This is probably the most interesting book I've ever read. I could not put it down. I consider it more of the mystery/thriller genre.

The premise of the book is what we all wonder about as we are going to sleep. What would you change if you could live your life over? Replay provides you the wisdom of deciphering how to live this life with proper persepctive. This read could be a text book for a class in Phsych. Someone needs to make this into a movie...

I was interested in this book after hearing a review on PRI and thought the it might have a profound plot. As I began reading the story seemed quite shallow but as I kept reading it slowly became more and more deeply involved in some serious thought.
The tale is interesting and causes one to think about one's own life and what he/she coulda, woulda, shoulda done with it.
The plot moves right along without a lot of description of "scenery." The dialog is to the point and helps keep the story moving ahead.
It was a "good" read.

This time travel (sort of) novel was an unexpected pleasure. An absolutely ordinary, out-of-shape, going nowhere guy named Jeff Winston has a heart attack at his desk and dies. But he awakes suddenly--in his life of 25 years before. Replay is the story of his several lives--a life where money is the sole object, a life where Jeff's only child is his focus, a life of solitude in the mountains. What Jeff learns in his unique journey through time is the point of Greenwood's novel.

This book is quite different from the usual time/travel science fare. It's really a story of time and how we spend it, our goals and priorities, what makes life worth living. For that reason, plus numerous historical references to the 1963-1988 time period, teens might find it a bit tedious, but I loved it.
Highly recommended.

I can't really say much that others haven't done before--and better--aside from stating that this is a perfect book in every way. Grimwood has an astonishing talent for balancing rich narrative detail with concision; I can't imagine anyone else who could condense an entire lifetime into a single chapter without losing one iota of flavor of the characters or their environment. This is a model every writer should emulate.

The story itself is equally superb: by turns poignant, disturbing (for he doesn't shy away from the uncomfortable possibilities of reliving one's life), nostalgic, surprising (I was caught off-guard again and again), and always compassionate.

An absolute must-read.

I am not generally a mystery/thriller/time travel novel reader, but I couldn't put Ken Grimwood's, Relpay down.
I was captivated by page one and my enthusiasm and hunger for reading this book never did wane.
I am hooked and wish only that Ken Grimwood was still with us.
I heard of this book on NPR, and am very happy to say I would highly recommend Replay to readers of all kinds.

I am envious of anyone who has this book in front of them, waiting to dive into it for the first time.
Be prepared to lose days when reading.

Replay was recommended as a great summer read on NPR last July (2008). They didn't have it at Barnes and Noble, because it was published quite a while ago. Our protagonist, Jeff, dies (again and again) in 1988, which makes all the stuff he lives through somewhat ancient history to those who were born after 1990. Still, it was a great read, especially for anyone who was alive when Kennedy was assassinated. As many people probably would, Jeff has a lot of sex in his replays, so keep that in mind if you're thinking about buying this book as a present for a young person.

Whether you will ever have the chance to replay your life or not, the book makes you think about the way you're living it right now. I highly recommend it.

I could not put this book down when I originally read it. The book is totally absorbing and emotionally provoking on a what if level. I had borrowed this book to read it and now I have purchased it to re-read it and share it with others.

I don't do fiction either. Will now. Finished this book a couple of weeks ago, and it's still inspiring me to live my life to the fullest!

I have not been able to put this book down. It is far too engaging of a read. The premise is very intriguing -- what happens when you get to live your life over and over again, each time with a full memory of what happened in previous incarnations? It really makes you think. It raises questions about purpose and meaning and right versus wrong and cause and effect and permanence and loss and the nature of reality itself. Some of the implications are just plain interesting and sometimes even funny. Besides making you think, it is just a very entertaining and engaging story. I highly recommend this book.

Ken Grimwood's Replay is a compelling tale about a man who is forced to re-live his life over and over again in progressively shorter lifespans. For anyone who ever wondered what their life would be like if they had made different choices, this book is a thought provoking and sobering work of fiction.

I have not been able to put this book down. It is far too engaging of a read. The premise is very intriguing -- what happens when you get to live your life over and over again, each time with a full memory of what happened in previous incarnations? It really makes you think. It raises questions about purpose and meaning and right versus wrong and cause and effect and the nature of reality itself. Some of the implications are just plain interesting and sometimes even funny. Besides making you think, it is just a very entertaining and engaging story. I highly recommend this book.

I've just finished Replay for the 20th time. Its as good as the first time. NOt to be missed!

I was intrigued by this book after hearing a synopsis on NPR and had to explore the book. Replay is the rollercoaster of a lifetime and a fabulous tale of redemption. Ken Grimwood wrote Replay in 1987 a full six years before Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. The plots are similar in one respect; replays of a specific event occur. Murray in Groundhog Day keeps replaying one day in his life until it is right. The reader never knows if Jeff Winston (protagonist in Replay) is making the right choice and the effects it will have on his future. I will not delve much deeper because the plot is too easy to summarize and needs to be read to understand.

Ken Grimwood does an excellent job remaking the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The ride he takes you on will take many turns. The fate of Jeff is never a certainty throughout the book. Decisions only matter in each replay of Jeff's life. For this reason, I believe Grimwood is making the reader look deeper into their own existence. He does this not in a religious way but philosophical manner. The Kennedy assassination is one of the early events in his life and his replay will make many conspiracy theorists in the world smile. Grimwood never gets into too much detail with a specific era or event so the reader will keep a constant flow through the book.

I do not read much fiction besides classics and certain thrillers. This book had my attention from the beginning to the end. It will make minimal details in life mean more. Grimwood is telling the reader to slow down and enjoy the moment because there is not always time for the future. I will live by his advice and enjoy the present more so than in the past.

I won't bother summarizing this as many other reviewers already have. I'll just say that this is one of those novels that you think about even after you've finished it. I got through it in 2-3 days because it never boring.

All in all, this is a good read.

This book really struck a chord with me. I certainly wished I could have relived parts of my life to avoid certain mistakes. It became even sweeter when I was able to get back together with my soul mate after many years of being apart, and sharing the book with her. Am very surprised and happy to see this show up on Amazon's bestseller list at #80 - it seemed to be a bit of an unknown gem. Ken Grimwood deserves the recognition (although his next book Into The Deep was disappointing in comparison). There has been talk for years of this getting made into a movie, but alas, it doesn't look like it will happen. Highly, highly recommended.

Wow is right! What a fantastic read. Ken Grimwood has written a fantastic book that grips you from page one and never lets go. I wasn't sure if this time travel science fiction would be something I would like, but I sure did. I highly recommend this one.

Editor of TV director Raymond Austin's mystery series The Eagle Heist (Beauford Sloan Mysteries)

Of course this is similar to Groundhog Day; but if you expected that the Hollywood movie would be shallow and adolescent, and the book would be mature and thoughtful, you'd have it backwards.

Don't get me wrong. It's a page turner, no question about it. When I picked it up, I didn't put it down until I finished it later that night. It's engrossing, and much of it is entertaining. It's got a wealth of historical detail. But, it didn't live up to the promising beginning.

He talked about missed opportunities, lost loves, problems with his wife, etc. I expected him to replay his life and get it right the second, third, or twentieth time. Unfortunately, the writer isn't very interested in human relationships. His solution to problems with a woman is to try another woman the second time around. Whenever he talks about something he finds more interesting, such as sex, drugs, and money, the book is on solid ground. But I found the non-sexual interactions with other characters to be unconvincing and unsatisfying. But this is a fantasy/SF book, after all, so what do I expect?

I also didn't like the dark, fatalistic outlook of the book. I don't feel that the main character learned anything at all. He had some good times, I suppose; but he hasn't matured much, although he has aged a lot mentally.

It's still worth reading. You might want to watch Groundhog Day again afterwards to cheer up.

I heard about this book after seeing it on some weblog and was surprised to see the person listed it higher than many other books I had read and enjoyed. I picked up a copy and held onto it for several weeks, then opened it on a car trip. I read it in less than 24 hours (very odd for me).

I couldn't put it down. I won't recap the plot because plenty of other reviewers have already competently covered that.

The author does a very ood job getting us to sympathize with the main character, he is not a saint nor does he perform unbelieveable feats. The plot was believable but not predictable, there were lessons to be learned but they were not shoved down your throat. The whole thing was balanced.

Think of this as similar to the movie Groundhog Day but instead of one day a 20-25 year span. Speaking of movies I think this is one of those rare books that would be equally good on the screen, if it was properly handled.

My only criticism is the Starsea segment. It went a little over the top i.e., "Greatest movie of all time" with rave critical reviews and an unlikely new age sci-fi plot. I would have have found it more realistic if it had simply been a very successful film with not yet famous cast and crew that was incongruous or out of place. A minor point.

Great book, pick up a copy now and be prepared to not put it down anytime soon.

Jeff Winston, sitting at his desk at work, listening to his wife on the phone, suddenly has an extreme pain in his chest...and dies...and awakes again in his 18 year old body, but still has his memories intact from the last 25 years of his life: ages 18-43. He suddenly has his whole life to live again...and does, but this time he does it better. Until he dies again at age 43. And again. And again. And again.

Such is the premise of Ken Grimwood's insightful novel, Replay. Knowing future events enables Jeff Winston to become a very rich man. Knowing future events enables Jeff Winston to become a very sought-after man. And knowing how future events will wind up makes Jeff Winston a very lonely man.

Replay is one of those books, that if I were and English teacher, I would want my kids to read. It presents a wonderful depiction of several human conditions, not least among them avarice, lust, ennui, regret and loneliness. But Replay also depicts the brighter side of humanity as well; love and hope rear their faces in several different forms throughout this book. Unfortunately, the book probably would not pass muster through most school administrations, there is a lot of graphic language as well as about 20-30 pages that imply, if not outright depict, strong sexual content. This aside, I highly recommend this book to mature readers of all ages, it will certainly open one's eyes to the brevity of life, and how we must make the most of what we have got, while we have got it.

Ken Grimwood created in "Replay" one of the greatest sci-fi/fantasy/alternate-history books I've ever read. This is an excellent story, which deservedly won many awards and prizes.

Jeff Winston, the main character, dies in the very first sentence of the book. He wakes up 25 years earlier, in his old university quarters. In his past life, Jeff was a mediochre radialist, struggling in his marriage, short of money, with his head full of things he had wanted to do but never had the possibility to. Now he finds he has the chance to begin again, almost from the start, and with full knowledge of what's going to happen in the next quart of century. Will he have the guts to achieve what he missed in his past life? Will he make the same mistakes, or will he try to make the future better? And what happens as his death date comes near? Will he have another chance?

These are some questions that cross the reader's mind as he or she goes through the book. And there are many more. Mr. Grimwood wrote "Replay" in a very solid, competent way, exploring all possibilities of a life that is lived again.

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

Grade 9.0/10

In 1988, Jeff Winston was a 43-year old radio station news director who died of a heart attack. To his amazement, he wakes up in his eighteen-year-old body in his college dorm. It is 1963 again, and Jeff is young and full of memories of the events of the next 25 years, like who won the World Series. Jeff lives a very different life the second time around, financially secure and health-conscious. However, he dies at 43 again.

And Again. And Again.

In one of his many "replays" Jeff meets Pamela Phillips, who is also repeating the years between 1963 and 1988 multiple times. Together they find love and try to change the future world they remember. Jeff and Pamela's journey to enlightenment reminds us of the joy in simple things and the beauty of life.

The concept is fascinating, but the writing seems alternately stilted or excessively descriptive of mechanical processes which do not enlighten us about the characters, merely their movements. Jeff's ambitions seem like puerile misogynist male fantasies at times, but the book kept me turning pages to find out what ultimately happens to him.

If you love the Jeff character, I think you will like JUMPER and REFLEX by Steven Gould, the adventures of a young man who discovers that he is telekinetic and what he does with this ability.

Let me begin by stating that I'm not a huge fan of the science fiction or fantasy genres, but there are some books whose unique plots immediately draw my attention, and beckon to be read. This is one of those books.

Jeff Winston dies, for the first time, within the first couple pages of the novel, and from there we go with him as he learns of his unique condition, or ability, if you will, to relive life over and over again. Jeff transcends time and space, taking his "aged" and experienced mind with him to his more youthful body, and he uses his wisdom and foreknowledge to exact changes in his life, and therefore the lives of those around him. He is given a second chance...and a third, and a fourth, etc. But what changes will he make, and are they really for the better?

The plot thickens when Jeff learns that he is not the only one with this unique asset. Another person, a woman, is also living her life in "replays." Pamela is an artist and a housewife who wants to use her knowledge of the future to attempt to exact changes for the greater good, whatever that may mean. However, she finds that her intentions, though benevolent, bring with them a complex web of consequences.

Together, the soul mates Pamela and Jeff share lifetimes of love and joy, an opportunity that many would eagerly vie for. They gather wealth and knowledge, they travel to various reaches of the globe, they form meaningful relationships with a wide variety of people, and they seemingly ascertain everything anyone could possibly want. But the lessons learned are still the same at the end of many lifetimes as they would be, it would seem, for one lifetime.

This book will run you through a wide gamut of emotions, making you laugh one moment while you cry the next, and when you turn the last page you'll wish it wasn't over. Ken Grimwood forces his readers to evaluate their lives and ponder their existences. Though we may not all have the opportunity to live several lifetimes, we do have time to exact our own changes here and now. Replay is a novel I will be reading and rereading over again, and one I will be giving to friends and family to read as well. Don't pass up this brilliant, unforgettable work.