83 seconds, César G. Antón’s debut novel, dives into time warp fiction as a quest for a second chance for a generation left behind by rapid change. It sits between the boomer and millennial cohorts, the last to grow up without unfettered internet access shaping daily life.
Víctor Piñol, a solitary man scarred by adolescence, begins to see his ordinary life as a TV news editor altered on his thirty-fifth birthday. He discovers an ability to travel back in time, a gift that requires him to endure 83 seconds of personal pain to unlock the journey.
A story of love, nostalgia, and redemption, it reveals that the past can be known more clearly and learned from, yet changing it proves far from simple.
83 seconds is first and foremost about friendship. The school ties that form the backbone of youth do not easily compare with the bonds we forge later in life. The adventure unfolds as a chance encounter in the streets, bars, and centuries old Madrid restaurants in the year 2000. It places the protagonist among quinquis, street-level characters, and football games played on rough fields as the city hums with memory.
83 seconds remains a vivid portrait of a city and a time when Madrid wore its contradictions with pride, a place where chance meetings shape the course of a man’s fate. The narrative travels through intimate corners of modern life and through centuries past, inviting readers to weigh memory against possibility.
About the author: César G. Anton was born in Madrid in 1976 and trained in journalism. His career spans various press and television outlets. He later led new news programs at laSexta at a young age and continued in that role, shaping programs such as Al Rojo Vivo, Más Vale Tarde, la Sexta Columna, la Sexta Noche, la Sexta Clave, and Xplica. His work behind the camera earned recognition and a Talent award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Although his heart remains in Burgos and Madrid, this first novel marks a new chapter in his storytelling journey. [Citation: Minotauro Editions]
About the Minotauro editions
Minotauro is a specialized publishing house within the Grupo Planeta family that focuses on fantasy and science fiction. The imprint joined the Group in 2001, years after it began in Argentina. The Minotaur banner has published works by legends such as Philip K. Dick, editor of many science fiction masterpieces, and JRR Tolkien, whose writings shaped entire generations; it also published Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson, and Kim Stanley Robinson. Spanish authors such as Carlos Sisí have found a home there as well. [Citation: Minotauro Editions]
Since 2003 Minotauro has organized the Minotauro Prize, an international award honoring science fiction and fantasy literature. The imprint has become a platform to showcase Hispanic and Latin American writers writing in Spanish, expanding the reach of the genre across the Spanish-speaking world. The catalog began within the Planeta Laberinto imprint and has grown to spotlight notable voices such as Elia Barceló, Víctor Conde, and Francisca Solar. [Citation: Minotauro Editions]