Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Enjoyable
A fun adventure story with likable protagonists and a good mystery. Could work a bit on finesse. Worth a read.
A fun adventure story with likable protagonists and a good mystery. Could work a bit on finesse. Worth a read.
I see other reviews comparing this book (and series) to Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St. Mary's, and there are some superficial similarities. Rather than time travel, the QCs "step" from their home of Alpha Earth to Beta Earth to rescue items that are about to be lost or destroyed. Beta Earth is the Earth that we know and love, whereas Alpha Earth assumes itself to be better because the humans there have developed different technologies and overall have a different set of morals.
Anyway, a bloke in Cambridge, Julius, gets swept up in the QCs' attempt to retrieve a Faberge egg. Along the way, traitors are revealed and trust is tested.
Over all I did like this. I listened rather than read, and the narrators were good. There's no comparison with Zara Ramm reading the CoSM books, though.
Anyway, a bloke in Cambridge, Julius, gets swept up in the QCs' attempt to retrieve a Faberge egg. Along the way, traitors are revealed and trust is tested.
Over all I did like this. I listened rather than read, and the narrators were good. There's no comparison with Zara Ramm reading the CoSM books, though.
Fun, fast-paced, and twisty! Very much in the same vein as The Invisible Library series and The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. Enjoyed it and will read more.
This book begins with an interesting premise about two parallel earths which had separated
at the time of the burning of the Library of Alexandria. Alpha Earth is an almost Utopian world, where wars have never existed, social equality exists and technology is advanced. Beta Earth is, of course, the earth we live in. Teams from Alpha Earth are able to time travel and cross over to the Beta to capture ancient artifacts that have been lost or destroyed.
After the interesting start to the book in which four Alphas cross over to find a significant Faberge egg, it all goes downhill. The plot is a mess and most of the characters are unpleasant and poorly developed. The only worthwhile character in the book is Julius, a Beta earthling. In the end, there appears to be some completely unclear subversive machinations going on and nothing is resolved. The book is set up for sequels but this first one did not convince me to pursue them.
at the time of the burning of the Library of Alexandria. Alpha Earth is an almost Utopian world, where wars have never existed, social equality exists and technology is advanced. Beta Earth is, of course, the earth we live in. Teams from Alpha Earth are able to time travel and cross over to the Beta to capture ancient artifacts that have been lost or destroyed.
After the interesting start to the book in which four Alphas cross over to find a significant Faberge egg, it all goes downhill. The plot is a mess and most of the characters are unpleasant and poorly developed. The only worthwhile character in the book is Julius, a Beta earthling. In the end, there appears to be some completely unclear subversive machinations going on and nothing is resolved. The book is set up for sequels but this first one did not convince me to pursue them.
A fun premise, similar to the Chronicles of St. Mary’s with a group of people dedicated to traveling in time to rescue/intercept artifacts that are just about to be destroyed for safekeeping in an archive. Has great potential to be very interesting.
This is a good one
I grabbed this book as something to keep me busy while between library books and I am so glad I did. The concept of parallel Earths was a little bit to wrap my head around at first but the interesting characters and clever dialogue reminded me of other books, specifically the Historians of St Mary's.
I appreciated the imagination of the author the objectives of the Alpha Earth. The spy novel style kept it all interesting. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I grabbed this book as something to keep me busy while between library books and I am so glad I did. The concept of parallel Earths was a little bit to wrap my head around at first but the interesting characters and clever dialogue reminded me of other books, specifically the Historians of St Mary's.
I appreciated the imagination of the author the objectives of the Alpha Earth. The spy novel style kept it all interesting. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
This was a freebie via Prime Reading and it was recommended for people who liked the St Mary's series. I wasn't terribly optimistic but figured it was worth a go.
And it really was - I really enjoyed it. A couple of editing errors (epitaph for epithet and a misspelling of Stansted Airport) and a couple of creaky dialogue exchanges aside, this was a well written, well paced, well plotted romp and I will definitely read the next one.
And it really was - I really enjoyed it. A couple of editing errors (epitaph for epithet and a misspelling of Stansted Airport) and a couple of creaky dialogue exchanges aside, this was a well written, well paced, well plotted romp and I will definitely read the next one.
Pretty bland stuff. Decent reading experience, but the type of book I will never think about again. There's a category of novels that contain a romance fantasy with a competent female lead and a handsome and smart man, and I can recognize that these books are not written for an aromantic male teenager. Perhaps not objectively flawed, but just really not for me.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Alpha Earth and Beta Earth. Beta seems to be our Earth, Alpha is a world free of religious or political strife and without wars. It‘s a parallel Earth, parted from us at the burning of the Alexandria library. The Roman Empire never happened and their world took a different path.
There are quantum doors opening between worlds every now and then and Alpha Earth takes those doors to visit and save artifacts of all kinds from our destructive world. Neith Salah is a quantum curator and she has to save a Faberge egg from destruction. On Beta Earth there is Julius, a Cambridge professor, who is after the egg as well…
Murder, theft, a huge conspiracy and all that for some jewelry. Yes, very fancy and valuable jewelry. Still, I didn‘t really buy into the initial premise of this story and the importance of what the curators are doing. It was entertaining enough and I did like the male main character, so I might get the next one in the series if the mood strikes me for something light and short.
The audio has a female and male narrator. I was not a fan of the accent of the female narrator, Lucy Rayner. All her sentences were spoken in the same cadence, which made her chapters very monotonous. My mind kept wandering off. Not ideal.
Reminded me of The Chronicles of St. Mary‘s. I read the first book, Just One Damned Thing After Another, in 2017. I only gave it three stars back then, but I just took a look at all the quotes I saved and it sounds pretty funny. I might have to re-read that one and maybe continue the series. Not saying that this one here is a rip-off or every strongly influenced by that series, but considering other reviews I am not the first person to notice similarities.
There are quantum doors opening between worlds every now and then and Alpha Earth takes those doors to visit and save artifacts of all kinds from our destructive world. Neith Salah is a quantum curator and she has to save a Faberge egg from destruction. On Beta Earth there is Julius, a Cambridge professor, who is after the egg as well…
Murder, theft, a huge conspiracy and all that for some jewelry. Yes, very fancy and valuable jewelry. Still, I didn‘t really buy into the initial premise of this story and the importance of what the curators are doing. It was entertaining enough and I did like the male main character, so I might get the next one in the series if the mood strikes me for something light and short.
The audio has a female and male narrator. I was not a fan of the accent of the female narrator, Lucy Rayner. All her sentences were spoken in the same cadence, which made her chapters very monotonous. My mind kept wandering off. Not ideal.
Reminded me of The Chronicles of St. Mary‘s. I read the first book, Just One Damned Thing After Another, in 2017. I only gave it three stars back then, but I just took a look at all the quotes I saved and it sounds pretty funny. I might have to re-read that one and maybe continue the series. Not saying that this one here is a rip-off or every strongly influenced by that series, but considering other reviews I am not the first person to notice similarities.