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A review by trishjbutler
Now, Then, and Everywhen by Rysa Walker
3.0
Technically heavy, historically researched time travel mystery
Two time-travelers, from different points in the future, are in the 1960s when changes in their own timeline hit them with a physical force. They return to their respective times to find out what happened and how to fix things back to their original status. They and their teams are protected from the effects of the changes within CHRONOS fields, and their advanced computers tell them exactly how many people have been lost, many effectively disappearing out of existence. They have to learn how to fix things and why they happened in the first place.
It’s an exciting premise that caught my attention. I love time-travel fiction, but I realized, when reading this book, that I don’t like it enough to be interested in all the technicalities. Of course, the plot jumps between the two future timelines and the 1960s, which is entirely expected and not something I have a problem reading. What I found frustrating was a ‘chapter’ finally reaching an interesting climax with a discovery or some action, only for it to end and I’m back reading the technical explanation behind it all.
Halfway through the book, I discovered that there are earlier CHRONOS books by this author that might have given me a ‘beginners’ guide’ and perhaps the technical sections would have proved more attractive. Assuming some of the same characters appear in those books, I might have also been more invested in them.
The most interesting sections of the book were set in the 1960s with Dr Martin Luther King Jnr. and John Lennon, amongst others, making an appearance. Clearly, a lot of research went into the activities of all of these people, the feel of the times and fashions, and it showed.
If not already a fan of this author, I would recommend a reader interested in a story about time-travel who loves all the intricacies of how it would work to give this a try. Be aware, however, that though this story is resolved, there is a bit of a cliff-hanger.
Two time-travelers, from different points in the future, are in the 1960s when changes in their own timeline hit them with a physical force. They return to their respective times to find out what happened and how to fix things back to their original status. They and their teams are protected from the effects of the changes within CHRONOS fields, and their advanced computers tell them exactly how many people have been lost, many effectively disappearing out of existence. They have to learn how to fix things and why they happened in the first place.
It’s an exciting premise that caught my attention. I love time-travel fiction, but I realized, when reading this book, that I don’t like it enough to be interested in all the technicalities. Of course, the plot jumps between the two future timelines and the 1960s, which is entirely expected and not something I have a problem reading. What I found frustrating was a ‘chapter’ finally reaching an interesting climax with a discovery or some action, only for it to end and I’m back reading the technical explanation behind it all.
Halfway through the book, I discovered that there are earlier CHRONOS books by this author that might have given me a ‘beginners’ guide’ and perhaps the technical sections would have proved more attractive. Assuming some of the same characters appear in those books, I might have also been more invested in them.
The most interesting sections of the book were set in the 1960s with Dr Martin Luther King Jnr. and John Lennon, amongst others, making an appearance. Clearly, a lot of research went into the activities of all of these people, the feel of the times and fashions, and it showed.
If not already a fan of this author, I would recommend a reader interested in a story about time-travel who loves all the intricacies of how it would work to give this a try. Be aware, however, that though this story is resolved, there is a bit of a cliff-hanger.