Replay (Grimwood novel)
First edition cover
|
|
| Author | Ken Grimwood |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Larry Ratzkin |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Arbor House |
|
Publication date
|
January 1986 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 311 p. |
| ISBN | (hardback edition) & (paperback edition) |
| OCLC | 13701262 |
| 813/.54 19 | |
| LC Class | PS3557.R497 R4 1986 |
Replay is a time loop novel by Ken Grimwood first published by Arbor House in 1986. It won the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.
The novel tells of a 43-year-old man who dies and wakes up back in 1963 in his 18-year-old body. He then relives his life with all his memories intact of the previous 25 years. This happens repeatedly with the man playing out his life differently in each cycle. The premise was explored earlier by Richard A. Lupoff in his 1973 short story "12:01". The novel was a bestseller in Japan, and its time-loop concept has been referenced as a precursor of Harold Ramis' comedy-drama Groundhog Day (1993).
Replay is the account of 43-year-old radio journalist Jeff Winston, who dies of a heart attack in 1988 and awakens back in 1963 in his 18-year-old body as a student at Atlanta's Emory University. He then begins to relive his life with intact memories of the next 25 years, until, despite his best efforts at cardiac health, he dies of a heart attack, again, in 1988. He immediately returns to 1963, but several hours later than the last "replay". This happens repeatedly with different events in each cycle, each time beginning from increasingly later dates (first days, then weeks, then years, then ultimately decades). Jeff soon realizes that he cannot prevent his death in 1988, but he can change the events that occur before it, both for him, and for others.
During one subsequent replay, Jeff takes notice of a highly acclaimed film, Starsea, that has become a huge success at the box office in 1974. The film is written and produced by an unknown filmmaker, Pamela Phillips, who has recruited Steven Spielberg to direct and George Lucas, as a special effects supervisor, before the two shot to stardom with their own projects. Because the film did not exist in previous replays, Jeff suspects that Pamela is also experiencing the same phenomenon. He locates her and asks her questions about future films which only a fellow replayer would know, confirming his suspicions.
...
Wikipedia