It is absolutely amazing how many things can change all due to a single decision. The book Echo by Kenneth James Allen explores exactly that. It opens on a young man named Eli who is currently sitting in his apartment looking at the dead body of a cop while holding the gun that killed him and waiting for more cops to show up. The book then starts moving backwards to show exactly how things led to Eli having killed that cop. Earlier that day Eli had been interrogated by the cops in regards to his friends, Dylan and Tyler, deaths while trying to explain how a mysterious head ended up in his fridge without his knowledge. Jumping further back it shows Eli getting involved with the Russian mob to figure out who killed his friends and kill them in revenge, something which leads to the death of a local Korean Mafia boss. Going even further back it shows the Russian Mob killing Dylan and Tyler because they screwed up the deal between them and the Koreans. It then shows the deal going bad due to funds missing from the Russian’s bank account. The funds were mysterious stolen by a group of hackers, Dylan, Tyler and Eli, who were unaware the funds belonged to the mob.
This book was incredibly enthralling but incredibly weird in terms of storytelling style. I have heard of flashbacks before, who hasn’t in regards to literature, but this is the first time where I have seen the story literally told backwards. Instead of starting at the beginning and moving forwards scene by scene it started at the end and moved backward scene by scene. This created a really odd flow to the story and somewhat messed with the continuity of it but it also added a really different perspective to the story. One that I actually really enjoyed. However, the story added an extra layer because when it got all the way back to the scene that caused everything it then added a whole extra what-if storyline. By having one of the characters make a different decision everything changed from that point forward. I was not expecting that in the least but I found it incredibly fascinating how the only divergence point was if Eli chose to answer or not answer his phone. Something that is so innocuous that no one really thinks twice about it but still has the power to change everything. At the same time though it only changes how things play out as it doesn’t actually seem to really change the final outcome irregardless of which timeline you actually follow. I think this really showed how the more things change the more they stay the same. It does make me curious about the title, Echo, and if it has to deal with how things are similar but different. Certain events echo through the timelines and happen no matter what preceding events occur. This was definitely an interesting exploration of cause and effect and how everything is interrelated, even when we don’t realize it. The only thing I didn’t really like about the book was the fact that it really needed to be proofread a little better. There were multiple places where whole sections of sentences were missing or incomplete that made it really hard to follow what was happening at times. I seriously struggled sometimes which is not something I like admitting. Overall, the story itself was still really good so I give the book a 3.5 out of 5 starts.
This was a great example of a thriller and I would see it holding a lot of appeal to readers who prefer that genre. However, due to the experimenting with the storytelling style I could also see it appealing to readers who enjoy that kind of experimenting. It might also appeal to readers who like to read about cause and effect and how that can play out in a story. There are a few things to keep in mind though. The storytelling style can take some getting used to as it is not easy to keep track of a story that flows backward instead of forward. This story also contains a considerable amount of violence due to the inclusion of the Russian Mob and Korean Mafia and the related topics. It is both brutal and graphic at times which may not be easy for everyone to handle. I would suggest that younger readers be especially careful before trying it and that no one younger than late teens should consider reading it. It was ultimately a good book though so if you decide to try it consider sharing your thoughts in the comments. This book was acquired with the help of LibraryThing and their early reviewers program.