picture Kindle Edition

by Charles Wachter (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,080 ratings
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"The Twin Paradox is one of the best science thrillers to come along since Andy Weir's The Martian." — Chris Weitz, Screenwriter, Rogue One

With ten years passing for every three minutes on a remote stretch of Texas coast, planes fall out of the sky, evolved species are on the hunt, and people die inside one of the most vicious ecosystems ever grown—all a result of the government’s efforts to slow down time.

A lot can happen in ten years. That’s the point. Governments are always racing for supremacy, for scientific breakthroughs, for technological advantages—and these things take time.

Until something goes wrong.

With the grounded yet massive world-building of READY PLAYER ONE, thrilling scientific questions of JURASSIC PARK, and the time-bending teen drama of BEFORE I FALL, Wachter’s THE TWIN PARADOX is a brilliantly plotted tale that is both intimate and massive, relentless yet deliberate, and explores the themes of self-acceptance, self-confidence, and natural selection in a richly hued and unforgettable world. Ultimately the eternal question of Nature versus Nurture is boiled down into this fast-paced thriller told over the course of five days and culminates in one single question:

Do we get to choose who we are?

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  1. Print length
    386 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    August 27, 2020
  5. File size
    5088 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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From the Publisher

Twin Paradox
fast-paced sci-fi thriller
genetic science fiction fantasy
wild science fiction thriller

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Science. Twists. Big ideas. The Twin Paradox has it all."
A.G. Riddle, international bestselling author of The Atlantis Gene.

"I loved it. Wachter's The Twin Paradox is a rare combination of fresh ideas, big thriller hooks and a great read. It's a rollercoaster of fun."
Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better

"This is skillfully structured, suspenseful, handsomely descriptive, mysterious science-fiction. It moves fast and brims with humor and wonder about morality and the nature of genius and the self. Once again, and amazingly enough, Charles Wachter manages to meet us where we are in the uncertain, ever-shifting moment."
Wesley Morris, Critic at Large, The New York Times

"It's a cracking adventure and gallops along at break-neck speed."
Jonathan Oliver, Author The Language of Beasts

"Electric, insane, and crackling with science, and characters you've never encountered. Read it, share it. You won't forget it."
Dick Cook, Former Chairman, Walt Disney Studios

"This book is filled with surprises, intrigue, and lots of dark fun. Loved it."
Jon Turteltaub, Director, The Meg & National Treasure

"... a worthy addition to the genre that Michael Crichton perfected. The summer techno-thriller."
Jake Halpern, New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize Winner

From the Author

Visit charleswachter.com for more on the world of The Twin Paradox. Sign up for the newsletter and more information about the sequel, DIVINE PARADOX coming 2022.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08FZW67K3
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Trevaney Bay (August 27, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 27, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5088 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 386 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1735361224
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,080 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Charles Wachter

Charles Wachter

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Charles Wachter is an Emmy award-winning Executive Producer and author, having written and produced over thirty-five television series and films. He graduated from Yale University and has a master's degree from NYU Graduate film.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
1,080 global ratings
Incredible ride, beyond words!!
5 Stars
Incredible ride, beyond words!!
This book is a wave in constant flux, between view points. Eventually coming together into a single detrimental and thought provoking resolution. I'd highly this book regarding the prose, science, and moral/ethics status that is always at the forefront. Enjoy!!
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Top reviews from the United States

Gypsy River
5.0 out of 5 stars My pitch would be STRANGER THINGS Meets Jurassic Park
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2024
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Really liked this book. It's so full of death defying adventure with monsters both human and animal, the Bone People, and plenty of evil doers to go around. Then you add the group high schoolers who find out about their shared unique heritage. They are faced with deciding who they are and what they will do with their talents. Throw in a Particle Accelerator that bends time, Spies who like the teens have a special history and I liked the grown-ups too. Jimmy and his Dad were well drawn and Pentagon Paul and even Joseph and Ralls had their moments. By-the-way, what happened to Joseph at the end?

Spoiler Alert:
Favorite part is when the kids were in the long hallway with all the rooms that would speed up time once you went inside. They were trying to escape the bad guys and it was kind of like one of those old time movies where people would pop into a rooms in a long hallway to escape their enemy and then pop out again.

Bottom line this story really needs a Netflix treatment rather than a Motion Picture. Too much going on for just a 2 hour movie. Could be the next Stranger Things people. Just my humble opinion.
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Steve Walter
4.0 out of 5 stars This is Definitely a SciFi Book. It Definitely has a lot of Action in it. It Is Most Definitely DIFFICULT to Keep All of the Characters Straight.
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2024
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The first chapters of this book take you into weird, seemingly unrelated circumstances (because, for instance, Chapter #1 makes references to lots of science and DNA, whereas Chapter 2 is the complete opposite and seems to have nothing to do with this book).

It’s hard wanting to continue reading this book, after the first couple of chapters, because it seems so disjointed and there are no apparent threads trying to tie the writing together.

If The Reader has LOTS of patience, though, the plot finally begins to coagulate — and yes, that’s about the best word I can think of to describe The Author’s attempts at a plot.

The last 2/3 of the book have a lot more energy in it, and this helps to keep The Reader interested … unfortunately, it’s very hard to keep the story and characters straight, and The Author jumps around A LOT.
Then, you have to add in that Time Travel is inherently confusing in the first place — combined with the incredibly complex and confusing world that all of the book’s characters have been thrust into — and you might then begin to understand the difficulty The Author has in keeping all of his meandering plots straight so that The Reader understands everything that’s happening. Unfortunately, The Author fails, and fails in miserable ways that just further confuse The Reader. Oh, well.

And, one last thing — The Author completely neglects providing details about Catherine The Great … she’s alluded to, disposed of and regenerated multiple times in this book … but is she really? The Author seemed to clearly state she wasn’t! And, if you think I don’t make any sense with this Review Comment — WAIT until you read about Catherine The Great in the book!
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Fingertuppen
3.0 out of 5 stars Not plausible
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2020
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Like: the story is very interesting, tense, dynamic, fast pacing. Premises — time warping, exotic ecosystem, people that evolved differently — all that is ok. I didn’t put it down even though I wanted to do it many times.
Dislike: a lot of factual errors. The author thinks that he can just take a random row of letters, set an “-ova” in the end and whup — you get Yaektova, which is as Russian name as Ginvpsdubfrd is American. Btw about Russians: the author knows absolutely nothing about modern Russia, he is stuck in 1950s, with all these “mass suffering” and “gulag”. Absolutely unrealistic. Ok, he calls Joseph Stalin for Russian (Stalin was Georgian), he calls Djengis for Chinese (he was Mongolian) — ok, bc Americans usually have no idea about other people in this world, and the geography is not in school program. But when I came to “Comodo dragon from Galápagos” ... my patience was gone.
And I don’t think that the evolution of the ecosystem could go so fast and so “other way” in just million years, sorry. Not plausible!!
3 people found this helpful
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Kid's Word Cookbook author
5.0 out of 5 stars No real twins and no real paradox
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2021
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The twins in this book are not twins in the true sense of the word. They are clones of famous people, such as Albert Einstein, Leonardo Davinci, Isaac Newton, Catherine the Great and Martin Luther King. The concept of cloning alone would provide many plot lines for any book, but the clone concept isn’t even the source of the main plot line in this novel. That would be the manipulation of time based on the principle of relativity, with the mechanism being a huge particle accelerator. Scientists build this device to create an artificial world in Texas that runs on its own time, orders of magnitude faster than the outside world. The purpose of this experiment is to speed up the development of new technologies. The downside is that the people who live in this world age much faster than those on the outside and don’t really get to enjoy the fruits of their work. If one member of a real set of twins lived in this accelerated world and one stayed on the outside, the one on the inside would be much older when he met his twin on the outside again. This situation is the classical twin paradox, which of course, was proved by Einstein not to really be a paradox, as the two twins travel down different spacetime pathways.

Another plotline involves the creatures and societies that result in this accelerated world, so as you can see, there is really a lot going on in this book. Not to mention some nefarious forces and sinister people from other countries who are out to sabotage the heroes of the story.

Very original and very creative. You’ll have a fun time reading this entertaining novel.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Kater
5.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected- in the best possible way!
Reviewed in Canada on August 28, 2020
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My husband and I both read this at the same time - and couldn’t put it down! This is such a fantastic, mind-bending adventure that has remained in my psyche since turning the last page. Wachter has a gift for descriptions that transport you to the very center of each heart-pounding scene - and I can promise you there are plenty of those to spare!
This book was not what I expected at all - and I absolutely loved it for that. So many surprises, mind-bending concepts, so many twists, and a rich pool of characters that most definitely should make another appearance (especially Milk ;). We devoured this book!!!
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Lihsia Jiang
5.0 out of 5 stars Roller coaster ride of a read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2021
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I loved this book. The premise is so unique. I loved the world building. The characters were fun and flawed in the best kind of way. The action is fast paced and frenetic.

I wished some parts had taken a little more time to explore. Such as the “villains” dichotomy over whether they were a product of DNA or upbringing.
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Louise
4.0 out of 5 stars Love the principle - really enjoyed this for the most part
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2021
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Politics, power, evolution, nature/nurture, TIME(!) hits at a lot of big issues in a solid sci fi. At times it was a little OTT for me, but overall really enjoyable.
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Jamie Glover
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, fast paced, creative - a great read!
Reviewed in Canada on September 7, 2020
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What an exciting read! You are grabbed immediately by the plot and then it moves with nice pace. Really interesting characters, good development, natural dialogue. The book also seemed really well researched - there are interesting facts here and there that make it seem real (e.g., risks in deep sea scuba diving, how a plane stays in the air), though these never bog down the storyline. Full of creative ideas too - the right amount of interesting pieces that come together really nicely.

In the end, lots of fun. Can’t wait for the big screen version!
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Avid Reader
2.0 out of 5 stars They're not Twins; They're Clones
Reviewed in Canada on May 29, 2021
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I found this story heavy sledding. Like most plots that mess with time-travel, sequence is often hard to follow, much of it seemed just too improbable - even for science fiction, and you "couldn't tell the players without a program" - i.e. several of the characters seemed to blur together. Terrifyingly enough, there's a sequel though I guess that's to be expected as this one just sort of petered out at the end. I can see this becoming a cult favorite among certain groups but I think I'm too old to be included in their number.
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