How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu ****

Charles Yu joins the ranks of Terry Pratchett, Frank Herbert, and Harry Harrison, as a creator of a unique and captivating world: Minor Universe 31 - only accessible by time machine, and peopled by virtual characters and an Operating System named TAMMY with personality issues (all an self-referential metaphor for the book).

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu combines traditional Sci Fi (especially world building and time travel) with postmodern metafiction. In this case, the science fictional universe(this book) is discovered and explored within the narrative. While this might sound convoluted and paradoxical, it is meant to be.

My favorite author is this genre is the Jasper Fforde author of the humorous and ironic Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series. As a science fiction writer, Charles Yu takes a slightly more serious approach and tends to run long and philosophical on the obvious topics of time travel and paradoxes.

I found the world engaging but the plotting weak. I look forward to the next installment.