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ec_newman's review
This should be a book I devour and I can't tell if it's because it's an ebook (unlikely), or what, but I struggled to get into it. The premise is great. I found it too detailed, especially the space/time-travel explanation. I wanted more about the characters (who seem a little like cliches at 35% through), the story, etc.
I feel bad, but I just couldn't get swept up. It's also really, really long, and when that length is because of sentences and info I don't feel add anything, I tend to drift off.
I feel bad, but I just couldn't get swept up. It's also really, really long, and when that length is because of sentences and info I don't feel add anything, I tend to drift off.
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review
5.0
Invictus by Ryan Graudin is science fiction novel that starts in the year 2371. Farway Gaius McCarthy is taking his final exam to receive his license to time travel. However, someone gets into the SIM and sabotages it for him. With no other alternative, Far accepts an offer to pilot his own machine and deal in black market goods. He assembles his team and begins his new career on the Invictus. On a mission to the Titanic, they encounter the mysterious Eliot. Eliot resembles the lady who sabotaged Far’s final SIM. Eliot is on a mission and needs assistance. They will race through time to right a wrong before it is too late.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Invictus. It was a delightful tale (who doesn’t love a good time travel tale). It contains great characters and is packed full of action. I found it be well-written and entertaining. Invictus had a fast pace with many twists and turns along the way. I liked how the characters developed over the course of the book. I started reading Invictus and stayed up very late to finish it (I wanted to know how it ended, but I also did not want it to end). I am giving Invictus 5 out of 5 stars (I loved it). There is time-travel, spaceship, a red panda (a cute little fellow), romance, humor, intrigue, and so much more.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Invictus. It was a delightful tale (who doesn’t love a good time travel tale). It contains great characters and is packed full of action. I found it be well-written and entertaining. Invictus had a fast pace with many twists and turns along the way. I liked how the characters developed over the course of the book. I started reading Invictus and stayed up very late to finish it (I wanted to know how it ended, but I also did not want it to end). I am giving Invictus 5 out of 5 stars (I loved it). There is time-travel, spaceship, a red panda (a cute little fellow), romance, humor, intrigue, and so much more.
bluejaybooks's review
4.0
This was a great light read to pick-up between the dense epic fantasy novels I’ve been reading and the additional ones I’m planning to read in the future.
That said, the novel itself contains several common time travel tropes. Having consumed my share of time travel related media, the world-building and plot twists, for the most part, weren’t all that surprising.
The heart of this novel was instead the characters and its addictive nature. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump as of late, but I found this to be a hard to put down read.
While I do stand by what I said about most of the plot’s elements being ones I’ve seen before, there was one plot-twist that surprised me. This has more to do with this twist introducing tropes from a sub-genre that I didn’t expect to be incorporated into this novel than anything else.
Still, mixing sub-genres is a legitimate strategy, and the details of this twist fell into place once the author explained it.
Returning my attention to the characters, they have a great dynamic that only tends to come about in third-person-multiple point-of-view novels (which this is). Funnily enough, this is a characteristic I’ve noticed also reoccurs in novels centering around a heist. This novels characters also happens to be thieves. I don’t know what it says about fictional criminals that they have such great group dynamics.
This novel is one of those hard to pull off cases where the many points of view remained distinct and never got confusing despite the several main characters and the frequent shift in perspective.
This leads me to another great aspect of this novel: it is easy to follow. So many time travel novels have timelines that are difficult to keep track of. I didn’t have that problem at all with the main story here. I remained clear on what was happening in the story itself even throughout times when the characters weren’t sure themselves.
The other greatest aspect of this book was that the main characters have a domesticated red panda. Too bad domesticated red pandas don’t exist. The rest of us will have to keep observing from afar.
That said, the novel itself contains several common time travel tropes. Having consumed my share of time travel related media, the world-building and plot twists, for the most part, weren’t all that surprising.
The heart of this novel was instead the characters and its addictive nature. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump as of late, but I found this to be a hard to put down read.
While I do stand by what I said about most of the plot’s elements being ones I’ve seen before, there was one plot-twist that surprised me. This has more to do with this twist introducing tropes from a sub-genre that I didn’t expect to be incorporated into this novel than anything else.
Still, mixing sub-genres is a legitimate strategy, and the details of this twist fell into place once the author explained it.
Returning my attention to the characters, they have a great dynamic that only tends to come about in third-person-multiple point-of-view novels (which this is). Funnily enough, this is a characteristic I’ve noticed also reoccurs in novels centering around a heist. This novels characters also happens to be thieves. I don’t know what it says about fictional criminals that they have such great group dynamics.
This novel is one of those hard to pull off cases where the many points of view remained distinct and never got confusing despite the several main characters and the frequent shift in perspective.
This leads me to another great aspect of this novel: it is easy to follow. So many time travel novels have timelines that are difficult to keep track of. I didn’t have that problem at all with the main story here. I remained clear on what was happening in the story itself even throughout times when the characters weren’t sure themselves.
The other greatest aspect of this book was that the main characters have a domesticated red panda. Too bad domesticated red pandas don’t exist. The rest of us will have to keep observing from afar.
mllejoyeuxnoel's review
3.0
Interesting time travel romp. Three stars because I wasn't crazy about the writing. Too many sentences were stilted and awkward, making the descriptions and metaphors difficult to digest. The characters were also only so-so for me. But I do love both a) women with no hair, and b) women with rainbow hair, and this book had both. So... yay!
Also, I freaking HATED the faux curse words created here. They all felt so contrived. Some books pull off the endeavor of inventing futuristic curse words well... in my humble opinion, this one simply missed the mark entirely.
Also, I freaking HATED the faux curse words created here. They all felt so contrived. Some books pull off the endeavor of inventing futuristic curse words well... in my humble opinion, this one simply missed the mark entirely.
votesforwomen's review
3.0
I have so many mixed feelings.
After Wolf by Wolf, I was pretty sure I'd love anything Ryan Graudin wrote; after all, that was one of my favorite reads of 2017. I picked this one up with simultaneously no expectations and high expectations. I didn't know anything about it, other than that she was the author.
And that's not to say there's anything wrong with it, just that it's not as good as I'd hoped.
Eliot, for example. I absolutely adored her. She felt very much like one of the Wolf by Wolf characters. A history-hopping, time-travelling, alternate-universe-spinning girl with no hair and penciled-on eyebrows she writes secret messages into? Who collects ridiculous curses from other languages and uses them often? Who's out to save the multiverse before it completely falls apart?
I seriously wish she'd been the protagonist. I would have followed her to the ends of the multiverse. Eliot is easily the best thing about this book.
The other characters shine too, but only to various degrees. Empra's story wasn't as compelling as I'd hoped at the beginning. Farway is definitely a unique protagonist, and I enjoyed him, but not as much as I'd been expecting to. Normally I love the cocky pilot boys so I'm not sure why I didn't this time. Priya was sweet and complex but still kind of boring; Gram was just kind of there. Imogen was definitely my second-favorite character. Her eternal sunny outlook (I love optimist charries!), her crazy rainbow hair, her sense of humor, her love of gelato, her adorable red panda....I loved it. Eliot and Imogen were the best part of this book for me.
Otherwise, meh. It wasn't a bad book, don't get me wrong, and perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if my expectations weren't sky-high after reading Blood for Blood. But there it is.
The time travel aspect was cool. It got confusing and I didn't always understand what was happening, but it was still nice that this one wasn't /quite/ as mind-boggling as a lot of time travel/alternate universe books.
Graudin's prose is absolutely gorgeous as usual, and the romance shines. The plot moves quickly all over history, which I loved.
Overall? I wanted to love this one so much. I didn't, unfortunately. I still recommend it, though.
After Wolf by Wolf, I was pretty sure I'd love anything Ryan Graudin wrote; after all, that was one of my favorite reads of 2017. I picked this one up with simultaneously no expectations and high expectations. I didn't know anything about it, other than that she was the author.
And that's not to say there's anything wrong with it, just that it's not as good as I'd hoped.
Eliot, for example. I absolutely adored her. She felt very much like one of the Wolf by Wolf characters. A history-hopping, time-travelling, alternate-universe-spinning girl with no hair and penciled-on eyebrows she writes secret messages into? Who collects ridiculous curses from other languages and uses them often? Who's out to save the multiverse before it completely falls apart?
I seriously wish she'd been the protagonist. I would have followed her to the ends of the multiverse. Eliot is easily the best thing about this book.
The other characters shine too, but only to various degrees. Empra's story wasn't as compelling as I'd hoped at the beginning. Farway is definitely a unique protagonist, and I enjoyed him, but not as much as I'd been expecting to. Normally I love the cocky pilot boys so I'm not sure why I didn't this time. Priya was sweet and complex but still kind of boring; Gram was just kind of there. Imogen was definitely my second-favorite character. Her eternal sunny outlook (I love optimist charries!), her crazy rainbow hair, her sense of humor, her love of gelato, her adorable red panda....I loved it. Eliot and Imogen were the best part of this book for me.
Otherwise, meh. It wasn't a bad book, don't get me wrong, and perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if my expectations weren't sky-high after reading Blood for Blood. But there it is.
The time travel aspect was cool. It got confusing and I didn't always understand what was happening, but it was still nice that this one wasn't /quite/ as mind-boggling as a lot of time travel/alternate universe books.
Graudin's prose is absolutely gorgeous as usual, and the romance shines. The plot moves quickly all over history, which I loved.
Overall? I wanted to love this one so much. I didn't, unfortunately. I still recommend it, though.
victorsvales's review
4.0
totally different from what I expected, but I loved it anyway! found family truly is one of the best tropes, and add it to time travel? boom, excellence
andrew1987clarke's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25