Paradox Resolution. (A Spider Webb Novel). K. A. Bedford. Calgary, AB: Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, 2012. 253 pp., trade pbk., $14.95. ISBN 978-1-894063-88-3. Grades 8 and up / Ages 13 and up. Review by Ronald Hore. ***½ /4

excerpt:

Aloysius “Spider” Webb did not look like a man who’d been to the End of Time and back. He didn’t look like a man who’d been offered ultimate power and turned it down. He looked ordinary, a middle-aged Australian bloke, a bit overweight, losing his greying hair, and with a bitter hardness about his eyes, a face that had been disappointed, and done the disappointing.

A long time ago, in another lifetime, Spider had been a promising young police officer. But then fate intervened and now he was stuck fixing broken time machines for (not much of) a living.

Though he hated time machines with the white-hot fury of a thousand suns, as they say, he did have an aptitude for the work. This surprised him very much. It helped that most time machine problems were stupidly simple, or indeed simply stupid. More often than not, Spider wanted to hit the owners around the head and shoulders with a copy of Time Machines for Dummies.

A follow-up to the earlier book, Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait, Paradox Resolution continues the adventures of Spider Webb as he struggles through his often very confusing life as a time machine repairman. He hates his job, hates his life, and hates time travel. When his new boss summons Spider to HQ, Spider fears dismissal, but instead, his boss has a simple request. A pair of children have gone missing...in a super and highly illegal time machine. To compound Spider’s troubles, his almost ex-wife, Molly, described as a mad sculptress, has a seemingly simple request. She wants him to look after her house and ailing goldfish while she leaves Australia for New York City and a showing of her works. (With a new boyfriend?). If this isn’t enough, the story opens with the severed head of Spider’s former boss, Dickhead McMahon, suddenly appearing in a closed refrigerator and trying to deliver a message to Spider.

     The confusion that follows carries on at a rapid pace, dragging Spider back into time travel and trying to solve multiple problems. The author even tips his hat to his Canadian publisher, setting one scene in Calgary (sort of) and tossing in some Canadianisms. As usual, the fate of just about everything hangs in the balance in this often amusing tale.

     The book opens with a page of praise for the author’s previous books and consists of 253 pages to tell the actual story. There are five pages at the back listing other titles by this publisher.

     Well-written and fast-paced, with emphasis on character and a sometimes confusing plot, this story will appeal to readers of science fiction and lovers of off-beat tales. Paradox Resolution should also appeal to those who enjoy a detective story and the scientific types who like to try and unravel the quantum workings of time travel. You can also just simply sit back and have a good read.

Highly Recommended.

Ronald Hore, involved with writer’s groups for several years, dabbles in writing fantasy in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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