Blending greed and murder with the specter and consequences of time travel, The Paradox Hotel is a pulse-pounding, mind-twisting Sci-Fi thriller of the first order. Rob Hart delivers a compelling and cerebral story that probes several deep topics – the moral ambiguity and governance of time travel, the intersection of money and politics, and a person’s journey through the stages of grief and self-introspection.
The year is 2072 and January Cole, a former agent of the Time Enforcement Agency, is in charge of security at The Paradox Hotel. Yet this is no traditional hotel. Guests are dressed in the garb of bygone time periods and awaiting their flights at the nearby Einstein Intercentury Timeport, a time travel port that sends those with means back to witness historic events. And if keeping the time traveling guests safe wasn’t hard enough, the US government has made the controversial decision to sell the Timeport and hotel to help with rising financial issues, making the facilities and the trillionaires who have come to bid on them major targets. On top of this, January is suffering from a condition that gives her flashes of the future and reliving moments from her past that randomly occur while she’s trying to keep everyone safe. Oh, and there’s one other little thing – she’s investigating a murder in the hotel but no one else can see the body or the crime scene. Time is of the essence to find the murderer and figure out who’s trying to sabotage the sale…or reality as we know it might be irreparably changed.
There are 3 aspects of The Paradox Hotel that hooked me and wouldn’t let me put the book down. First is the time travel aspect. Rob Hart does a fantastic job of creating a world in which time travel exists, explains the technical aspects in a way that even a dummy like me can understand, makes it a critical aspect of the story from multiple angles and does all this while making it seem completely realistic and plausible. Second is the crime and investigation aspect. Looking beyond the time travel, we have an old-fashioned story of disgustingly rich people with hidden agendas vying to buy an extremely valuable property and they will do anything and everything to win…including sabotage and murder. Which creates the main plotline of an investigation with multiple twists and turns with danger around every corner, not knowing who you can trust and an outcome that is most certainly in doubt until the end. All hallmarks of a great detective thriller.
But the third aspect is possibly my favorite, which is the curious case of January Cole. She is an exceptional, yet deeply flawed hero that you want to root for while also wanting to wring her neck. She is fighting her own demons while trying to do her job and solve complex problems. She lashes out at people who want to help her, using dark humor as a defense mechanism which serves to push these people away just when she needs them the most. She’s trying to process her own grief and figure out how to become a better person while trying to not lose a grip on the good memories she had before tragedy befell her. And she’s facing declining health that doesn’t look to have a happy ending. All these things are incredibly relatable, make her human and easy to connect with despite her extraordinary intellect and talents.
Simply put, I loved this book! It’s a fascinating and possibly realistic look at the future of our society. You don’t have to be a sci-fi wonk to enjoy The Paradox Hotel. If you like good murder mysteries and detective stories, then The Paradox Hotel is right in your wheelhouse. I wouldn’t call myself a big sci-fi reader, but this book really hit the spot. I got the same feeling of contentment after finishing it as I did after reading Andy Weir’s books. As such, I expect The Paradox Hotel will be a huge hit with both sci-fi fans and thriller fans alike.
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