Strange Attractors Summary
William Sleator

Strange Attractors Summary

Strange Attractors is a thriller, a monstrous roller coaster ride through time and worlds of imagination rarely equaled. In it, a teenager is trapped by desires he barely comprehends, a desire to hold fast onto a "phaser," a desire to be close to a young woman who might kill him, as well as by a scientist who may be truly insane—or perhaps both of them are. From 33,019 B.C. to a future in which time is in chaos, rushing, slowing, spinning, Max visits places that are ordinary, other ones that defy logic, and lands that are exotic. Which way is up, where is the future, and why can bifurcations kill? The answers may lie in "strange attractors."

(read more from the Short Guide)