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A review by ponch22
Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen
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.