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christiana's review
3.0
Hrm. I was drawn to this book because I was promised heists and time travel. I mostly think I got that, but the plot plodded along more than I expected. Overall, memorable for having something new to say about time travel, pocket universes, and alternate timelines and pivot points, but not sure if this one will withstand the test of time for me. Also, safe for middle schoolers because of a Maze Runner like futuristic swearing system, albeit kind of annoying to me that that is the main thing this future has (also, lots of TV watching a la "datasets").
rachelcdm's review
3.0
This is such a hard book to review.
I LOVED the beginning.
I LOVED the end.
And I LOVED so much about the characters and the setting and the confusing timelines and the thievery and what not.
But there was just a whole chunk in the middle that seemed to flounder. The pacing was slow and a bit all over the place, that at one point I struggled to pick the book back up.
So I’m stumped as how to rate this. Typically, I’m a big fan of Graudin’s work and I want to say I’m a big fan of this book. It’s got some great humour and some lovely prose. (Some cheesy, purple prose as well if you’re into that sorta thing. Which I AM.)
So... yeah. It’s definitely somewhere in the 3/4 star range?
I recommend it if you’ve read any of Graudin’s stuff before and are a big fan of Firefly/Doctor Who mashups. :)
Imogen and Gram! *swoon*
I LOVED the beginning.
I LOVED the end.
And I LOVED so much about the characters and the setting and the confusing timelines and the thievery and what not.
But there was just a whole chunk in the middle that seemed to flounder. The pacing was slow and a bit all over the place, that at one point I struggled to pick the book back up.
So I’m stumped as how to rate this. Typically, I’m a big fan of Graudin’s work and I want to say I’m a big fan of this book. It’s got some great humour and some lovely prose. (Some cheesy, purple prose as well if you’re into that sorta thing. Which I AM.)
So... yeah. It’s definitely somewhere in the 3/4 star range?
I recommend it if you’ve read any of Graudin’s stuff before and are a big fan of Firefly/Doctor Who mashups. :)
Imogen and Gram! *swoon*
nyeran's review
1.0
“The world is a large place and time is even larger”
♠ Ho capito di essere superficiale e quindi voglio che si sappia che avrei droppato senza pietà questo libro al primo capitolo. Perchè posso capire (quasi) tutto, posso perdonare (quasi) tutto, ma sul realismo no. E sono d’accordo che una nei libri fantasy deve cercare di farsi andar bene le cose però il realismo stà anche nei piccoli dettagli.
♠ Io devo davvero credere che nell’anno 2371 tra i classici della musica non ci sono Madonna, Lady Gaga e Beyoncè!? Senza offesa ma se fra trecento anni il mondo si sarà dimenticato canzoni come Single Ladies o Bad Romance allora l’umanità avrà fallito. Devo accettare il fatto che questi hanno i viaggi nel tempo però nessuno di loro è mai capitato nell’anno di Poker Face? Questi non conoscono Britney Spears?
Sono superficiale, si, e quello era il primo capitolo.
Poi questo si chiama Farway Gaius, capito!? Farway Gaius. FARWAY Gaius. FARWAY. Abbreviato in Far. Che poi lui sia un Mario Sue stronzo non ha aiutato.
♠ E poi ormai si sa, a me se non mi dai un worldbuilding perlomeno accettabile per me è no (cit.). Si, ok mi dici che questi viaggiano nel tempo come se andassero a fare la spesa però, per esempio, non mi spieghi per quale cazzo di motivo esiste Vecchia Roma. È la Roma vera spostata non si sa dove perché non sappiamo dove siamo? È una riproduzione? Se è così, cos’è successo alla Roma vera? Ci sono anche Vecchia Londra, Vecchia Berlino, Vecchia Tokyo? Ma poi avete i viaggi nel tempo, le astronavi, gli stracazzi e dovete fare i debiti per mangiarvi una fottuta coppetta gelato? Quasi svenite alla vista di un vero pezzo di carta? Siete viaggiatori nel tempo la saprete fare la carta!? Potreste imparare, no? Alla fine ‘sti grancazzi di quello che mangiava Maria Antonietta nella sala degli specchi, costruitevi una cartiera. Priorità.
♠ Ho capito di essere superficiale e quindi voglio che si sappia che avrei droppato senza pietà questo libro al primo capitolo. Perchè posso capire (quasi) tutto, posso perdonare (quasi) tutto, ma sul realismo no. E sono d’accordo che una nei libri fantasy deve cercare di farsi andar bene le cose però il realismo stà anche nei piccoli dettagli.
♠ Io devo davvero credere che nell’anno 2371 tra i classici della musica non ci sono Madonna, Lady Gaga e Beyoncè!? Senza offesa ma se fra trecento anni il mondo si sarà dimenticato canzoni come Single Ladies o Bad Romance allora l’umanità avrà fallito. Devo accettare il fatto che questi hanno i viaggi nel tempo però nessuno di loro è mai capitato nell’anno di Poker Face? Questi non conoscono Britney Spears?
Sono superficiale, si, e quello era il primo capitolo.
Poi questo si chiama Farway Gaius, capito!? Farway Gaius. FARWAY Gaius. FARWAY. Abbreviato in Far. Che poi lui sia un Mario Sue stronzo non ha aiutato.
♠ E poi ormai si sa, a me se non mi dai un worldbuilding perlomeno accettabile per me è no (cit.). Si, ok mi dici che questi viaggiano nel tempo come se andassero a fare la spesa però, per esempio, non mi spieghi per quale cazzo di motivo esiste Vecchia Roma. È la Roma vera spostata non si sa dove perché non sappiamo dove siamo? È una riproduzione? Se è così, cos’è successo alla Roma vera? Ci sono anche Vecchia Londra, Vecchia Berlino, Vecchia Tokyo? Ma poi avete i viaggi nel tempo, le astronavi, gli stracazzi e dovete fare i debiti per mangiarvi una fottuta coppetta gelato? Quasi svenite alla vista di un vero pezzo di carta? Siete viaggiatori nel tempo la saprete fare la carta!? Potreste imparare, no? Alla fine ‘sti grancazzi di quello che mangiava Maria Antonietta nella sala degli specchi, costruitevi una cartiera. Priorità.
steph01924's review
5.0
I have no idea why this took me two months to finish. It's definitely not indicative of anything except that I made this my work-lunch read and I often decided to watch Hulu instead. Now that I've spent so long with them, I feel like I may even miss the characters more than usual since we spent a lot longer together than the day or two it normally takes me to finish a book.
I loved the time travel-y aspects, the found family, all the characters, the fact that it's a rare standalone! Something about the writing just went down super smoothly. I'm now really interested to read Graudin's other books.
I loved the time travel-y aspects, the found family, all the characters, the fact that it's a rare standalone! Something about the writing just went down super smoothly. I'm now really interested to read Graudin's other books.
nklosty's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
samrushingbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was an enjoyable time travel adventure with an interesting cast of characters. I'm simultaneously glad that it is a standalone, but also sad because that means that the story is over. I'm glad that I read this book, and I hope to read more by Ryan Graudin in the future.
books4susie's review
5.0
This book completely blew me away! I loved the Wolf By Wolf duology and this book was just as good. The reader thinks that they know where the story is going, only for Ms. Graudin to throw a well-placed loop and plotline change to drive the story even further. I loved the interaction between our main characters, the jumps through time and the mystery they are trying to solve. Readers will be quickly turning the pages to see how Invictus ends.
alicewgomide's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Wonderful, striking book! Stunning story, achingly beautiful prose and an amazing, although mind blowing, way to explore time, history and identity.
Epic book!
Epic book!
nicolemhewitt's review
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I have adored every one of Ryan Graudin’s books, so when I saw that she had a new one coming out the choice of whether or not to pick it up for review was a no-brainer. All of Graudin’s books are so completely different that I never know what to expect with her. This newest book is a time-traveling sci-fi adventure!
What Fed My Addiction:
Time-traveling adventures.
This book handles time travel incredibly well. It doesn’t gloss over the science of how it would work, but it doesn’t go into overwhelming detail either. Plus, there are exciting trips to historical events like the sinking of the Titanic! (And I kind of loved Graudin’s explanation of how stealing from the past makes sense—under very specific circumstances.) Add to that all of the complexities of the characters having to make sure they don’t change history and you get some pretty intense time-traveling!
No secondary characters.
While it might seem like Farway is the star of the show (and he is in some ways), we get POV’s of all of the major characters—Farway, Imogen, Gram, Priya and Eliot. Instead of feeling overwhelming, I appreciated getting to know all of the secondary characters better. (Plus, we got to learn things from Eliot that we wouldn’t have known otherwise!) I felt connected to all of the characters in the book this way.
The romance.
We had one romance that started up before the book started and another that we got to hope for as the book went on. And no triangles! I adored Priya and Far together.
The twists—and that ending! Once you find out what’s actually going on in this book, things start to get truly exciting! I won’t say anything more than that.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Bit of a slow start?
While there was definitely some mystery being built up in the first half of the book over who Eliot is and why she’s interested in Farway, I’ll admit that I wasn’t completely engaged until we started to get a few answers. (I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was bored, but I was… waiting for something more.) About halfway through the book we discover something major is happening that affects absolutely everyone in the book, and that kicked the plot into high gear and majorly raised the stakes, though, and from there on out the story was phenomenal.
Doesn’t exactly feel like YA.
The characters are 17, but they didn’t really feel 17 to me. They were all a little too expert at their fields and their personalities felt older as well (with the possible exception of Imogen, who seems a little younger in her insecurities—though I think she’s actually the oldest). They are out of school, so maybe you could consider it New Adult sci-fi? (But New Adult has a lot of connotations that don’t really fit this book.)
This book delivers intense time travel adventures that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I give it an easy 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
I have adored every one of Ryan Graudin’s books, so when I saw that she had a new one coming out the choice of whether or not to pick it up for review was a no-brainer. All of Graudin’s books are so completely different that I never know what to expect with her. This newest book is a time-traveling sci-fi adventure!
What Fed My Addiction:
Time-traveling adventures.
This book handles time travel incredibly well. It doesn’t gloss over the science of how it would work, but it doesn’t go into overwhelming detail either. Plus, there are exciting trips to historical events like the sinking of the Titanic! (And I kind of loved Graudin’s explanation of how stealing from the past makes sense—under very specific circumstances.) Add to that all of the complexities of the characters having to make sure they don’t change history and you get some pretty intense time-traveling!
No secondary characters.
While it might seem like Farway is the star of the show (and he is in some ways), we get POV’s of all of the major characters—Farway, Imogen, Gram, Priya and Eliot. Instead of feeling overwhelming, I appreciated getting to know all of the secondary characters better. (Plus, we got to learn things from Eliot that we wouldn’t have known otherwise!) I felt connected to all of the characters in the book this way.
The romance.
We had one romance that started up before the book started and another that we got to hope for as the book went on. And no triangles! I adored Priya and Far together.
The twists—and that ending! Once you find out what’s actually going on in this book, things start to get truly exciting! I won’t say anything more than that.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Bit of a slow start?
While there was definitely some mystery being built up in the first half of the book over who Eliot is and why she’s interested in Farway, I’ll admit that I wasn’t completely engaged until we started to get a few answers. (I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was bored, but I was… waiting for something more.) About halfway through the book we discover something major is happening that affects absolutely everyone in the book, and that kicked the plot into high gear and majorly raised the stakes, though, and from there on out the story was phenomenal.
Doesn’t exactly feel like YA.
The characters are 17, but they didn’t really feel 17 to me. They were all a little too expert at their fields and their personalities felt older as well (with the possible exception of Imogen, who seems a little younger in her insecurities—though I think she’s actually the oldest). They are out of school, so maybe you could consider it New Adult sci-fi? (But New Adult has a lot of connotations that don’t really fit this book.)
This book delivers intense time travel adventures that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I give it an easy 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
lostinagoodbook's review
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley in return for an un-biased review.
The right book at the right time can be such a gift. I really needed a book just like this just now. After my recent looong journey through a very deep and emotional fantasy series, I felt like I needed something bright and shiny to chase the shadows out of my brain. This book was perfect.
A young man, Far Gaius McCarthy, is a promising time travel cadet whose final exam is derailed by a rogue Marie Antoinette. Things only get more complicated from there.
How to describe this book? Would you like a book about time traveling bff’s skipping through history heisting rare artifacts? Heck yes you would! This book is as fun as it sounds. It grabs you right from the get go and you’re swept along until the very last page.
Thankfully, the time travel aspect is well handled. Books about time travel can quickly get bogged down in complex paradoxes if an author is not careful. Ms. Graudin does a terrific job maneuvering the terrain without losing her sense of fun and adventure.
Far McCarthy, is an excellent character. Cocky and headstrong as he should be in this role, but with a wonderful group of friends keeping him safe and facilitating both his work in the black market, and the search for his missing mother. The ensemble cast of this book is really endearing. They are a terrific group of friends who are genuinely fond of each other and quirky as all get out. I’d love about 4 more books please. If we could have one focusing on each character that would be just great! The author has said this is a standalone book, so I guess I’m not going to get my wish, but hey YOU still have a chance to read this book for the first time! Get to Netgalley quick my book blogging friends, they still have review copies. If you’re reading this review after the book releases, then what are you waiting for, buy it. You won’t be sorry. A fantastic journey awaits!
The right book at the right time can be such a gift. I really needed a book just like this just now. After my recent looong journey through a very deep and emotional fantasy series, I felt like I needed something bright and shiny to chase the shadows out of my brain. This book was perfect.
A young man, Far Gaius McCarthy, is a promising time travel cadet whose final exam is derailed by a rogue Marie Antoinette. Things only get more complicated from there.
How to describe this book? Would you like a book about time traveling bff’s skipping through history heisting rare artifacts? Heck yes you would! This book is as fun as it sounds. It grabs you right from the get go and you’re swept along until the very last page.
Thankfully, the time travel aspect is well handled. Books about time travel can quickly get bogged down in complex paradoxes if an author is not careful. Ms. Graudin does a terrific job maneuvering the terrain without losing her sense of fun and adventure.
Far McCarthy, is an excellent character. Cocky and headstrong as he should be in this role, but with a wonderful group of friends keeping him safe and facilitating both his work in the black market, and the search for his missing mother. The ensemble cast of this book is really endearing. They are a terrific group of friends who are genuinely fond of each other and quirky as all get out. I’d love about 4 more books please. If we could have one focusing on each character that would be just great! The author has said this is a standalone book, so I guess I’m not going to get my wish, but hey YOU still have a chance to read this book for the first time! Get to Netgalley quick my book blogging friends, they still have review copies. If you’re reading this review after the book releases, then what are you waiting for, buy it. You won’t be sorry. A fantastic journey awaits!