The Paradox Hotel : a novel / Rob Hart.
Record details
- ISBN: 1984820648 : HRD
- ISBN: 9781984820648 : HRD
- ISBN: 9781984820648
- ISBN: 1984820648
- Physical Description: pages cm
- Edition: First Edition.
- Publisher: New York : Ballantine Books, [2022]
Content descriptions
Summary, etc.: | "A locked-room murder mystery set at a hotel for time travelers--in which a detective must solve an impossible crime before her own grip on reality crumbles--from the author of The Warehouse On any ordinary day, the Fairbanks--affectionately known to its staff as the Paradox Hotel--is packed with ultra-rich tourists dressed for a dozen different time periods, all anxiously waiting to catch their "flights" to the past. And as if that weren't strange enough, proximity to the timeport makes for some odd side effects. The clocks run backwards on occasion, and ghosts sometimes stroll the halls--or so it's whispered. Now, though, half a dozen of the world's most powerful people have arrived for a summit. Or maybe auction's a better word. The prize: no less than control of time-travel technology itself. On top of that, the hotel's snowed in, and the timeline's acting even stranger than usual. Which means nobody's leaving until further notice. And there's a killer on the loose. Or, at least, that's what head of security January Cole suspects. Except the corpse she's found is one that, somehow, only she can see. And the accidents starting to befall their prestigious guests...well, the only way those could be assassination attempts is if the killer's operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once. Which is surely impossible. And...well, even January's got to admit her credibility's not as strong as it could be. Because her gig here amounts to paid retirement, a pity posting for a former agent whose temporal perceptions have been so scrambled by the effects of timeline radiation that she's not fit for active duty. January's sure her condition is letting her glimpse something others can't. But she also knows her symptoms are getting worse--which means she might not solve this puzzle before she loses her grip on reality altogether"-- Provided by publisher. |
Search for related items by subject
Genre: | Mystery fiction. |
Available copies
- 20 of 20 copies available at Bibliomation. (Show)
- 3 of 3 copies available at Bridgeport Public Library.
Holds
- 1 current hold with 20 total copies.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Burroughs-Saden Main - Bridgeport | MYS HART (Text) | 34000151311149 | Adult Mystery | Available | - |
Newfield Branch - Bridgeport | MYS HART (Text) | 34000151311164 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
North Branch - Bridgeport | MYS HART (Text) | 34000151311156 | Adult Mystery | Available | - |
Publishers Weekly Review
The Paradox Hotel : A Novel
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Time travel has been monetized in this stellar SF thriller from Hart (The Warehouse). The U.S. government charges the 1% "hundreds of thousands of dollars to see the first-ever public showing of Hamlet or visit the Library of Alexandria," but it's still losing money on the hyperexpensive operation. That leads to a privatization initiative, and several trillionaires arrive at the Paradox Hotel to make their proposal to buy the Einstein Intercentury Timeport. Their presence is a headache for hotel security head January Cole, who's suffering deleterious health side effects from entering the time stream frequently and overwhelming grief from the accidental death of her lover, Mena, a waitress at the Paradox. When January sees a stabbed corpse in a guest room that no one else can see, including her smart-ass AI assistant, Ruby, she endeavors to determine whether there's a real murder to investigate or whether it's an apparition that's a symptom of her illness. The twists keep coming without simplifying January's mental struggles in this impressive melding of creative plotting and three-dimensional characters. Hart remains a writer to watch. Agent: Josh Getzler, HG Literary. (Feb.)
Kirkus Review
The Paradox Hotel : A Novel
Kirkus Reviews
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Timey-wimey mysteries vex a singular hotel's damaged in-house detective. In 2072, those with hundreds of thousands of dollars to spare can use the federally owned Einstein Intercentury Timeport to see Shakespeare stage Hamlet, watch the Battle of Gettysburg, or witness countless other bygone events. A tram ride away from Einstein is the Paradox Hotel, where guests can obtain costuming, earpiece translators, and era-specific vaccines. Individual "flights" are relatively safe, but frequent travel can be risky; just ask former time cop January Cole, who spent her early career riding the timestream to prevent tourists from altering history and is now Unstuck, a condition that causes her perception to--temporarily and without warning--jump into her past or future. January left the field years ago to police the Paradox, but though the move has done little to slow her ailment's progression, she refuses to retire, as her slips often provide glimpses of her late girlfriend, Mena, who used to work on-site. The U.S. government is hemorrhaging money, so a senator and four trillionaires are holding a summit at the Paradox to discuss Einstein's privatization. The security logistics alone are a nightmare, but factor in strange time fluctuations and a phantom corpse in Room 526 and you have the recipe for a disaster only January can thwart--provided her mind stays put. Inventive action, breakneck pacing, and a delightfully acerbic yet achingly vulnerable first-person-present narration distinguish this speculative noir stunner, which meditates on grief while exploring issues of inequity and determinism. The worldbuilding can feel hand-wavy, and the supporting cast is so large as to occasionally confuse, but on balance, Hart delivers a riveting read likely to win him scores of new fans. Funny, thrilling, poignant, and profound. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
BookList Review
The Paradox Hotel : A Novel
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Hart follows up his highly praised The Warehouse (2019) with this nifty murder mystery set at a hotel. But this is not your typical hotel. The Paradox Hotel caters to the clientele of a government-run time-travel facility. January Cole, the hotel's security chief, has a lot on her plate, what with a bunch of trillionaires coming to the Paradox, each with his or her own special demands, and the last thing she needs is a murder. At least, she thinks there's been a murder. She's pretty sure there's a body, even though she's the only person who can see it. There's a distinct possibility she's imagining it, but there's also the possibility that the corpse exists in a different time, and that January's getting glimpses of the body because she is not, shall we say, entirely anchored in the now. This wildly ambitious, well-executed genre-bender is suspenseful, clever, and funny.