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lostinagoodbook's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley in return for an un-biased review.
I’ve loved a good time travel story since the old days when I saw a double header of Back to the Future and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure at a drive in movie theater. Yes … I am old. (ha!) I loved the twisty-turny way it made my brain feel. What if Marty met himself? What if his parents figured out who he was. What if someone died and it eliminated his timeline? Time travel can be tricky! Time’s Children is not afraid to meet these questions head on.
Tobias is a young man with an innate ability to “time walk” with the use of a Chronofor. He is 15 years old and has been trained primarily as an assassin. He will be employed by the king of an embattled kingdom, who hopes to use Tobias’ abilities to prevent the war. Time travel in this book ages a person. For every year you walk … you age. Tobias takes a walk 14 years into the past and emerges to find himself a 15 year old mind in a 29 year old body. This creates an interesting character arc. His body is different, he’s not been slowly habituated to the slow aches and pains of growing up and older. He’s a boy in a man’s body, still idealistic and I think a little tenderhearted. However, his walk has now changed history in ways that couldn’t have been foreseen and now he is stuck. I don’t want to say more because SPOILERS.
I quite liked the book and the authors style of writing. It put me in mind of Jeff Wheeler’s books. They are easy to sink into. As a trigger warning, there is some off-focus torture in the book. I say off-focus because it is not dwelt on in grisly detail, but the effect and emotion is kept intact. I’m not sure exactly how many books are going to be in this series, but I know that there is a second book coming out relatively soon. I’m hoping I can come across it on Netgalley in the near future. I’d really like to see how this story shapes up.
Song for this book: What Time Do You Call This? by Elbow
I’ve loved a good time travel story since the old days when I saw a double header of Back to the Future and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure at a drive in movie theater. Yes … I am old. (ha!) I loved the twisty-turny way it made my brain feel. What if Marty met himself? What if his parents figured out who he was. What if someone died and it eliminated his timeline? Time travel can be tricky! Time’s Children is not afraid to meet these questions head on.
Tobias is a young man with an innate ability to “time walk” with the use of a Chronofor. He is 15 years old and has been trained primarily as an assassin. He will be employed by the king of an embattled kingdom, who hopes to use Tobias’ abilities to prevent the war. Time travel in this book ages a person. For every year you walk … you age. Tobias takes a walk 14 years into the past and emerges to find himself a 15 year old mind in a 29 year old body. This creates an interesting character arc. His body is different, he’s not been slowly habituated to the slow aches and pains of growing up and older. He’s a boy in a man’s body, still idealistic and I think a little tenderhearted. However, his walk has now changed history in ways that couldn’t have been foreseen and now he is stuck. I don’t want to say more because SPOILERS.
I quite liked the book and the authors style of writing. It put me in mind of Jeff Wheeler’s books. They are easy to sink into. As a trigger warning, there is some off-focus torture in the book. I say off-focus because it is not dwelt on in grisly detail, but the effect and emotion is kept intact. I’m not sure exactly how many books are going to be in this series, but I know that there is a second book coming out relatively soon. I’m hoping I can come across it on Netgalley in the near future. I’d really like to see how this story shapes up.
Song for this book: What Time Do You Call This? by Elbow
melloplayer's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rannaluv's review against another edition
4.0
This book took me a long time to read. For some reason I had a hard time getting through to the end. I picked the book up and put it down so many times over the last month or so. But I didn't try to read any other book during that time, which usually if I'm having a hard time finishing a book I'll just go ahead and start a new one, so that says something about the story pulling me enough to keep picking up the book in hopes of getting to the last page. And it was worth the read. I liked the plot and I liked the main characters in the story. Even though it was not easy for me to get through, it was worth more than 3 stars. I will probably read the 2nd book too, and I hope it is even better than the first one.
lili90738's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Torture
readerreborn's review against another edition
5.0
As an aspiring writer myself, David B. Coe / D. B. Jackson is one of my biggest inspirations. I had the pleasure of meeting him and hearing him speak about this book at JordanCon '18. When I heard he was returning to epic fantasy, I was ecstatic.
The LonTobyn Chronicles was one of the series that got me into epic fantasy (and showed me how to properly blend genres) and and the Forelands books are in my top 10 series of all time.
Time's Children did not disappoint. Jackson has a way of making stories that are both epic in scope and yet extremely down to earth and personal that I've rarely seen matched. This one is no exception. Interesting take on a magic system and thrilling throughout with realistic characters that you really feel and root for. Can't wait for the second book!
Helen Keeley deserves a nod because she did a fantastic job bringing the audio book to life.
The LonTobyn Chronicles was one of the series that got me into epic fantasy (and showed me how to properly blend genres) and and the Forelands books are in my top 10 series of all time.
Time's Children did not disappoint. Jackson has a way of making stories that are both epic in scope and yet extremely down to earth and personal that I've rarely seen matched. This one is no exception. Interesting take on a magic system and thrilling throughout with realistic characters that you really feel and root for. Can't wait for the second book!
Helen Keeley deserves a nod because she did a fantastic job bringing the audio book to life.
itabar's review against another edition
4.0
Read bits of it because the slowness of listening to it was painful during the exciting bits. Glad I did 'cause there's TORTURE (UGH UGH UGH) and reading allowed me to skip chunks of it.
ajp71088's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the world building, in particular the interesting magic with devastating consequences and the chilling demons that you learn to love. Enjoyed the various viewpoint characters and was pleasantly surprised to see one or two when their plot arcs began. The ending was not what I was expecting, but sets up nicely for a thrilling sequel.
I haven't read many time travel stories, and I certainly haven't seen much of it in fantasy. But I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to Time's Demon next year.
I haven't read many time travel stories, and I certainly haven't seen much of it in fantasy. But I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to Time's Demon next year.
scriberjack's review against another edition
5.0
As an aspiring writer myself, David B. Coe / D. B. Jackson is one of my biggest inspirations. I had the pleasure of meeting him and hearing him speak about this book at JordanCon '18. When I heard he was returning to epic fantasy, I was ecstatic.
The LonTobyn Chronicles was one of the series that got me into epic fantasy (and showed me how to properly blend genres) and and the Forelands books are in my top 10 series of all time.
Time's Children did not disappoint. Jackson has a way of making stories that are both epic in scope and yet extremely down to earth and personal that I've rarely seen matched. This one is no exception. Interesting take on a magic system and thrilling throughout with realistic characters that you really feel and root for. Can't wait for the second book!
Helen Keeley deserves a nod because she did a fantastic job bringing the audio book to life.
The LonTobyn Chronicles was one of the series that got me into epic fantasy (and showed me how to properly blend genres) and and the Forelands books are in my top 10 series of all time.
Time's Children did not disappoint. Jackson has a way of making stories that are both epic in scope and yet extremely down to earth and personal that I've rarely seen matched. This one is no exception. Interesting take on a magic system and thrilling throughout with realistic characters that you really feel and root for. Can't wait for the second book!
Helen Keeley deserves a nod because she did a fantastic job bringing the audio book to life.
woodge's review against another edition
2.0
In this fantasy world there's Spanners, Walkers, and another group I can't remember. The first have the ability to travel great distances in a moment, the second can travel backwards in time, and then return, and the third can walk through walls but no one does that in this book. Tobias is a Walker, and is tasked with going back farther than anyone has. The catch is, he'll age those years he travels, too. There's also some demons -- creatures with abilities of their own. But for such a fat book, not that much happens beyond a couple of fights, torture, and a lot of babysitting a royal baby. I stuck it out because, well, I'd got pretty far in and kept hoping it would improve. I won't be reading the concluding second part.
pinggaines180's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent, quick read. The magic system was fantastically inventive, and I loved the magickal, "demon" races. Droë and Mara added a lot of interest to an already fantastic narrative focusing on Tobias. Highly recommended.