The Oppenheimer Alternative - by Robert J Sawyer (Paperback)

About the Book

"While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a bomb based on nuclear fusion--the mechanism that powers the sun. Teller's research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system--including Earth. As the war ends with the use of fission bombs against Japan, Oppenheimer's team, plus Albert Einstein and Wernher von Braun, stay together--the greatest scientific geniuses from the last century racing against time to save our future. Meticulously researched and replete with real-life characters and events, The Oppenheimer Alternative is a breathtaking adventure through both real and alternate history."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

"Science fiction fans will devour this smart speculative tale."-Publishers Weekly

A nail-biting new science fiction thriller from Robert J. Sawyer; the all-time worldwide leader in award-wins as a science fiction or fantasy novelist.

"Well worth reading.-Analog Science Fiction and Fact

"Really great, a page turner. I was hooked from the beginning to the end."-Andre Bormanis, co-executive producer, The Orville and Cosmos

On the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb, Hugo and Nebula-winning author Robert J. Sawyer takes us back in time to revisit history...with a twist.

While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a bomb based on nuclear fusion-the mechanism that powers the sun.

Teller's research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system-including Earth.

As the war ends with the use of fission bombs against Japan, Oppenheimer's team, plus Albert Einstein and Wernher von Braun, stay together-the greatest scientific geniuses from the last century racing against time to save our future.

Meticulously researched and replete with real-life characters and events, The Oppenheimer Alternative is a breathtaking adventure through both real and alternate history.

Review Quotes

"Well-drawn alternate history, rigorous SF thriller, social commentary, redemption narrative-The Oppenheimer Alternative reimagines one of the most influential lives of the twentieth century. Well worth reading." "I loved it!" -Lee Smolin, bestselling author of The Trouble with Physics

"An imaginative restructuring of a phantasmagoric life into an alternative phantasmagorical story. Oppenheimer fans will be intrigued."-Martin J. Sherwin, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

"A truly science fictional work of alternate history which turns on the decisions-and discoveries-of the great physicists who wrote the history of the 20th century: Einstein, Fermi, Gödel, and Oppenheimer. They are the vividly realized, all-too-human characters who people this novel, and give its brilliant speculations human life and blood. Bravo!"-S.M. Stirling, author of Dies The Fire

"Incredibly realistic: the characters, locations, the era, and even the science. I felt like I was back in Los Alamos-and I should know: I worked there! Breathlessly riveting; Sawyer pulls it off masterfully."-Doug Beason, former Associate Laboratory Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory "The feel and detail of the Manhattan Project figures is deep and well done. I knew many of these physicists, and Sawyer nails them accurately."-Gregory Benford, author of The Berlin Project

"I enjoyed it tremendously! Really great, a page turner. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Another fine addition to the Sawyer canon!"-Andre Bormanis, co-executive producer, The Orville and Cosmos

"An expert and engrossing knitting of the threads of history, with genuine characters of the mid 20th Century, to weave out a compulsive fictional narrative."-Jem Rolls, author of the play The Inventor of All Things

"Sawyer portrays brilliantly and poignantly the struggles of the scientists who started it all and were consequently obliged to bear an unbearable burden."-James Christie, Chair, Project Ploughshares, member organization of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

"Sawyer has outdone himself! No one could have taken on this project with such gusto and with such a search for the truth as this outstanding author. I've never read such a complete and thrilling account of Oppenheimer's world.-Jonas Saul, author of the Sarah Roberts series

PRAISE FOR ROBERT J. SAWYER

"A new Robert J. Sawyer book is always cause for celebration."- Analog Science Fiction and Fact

"Sawyer not only has an irresistibly engaging narrative voice but also a gift for confronting thorny philosophical conundrums. At every opportunity, he forces his readers to think while holding their attention with ingenious premises and superlative craftsmanship."- Booklist

"Can Sawyer write? Yes-with near-Asimovian clarity, with energy and drive, with such grace that his writing becomes invisible as the story comes to life in your mind."- Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game

"Robert J. Sawyer is by any measure one of the world's leading (and most interesting) science-fiction writers. His fiction is a fascinating blend of intellectually compelling big ideas and humane, enduring characters."- The Globe and Mail

"Sawyer, an articulate fountain of ideas, is the genre's northern star-in fact, one of the hottest SF writers anywhere. By any reckoning Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors ever."- Maclean's: Canada's Weekly News Magazine

"Robert J. Sawyer is a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation."- The New York Times

"Sawyer's books-always rich in science, action, and profound thinking-never fail to surprise, delight, and cause us to transcend our ordinary t

About the Author

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers in history to have won all three of the science-fiction field's top awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo (which he won for Hominids), the Nebula (which he won for The Terminal Experiment), and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (which he won for Mindscan).

Sawyer's novel FlashForward was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, and he wrote the two-part finale for the acclaimed web series Star Trek Continues.

The New York Times calls Sawyer "a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation." New Scientist calls his work "scientifically plausible, fictionally intriguing, and ethically important." And The Washington Post says, "No reader seeking well-written stories that respect, emphasize, and depend on modern science should be disappointed by the works of Rob Sawyer."