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A review by bookph1le
Towards Yesterday by Paul Antony Jones
2.0
It started out strong, began to crash and burn in the middle, and then fizzled out in the end. More complete review to follow.
Full review:
When I first started reading Towards Yesterday, I was hooked. I found myself devouring it on my Kindle for Android app, which is really saying something because I pretty much hate reading on my phone. I loved how unique the characters seemed, how real and authentic their voices were. So imagine my surprise when the rest of the novel failed to follow the same direction. Some spoilers ahead.
As my opening paragraph suggests, I found the sudden switch from multiple POVs to a single (for the most part) POV to be really disappointing. Though he initially seemed to be a strong character, I was not a very big fan of Jim after the jump back in time. He struck me as rather bland, and this was a big problem for me because there were other characters I found a LOT more interesting, so I wasn't happy to have to look at the world through Jim's eyes. I think this is the biggest downfall of the book, really. We have so many compelling characters--the crazed priest, the genius scientist trapped in a six-year-old girl's body--but we have to see the world mainly through Jim's rather dull gaze. I kept reading, sure there must be some chapters written from the six-year-old's perspective, but no such luck. That was a really wasted opportunity because the premise of her character was so interesting and unique.
The other thing I disliked about the novel was the way in which the Church of Second Redemption was portrayed. The first chapter told from the Father's point of view was so gripping, but then we don't get to hear any more of the story from his voice. The lengths he was willing to go to for his ideals were really fascinating, but because so much of what happens with the Church happens offscreen, the Church ultimately becomes kind of cartoonish. I simply couldn't buy that they had the kind of power to pull off what they pulled off, particularly because their behavior seemed liked it would have ultimately turned public sentiment against them. There just didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to their behavior.
I was also pretty disappointed in the ending. It's action-packed, but I found it ultimately unsatisfying. There was too much of a deus ex machina element to it for me to be very happy with it.
Still, I think this author shows a lot of promise. This was a really great concept for a novel and, had the execution been better, I think this would have been a really excellent read.
Full review:
When I first started reading Towards Yesterday, I was hooked. I found myself devouring it on my Kindle for Android app, which is really saying something because I pretty much hate reading on my phone. I loved how unique the characters seemed, how real and authentic their voices were. So imagine my surprise when the rest of the novel failed to follow the same direction. Some spoilers ahead.
As my opening paragraph suggests, I found the sudden switch from multiple POVs to a single (for the most part) POV to be really disappointing. Though he initially seemed to be a strong character, I was not a very big fan of Jim after the jump back in time. He struck me as rather bland, and this was a big problem for me because there were other characters I found a LOT more interesting, so I wasn't happy to have to look at the world through Jim's eyes. I think this is the biggest downfall of the book, really. We have so many compelling characters--the crazed priest, the genius scientist trapped in a six-year-old girl's body--but we have to see the world mainly through Jim's rather dull gaze. I kept reading, sure there must be some chapters written from the six-year-old's perspective, but no such luck. That was a really wasted opportunity because the premise of her character was so interesting and unique.
The other thing I disliked about the novel was the way in which the Church of Second Redemption was portrayed. The first chapter told from the Father's point of view was so gripping, but then we don't get to hear any more of the story from his voice. The lengths he was willing to go to for his ideals were really fascinating, but because so much of what happens with the Church happens offscreen, the Church ultimately becomes kind of cartoonish. I simply couldn't buy that they had the kind of power to pull off what they pulled off, particularly because their behavior seemed liked it would have ultimately turned public sentiment against them. There just didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to their behavior.
I was also pretty disappointed in the ending. It's action-packed, but I found it ultimately unsatisfying. There was too much of a deus ex machina element to it for me to be very happy with it.
Still, I think this author shows a lot of promise. This was a really great concept for a novel and, had the execution been better, I think this would have been a really excellent read.