Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I suspect that if you like alternate history and military science fiction, you'll really like this book. The worldbuilding is cool, and the writing itself is strong. However, the copy on the back cover makes it look like it's going to be a sweeping, actiony, time travel romance, and that is not what it is. I don't particularly like military SF or alternate history, so the book was a disappointment for me, but it may not be for you!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I'm not usually a fan of SF (totally Team Fantasy) and I got the impression (from the blurb) that this would be pretty heavy on romance (and would potentially be unbearably saccharine) but I decided to read it anyway since it was short and the non-romance-related premise sounded interesting. Boy, was I glad I did. The (translated) writing was easy to follow, the action engaging (and this coming from someone with an almost non-existent attention span) and the romance kept to a bare minimum. While some parts took slower reads to understand (especially all the time-hopping, alternate-timestream madness), it was a pretty exciting read overall.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I couldn't get into the style - this might be a translation issue, but I think not.
Time travel sci-fi, translated from the Japanese. Chapters alternate back and forth between 248AD Japan and various alternate universes along an ever-splitting time line, some far in the future, some deep in the past, some recent yet fundamentally changed. Ogawa manages to handle both the universe's quantum weirdness and the characters' emotional intensity, a combination of skills something not every sci-fi author can muster. The telling is blessedly taut, and the translation seems strong -- a few phrases ably distinguish colloquialisms during different eras, and considering how complicated it can be to unravel time-travel confusion, kudos to Jim Hubbert for having made sense of it in the adapted English.
(Full disclosure, I worked for five years for the company that later published this book.)
(Full disclosure, I worked for five years for the company that later published this book.)
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was interesting yet I do think as a stand alone it did not have time to explore the world and the characters but I think that it would have done better as a duology or trilogy.
A definite recommendation to anyone who likes time travel, especially the ones that present some form of interesting play on the conventions. It is quite grim in tone, if a little detached when it comes to details of battles. The ending is kind of weak, but it doesn't detract too much from a really solid piece of writing. I'd most certainly pick up more of this author's work.
No es mal libro, pero a mi gusto está medio plano: Mucha descripción de datos que igual no te importan, poca descripción de los que sí te importan y, válgame la rebusnancia, la emoción no es muy emocionante.
Maybe I was not in the mood.
Maybe I was not in the mood.
This was my first sci-fi book.
It made me cry, laugh and blush.
Words cannot describe this book except for...
I loved it.
It made me cry, laugh and blush.
Words cannot describe this book except for...
I loved it.