Picture living in a science fictional universe where time travel and the characters from Star Wars really exist. Now, what would you do if you saw yourself coming out of a time machine?

According to Charlies Yu’s How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe you’re supposed to run. Run and not look back.But when main character Charles Yu shoots his future self he throws himself into a time loop where he will always step out of the time machine and get shot by his past self.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is not exactly a “how to” guide. It follows time machine repairman, Charles Yu, through a series of past memories and current events as he searches for his father who had gone missing years before. There are a few dos and don’ts when it comes to time travel which are helpful to science fiction lovers, but that’s as far into rules as it gets.

The book isn’t what some would call “hard core” science fiction, but it does have science fictional elements. It is a made up world with time travel, robots, lazers, time loops, a dog that doesn’t really exist, future and past selves… So, yea, okay, it IS a science fiction book.

Overall this book was a very interesting read. It was sarcastic and funny and the characters were very real. Broken into several sections, it was a quick read, taking me only 3 or 4 days to finish it. If you enjoy science fiction and a good laugh, this is the book for you!