The Winding

Time Corrector Series Book 1

Fiction - Science Fiction
324 Pages
Reviewed on 12/30/2021
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

Dr. Avi Datta is the author of The Winding, book one in his debut sci-fi, time-travel series. He is a Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Illinois State University. He is also the director of the University’s Center for Entrepreneurial studies. He researches and publishes in Radical Innovation, Management of Innovation, Technology Strategy, and Strategic Entrepreneurship. Outside his day job, he is a writer, an avid painter, a watch collector, and a coffee enthusiast who enjoys classic rock and western classical music.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite

One can only take so many blows from life and Professor Vincent Abajian, the Director of the Center of Inventive Studies, knew this better than anyone. It was in the late fall of 1991 when it happened. A young Vincent listened to his headmaster, Mr. Kruger, as he explained that Akane Egami, Vincent’s best friend and the only family he knew, had been consumed by time turbulence. It was on this same day that Vincent knew he had supernatural abilities. Close to three decades later, still crippled with the pain from the uncertainty of ever seeing his best friend, Vincent loses his wife Elise to an alleged plane crash. Perhaps fate had sworn to forever take away the people Vincent loved, and that would explain a lot since he had been an orphan from a very young age. However, Vincent finds love in his research center’s newest employee Emika Amari, and cannot help but notice how alike Emika is to Akane. Could Emika be Akane? Vincent meets Mr. Philip Nardin, a tech enthusiast who is experienced in time turbulence. How will Nardin’s knowledge of time travel affect Vincent and Emika? Or perhaps, how do Vincent’s special abilities affect his and Emika’s lives? Find out more about Vincent and Emika in Avi Datta’s The Winding.

Do you love engaging your mind in an intellectually stimulating read? A story that pleasantly teases your ability to grasp and perceive information with every flip of the page? A story that is packed with adventure and amazing action? Are you a science fiction enthusiast? You definitely don’t want to miss out on Avi Datta’s The Winding if your answer is yes. I cannot applaud Avi Datta’s work enough in this book. The Winding is a masterpiece, so far the best science fiction book I’ve ever read. With a gripping and engrossing plot, Avi Datta adopts a complex style of writing, presenting his thoughts and ideas through random flashbacks and digging back and forth into the story. I loved how this worked in progressing the storyline and exposing Avi Datta’s ingenious plot. His long and twisted sentences are appropriately loaded with a great choice of vocabulary. This served to expand my knowledge in the main themes of the book which are technology, science, and legal affairs. I met wonderfully developed characters in The Winding. Vincent, the protagonist, was my best character. His genius mind was among the things I loved most about him. Avi Datta gives very clear and vivid depictions of his scenes and characters. Reading The Winding felt like watching a great movie. He accompanied this with a great sense of humor and I just loved it. It only gets better because The Winding is the first installment in Avi Datta’s The Corrector series. I can’t wait to experience more of Avi Datta’s work. He is undoubtedly a very gifted author. The Winding is a magnificent piece of work.

Pikasho Deka

The Winding is the first installment of the Time Corrector Series by Avi Datta. Vincent Abijian, an extraordinary scientist and art and music enthusiast, finds himself plagued by the memories of his childhood friend, Akane Egami. Akane got lost in a random time turbulence of this reality in the year 1991 when Vincent was just eight years old. Now, a successful scientist working on behalf of AI technology in 2024, Vincent's life turns upside down when a talented scientist named Emika Amari crosses his path. He quickly sees her resemblance to Akane and suspects her to be a part of her life. Meanwhile, his mentor Philip Nardin introduces Vincent to secrets of the universe that will have lasting consequences on everything. But a sinister political conspiracy hampers Vincent's path to the truth.

With an intricate plot and some creative concepts incorporated seamlessly into the narrative, author Avi Datta weaves an engaging sci-fi tale that is bound to woo readers who love stories based on time travel and alternate realities. Despite the slow-burn storytelling, The Winding captures you from the first page and keeps you hooked until the end. This feels like a solid start to what seems to be a promising sci-fi series. Vincent is the most fleshed-out character, and his storyline makes you root for him all the way to the end. The narrative switches between the early 90s and 2024, and you find yourself glued to the pages as the reveals keep churning out with each turn of the page. Recommended to sci-fi lovers.

Samantha Gregory

The Winding (Time Corrector Series Book 1) by Avi Datta is the story of a man called Vincent who has the ability to glimpse his future in his dreams. The story begins with Vincent seeing his partner, Emika, leaving him. Then he appears to jump ahead in time by three months where his childhood friend, Akane, comes to his door, telling him that she has escaped the time turbulence and she and Emika are no longer sharing a body. Vincent awakens before these events have happened. The story does jump around, going to the past to show Vincent and Akane together in school, the events that happened to them, and his life as an adult. His whole world changed when he faced a time turbulence, but now he may have to create a new one.

Avi Datta has written an interesting story with The Winding (Time Corrector Series Book 1). I have to admit, I was a little confused at first as to what was going on, but the more you read, the clearer it becomes. Vincent faces an unusual situation, and he has a difficult choice to make, but he does his best to do the right thing. There are a lot of different sci-fi elements involved in this story - time travel, artificial intelligence - and I think science fiction fans would enjoy this. It moves at a good pace and you get a look at Vincent's whole life and how he has dealt with his 'gift'. If you want a book that makes you think and is entertaining, then I would recommend The Winding.

Steven Robson

The Winding: Time Corrector Series Book 1 by Avi Datta is essentially a book about love and the incredible power it can wield over time. Time not just as we know it, but time that is painted in all its glory from the very beginning until the end, turning back on itself until the circle is complete. Two players will become paramount in this mission to unravel the convoluted threads of this story: Professor Vince Abajian and Philip Nardin. The catalyst for this adventure occurs in November 1991, when nine-year-old Akane Egami disappears in mysterious circumstances and leaves an indelible mark on Vince’s soul. This is the story of Vince’s life and his stellar career, rising to the absolute top of the tree, as he carries what will be revealed as his ultimate destiny and primary mission in life; the machinations of time itself and the rediscovery of true love.

Avi Datta has woven, in The Winding: Time Corrector Series Book 1, a complex tapestry of possibilities surrounding the concepts of time and multiple existences, which may come across to some as a little daunting in some respects, given the paradoxes these theories can create. The true strength of this story, however, lies in the human drama that is brought to life in rich relief. All the characters are not only unique but also have a depth of personality that makes them extremely powerful magnets to the reader’s emotions. The relationships built on these are quite true to life, and probably reflect experiences from everyone’s past; Emika’s rapid transitions through relationships are a prime example of this. This is definitely a science fiction story that will provoke not only questions about reality, but also about the things we carry through life, and how these things can impact our destiny.

Vincent Dublado

The first book in the Time Corrector Series, The Winding is a science fiction tale that digs into friendship, loss, power, and greed. Avi Datta introduces readers to Vincent Abajian, a morally complex orphan who is also an absolute genius. Vincent gets involved in the dangerous world of politics and conspiracy in his desire to find his childhood friend, Akane Egami, who got trapped in a time turbulence. Vincent has become so obsessed with his work that he spends most of his time in his AI facility. Along comes Emika Amari, a beautiful and clever post-doctoral scientist who joins his center. Vincent believes that Akane resides within Emika and that she has to free Akane. Vincent finds himself in a dangerous predicament when he meets Philip Nardin, a time-turbulence survivor whose hidden power sets Vincent to create a time-turbulence to bring Akane back.

Avi Datta has a unique take on alternate realities. He keeps a well-tempered jargon to sustain believability in a highly speculative topic, and it works because he complements it with good pacing and tight plotting. His characters spring to life because his narrative includes their preoccupations and what motivates them to do what they do. Intricate but not confusing, Datta’s grasp of time turbulence is a well-researched aspect of the story that conjures up the plausibility of time travel in a future that we may not live to see. This is the kind of sci-fi story that like-minded readers will talk about in their circles for its intelligent plotting, stunning imagery, and larger-than-life characters. And for that, The Winding is an absolute must-read.