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THE MAN WHO SAW SECONDS

Preble Jefferson can see five seconds into the future.

‍Otherwise, he lives an ordinary life. But when a confrontation with a cop on a New York City subway goes tragically wrong, those seconds give Preble the chance to dodge a bullet—causing another man to die in his place. Government agencies become aware of Preble’s gift, a manhunt ensues, and their ambitions shift from law enforcement to military R&D. Preble will do whatever it takes to protect his family, but as events spiral out of control, he must weigh the cost of his gift against the loss of his humanity.

A breathless thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page, The Man Who Saw Seconds explores the nature of time, the brain as a prediction machine, and the tension between the individual and the systems we create. Alexander Boldizar provides an adrenaline-pumping read that will leave you contemplating love, fear and the abyss.

Reviews and Awards

2025 Locus Award Finalist
Best Science Fiction of 2024

Seconds is a finalist for the 2025 Locus Award for best science fiction book of the year. Winner TBD June 21, 2025.

2025 Foreword Reviews Finalist
Best Thriller of 2024

Seconds is a finalist for the Foreword Reviews award for best thriller of the year. Winner TBD June, 2025.

Winner, 2025 Mark Twain Prize
Best Satire of 2024

Seconds won the 2025 Mark Twain Prize for best satire book of 2024.  

Eric Hoffer Award Finalist

Seconds was named a finalist in the Eric Hoffer award.

2024 Recommended Reading
Locus Magazine

The Ugly was included in Book Scrolling's year-end list of the best books of 2016.

10 for 2024, Year in Review

“One of the more audacious and emotionally brutal thrillers I've ever read...This one hit me hard in the dadfeels.”‍            
—Hugo Award-winning author, Tim Pratt, "10 for 2024"

Locus Magazine

“The Man Who Saw Seconds is an action thriller that is genuinely thrilling: the pacing is perfect, and the stakes ratchet up in a horrifying, relentless, and seemingly inevitable progression...I hope this can be genre-spanning, and that it gets the attention it deserves from every awards list, science fiction and not.”   
—Locus Magazine

Writers at Work

“One of the most dazzling and inventive [books] I’ve read in a very long time—a novel I continue to describe as indescribable. I’ve now read the book twice, and I can’t decide if it’s a thriller, a farce, a political commentary. I don’t know what it is other than I love it.”
—Writers at Work

Vancouver Sun

“This is a book of cinematic velocity and frequent, dark satiric impact. Think of it as a brilliant exercise in multi genre collage, a mash-up of some of the best elements of the thriller, the novel of ideas, anarchism, philosophy and quantum theory.”
—Vancouver Sun

Hidden Sci-Fi

“A wildly ambitious masterpiece of speculative fiction that fires on all cylinders. With its blend of audacious ideas, blistering action, emotional heft, and sparkling prose, it instantly establishes Alexander Boldizar as a major voice in sci-fi. Highly recommended for readers looking for a thrilling yet cerebral experience that pushes the boundaries of the genre and the mind itself. A bold, visionary triumph.”
—Hidden Sci-Fi

Writers Bone

“This book has stuck to my ribs in a way I almost can’texplain. I flew through it, but in a way that I didn’t want to. I wanted tosavor it. But the action was so good, it made me keep reading much longer in asitting than I wanted to. And then I was left with all these questions that I’mstill grappling with—which is the best kind of fiction.”‍            
—Writers Bone

The Curious Man's Podcast

“This is one that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page, The Man Who Saw Seconds explores the nature of time, the brain as a prediction machine, and the tension between the individual and the systems we create. Boldizar provides us with the thinking man’s John Wick, and it makes us ask ourselves some very difficult questions. All the while you will be thoroughly entertained.”‍            
—The Curious Man

North Shore News

"Boldizar is passionate about creating complex characters. He believes that fiction is the only art form that can fully immerse both the writer and the reader in the perspectives, life stories, morality, and ethics of entirely different individuals."           
—North Shore News

Canadian Authors' Association

Alexander Boldizar’s (BC chapter) novel, The Man Who Saw Seconds, is a top-ten finalist for the 2025 Locus Award in science fiction (winner TBD), a finalist for Foreword Reviews’ best thriller of 2024 (winner TBD), a finalist for the Eric Hoffer award, and the winner of the Mark Twain grand prize for best satire of 2024. Explore this a genre-bending story of a man who can see five seconds into the future.
—Canadian Authors Association

Rezensionsnerdista (Germany)

“Not only is there much suspense in the novel (there are times, where I just could not put it away), it also has great emotional moments, especially when it's about Preble's relationship to his son, Kasper.””‍    
—Rezensionsnerdista

Harare Review

“It’s a super fun, fast-paced read with a warm heart: Preble’s love for and protection of his son. Boldizar has delivered one of my favourite reads of the year. I look forward to reading it again.”‍            
—Harare Review

Paul Semel

“In the following email interview, Boldizar talks about how this novel was inspired and influenced by a lucid dream, Philip K. Dick, and a bear.”‍    
—Paul Semel interview

Cover to Cover

“This picture says it all. Boldizar is a very unique individual and I loved getting to chat with him. His life is like something out of a spy thriller movie. He has been and done so many different positions along his journey. Don't miss this interview.‍  
—Cover to Cover

Book Riot

Book Riot recommended book    

A Bookish Moment

Interview with JC Kenney and Sarah E. Burr

Winter Institute

Featured author at the Winter Institute, February 2024

Amazon Audible

The Man Who Saw Seconds was the #1 book in its audiobook category on Amazon for over six months.

Amazon Most Gifted

The paperback version was the most gifted book in time travel science fiction.

Toronto Public Library
Best Books

American Bookseller Association

Recent Reads and Recommendations

"The Thinking Man's John Wick"

"I literally lost sleep turning pages"

Kevin Winchester

“Wickedly smart, outrageously funny, and unsettling in its accuracy. The satire is pointed, and the action is non-stop. Think: Elmore Leonard meets Nabokov, Michael Crichton meets Vonnegut, Carl Hiaasen meets Joseph Heller. And it has what is probably the best gunfight in literary history.””
—Kevin Winchester, Sunflower Dog

The Man Who Saw Seconds

#1 Best seller, Audible
#1 New releases, Kindle
#1 Most gifted, paperback
Time travel science fiction

“One of the most dazzling and inventive [books] I’ve read in a very longtime—a novel I continue to describe as indescribable. Boldizar has been compared to Jorge Luis Borges, Joseph Heller and Stephen King, and that says much of what you can expect when you enter the world of The Man Who Saw Seconds. I’ve now read the book twice, and I can’t decide if it’s a thriller, a farce, a political commentary. I don’t know what it is other than I love it.”

— Jim Fusilli, Writers at work

“Alexander Boldizar's brilliantly wild The Man Who Saw Seconds ispart thriller, part gunfight (hell of a gunfight), part intellectual examination of what we mean when we say 'freedom,' and all heart. Absurd, hilarious, and deadly serious, this is the rare novel that is both compulsively readable and philosophically deft. If the thought of Kafka as a chess boxer, or Kundera fighting a polar bear excites you, this is definitely the book for you.”

— Mark powell
‍author of the hurricane season

“There are books on brain physiology, books on anarchist philosophy, books on the nature of time. There are certainly books whose hero is pursued by governments of all stripes, books in which the entire world is at stake. There are books whose body counts put Schwarzenegger movies to shame. But there has never been a book to combine all these with supreme intelligence, set not in some remote future but an all-too-plausible present. The Man Who Saw Secondsis the first.”

— aaron haspel
‍author of everything

“This is a book of cinematic velocity and frequent, dark satiric impact. Think of it as a brilliant exercise in multi genre collage, a mash-up of some of the best elements of the thriller, the novel of ideas, anarchism, philosophy and quantum theory.”

— Tom sandborn, vancouver sun

“A wildly ambitious masterpiece of speculative fiction that fires on allcylinders. With its blend of audacious ideas, blistering action, emotionalheft, and sparkling prose, it instantly establishes Alexander Boldizar as amajor voice in sci-fi. Highly recommended for readers looking for a thrillingyet cerebral experience that pushes the boundaries of the genre and the minditself. A bold, visionary triumph.”

— hidden sci-fi

“The Man Who Saw Seconds is an action thriller that is genuinely thrilling: the pacing is perfect, and the stakes ratchet up in a horrifying, relentless, and seemingly inevitable progression...I hope this can be genre-spanning, and that it gets the attention it deserves from every awards list, science fiction and not.”

— alexandra pierce, locus magazine

“This book has stuck to my ribs in a way I almost can’t explain. I flew through it, but in a way that I didn’t want to. I wanted to savor it. But the action was so good, it made me keep reading much longer in a sitting than I wanted to. And then I was left with all these questions that I’m still grappling with—which is the best kind of fiction.””

— daniel ford, writer's bone

“This is one that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page, The Man Who Saw Seconds explores the nature of time, the brain as a prediction machine, and the tension between the individual and the systems we create. Boldizar provides us with the thinking man's John Wick, and it makes us ask ourselves some very difficult questions. All the while you will be thoroughly entertained.”

— the curious man podcast

“A super fun, fast-paced read with a warm heart: Preble’s love for and protection of his son…one of my favorite reads of the year.”

— the harare review

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