Of all the eternal What-ifs of history, few loom lager than JFK. What would the world be like today if he had survived the assassination attempt? For Jake Epping, via Al Templeton, it would be a much better place. Vietnam would never have escalated into the meat grinder it became and the Cold War would have ended well before Reagan shouted at Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall!” Not far-fetched scenarios by any stretch of the imagination, but does that make them sound?

Jake Epping has been given the opportunity to find out. However, as Al reminds him, and Jake reminds the reader, and Jake reminds the reader, and Jake reminds the reader, and Jake reminds the reader, “The past is obdurate.” Though, to tell the truth, after reading this marvelous work, I wonder if King isn’t really saying that the FUTURE is obdurate. People, places, and things just don’t seem to want to work unless they are allowed to work towards some foregone conclusion.

Butterflies are in full effect, what would you do?