Replay

This scratches my sci-fi itches both in fully exploring a “What If” premise with further and further “What If” questions, and uses the premise to examine different elements of our humanity.

I thought some of the characters behave a bit inconsistently just for the melodrama of it, and it's a bit sex obsessed at times, but overall the world and characters are very engaging and kept me guessing.

This book isn't perfect. Sometimes it glosses over events that would be hard to explain convincingly. Other times it jumps forward too abruptly. But I loved it despite the flaws. It tells the story of a man who dies of a heart attack at 43, then wakes in the past at 18, with all the memories he had before he died. This beginning unfolds in many unexpected ways, but ultimately it is a life-affirming and moving story, one I wish I'd read when I was younger, so I could benefit from the insights and even wisdom it contains. If you have ever wondered what it might have been like, if only...–then read this book.