The Epoch Index [Kindle Edition]

I liked Containment, and Human Legacy Project was just as good. Brainbox was good, but the story itself was not very attractive to me. Now, if Containment and HLP were excellent, then Epoch Index was excellent to the 10th power.

In the other 3 Cantrell's that I've read, he has done a great job of 'creating' new technology, but in Epoch, what he did was 'explore' whole new branches of science. Epoch Index is absolutely amazing, and brings Cantrell to the level of Asimov, Card, Verne and Wells.

I always enjoy how his stories develop from events that are going on today, be it climate change, the shutting down of NASA, recycling, etc; but in this case he has completely outdone his other works by referencing the LHC and creating a whole new branch of science. I don't want to give away parts of the plot, but thank you Mr. Cantrell for bringing Science Fiction back to life, where it is not just cool lasers that are used, but where science is invented and created. The genre is called Science Fiction for a reason, although lately, most new SF works should fall under the 'Technology Fiction' genre. That has been truly disappointing to me, and I welcome the 'return' of good Sci-Fi.

The plot is unbelievably crazy and awesome (for lack of better words). The plot twists along with the alternating points of view make Epoch Index a story full of suspense and thrill.
I once again note how good Cantrell's endings are. They are hard to surpass.

The book description didn't get me interested in the book, as it didn't sound too much like Science Fiction. The cover looked interesting and having read Cantrell's other works, I knew I liked his style, so I choose to read it, and I don't regret it. Trust me, it is Science Fiction, and it is probably the best you will have read in a long time.

As with all of Cantrell's stories, this one is too short. Please make it longer! The story in Epoch Index is too good to be so short.

A great read overall, highly recommended.

"... the micro-meteor: an incredibly tiny, very high velocity, and very hot projectile that pierces the heart or brain so quickly that it's usually mistaken for a headache or indigestion until the triggerman is enjoying an espresso and a scone at least three blocks away. When coroners measure cauterized entrance and exit wounds of less than a millimeter in diameter, nobody ever bothers looking for the slug"
This is how Cantrell describes just one of the several terrifying assassin tools-of-the-trade that haunt his stories - often leaving me cringing (in the best sense) from the vivid imagery. His plots are short, succinct and so powerful that their message linger and rattle around in my head for several days after reading. Once started, they're impossible to put down so allot your time accordingly for you will read them to the end in one sitting. Fortunately for those who pride themselves on being punctual, these novellas require less time to read than it would take to plow through a newspaper but for me, I always end up back on the Amazon site looking for another.

I know of no place else where I can receive so much value for less than a dollar. His novellas stack up well with the finest in the genre - or any genre for that matter.
Thank you Mr. Cantrell. Keep up the great work!
KK

If you are the good or bad guy, do you do whatever it takes to prevent atrocities? In T3: Rise of the Machines, future leaders of the human resistance were offed by a terminator long before they were knew anything about war. In Lost, Benjamin Linus received a fatal gunshot wound at the age of 12, but because he was not yet the man he would eventually become, he was given the necessary treatment to survive. So do the ends justify the means? Is doing bad for the greater good wrong? These are the indirect questions The Epoch Index compels you the think on when you finish the book.

Slightly longer than most of Cantrell's other short stories, but yet still short and easily finished in under an hour, this is another great Cantrell read. My only issue was the amount of information given for how "perfect" everything had to be for Ranveer. How he never waited, everything was tailored to his ultimately petty yet consistent needs. Fortunately this is mostly covered in the first chapter and I felt that it did not really lend to rest of the story. He's an unapologetic assassin on a mission that comes from an unlikely source at an unimaginable time with an unforeseen connection. Yet again, this story will make you think long after you finished it.