I've read quite a few of Dan Simmons' novels and have enjoyed them all. I was somewhat concerned by the low ratings I saw some readers here and on Amazon giving this book, thinking that maybe it wasn't up to Simmons' normally high standards. Well, after reading Flashback, let me assure you this book while different than other books he's written, is every bit as excellent as any of his earlier works including Carrion Comfort. The world he's created here is dark but believable and the character development is excellent as always.

Perhaps the reason for the negative reviews is that the author tells it like it and completely ignores political correctness. Reading this book made it easy for me to understand why it was one of the top best selling thrillers of 2011. ( )

A very good thriller, intense, complex, and with surprises. Do not let the bad reviews from Americans, too offended by the poor future that the book hypothesizes for their country, turn you away from this entertaining read! ( )

This book was pretty scary because of its relevance to what could happen in the near future if things get worse rather than better. It makes the assumption that the economy never really recovers after the Obama presidency, and that we become overburdened with entitlement programs that we can't afford, and worse. Things get so bad that most people in the US use a drug called Flashback to dwell on the past instead of the present and future.

Against that backdrop is a mystery that seems to be unsolvable, an old case that falls back into the lap of a former police investigator who only wants to use the flashback drug to remember the good times with his deceased wife, who has given up on his son and most everything else. Pretty bleak.

I have read a lot of Dan Simmons, and this one did not disappoint me. ( )

This was 'Left Behind' for the Tea Party set. That said. I enjoyed it. I liked that he committed to it. His world was believable. It was a manifestation of the slippery-slope argument. ( )

I'm not American so I don't really understand why people are upset about a dystopian story because of politics. It's like being upset about P K Dicks dystopian visions because of drugs. If you think this particular future is implausible I recommend suspension of disbelief - with that the book is really enjoyable if a bit silly (how can you be upset about a book with a talking t-shirt with a portrait of Putin). ( )