The Man Who Saw Seconds

De: Alexander Boldizar

Narrado por: Tony Beltran

Preble Jefferson can see five seconds into the future.

Otherwise, he lives an ordinary life. But when a confrontation with a cop on a New York City subway goes tragically wrong, those seconds give Preble the chance to dodge a bullet, causing another man to die in his place.

Government agencies become aware of Preble's gift, a manhunt ensues, and their ambitions shift from law enforcement to military R&D. Preble will do whatever it takes to protect his family, but as events spiral out of control, he must weigh the cost of his gift against the loss of his humanity.

A breathless thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end, The Man Who Saw Seconds explores the nature of time, the brain as a prediction machine, and the tension between the individual and the systems we create. Alexander Boldizar provides an adrenaline-pumping listen that will leave you contemplating love, fear and the abyss.

©2024 Alexander Boldizar (P)2024 Alexander Boldizar

Interesting subject matter

I love the calm sound of the narrator, unlike some narrators I’ve had to sit through recently.
Now getting on to the story - the whole premise is so far beyond reason as to be completely unbelievable. At some point this book deviated from logic and jumped into the realm of what appears to be 80s style arguments against the Mutual Assured Destruction mindset. It’s just completely dated and no longer plausible

Great Read and Recommendation.

I liked that it is an updated version of The Golden Man by Phillip K. Dick.

Unpredictably Predictable

Good story from a very simple beginning premise. The pacing of it was very solid and story is entertaining and intriguing. Solid performance by the narrator. Really enjoyed the book. Look forward to a follow-up, possibly, based on the epilogue.

Interesting story but reader wasn’t good

The story was enjoyable and I liked the premise. It was very difficult to listen to, however, as the reader seemed to be almost AI-like with almost no pauses or variance in the tone. Recommend reading this over listening.

Boring

A better name for this book would be “The Man Who Continually Made Bad Decisions and Never Learned From Them.” I thought the book would get interesting; I keep expecting something to reward me for reading on. I read to the last word. I was disappointed; with a little imagination, Preble Jefferson’s character could have been interesting. So much potential with this story line, but to no avail.

Whoa. A very wild, thinky ride!

I just finished and reeling a bit. This book starts with a virtual bullet and doesn’t give you much time to catch your breath. Thriller pacing. But also an excellent introspection about “monsters” — political, human, evolutionary and even innocent ones. Preble Jefferson was an ordinary man born with an extraordinary gift. One he used shallowly until a split second of annoyance leads to a chase that may threaten all of humanity as we know it and perhaps change it to something quite new. The book does not wrap up the goodness or monsterness of this possible evolution. That is yet to be determined. But first contact does not go great. With meanderings into history, science, politics and the blind love of parenting among other themes — there is plenty to contemplate between epic chases. A smart thriller to savor.

Engrossing ride from start to finish!

What a great read, the story grabbed my attention early & never let go. Sharp dialogue, interestingly diverse characters, & deep concepts cleverly woven into an engaging tale. The narrator’s slightly deadpan detective noir delivery caught me off guard initially, but quickly became clear was an excellent choice to suit the story, I hope to hear him more in the future.

Intriguing to begin with but...

Starts out with a very interesting concept and then takes it to unbelievable extremes. Sort of like John Wick destroys the world and himself along with it. Almost gave up at the beginning because the narration was too fast but slowing it down made it too slow. The fast speaking was a constant issue with listening to this book.

Excellent performance

A real page turner , but fizzled out with a disappointing ending. Still an interesting storyline

Brilliant and Action-Packed

If you liked The Bourne Legacy (2012)—by far, my favorite of the franchise—or Neal Stephenson’s Reamde (2011), you’re going to love Alexander Boldizar’s The Man Who Saw Seconds (2024). The action is gripping and relentless; the ideas are crisp, clear, and meticulously well researched; and the characters (even the bad guys) are complicated, believable, charismatic, and likeable.