Happy 5th birthday, Oppie!
by Rob - June 2nd, 2025.Filed under: Uncategorized.
Five years ago today, my novel The Oppenheimer Alternative was officially published. I think it’s my finest book. It’s available in print, as an ebook, and as an audiobook — and you can get autographed copies directly from me.
Buying links for all formats worldwide: https://sfwriter.com/buylinks.htm#oa
Although marketed as an alternate-history science-fiction novel, I prefer to think of The Oppenheimer Alternative as the secret history of the Manhattan Project, filling in the untold story of the mystery that J. Robert Oppenheimer himself alluded to but never explained. Oppnehemer really did say, “There is a story behind my story. If a reporter digs deep enough he will find that it is a bigger story than my [security-clearance] suspension.” In The Oppenheimer Alternative, you learn just what that world-spanning secret is.
I wrote The Oppenheimer Alternative before Christopher Nolan announced his movie Oppenheimer, and, unlike that film, my novel vividly includes the full rich cast of characters involved with the Manhattan Project: not just Oppenheimer, but Edward Teller, Leo Szilard, Richard Feynman, Enrico Fermi, Kurt Gödel, Freeman Dyson, Hans Bethe, and Albert Einstein. As a novelist, I couldn’t have asked for more colorful characters to write about.
Praise for The Oppenheimer Alternative
“Extremely well researched and very accurate scientifically; a great book for anyone interested in Oppenheimer.” —Mark Wolverton, bestselling author of A Life in Twilight: The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer
“An imaginative restructuring of a phantasmagoric life into an alternative phantasmagorical story. Oppenheimer fans will be intrigued.” —Martin J. Sherwin, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the basis for Christopher Nolan’s movie Oppenheimer
“My favorite Sawyer book of all; the extrapolation is as brilliant as the history. An extremely clever science-fictional tale that grows naturally out of the research done by extremely smart people on the way to the development of the atomic age. They will live for you after you are done reading this book; this is what they were really like. A solid award contender!” —Steve Fahnestalk in Amazing Stories
“Sawyer does a magnificent job. Every individual pops right off the page, fully integrated both into their era and amongst themselves. The whole book is rich in emotional depth. This fine novel makes explicit its relevance to the present.” —Locus
“I loved it! I know the history of this period well and I’m one or two degrees of separation from many of these people. Sawyer’s portrayals ring true to me. Getting to read this early was a treat!” —Lee Smolin, bestselling author of The Trouble with Physics
“You can call this alternate history or alternate astrophysics (or both). Whatever term you choose, it’s a terrific story.” —Eric Flint, author of 1632
“Impressive use of scientific and historical detail and Sawyer’s characterization of the man himself pull back the layers of Oppenheimer’s morals, genius, and grief. Science fiction fans will devour this smart speculative tale.” —Publishers Weekly
Buying links for all formats worldwide: https://sfwriter.com/buylinks.htm#oa