The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein takes place in 2147 and focuses on the idea of human teleportation. In Klein’s world, there are no governments like we have today — everything is run by corporations, one of which is International Transport in charge of all teleportation. Near the beginning of the book, Joel Byram finds himself prisoner in a conference room. After a brief chapter about his captivity, Klein takes us back to explain how Joel got there before moving forward to tell us how he handles his situation.
If this was Star Trek, I would say this book revolved around the result of a transporter accident, but there’s more to the book than that. There are a couple of groups opposed to human teleportation on religious and ethical grounds who are very present in this scenario. There is also the wrinkle that Joel’s wife Sylvia works for International Transport and is involved in research which would have these fringe groups even more up in arms.
The Punch Escrow is written in first person from Joel’s point of view, and the voice is one of confusion combined with sardonic humor and desperation. That makes it quite fun to read. The only oddity about the writing is the use of footnotes (sometimes quite lengthy) explaining the science referred to in the narrative. While I found much of this interesting, I also found it distracting, since it took me out of the story. For me, an appendix with this information would have been preferable.
That aside, I really enjoyed reading the book. I felt for Joel and his predicament and wanted nothing more than for things to work out for him. What more could you want from a book? Pick up The Punch Excrow. It’ll knock you out.