I've been looking all over Google, Wikipedia, and numerous other sites to no avail in this search. Now Google has directed me here, and I'm hoping one of you can help.
I remember reading a good book in high school (1996-2001) but I can't remember the name or author.
The book was largely about faster-than-light and time travel, and I think the word "time" was even somewhere in the title. What made the book interesting for me was that time travel was not accomplished in ways I was accustomed to seeing then. (Push of a button, or step through some on-demand generated portal, 88 MPH, etc.) Instead, it followed the protagonist - a wealthy executive of some technology company I think - as he developed his own FTL technologies and spacecraft, and eventually found a way to artificially create wormholes and use those along with his FTL ships for time travel. I could be wrong about the "technology company" part, though - it may have just been some company that saw need for or benefit from FTL and wormhole technology, and developed it from there.
I seem to clearly recall the name "Wisneski" (or maybe "Wisniewski", or some other variant) being attached to one of the wormhole technologies in the book (i.e.: the character used a "Wisneski Wormhole" to travel to the past/future) but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the main character's name.
The book also included some common time paradoxes. One in particular involved the main character being attacked by himself from the future, and later in the book he returns to that time to play the "attacker" role in that event. There may have even been a point in the book where there were three "copies" of the character interacting with each other, and the book would have covered the experiences of each "copy" from the perspective of the "original" as he went through them.
Something else that has come to mind is that the original discovery of wormholes in this book may have been through some natural force or alien biology, which was later duplicated technologically by the "Wisneski" character.
I would guess the book was originally published in the 90s or 80s, but probably not any earlier than that. It did seem fairly new or at least in good condition when I read it, but I don't recall any particular advertising or hype surrounding it at the time.
Does anyone recognize this book, or know of any good search engines (other than the generic Internet spiders) that could help me with this? I know my thoughts above are probably scattered and a little vague, but I'm hoping there's enough there for someone else who has read and knows this book to be able to recognize it.
Thanks in advance.
- Iszi
[EDIT]
A couple other possible details that just popped into my head:
The wormhole mouths were fairly small and transportable - think "Stargate" and that's probably about the right idea. There was probably even use of the wormholes while on board a spacecraft, and a few could exist within close proximity to each other. I'm pretty sure that carrying a wormhole mouth at FTL speeds was key in using them to achieve time travel.
Also I recall a fairly non-conventional means used to support the human body during acceleration to FTL speeds. (By non-conventional, I mean not using some ambiguous form of "inertial dampener" technology.) Particular items related to this might have included a breathable liquid in which the traveler was immersed, and a specialized couch.
[EDIT 2]
Sorry, more stuff just keeps coming. It's frustrating that I remember so much about this book, but can't remember the name!
There was at least one time where the protagonist went to visit his family in the future. The first time he does this, (from his perspective) one of the family members mentions having already enjoyed several similar visits.
Somebody please help me before I go insane and (re)write this book myself!
I remember reading a good book in high school (1996-2001) but I can't remember the name or author.
The book was largely about faster-than-light and time travel, and I think the word "time" was even somewhere in the title. What made the book interesting for me was that time travel was not accomplished in ways I was accustomed to seeing then. (Push of a button, or step through some on-demand generated portal, 88 MPH, etc.) Instead, it followed the protagonist - a wealthy executive of some technology company I think - as he developed his own FTL technologies and spacecraft, and eventually found a way to artificially create wormholes and use those along with his FTL ships for time travel. I could be wrong about the "technology company" part, though - it may have just been some company that saw need for or benefit from FTL and wormhole technology, and developed it from there.
I seem to clearly recall the name "Wisneski" (or maybe "Wisniewski", or some other variant) being attached to one of the wormhole technologies in the book (i.e.: the character used a "Wisneski Wormhole" to travel to the past/future) but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the main character's name.
The book also included some common time paradoxes. One in particular involved the main character being attacked by himself from the future, and later in the book he returns to that time to play the "attacker" role in that event. There may have even been a point in the book where there were three "copies" of the character interacting with each other, and the book would have covered the experiences of each "copy" from the perspective of the "original" as he went through them.
Something else that has come to mind is that the original discovery of wormholes in this book may have been through some natural force or alien biology, which was later duplicated technologically by the "Wisneski" character.
I would guess the book was originally published in the 90s or 80s, but probably not any earlier than that. It did seem fairly new or at least in good condition when I read it, but I don't recall any particular advertising or hype surrounding it at the time.
Does anyone recognize this book, or know of any good search engines (other than the generic Internet spiders) that could help me with this? I know my thoughts above are probably scattered and a little vague, but I'm hoping there's enough there for someone else who has read and knows this book to be able to recognize it.
Thanks in advance.
- Iszi
[EDIT]
A couple other possible details that just popped into my head:
The wormhole mouths were fairly small and transportable - think "Stargate" and that's probably about the right idea. There was probably even use of the wormholes while on board a spacecraft, and a few could exist within close proximity to each other. I'm pretty sure that carrying a wormhole mouth at FTL speeds was key in using them to achieve time travel.
Also I recall a fairly non-conventional means used to support the human body during acceleration to FTL speeds. (By non-conventional, I mean not using some ambiguous form of "inertial dampener" technology.) Particular items related to this might have included a breathable liquid in which the traveler was immersed, and a specialized couch.
[EDIT 2]
Sorry, more stuff just keeps coming. It's frustrating that I remember so much about this book, but can't remember the name!
There was at least one time where the protagonist went to visit his family in the future. The first time he does this, (from his perspective) one of the family members mentions having already enjoyed several similar visits.
Somebody please help me before I go insane and (re)write this book myself!
Last edited:
