Branches - Paperback

by Adam Peter Johnson (Author)

SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE THE WORLD TOOK A WRONG TURN ... WHAT IF IT DID?

If you discovered you were living the wrong life, would you leave everything behind to get back to the right one? And what would you find on the other side?

"A powerful piece of inventive and topical science fiction [that] will undoubtedly resonate with readers in a way that many stories reach for, but few achieve." -The BookLife Prize

"Rings frightfully true. A precision hit on a raw nerve." -Stella Jorette, author of Harmony Lost

"A story of emotional discovery and depth that left me breathless by the last fateful word." -BookBub review

For one man and his family, the past few years have been a downward spiral. The sudden loss of his mother. A series of debilitating seizures. The rise of a fascist leader and a successful coup to retain power, a nightmare that unfolds through endless doomscrolling online and grows closer to home by the day.

Fearing for the safety of his wife and son, he's shocked to discover the explanation for his seizures: he's been living in the wrong universe. A drug trial promises to return him to the timeline where he belongs. With his job gone and tanks in the streets, he jumps at the opportunity.

Take a trip through the multiverse filled with surprises and second chances. Travel paths not taken. Question the nature of fate. And search for an answer to the biggest question of all: in a world that feels like it's spinning out of control, is it possible for one person to make a difference?

Now an international Amazon bestseller, Branches is a story about facing the constant anxieties of the twenty-first century, the thin line that separates comfort from chaos, and the role we play in determining our fate. It's perfect for fans of character-driven science fiction, with readers calling it "Memento meets It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Man in the High Castle for the doomscrolling era."

REVIEWS

"Branches by Adam Peter Johnson is a unique piece of time travel fiction, and for a first novel, it's essentially a masterpiece. ... If you've enjoyed Matt Haig's The Midnight Library, or are looking for a science-fiction book dealing with alternate histories and time travel, then I think you'll fall in love with this novel." -Bookwormex

"This book gave me an existential crisis, but in a good way. It's incredibly thoughtful sci-fi." -Kevin E. Carlson, author of Jade Fall

"Several weeks later, the book has stayed with me. Especially the ending, which the author gets absolutely right. He has something important to say." -Paul Clark, author of The Price of Dreams

"Part dystopian, part all-too-familiar reality ... walks an imaginative line between what we think we know and what actually is." -Stories on Stage Davis

"Lovers of alternate histories will find much that fascinates [in] this bold experiment in timelines and trauma." -BookLife

"This is sci-fi with both brains and a heart. ... A brilliantly insightful debut. ★★★★★" -BookBub review

"I did not want to put it down, and I did not stop thinking about it after. ★★★★★" -Amazon review

"If you were a fan of Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, this is for you. ★★★★★" -GoodReads review