All Our Wrong Todays
A Novel
by Elan Mastai
Reading Profile
Should I read this?
All Our Wrong Todays opens with a high‑concept twist: the protagonist wakes in a messy, imperfect 2016 after stealing a time machine from a technoutopian timeline, then settles into a character-first tale about guilt, identity, and the cost of 'better' futures. The useful part is how bright retro‑future details become backdrop for messy human moments rather than endless gadget showmanship. The limiting part is a tonal wobble—long middle sections favor introspective romance and moral rumination over forward momentum. If you want pure concept-driven SF, this can feel slow.
Read this if...
- •a product manager at a mid-size tech company who recently accepted a safer, more stable role after leaving a startup and is second-guessing whether they traded creativity for security—because the novel turns a technoutopian premise into scenes that rehearse that exact trade-off right now
- •a mid-career editor who recently ended a long relationship and wants fiction that helps process regret and 'what ifs' without demanding hard-science attention—because the book uses time travel to dramatize personal reckoning rather than technical puzzles
- •a high-school or community college English teacher planning a month-long unit on moral choice in speculative fiction who needs an accessible, discussion-ready novel next term—because the story sets up clear, arguable scenes about progress vs private cost that students can debate
Skip this if...
- •annoying if you prefer hard-SF logic, clear technical rules, or lean plotting; the mechanics matter less than the moral stakes
- •you'll likely put it down when the narrative pivots from satirical retro-future play to a prolonged introspective romance and ethical wrestling—the middle slows and stays slow for stretches
- •annoying if you want action-heavy, gadget-focused set pieces; the book spends more pages on feelings and consequences than showy future tech
You know the future that people in the 1950s imagined we'd have Well, it happened. In Tom Barren's 2016, humanity thrives in a technoutopian paradise of flying cars, moving sidewalks, and moon bases, where avocados never go bad and punk rock never existed . . . because it wasn't necessary. Except Tom just can't seem to find his place in this dazz...
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:hard
Audience Fit
- a product manager at a mid-size tech company who recently accepted a safer, more stable role after leaving a startup and is second-guessing whether they traded creativity for security—because the novel turns a technoutopian premise into scenes that rehearse that exact trade-off right now
- a mid-career editor who recently ended a long relationship and wants fiction that helps process regret and 'what ifs' without demanding hard-science attention—because the book uses time travel to dramatize personal reckoning rather than technical puzzles
- a high-school or community college English teacher planning a month-long unit on moral choice in speculative fiction who needs an accessible, discussion-ready novel next term—because the story sets up clear, arguable scenes about progress vs private cost that students can debate
- annoying if you prefer hard-SF logic, clear technical rules, or lean plotting; the mechanics matter less than the moral stakes
- you'll likely put it down when the narrative pivots from satirical retro-future play to a prolonged introspective romance and ethical wrestling—the middle slows and stays slow for stretches
- annoying if you want action-heavy, gadget-focused set pieces; the book spends more pages on feelings and consequences than showy future tech
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Why recommended
Recommended by 1 source and appears in Time Travel, Science Fiction, and Fantasy.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Adam Sharp
“Was one of the stars of my 2020 reading list. Looking forward to watching this!”
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider Replay by Ken Grimwood. Recommended by 6 sources.
“Ken Grimwood spins a compact, character-driven time-loop tale about Jeff Winston reliving adulthood with full memory. it reads as intimate and reflective: scenes return with new moral weight as the protagonist tests wealth, love, and purpose. What works best is its sustained moral thought experiment—what you would change when given do-overs—delivered with wry melancholy rather than spectacle. Limitations include repetitive beats (similar choices resurfacing) and little interest in scientific explanation, so readers expecting action or hard sci‑fi answers will feel let down.”
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How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.