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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an interesting book, but just as the time traveller's in the story become emotionally detached, I also struggled to connect with or care about the characters involved. I couldn't keep track of all the characters, the conclusion to the 'murder mystery' element wasn't very satisfying and the ending felt abrupt. Almost a quarter of the book is an appendix of various psychometric tests for time travellers, but what I would have appreciated more is a timeline mapping out the plot. Clearly, a lot of thought has been put into this book, and there are lots of fascinating ideas, but these weren't enough to make it an engrossing reading experience.
H-m-m. What do I think of this novel? Hard to say, even though I gave it four stars. The reason for the four stars? Because it's the author's first novel & it is competently written, and the story is somewhat intriguing, given the subject matter, and presents, at least for me, some thoughts I hadn't given to time travel. (Not that I spend that much time thinking about time travel.)
The subject matter lends itself to confusion, naturally, but I also didn't like the back and forth in time periods, which is necessary in a novel about time travel. ("The Time Travelers Wife"--also a first novel by Karen Niffenegger--handled it much better.)
And being an old-school writer, I bemoan the new criteria for punctuation. You know, no commas after introductory phrases. Also what bothers me is the omission of chapters, which for me, delineates a new scene or perhaps a different character. (This book did not err in this way.) But what I found QUITE annoying was the author's habit of putting two different speakers' dialogue in one block. I kept having to go back to make sure who was speaking. An example is below:
"You need to keep your fucking trap shut," he said. "Enough," Elsbeth told him. She looked then--not with disapproval, Odette noticed, but with interest--and said, "We need to watch what happens next."
This example isn't the worst; sometimes, the author uses this technique without identifying the speakers. Ugh!
A recommend? I'm not sure. If you have a book you've been dying to read, then I'd read it, and leave this book for another time. Perhaps.
The subject matter lends itself to confusion, naturally, but I also didn't like the back and forth in time periods, which is necessary in a novel about time travel. ("The Time Travelers Wife"--also a first novel by Karen Niffenegger--handled it much better.)
And being an old-school writer, I bemoan the new criteria for punctuation. You know, no commas after introductory phrases. Also what bothers me is the omission of chapters, which for me, delineates a new scene or perhaps a different character. (This book did not err in this way.) But what I found QUITE annoying was the author's habit of putting two different speakers' dialogue in one block. I kept having to go back to make sure who was speaking. An example is below:
"You need to keep your fucking trap shut," he said. "Enough," Elsbeth told him. She looked then--not with disapproval, Odette noticed, but with interest--and said, "We need to watch what happens next."
This example isn't the worst; sometimes, the author uses this technique without identifying the speakers. Ugh!
A recommend? I'm not sure. If you have a book you've been dying to read, then I'd read it, and leave this book for another time. Perhaps.
3.5 stars; 4 if you can forgive the slow / over-precious first third and really enjoy a mystery. I plodded on because I'm a sucker for time travel stories and this one has zero worries of paradoxes because the timeline is _always_ self consistent / fated (like the movie "Los cronocrímenes" / "Timecrimes" -- recommended!)
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
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
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a refreshing new aspect to time travel. Instead of technology or paradoxes, this book focusses on — as the name suggests — on the psychological effects of time travel, especially for the traveller but also people close to them. How do you cope with the idea of your own mortality, if you constantly jump forwards and backwards in time, visiting people who are not yet born or who are still alive in your own time but dead in the near future? What does it do to your relationships, when your partner knows things about future that you cannot be privy to?
There are also some really mind bending ideas, like "genies", or artifacts that are never manufactured and only exist within a certain time loop, or the judicial system that only applies to the time travel conclave. Mascarenhas has seriously put thought on some minor details, and it pays off.
Fun read, I wouldn't mind a sequel in the future. (I guess past is not an option.)
There are also some really mind bending ideas, like "genies", or artifacts that are never manufactured and only exist within a certain time loop, or the judicial system that only applies to the time travel conclave. Mascarenhas has seriously put thought on some minor details, and it pays off.
Fun read, I wouldn't mind a sequel in the future. (I guess past is not an option.)
What if a group of Bletchley Circlesque women invented time travel in the 60s?
How would time travel affect culture? Individuals? What would time related crimes look like?
This book does an excellent job at portraying the unexpected repercussions of time travel. Its affect on the personality and group culture of time travelers and the have-nots who can't time travel. Slice-of-lifeish, thoughtful, and with a touch of queer romance and race issues.
How would time travel affect culture? Individuals? What would time related crimes look like?
This book does an excellent job at portraying the unexpected repercussions of time travel. Its affect on the personality and group culture of time travelers and the have-nots who can't time travel. Slice-of-lifeish, thoughtful, and with a touch of queer romance and race issues.