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List Price: $14.99 | | Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
Salesrank: 4345551
Released: September 6, 2002 |
| Our Price: $14.99 |
| Used Price: $8.00 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
January’s Paradigm is a novel about marital infidelity from the male perspective with an unexpected twist of events and characters who cross lines of identity, space, and time.
January's Paradigm Reviews:
A Clever and Engaging Novel: Noir meets Metafiction 
2007-03-03 - Private detective Joe January is in his element fighting thugs on a dark street or accepting free favors from women of the night. Can he survive the alchemic changes of traveling from 1947 to 1992 and meeting a girl who means more to him than a quick lay? Will he lose his identity in the process?
This meta-noir novel has a little bit of everything. On the noir side of the street: Mystery, raw sex, betrayal, violence, and romance. Up the meta-fiction alley: Blurring the lines between writer and character, ingenious twists on free will versus destiny, lust versus love, the fragmentation of a man's psyche.
I had to wonder if the author, J. Conrad Guest, borrowed from the film Stranger Than Fiction, about a man who finds out he is a character in a book. But I checked, and Stranger Than Fiction was released in November 2006, while January's Paradigm has a copyright date of 2002. This confirms my opinion that Guest is a clever and original storyteller.
Terrific First Novel 
2005-01-25 - Guest has crafted a very compelling tale in January's Paradigm; and I was fully engaged, page by page, in every character, until the clever end. Joe January's not always a likable sort, but he's well-developed and real; you probably know someone like him. The ingenious twist to this tale is that Joe January is but a displaced character, sprung to life from the pages of a successful novel. He's come to life to overcome unresolved emotions that his creator has suffered at the hands of an unfaithful wife. January is rightfully bitter and skeptical as he meets the characters who unfold the plan to bring January (and his alter-ego, novelist Robert Porter) home. Guest's first novel is vivid and visceral. That the supporting characters were developed to heal January's/Porter's heart demonstrates Guest's resourcefulness. I anxiously await the sequel by Mr. Guest, who I suspect has a bright future in the literary arena.
Challenging But Satisfying
2003-05-09 - I have turned the last page of January's Paradigm... J. Conrad Guest is truly a gifted author who has a brilliance to his
writing that takes the reader away from the mundane stories... Guest has stepped beyond an average writer with a concept for a book like this one. Good job!
We want more!
2001-07-19 - It is different, which is hard to find today. It keeps you guessing until the end. That's entertaining. It wraps up intelligently. That makes me want more. I don't know much about writing but I do know about reading. I read this twice and enjoyed it just as much the second time. I've purchaced three copies as gifts (I've never done that before). All three gifts were greatly enjoyed. All four of us want more Mr. Guest! How about it?
This has something for everybody!
2001-06-11 - Film noir meets dreamscape meets sci-fi meets erotica meets... I'm a James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Nelson DeMille, Dean Koontz, etc. sort of fan and found Guest' book matching up with all the positive attributes I like so much about these other authors.
January's Paradigm is written with a sardonic and sarcastic sort of wit that I found appealing. Character development is outstanding and the story is not predictable - a real plus for me since I usually figure out most stories well before the conclusions.
It's a great and fast read and offers heat in parallel with thought-provoking (and realistic) dialogue between interesting and off-beat characters.
Can't wait for the next installment.
