Novel adopted by:
Michelle Morrison
For more by Chris DeFilippis, check out his essay on "Mirror Image" here and his short story following "Mirror Image" here!
| Title: | Foreknowledge |
| Author: | Christopher
DeFilippis |
| Printed: | March 1998 |
| ISBN #: | 0-425-16487-X |
| Leap Date: | October 25, 1988 |
| Download a 30-minute radio broadcast featuring the author of Foreknowledge describing the start-to-finish events of the novels' publication! Read the transcript of a special chat with the author of this novel, Christopher DeFilippis, and our members on July 17th, 2005. |
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Place(s)
The places the leaps occur are in New York, Wilson, Arkansas, and MIT in Massachusetts.
Name of Persons Leaped
Into
Sam leaps into Ann-Marie Renerie and then into Sarah Bullock (AKA Candy Apple). Al leaps
into a security guard named Morgan.
Project Trivia
Sammie Jo is an employee at the Project and is working on a retrieval program to bring Sam
home. She doesn’t know he’s her
father, but she does have a connection with him that she remembers only having with Larry
Stanton when Sam leapt into him.
Al and Sammie Jo become a Leaper and Observer.
Ziggy is being difficult because of a “space time
continuum” problem.
Sam Trivia
Sam doesn’t exactly like the profession of the Leapee, but he does think people
should be allowed to go see mud wrestling if they choose to. We get a glimpse of Sam during his Nobel Prize
days just before he started building the Project.
Al Trivia
Al
feels it is his fault Sam is still leaping.
Tina is Al’s girlfriend.
Al’s parents and his past in the orphanage are referred to.
Al is dealing with the Committee, and Sam’s leap is changing things with
them.
Al deals with himself from an earlier time.
Al thoroughly enjoys himself in the wrestler’s dressing room.
Miscellaneous Trivia
Various characters seen or talked about in different QL episodes are mentioned: Sam’s family (Dad, Mom, brother,
sister and brother-in-law), Diane Frost, Roberto, Alia, Larry Stanton and Abagail .
Writers
Christopher DeFilippis
Copyright Date
March 1998
Leap Date(s)
Sam: 1976 and October 25, 1988. Al: Around
November of 1988.
Regular Characters
Sam, Al and Ziggy (or the com link used to communicate with her).
Guest Characters
Kathy Scheber-Dawson, Richard Dawson, Kyle Singer, Theresa (Tawny) Singer, Nancy
Dotoroviz, Allison Wottawa, Jerry Browne and Rex Barrenger are the guest characters in
Sam’s leap. Professor Sebastian LoNigro
and his wife, Dana Barrenger-LoNigro , who have significant roles in Sam and Al’s
past are the guest characters in Al’s leap.
Guest character notes
Kathy (Kat) Scheber-Dawson and her husband Richard are the owners of the Kit Kat Bar where
Sam’s host works. Kat is a former
actress who starred in movies with titles like “Die, Virgins, Die”, which of
course Al has seen. Richard was a bit player
in various B-movies. Tawny is a wrestler who
is estranged from her brother and father. Kyle
Singer is a reporter who is onto a big story. Nancy
Dotoroviz, a reporter, and her cousin, Allison Wottawa, a young lady who works in the hall
of records, are instrumental in helping Kyle with his story. Jerry Browne is a reporter with a secret. Rex Barrenger is a sleazy politician with an
agenda.
Characters Who Appeared
in QL TV Episodes
Sammie Jo appeared in the Trilogy part 3. Gooshie,
Dr. Beeks, Donna and Tina are at least mentioned in various QL episodes; we saw them in
Genesis, The Leap Back, Star Crossed and Mirror Image.
Dr. LoNigro and his wife Dana are seen in Her Charm.
Personal Review
This was a very well written story that explores what happens when someone Sam has leapt
into remembers him later and attempts to kill him. When
Sam leaps out of Ann-Marie Renerie at the beginning of the story, assumes that he has
fixed what he is supposed to and that he is done with that particular leap. He’s wrong, because Ann-Marie somehow
remembers him and decides she wants revenge for ending up in prison. He leaps from Ann-Marie into a (of all things)
female mud wrestler. His job is to make
things right for Kat and her husband Richard, his host and the other wrestlers. Chris has a great understanding of the characters
and combines drama and comedy very effectively. He
also moves smoothly between the scenes of Sam’s current leap, Al and the Project and
Ann-Marie. I initially really disliked
Ann-Marie; I thought she was totally self-absorbed.
I understood as I read further that, although she was selfish in many ways and made
bad choices, she was also a victim of circumstances.
Her circumstances are largely of her own making, yes, but she doesn’t remember
the events that led to her being in prison. The
scene at the end between Ann-Marie and Al is touching.
This is a book I will be glad to read more than once.
Best Line
Sam: You’re a pig.
Al: At least I wasn’t rolling around in
the mud, although I’d like to.
Best Scene
I would have to include several scenes as my favorites.
I loved it when Al was in the dressing room leering at the ladies and I loved
Sam’s response. It was classic Al and
Sam. The scene near the end where Sam has to
wrestle just before he leaps is a riot. Al’s
interaction with Ann-Marie at the end is compassionate and touching too.
Say What?
I found it a little farfetched that Ann-Marie would just happen to find out where Sam is
by picking up a magazine, but Chris handled that well.
It could have been totally ridiculous but it wasn’t; Chris makes it
believable.
Quotable Quotes
(Ann-Marie is confronting Sam at MIT before Sam has built the Project and started leaping,
trying to get him to admit he ruined her life)
Ann-Marie: You got
cotton in your ears, man? I just told you. Why do you insist on keeping up this charade? It’s confession time. I’ll give you one more chance.
Sam: Chance at
what? I’ve never seen you before in my
life.
(Al is telling Sam about a representative from a production
company who will be at the club at an opportune time.
This is just priceless).
Al: The guy is
going to offer them some cash to film a special that will air on cable stations
nationally….The Mud Queens Mud Wrestling
Extravaganza, they’ll call it.
Sam: What does that
have to do with my leap?
Al: Ziggy says that
a rep from a modeling agency will be watching…
Sam: Oh,
no…No, no, no…
Al: Yes, yes, yes…
Sam: Don’t say
it, Al. Don’t say it.
Al: Ah, is your
bikini clean?
ISBN Number
0-425-16487-X
Author’s Notes
The author mentions that the events take place after the Trilogy.
Info about author
Chris lives in New York and has a blog.