Paradox Resolution

K.A. Bedford

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

Aloysius 'Spider' Webb fixes time machines for a living. He hates his job; he hates his life, and hates time travel even more. He's a hard working Australian bloke - a good man in a bad situation - who is willing to do almost anything to regain his self-respect and the affection of his nearly ex-wife, Molly; a mad sculptress on her way to international fame and fortune.

Spider's life and his world are changing. After quitting the Western Australian Police Service, Spider studied to become a time machine repair mechanic, eking out a sparse living fixing broken down machines. But the repair business isn't what it used to be. Once, time machines were as big as cars; but now they're smaller and compact, portable, and cost too much to get fixed so it's easier for people to simply buy a new one.

Times are tough and there is no end in sight. Meanwhile, Spider's new boss at the Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait franchise needs help: his secretly built, totally illegal, radically overclocked, hot-rod time machine has been stolen, and Spider is the right man to get it back before it falls into the wrong hands, or worse inadvertently destroys the entire universe. Spider's journey begins with a simple favor to help his almost ex-wife, Molly, and moves to the icy wastes of the far, far future. Surprise and shock are the only constants in Spider's life; why should this job be any different?

'I have to say I really liked this book, and think K. A. Bedford a writer easily capable of taking his place with better-known contemporary sf authors like Alister Reynolds, Ken McLeod, and Paul McAuley.'

Review by Paul Lappen (010426) Rating (9/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 9/10
This is the second novel about Aloysius ‘Spider’ Webb, your average individual just trying to get through the day. Of course, it is not that easy.

A former member of the Western Australia Police, Webb was forced out because he became a whistleblower. In a world where time machines are cheap and portable, Webb is eking out a living as a time machine repairman. Most of his business is caused by people who are too impatient, or too stupid, to read the directions.

Things get weird when, one day, in the breakroom refrigerator, Webb finds the severed head of his much-disliked ex-boss, Dickhead McMahon. Iris Street, the local Police Inspector who deals with time travel matters, and who hates time travel as much as Webb, is called in. Footage from the surveillance camera shows no sign of any intruders.

Meantime, Mr. Patel, Webb's new boss, has a huge problem. His young son, Vijay, and Phoebe, a neighbour’s child, have taken Mr. Patel's very tricked-out, and very illegal time machine, and disappeared. There is no time machine equivalent of a GPS system, so they could have gone to the distant past or future. Patel asks for Webb's help in finding them.

Webb hears of a concentration camp for time travellers in the far future. Using Patel's other time machine, a working, exact copy of the machine used in the 1960 film, Webb and Street take a trip to the far future. Do they find Vijay and Phoebe? Do they stop the destruction of the universe? Do they survive?

This is a fine piece of writing from start to finish. It does a really good job exploring the societal impact of a huge technology like personal time travel. Things might get a little convoluted toward the end, but this is still highly recommended.
Paul Lappen (1st April 2026)