History records that in 1845, Captain Sir John Franklin led a British expedition to find the Northwest Passage through Canada. It turned out to be oneHistory records that in 1845, Captain Sir John Franklin led a British expedition to find the Northwest Passage through Canada. It turned out to be one of the worst disasters in the history of polar exploration. In all, 129 officers and crew members were lost – that is, everyone on board the two ships that sailed. One of the officers was Graham Gore, who in this story has been plucked from the ice (shortly before it’s presumed everyone starved to death) and transported to London. Set in the near future, a UK ministry has discovered a time travel door and has managed to bring a small group of people, from various years, back through it. Each was transferred shortly before the date they were believed to have been due to die, this being an attempt to minimise the likely impact of their removal.
Gore and the others are each supported by a ministry employee known as a Bridge. The job of the Bridge is to live with the time traveller, control and monitor their movements, and generally help them adjust to this new world they find themselves in. We will meet all of these characters, but the main emphasis here is on the relationship between Gore (a man in his mid-thirties) and his young female Bridge. In effect, this is a convoluted love story.
The time travel methodology is never really explored, the focus being on the people and how they adjust to this modern world, and also on the mystery surrounding the ministry itself: both its purpose and it’s rather overbearing senior personnel. In typical time travel novel style, quite a bit of coverage is given to the incongruities of modern life for these people who have all travelled from more primitive times. For me, this repetitive theme quickly became rather trite and uninteresting. Also, aside from the budding romance, very little else was actually happening. Then, it started to get very confusing. The narrative, initially slow and somewhat dull, suddenly becomes fast-moving and jumpy. My mind couldn’t follow the series of seemingly random happenings. It transpires that there is some logic here and even an interesting surprise, but it takes some time for things to become clear.
A time travel story provides an almost unlimited licence to introduce strange and sometimes wonderful twists. But in so doing, there is a need to engage the reader/listener and make them part of the journey. Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveller's Wife is a confusing jumble saved by the most wonderful ending imaginable and Stephen King’s 11/22/63 is an imaginative exploration of a major event in American history – these stories are amongst my most memorable audiobook experiences. But despite being competently narrated, this novel just failed to engage me, nor did it deliver the level of excitement or eye watering surprises I was hoping for. In truth, I found it all a bit of a mess, and in the end, a disappointment.
My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton Audio for providing a copy of this audiobook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
I grabbed a copy of this book without reading the blurb, having grown very fond of this authors writing recently. But to my astonishment it wasn’t at I grabbed a copy of this book without reading the blurb, having grown very fond of this authors writing recently. But to my astonishment it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. What I was expecting was a crime thriller akin to the fast talking crime novels I’ve been devouring of late. What I actually got started out very much in this vein but quickly morphed into a tale involving strange events that occurred amid what appeared to be a thunderstorm but turned out to be a hole through which people suddenly travelled either forward or backward in time.
It took me a while to get over the shock, and I confess that I struggled to push on through the book once I realised that I’d unintentionally duped myself. Hang on a minute, I found myself thinking, this isn’t what I signed up for! I even stopped reading it for a few days before, rather reluctantly, picking it up for a second go. And I’m glad I did. Once I got into the flow of a tale told in both a present day Californian desert setting and an accompanying story set in the same area in the late 1800s, I slowly warmed it.
In some ways, it’s odd that I didn’t settle into the story more quickly as I’m a bit of a time travel buff. I think the issue is that I found the time travel activity here somewhat unconvincing, even though the dual stories were interesting enough. The whole thing is a slightly odd mix of a modern day detective seeking to re-boot her career after it was derailed by wayward act and a man setting out to protect a daughter who – in this world he finds himself – has yet to be born. It didn’t quite work for me, and yet I still found myself smiling as I turned the final pages.
My thanks to Severn House for providing an ARC of this book visa NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more
I'm a big fan of the author's novels and had been searching for the story for some time. I eventually tracked it down as a free read (see link below) I'm a big fan of the author's novels and had been searching for the story for some time. I eventually tracked it down as a free read (see link below) and it took me about as long as my cup of coffee stayed hot to read through it. It's a brief time travel tale that interesting enough, if not entirely compelling or convincing. But I do like time travel stories - they're a brain tease, something I'd love to believe in - and along with the story, the link provided access to a response to the story from a famous physicist, which was as interesting and entertaining as the story itself.
It’s a time travel tale so I’ll avoid delving into the plot – that really would spoil things for prospective readers – instead I’ll just record my thoIt’s a time travel tale so I’ll avoid delving into the plot – that really would spoil things for prospective readers – instead I’ll just record my thoughts on it.
Firstly, it’s complicated. The time travel is undertaken back and forth, into the future and the past, sometimes seemingly randomly. This element reminded me of The Time Travellers Wife in that it confused me whilst promising a revelation that would blow my mind as all became clear. It came – the revelation – but not in a mind blowing way. Instead it all felt too big, too over-engineered. In addition, TTTW had delivered the most emotionally charged ending to a book I’ve ever read, for me it was literally tear inducing. The ending here was good too, just not in quite such an impactful way.
Secondly, I failed to engage fully with the male and female lead characters. To me they felt too shallow, too generic. There was certainly an interesting story here centred around their future and their past, it’s just that I didn’t feel as invested in the eventual outcome for them as I’d like to have been.
Next, there’s really no science here, other than an oblique reference to string theory. I don’t consider a that to be a problem as such, as for me time travel stories are about freeing the mind to explore the opportunities offered up should such a thing be proved to be possible. In fact nearly all of my favourite books in this sub-genre have scrupulously avoided getting into the mechanics (and physics) of how it’s done, for obvious reasons. But here the amount, the accuracy and the variety of travel here does draw attention the unlikeliness of it all.
Finally, it all went on a bit too long. The story grew in scale as I felt it was trying to trump any other time travel tale and in so doing it seemed to lose the essence of itself. There is a good story here, but it’s somewhat drowned out by some rather grandiose and over-cooked plot elements. It’s got good bones but perhaps an enforced diet would have been advisable.
If this all sounds rather critical then to some extent I apologise. I did enjoy this story, just not as much as I hoped I would. There are some great ideas here though and for readers who enjoy time travel tales I do think it’s worth giving this one a try – many have found much more here to love than I did....more
In the author’s last novel The Glass Hotel we were introduced to Vincent and her half-brother Paul and we learned of a link to a Ponzi Scheme which waIn the author’s last novel The Glass Hotel we were introduced to Vincent and her half-brother Paul and we learned of a link to a Ponzi Scheme which was to have tragic consequences. Well, we are to meet them again here. It’s not clear to what extent their back story is a pivotal element but this is one of the quirky and interesting things about Mandel’s books: she sets about things in a slightly different way to other writers I’ve come across, teasing and surprising in equal measure.
In addition to the continuing discoveries regarding Vincent and Paul we are also taken back in time to a Vancouver forest and forward to time to when lunar colonies are in place. Each segment offers up sight of a slightly puzzling event. How are these individual moments in time linked, and is there a broader significance? It’s clear from the far future view that pandemics and global warming have, to some extent, driven development and exploration. There’s a lot at play here and we haven’t even gotten to the time travel element yet.
If the first half of the book is a slow scene setter then the second half offers much more in terms of both pace and discovery. Aficionados of time travel tales will spot some of the usual tropes, but (as a reader of many such tales) I believe there’s definitely something new here, a different puzzle to solve. Mandel eschews the need for detailed breakdowns of how it’s all done, preferring instead to focus on the bigger picture and on the plight of the characters she’s introduced us to. I found this approach refreshing, I must admit. It’s a relatively short book, coming in at under three hundred pages, but there’s a good deal packed in.
If I have a grumble, it’s that I’d have liked some of the characters to have been fleshed out a little more and I thought some of the transitions in the second half of the book felt a little rushed - for instance, at one point a major character takes a controversial and determining action, seemingly without any forethought. But these are minor quibbles as I believe that once again Mandel has produced a thoughtful and compulsively readable story, one that certainly ticked a lot of boxes for me.
As a final thought, if you haven’t read The Glass Hotel don’t worry, this one works just fine as a stand-alone piece.
My thanks to Pan Macmillan, Picador for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
I’ve always liked time travel novels. I think it’s because once you accept the idea that it’s possible to leap into the future or scuttle back into thI’ve always liked time travel novels. I think it’s because once you accept the idea that it’s possible to leap into the future or scuttle back into the past then you can open yourself up such rich possibilities, limitless mind blowing twists and turns of plot. At least, that’s the theory. In reality, it can tend to mean having to repeatedly bump into an almost standard set of clichés and tropes, such as the need to avoid changing anything in the past lest you catastrophically impact what you understand to be the present day (e.g. the time traveller who steps on a butterfly scenario first advanced by Ray Bradbury). So I find it refreshing when I come across an alternative proposal, one that propounds a different set of possibilities and outcomes. I’m not saying that everything here is new, it’s not quite not that ground-breaking, but it does offer up a more complex set of ideas than many such stories.
Micajah ‘Cager’ Fenton is in his eighties and he feels that he’s used his life up, in fact he plans to end his own life this very evening. He’s been successful in business but he’s lost his wife now and there seems nothing worth hanging on for. He’s also been long haunted by an event in his past – the big mistake of his life, as he sees it. But events transpire to intercept his plan and he finds himself able to travel back to when he was ten years old and re-live his life from that point. I’ll not go into the plot to any greater extent than this as it would rather spoil the impact for future readers, so I’ll limit my thoughts here to my reaction to the tale.
Firstly, there’s an awful lot of science here. Cager is a physicist and there’s a good deal of technical explanation of causes and effect throughout – probably too much, in my view. This does add an element of believability to some of the proceedings but as virtually all of it flew straight over my head it did end up feeling like an endless stream of waffle. The underlying story of Cager’s first life, now being replayed by a ten-year-old with the mind and recollections of the man we first met, I found heart warming and totally engrossing. In fact, I really wish the author had stuck to the ‘realism’ of the story he’d dropped us into here instead of rerouting to something rather wackier about two-thirds of the way through. The final section I found to be a rather clumsy and convoluted way of tying it all up. It did deliver a satisfactory outcome, of sorts, but I found that my imagination was over-stretched by the end and that the spell that had be cast upon me in the mid-section of this book had lost.
So in the end I believe it to be an almost book. Which got me to thinking (again) about my favourite time-travel novels. Here is an updated list of my top 5:
1. 11/22/63 (Stephen King): the book that most captured my emotions and imagination as we are taken back in time to Dallas and an attempt to stop the assassination of JFK.
2. Recursion (Blake Crouch): full of surprises and brilliantly inventive, I was totally swallowed up by this one.
3. The Time Travellers Wife (Audrey Niffenegger): a wholly confusing and jumpy tale is totally saved by my favourite ending to a book, ever.
4. Time and Again (Ben Elton): a fantastically tense tale as a one man tries to halt what is considered to be the most catastrophic event in world history.
5. Man in the Empty Suit (Sean Ferrell): probably encapsulates the most original idea of any time travel book I’ve read – confusing and sometimes frustrating, but outstandingly inventive.
As always, I continue to be open to new suggestions for books to feed my time travel addiction…...more
As a fan of novels that feature some kind of time travel and stories that have a dystopian touch this book really lit up all the bulbs for me. I absolAs a fan of novels that feature some kind of time travel and stories that have a dystopian touch this book really lit up all the bulbs for me. I absolutely gobbled it up and was left feeling empty when it drew to a close.
As the book opens Barry Sutton, a modern day New York cop, is attempting to prevent a woman jumping to her death from a high floor of a city centre building. It seems that she’s suffering from a disease called False Memory Syndrome which causes infected individuals to suddenly discover memories of an alternative life they’ve lived. It’s like an extended and more vivid form of déjà vu and it’s driving sufferers mad. It’s also apparent that once someone ‘catches’ FMS it’s quite likely that other members of their family or close friends will be similarly infected. Could Barry even develop FMS from this brief interaction?
In a parallel storyline, Helena Smith is a gifted neuroscientist who is trying to find a way of allowing people to preserve precious memories. This is driven to a large extent by the knowledge that her own mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and is losing more of her memories day by day. And just when she thinks her research grant is going to run out she receives a ‘money no object’ offer she simply can’t refuse.
For future readers/listeners the less you know about this book beyond these basic start points the better. There are many surprises here as the narrative zigzags its way through a mind bending series of steps toward a brilliant finish. There’s science here and much of it feels real, but a leap of faith is required when it comes to the big discovery. That can be problematic in science fiction stories such as this but I really felt myself being carried along and through that aspect here - it didn’t jar, I was sufficiently swallowed up by the story that my mind just went with it. It’s also fair to say that there’s a certain logic to proceedings that somehow made compelling sense of it all. And what a journey it was!
I’ll truly be surprised if I come across a more exciting story this year. Simply brilliant!...more
If you could travel back in time and change just one thing, what would it be?
This question was put to ex-special services soldier Hugh Stanton by his If you could travel back in time and change just one thing, what would it be?
This question was put to ex-special services soldier Hugh Stanton by his former Cambridge University history professor. The year is 2024, and Hugh’s spirits are low as he struggles to deal with the loss of his wife and children, who’d been killed in a road accident. He’d received a call from Professor McCluskey summoning him to a meeting at Trinity College where she unveiled a letter that had been passed down the ages, penned by the legendary scientist Sir Isaac Newton. It seems that Newton had discovered the secret of time travel but there would be just one opportunity to exploit a window he’d identified – and that window would open, for just a few seconds, very soon. they most use this, but to what end?
After batting the question around, McCluskey declared that the obvious answer to the question was that all the horror of the 20th Century could be traced back to the event that precipitated WW1 – the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand, in Sarajevo. If that hadn't happened, then just think of all the lives that would have been saved and all the horrific events of that century that would certainly not have occurred as a result. Yes, this is the thing that would have to be changed, and Hugh was the man to do it. Back in 1914 he would have to go.
My memory of Ben Elton stems back to his standup comedy days. Motor mouthed and whip-smart, he was one of the comedians who really grabbed my attention in the 1990’s. He became a successful television comedy writer thereafter, too. I knew he'd also written a number of books, but this is the first I’ve managed to catch up with. His humour comes through here in the form of the hilarious McCluskey, but for the most part he plays it straight and if you're a fan of time travel stories (and I certainly am) then this is one you really should take a look at. The historical detail is fascinating, and it's all clearly very well researched. The whole thing also has a tense The Day of the Jackal feel about it, and there are some really good twists that made me think about how things could have played out so differently in my own life ‘if only’. But then again, would that necessarily have made my life any better, any richer? It’s all wrapped up well in the end, and it’s as believable as any tale of this nature can be, but above all, it's just great fun!...more
If you were told you had but six days left to live and that you could spend them with your family or you could ‘see what no living man has seen’, whatIf you were told you had but six days left to live and that you could spend them with your family or you could ‘see what no living man has seen’, what would you choose? Such a choice was presented to John of Wrayment, in plague ridden 14th Century England, and he chose the latter.
So starts this entertaining romp set in and around the city of Exeter, Devon. The kicker to the choice he makes (courtesy of an encounter with a disembodied voice) is that each of his six days will be spaced 99 years after the last. Consequently, John awakes the following morning in the year 1447. Each day he is in the same spot (or close to) where he slept the night before – but, as you can imagine, each time he encounters a very different world. He is accompanied on this journey by his brother, William, who similarly heard a voice that fateful night.
The brothers were returning home after some time away and John, in particular, is desperate to see his wife and three young children. Yet he believes that the Black Death has now visited him and his choice is significantly driven by his determination not to pass this deadly disease on to his family. But devout John is also hoping he will find Heaven at the end of his particular road, if only he can find sufficient good deeds to complete, in the limited time available, to warrant his salvation. William is more fatalistic and after years of warring he’s in no doubt where his destiny lies. In their remaining days the brothers discover that war seems to be a constant background, as they meet some friendly and informative people and we are provided a good deal of insight as to how Exeter and the surrounding area has changed in the intervening periods. But bad things happen to them too and it's safe to say that the seven deadly sins are all on view.
One of the real delights for me here is that all the action takes place in my own back yard, as it were. I lived in Exeter for 10 years and I've spent the majority of my life in close proximity. The author is a renowned historian and at times it felt like I was reading a potted history of this great, historic city. We witness the changes through the eyes of the protagonists: the clothes people wear, the food people eat and the vocabulary that they use. And bigger changes too, as the city expands we are treated to an architectural journey through the centuries. In fact it can be seen as fully a cultural, religious and (to a lesser extent) political commentary on centuries of dramatic change and development.
But the author still keeps a grip on the narrative and deals competently (and sometimes amusingly) with the practical challenges facing the brothers. It's a book that's hard to categorise but if you enjoy time travel adventures, historical novels or you're open minded enough to just go with the flow then I expect you’ll find something here to enjoy here. I certainly did....more
With his follow up book to the massively successful The Martian, Andy Weir seems to have adopted the old motto if it aint broke don’t fix it. In factWith his follow up book to the massively successful The Martian, Andy Weir seems to have adopted the old motto if it aint broke don’t fix it. In fact, so similar is the set-up and execution that, unfortunately, I can only conclude that he’s a bit of a one trick pony. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked his first tale of a man stranded on a planet far from home – both the book and the film – but I suppose I was looking for some new ideas from this one.
Jazz is in her mid-twenties and lives in a city on the Moon. She’s been there most of her life, after emigrating to the planet with her father. Jazz makes a skimpy living working as a porter but augments this with a bit of smuggling on the side. So far, so good. Ok, the lunar setting has echoes of his first book, but surely this one’s headed in a different direction…isn’t it? No. Soon, we find Jazz stuck in a predicament where the only way she can extricate herself is via her own (significant) ingenuity and by delving into her (surprisingly expert) knowledge of all things scientific. Sound familiar? From this point on, I got drowned by all the science, virtually none of which I truly understood and most of which really added nothing to the telling of the tale. It was a case of way too much chemistry and physics and way too little plot to go with it.
Am I being too harsh on the author? Well, maybe other readers will judge for themselves. I can accept that in the rebellious jazz, he introduced me to a funny and engaging character, and some of the humour is well done, too. But the rest of the characters here are sketchily drawn, and the plot really amounts to no more than you’d expect from an old Star Trek episode – and not one of the best ones.
I nearly gave up on this one and only the thought that I might miss a moment of sheer tension such as was delivered in The Martian kept me going. It never materialised....more
So, my journey through the catalogue of time travel novels continues. This was recommended to me by a Goodreads friend and I instantly liked the quirkSo, my journey through the catalogue of time travel novels continues. This was recommended to me by a Goodreads friend and I instantly liked the quirky, funny start to the story. The humour ran out pretty quickly though as it started to delve, pretty deeply, into the logic and theory of time travel (can we really change the past; do we create parallel time streams, and all of that). This was ok, but a bit confusing and probably went on a little too long. That said, it was probably necessary to allow the reader to understand what transpires thereafter. The final third of the book is probably the most interesting: the threads are drawn together and I was left wandering whether time travel is something I'd want to do or not (I'd always assumed the answer to be 'yes please!') Overall an interesting and thought provoking book that, for me, would benefit from a second reading as I'm still not quite sure if I've fully understood all of the time travel nuances explored....more
The reviews I've read of this book are pretty evenly split: love it and hate it. Most think the earlier time travel novel by the same author, Time andThe reviews I've read of this book are pretty evenly split: love it and hate it. Most think the earlier time travel novel by the same author, Time and Again, much superior. I'm a little stuck on this one. The book is ok, though it really isn't as impactful as the first. The plot is clever and there's a good twist or two towards the end. But, and it's a big but, having read the earlier book this does very much follow the same pattern: lots of pictures (which if you've read the Time and Again 'afterward' you now know is simply a series of snaps picked up from random sources, not even necessarily depicting the correct year; in depth descriptions of streets and buildings; and in this one a long and rambling account do fall things Vaudeville. That said, I did quite enjoy it and - unlike some others - enjoyed how the tale was wrapped up and lose ends closed off.
Ok, so I'm a time travel novel addict. This is my tenth in a little over two years and I'm still on the lookout for more! This one is pretty good: theOk, so I'm a time travel novel addict. This is my tenth in a little over two years and I'm still on the lookout for more! This one is pretty good: the narrative has elements in common with other books I've read (the JFK assassination, how to make money quickly & well, if you get it wrong this time there's always next time...) but, in truth, it never really feels believable in a way the King novel, 11/22/63, does. Still, it's pacy, there are plenty twists and, like all books of this genre, it does make you think about how you're spending your time! I'm not over keen on the ending though - I thing the author could have taken a chance on something a little less 'safe'....more
I’m shortly to start my fifteenth time travel novel and thought I’d quickly list my 4 & 5 star rated nove5/4/22 - An update on my time travel reading.
I’m shortly to start my fifteenth time travel novel and thought I’d quickly list my 4 & 5 star rated novels for any who, like me, is somewhat obsessed with this sub-genre.
5 Stars:
11/22/63 - Stephen King Man in the Empty Suit - Sean Ferrell The Time Traveller's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger Recursion - Blake Crouch Time and Time Again - Ben Elton
4 Stars
Time and Again - Jack Finney Sea of Tranquility - Emily St. John Mandel The Outcasts of Time - Ian Mortimer Replay - Ken Grimwood The Man Who Folded Himself - David Gerrold
Aside from my star rating I’ve not attempted to put these in any particular order.
As before, I’m happy to take any further recommendations…
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21/9/13
I'm doing the rounds of time travel novels. I've read a few and here's my quick and dirty order, so far: 1) 11/22/63 - Stephen King 2) Man in the Empty Suit - Sean Ferrell 3) The Time Traveller's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger 4) Time and Again - Jack Finney
So this one is in last place? Well, last of a list of four of my favourite books. I love the options time travel opens up and each of the above does a brilliant job of exploiting that. The only reason this doesn't 't climb higher in the list is that I found the 'present day' setting somewhat off putting itself. It's written and set in the 70's and this period (though I lived through it myself as a teenager and into my twenties) seems like a time travel adventure in itself. That said, it's detailed, clever and has the author has found a brilliant way of wrapping up the story. I've just ordered and am about to read the follow up book published around the time of the author's death (1995). Can't wait! Would welcome any further recommendations for god time travel capers....more
I was thinking about this book the other day - something I do quite regularly, actually. It's been five years since I listened to an audUpdate 13/9/18
I was thinking about this book the other day - something I do quite regularly, actually. It's been five years since I listened to an audio version but this story made a huge impression on me. I'm a big fan of time travel tales (I've read a raft of them) but this is by far my favourite.
I was early into my exploration of King's catalogue and eagerly seeking something that wasn't centred on either horror or the paranormal - I have an aversion to both. This one looked like it was right up my alley and so it proved to be. So what was it about this tale that got to me and stayed with me? I think there's a couple of key things:
1. I liked the way time travel was triggered. Yes, it's an unlikely methodology, but for some reason I didn't find it hard to buy into (strange that I can accept time travel in literature whereas the inclusion of paranormal activity has a very different impact on me). I also enjoyed the Groundhog Day element of always arriving in the same place when our hero travelled back in time. I can't explain why this small detail struck me as appealing but for some reason I enjoyed the continuity of it.
2. The fact that King chose to base the story around an infamous historical event gave the tale a whole new, interesting focus. How would this play out: would he look to change history - and therefore impact current day life - or would the same historic outcome ensue? And in addition the author's undoubted interest in the JFK assassination has, in some way, created an authoritative account of events as they played out.
I've yet to track down a time travel story that's gripped me like this one and although I've now read quite a number of King's books this remains my favourite.
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Brilliant!! I've read a few time travel books lately and I've enjoyed them all. This is certainly up there with the best. As I neared the end I had that mix of anticipation (I genuinely didn't know how it would end) mixed with disappointment that I'd no longer have this book to retreat to. It's a long book, but it doesn't feel like it. In the end I could have happily read on for another couple hundred pages....more
It's one of the most original time travel books I've read (and I've read a few). A thoughtful tale of a time traA real surprise this one, I loved it.
It's one of the most original time travel books I've read (and I've read a few). A thoughtful tale of a time traveller who returns to a hotel on his birthday where the only other attendees are himself, at different ages, some older and some younger than his current 39 years. What happens next is perplexing, confusing and utterly compelling.
I'm not sure I understood every plot twist or even followed the story that accurately, in fact I found myself regularly re-reading sections to check my understanding. Funnily enough, this didn't spoil the experience for me as I finally decided to just go with it and was left with a tale that will haunt me for some time.
Everybody has read this book so I won't waste time going over the plot. I have to say it took me a little while to get into the flow of this but once Everybody has read this book so I won't waste time going over the plot. I have to say it took me a little while to get into the flow of this but once I'd settled into it I found it surprisingly easy to suspend reality and imagine a world in which a person could dart about in time turning up at (mostly) significant times in the lives of friends and family, both in the past and in the future. Indeed, the amount of thought and the detailed checking of timelines required to write such a book is in itself staggering. About half way through I found myself totally hooked and by the end I was absolutely sold on the fact that this is a brilliant work of fiction. At heart it's a love story pure and simple - so totally not my thing, but I loved it. The ending, often the achilles heel of many a good story, is superbly constructed, totally haunting. If you're one of the few left who hasn't picked this up yet then you're in for a treat....more
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