[Book Review]: The Last Saxon King by Andrew Varga (A Jump in Time Novel, Book 1)

About the Book

Genre: Young Adult, Time-Travel Adventure

Publisher: Imbrifex Books

Release Date: 7th March 2023

Life is progressing normally for sixteen-year-old Dan Renfrew when he accidentally transports himself to England in the year 1066. He soon realizes that he’s trapped there, and that’s not his only astonishing discovery.

Dan learns that he’s descended from a long line of time jumpers–secret heroes who travel to the past and resolve glitches in the time stream that threaten to alter subsequent history. The only way Dan can return home is to set history back on its proper course in the Anglo-Saxon age. This is no easy task.

A Viking horde is ravaging England in the north while a Norman army threatens to invade from the south. In between and desperately struggling to hold on to his throne is Harold Godwinson, the newly-crowned English king. Dan is fighting to ensure that events play out correctly when he finds himself plunged into an even more lethal conflict.

To save history, Dan must battle a band of malevolent time jumpers whose lust for wealth and power threatens the entire future of the world.

About the Author

I am a YA historical fiction author who takes great pains to ensure historical accuracy in my books, while still ensuring that I tell a great story. Although I enjoy reading and writing about all history, I have a particular fondness for European history from Greco-Roman times until the crusades.

I hope you enjoy my stories.

Website: https://www.andrewvargaauthor.com/

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/A_Varga_Author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewvargaauthor/

My review

4,5* stars

I don’t usually read young adult fiction, preferring more mature characters, but I’ve made an exemption for this one as it’s written by my fellow time-travel author. It didn’t disappoint me.

The story of Dan Renfrew, a sixteen-year-old home-schooled teenager who witnesses a brutal attack on his father and accidentally transports himself back in time, ending up in Anglo-Saxon England on the verge of the Norman conquest, was a bittersweet read, sending me back in time, too – in time of my teenage years when I read a ton of such kind of adventure books.

Dan is a newbie to time travel as his father, a university professor, never told him that Dan is, in fact, comes from a long line of time jumpers, whose job it is to fix glitches in time. So Dan makes many mistakes along the way, some of which may even cost him life, but he emerges from it a different person, transforming from a shy and indecisive history geek into a mature young man, able not only to stand for himself, but for his loved ones, too.

Like every good adventure novel, the book is full of twists and turns and keeps readers entertained from the beginning to the very end. The author doesn’t describe the mechanism of time travel, but it’s not necessary for the plot which is more focused on historical rather than technical details.

All characters are likable and well-presented. It also has a sweet romantic subplot. I enjoyed a few funny scenes where Dan gets into all sorts of medieval troubles, but also sad scenes –for example, Sam’s backstory which is full of tragic events.

The author has poured his heart and soul into research of the era. The world building is exceptional. The atmosphere of medieval England is captivating with many historical details. I think that the author has achieved a good balance between historical accuracy and entertainment. The description of the two major battles Dan witnesses—the Battle of Stamford Bridge and the Battle of Hastings — are well-written and detailed without being too gory.

The novel ends on a cliff-hanger, inviting a reader to follow Dan and his newly found girlfriend on his next time-travel journey. I know that some readers don’t like cliff-hangers, but trust me, this one is nicely wrapped up, leaving no questions unanswered.

I recommend this book to everybody who enjoys history, time travel, and alternative history with lots of adventure.

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