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12rhys23's review
Love the concept, but the execution was dull and unexciting Time travel aspect is treated like a second thought. Connie Willis is so much better at this.
clacksee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-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
5.0
carladelgado's review
5.0
I haven’t read a book THIS good in over a year.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some good reads here and there, but I haven’t felt this way in a long, long time. This book was great right off the bat and it did not waver in the middle or disappoint by the end. It’s just excellent all the way through! Easily one of my favorite books now. I was completely immersed in the story from the very first page and it did not let go.
I cannot possibly oversell this book. It’s really good and I feel so, so happy to have found a gem like this!!
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some good reads here and there, but I haven’t felt this way in a long, long time. This book was great right off the bat and it did not waver in the middle or disappoint by the end. It’s just excellent all the way through! Easily one of my favorite books now. I was completely immersed in the story from the very first page and it did not let go.
I cannot possibly oversell this book. It’s really good and I feel so, so happy to have found a gem like this!!
sstrubel's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
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? No
5.0
sunrays118's review
3.0
Read this at the same time as [b:How to Stop Time|45152372|How to Stop Time|Matt Haig|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645729201l/45152372._SY75_.jpg|54403019], and both are eerily similar. Both look at time travel, both are about a single man trying to find his daughter, both deal with a secret society, and about a dozen more similarities.
That said, this one was only ok, while How To Stop Time showed far more sophisticated writing, character development, and richness in the plot.
I was disappointed by the haphazard writing in places in this book. The plot was predictable, bordering on banal. There is one part that still bothers me. Imagine you had been with a man for a decade and just found out he had done something completely evil. Would you react by saying, 'oh, ok, well let's go find this person you're looking for. not trouble about that awful thing!' It just felt entirely fake.
The nice thing about this book is that there are really only three characters (five if you want to stretch it) but they all have identical personalities so there is no need to pay attention to who says what!
That said, this one was only ok, while How To Stop Time showed far more sophisticated writing, character development, and richness in the plot.
I was disappointed by the haphazard writing in places in this book. The plot was predictable, bordering on banal. There is one part that still bothers me. Imagine you had been with a man for a decade and just found out he had done something completely evil. Would you react by saying, 'oh, ok, well let's go find this person you're looking for. not trouble about that awful thing!' It just felt entirely fake.
The nice thing about this book is that there are really only three characters (five if you want to stretch it) but they all have identical personalities so there is no need to pay attention to who says what!
ponch22's review
5.0
I. Am a sucker. For time-travel.
Heard about [b:Here and Now and Then|36630924|Here and Now and Then|Mike Chen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529346325l/36630924._SY75_.jpg|58394721] on an episode of Reading Glasses podcast & the simple description had me hooked.
Kin, a time-traveling secret agent from the 22nd century, gets stranded in the 1990s when a job goes wrong. He gives up hope on ever being rescued & so settles down to start a family. But when his rescue-team shows up nearly 20 years later, he's taken back to his current time where he has to acclimate to a life he's forgotten with friends & family who think he's been gone a few weeks, not several years. Soon, his bosses determine that his daughter (who never should have existed in the first place) needs to be eliminated and Kin will do anything to save her.
[a:Mike Chen|1155463|Mike Chen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1515027230p2/1155463.jpg] does a great job (especially for a debut novel) starting the story in media res & just letting the reader catch up. Exposition is slowly distributed and never feels too over-the-top. Rules are set up, "Why doesn't anyone stop Hitler?" is answered, the world-building was great!
Plus, there's a lot of heart in the novel—Kin is truly torn between his 20th-century family and his 22nd-century one. The relationships feel real and I really wasn't sure if Kin would get a happy ending or if his selfishness would destroy the lives of those he loved across millennia.
Heard about [b:Here and Now and Then|36630924|Here and Now and Then|Mike Chen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529346325l/36630924._SY75_.jpg|58394721] on an episode of Reading Glasses podcast & the simple description had me hooked.
Kin, a time-traveling secret agent from the 22nd century, gets stranded in the 1990s when a job goes wrong. He gives up hope on ever being rescued & so settles down to start a family. But when his rescue-team shows up nearly 20 years later, he's taken back to his current time where he has to acclimate to a life he's forgotten with friends & family who think he's been gone a few weeks, not several years. Soon, his bosses determine that his daughter (who never should have existed in the first place) needs to be eliminated and Kin will do anything to save her.
[a:Mike Chen|1155463|Mike Chen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1515027230p2/1155463.jpg] does a great job (especially for a debut novel) starting the story in media res & just letting the reader catch up. Exposition is slowly distributed and never feels too over-the-top. Rules are set up, "Why doesn't anyone stop Hitler?" is answered, the world-building was great!
Plus, there's a lot of heart in the novel—Kin is truly torn between his 20th-century family and his 22nd-century one. The relationships feel real and I really wasn't sure if Kin would get a happy ending or if his selfishness would destroy the lives of those he loved across millennia.
vendea's review
3.0
I don't think I've ever encountered a less intelligent group of time travelers. Maybe they just weren't genre-savvy. I don't know. In any case, sitting there watching everyone make all the wrong decisions was really frustrating. Listened to this on audiobook and I'll also say that the narrator's British accent was pretty infuriating.
ljimenez89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
annlouise's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
joshhall13's review
2.0
This is a time travel story with main characters that love SciFi.
However there are zero SciFi elements in this book. It's a fiction book that uses time travel as a background plot device.
However there are zero SciFi elements in this book. It's a fiction book that uses time travel as a background plot device.