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Peer Through Time
2015 San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention
In 2079, a time travel experiment sends physicist Carmela Akronfleck further back in time than she’d intended. Though she’s still in her small northern California town, the year is 1936 and she must learn to live without the technology she’s come to rely on. Her neurological implants should be dormant, but she receives a cryptic message, periodically accompanied by an audio transmission from the future. It’s the voice of her former psychotherapist, an android named Kass, stating his innocence in a series of murders occurring in 2079.
When Carmela deciphers the code as a hit list, she's shocked to discover her mother and sister are among the intended targets. Further evidence reveals the killer's true identity, but the inoperative time portal prevents her from returning to save her family and vindicate Kass.
She considers another option: hunt down the killer's ancestors and avert his existence without radically changing history. She devises a plan to protect her family, haunted by doubts that she's becoming the kind of person she's always loathed—one willing to take another's life.
In 2079, a time travel experiment sends physicist Carmela Akronfleck further back in time than she’d intended. Though she’s still in her small northern California town, the year is 1936 and she must learn to live without the technology she’s come to rely on. Her neurological implants should be dormant, but she receives a cryptic message, periodically accompanied by an audio transmission from the future. It’s the voice of her former psychotherapist, an android named Kass, stating his innocence in a series of murders occurring in 2079.
When Carmela deciphers the code as a hit list, she's shocked to discover her mother and sister are among the intended targets. Further evidence reveals the killer's true identity, but the inoperative time portal prevents her from returning to save her family and vindicate Kass.
She considers another option: hunt down the killer's ancestors and avert his existence without radically changing history. She devises a plan to protect her family, haunted by doubts that she's becoming the kind of person she's always loathed—one willing to take another's life.
- GenresTime Travel
371 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2015
About the author
David T. Pennington
3 books11 followersDavid T. Pennington grew up in a small northern California town called Paradise, but his home is in San Francisco. While his associate's degree in computer programming has helped pay the bills, his bachelor's degree in psychology has informed his writing. His love of fiction--mainly mysteries, science fiction, and thrillers--is balanced by his fascination with books on futurism, theoretical physics, and cosmology. Peer Through Time is his debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 12, 2015
Very well written. This was a page turner for sure. The use of switching back and forth between years had me trying to keep close track of things.
The last hundred pages saw the pace really ramped up and lots going on. There also is a lot of pertinent information thrown at us toward the end.
The author thoughtfully had the main characters deal with some moral issues based on the situation they found themselves in. One of the deaths was very sad to me. I hated to see that character killed. I don't want to give too much away so I'll keep it general.
I liked the main characters and especially the clan from on the hill. There are some interesting scenes in this story.
The time travel method is a real leap of faith for the time travelers because it so inconsistent and unreliable! Interesting!
I especially liked the descriptions and scenes in and around San Francisco. Having lived in Northern California, I could relate to the towns mentioned. David did a great job describing the surroundings of his characters. Also David introduced some fascinating futuristic modes of transportation and amusement type rides.
An excellent debut novel.
The last hundred pages saw the pace really ramped up and lots going on. There also is a lot of pertinent information thrown at us toward the end.
The author thoughtfully had the main characters deal with some moral issues based on the situation they found themselves in. One of the deaths was very sad to me. I hated to see that character killed. I don't want to give too much away so I'll keep it general.
I liked the main characters and especially the clan from on the hill. There are some interesting scenes in this story.
The time travel method is a real leap of faith for the time travelers because it so inconsistent and unreliable! Interesting!
I especially liked the descriptions and scenes in and around San Francisco. Having lived in Northern California, I could relate to the towns mentioned. David did a great job describing the surroundings of his characters. Also David introduced some fascinating futuristic modes of transportation and amusement type rides.
An excellent debut novel.
March 27, 2015
My first win! Thank you Goodreads! I am very excited and will post my review as soon as I have received and read Peer Through Time.
Follow up: (No Spoilers!) Just finished the book this weekend. Let me say that I have never been a super huge sci-fi fan, so for me to give this 4.5/5 stars it HAS to be good. Congrats to David Pennington for a very well written whodunnit!!
The story is about a young woman who is trying to save her family from a future killer by manipulating the past. In the beginning it did remind me as a kind of "Terminator-esqueish" storyline, however.....
I loved the fact that time travel was only a possibility for a few, and that is was quite unpredictable. The more I got into this book, the more it became it's very own story. The switching back and forth between years had me paying close attention to events and characters. This novel will definitely keep you guessing about good guys vs. bad guys, and which one is which. Thanks for the surprise! I would recommend David Pennington's Peer Through Time for any mystery lovers! Hope there is a sequel in the works!!
Follow up: (No Spoilers!) Just finished the book this weekend. Let me say that I have never been a super huge sci-fi fan, so for me to give this 4.5/5 stars it HAS to be good. Congrats to David Pennington for a very well written whodunnit!!
The story is about a young woman who is trying to save her family from a future killer by manipulating the past. In the beginning it did remind me as a kind of "Terminator-esqueish" storyline, however.....
I loved the fact that time travel was only a possibility for a few, and that is was quite unpredictable. The more I got into this book, the more it became it's very own story. The switching back and forth between years had me paying close attention to events and characters. This novel will definitely keep you guessing about good guys vs. bad guys, and which one is which. Thanks for the surprise! I would recommend David Pennington's Peer Through Time for any mystery lovers! Hope there is a sequel in the works!!
February 16, 2015
Full of surprises!
This one baffled me, then shocked me, then totally surprised me! San Francisco! Mystery! Murder! But we don’t find out ‘whodunnit’ for a long time and we keep trying to figure it out and are still surprised at the end. Time travel backwards and forwards! Good guys and bad guys, but which is which, we keep guessing? A smart, likeable protagonist, Carmela, who deftly leads us through this compelling story. An empathic, sweet Android psychologist. Wonderful technology and Artificial Intelligence that’s pretty darn impressive and quite believable. Story flowed smoothly and kept me turning pages, wanting more, but not wanting it to end. Hope there’s a sequel!
This one baffled me, then shocked me, then totally surprised me! San Francisco! Mystery! Murder! But we don’t find out ‘whodunnit’ for a long time and we keep trying to figure it out and are still surprised at the end. Time travel backwards and forwards! Good guys and bad guys, but which is which, we keep guessing? A smart, likeable protagonist, Carmela, who deftly leads us through this compelling story. An empathic, sweet Android psychologist. Wonderful technology and Artificial Intelligence that’s pretty darn impressive and quite believable. Story flowed smoothly and kept me turning pages, wanting more, but not wanting it to end. Hope there’s a sequel!
November 7, 2016
To be fair to the author.. i am only one hour in to the audio book, but I really cannot justify going any further.
Frankly... it's just too damn slow. Nothing is happening except for the main character doing a lot of whining about her life, her past and the relationship with her sister. I'm shocked that this was written by a male author as it reads like a bad "Lifetime" show.
In addition, the exposition is very clumsily handled. i don't care about any of the characters and this far into the audio book... SOMETHING significant should have happened.
Maybe it gets better... but I'll never find out.
Frankly... it's just too damn slow. Nothing is happening except for the main character doing a lot of whining about her life, her past and the relationship with her sister. I'm shocked that this was written by a male author as it reads like a bad "Lifetime" show.
In addition, the exposition is very clumsily handled. i don't care about any of the characters and this far into the audio book... SOMETHING significant should have happened.
Maybe it gets better... but I'll never find out.
July 9, 2017
(actually 2-1/2 stars -- between it was okay and I liked it)
Although I'm a Big fan of time travel stories, I had a little bit of a problem getting into this book. There didn't seem to me to be any focus or direction (or story really) for so long, and SO many characters! While it never really grabbed me or became a 'page turner', I did eventually finish it (longer than it usually takes me to read a book). Some of the technical explanations and character associations were confusing and dragged on, but the premise was creative. By the time I got within the last 30 pages or so my head was spinning! I'm glad I stuck with it until the end; however, if there is a sequel, I think I'll pass.
Although I'm a Big fan of time travel stories, I had a little bit of a problem getting into this book. There didn't seem to me to be any focus or direction (or story really) for so long, and SO many characters! While it never really grabbed me or became a 'page turner', I did eventually finish it (longer than it usually takes me to read a book). Some of the technical explanations and character associations were confusing and dragged on, but the premise was creative. By the time I got within the last 30 pages or so my head was spinning! I'm glad I stuck with it until the end; however, if there is a sequel, I think I'll pass.
July 30, 2017
Not surely I bought this book- I have no interest in time travel stories , but decided to go out of the box on this one. I found it hard to follow as the characters were jumping around so much into different years. Always good to read something different.
June 14, 2017
Time travel story with bad historical data.
Bad characters, bad science, all bad.
Sorry to the author, I just didn't liked.
Bad characters, bad science, all bad.
Sorry to the author, I just didn't liked.
May 18, 2015
This book is Mr. Pennington's debut novel. It is a fine showing for a first book. For a time travel story it was a good one and I have not read a good one in a while. When I read the author's impressive background of computer programming and psychology with his love for futurism and theoretical physics, I was impressed but also a little worried that I was going to be reading a book that might be unbelievable with a few words that are outside of my vocabulary. All my worries were for nothing. In fact, with Mr. Pennington's knowledge and love, it helped with this book. The story was believable. This was not the issue. My issue was that although I liked the storyline, I found myself only liking the characters. I was not in love with them. Thus I was only semi-invested in what was happening to them. Particularly Carmela. Carmela was fine but there was nothing that really made her stand out. The one I found the most interesting was Kass and he was an android. He was more than just an android. As the story progressed, he evolved into more like a human. This is what made him exciting for me. At times I did wish that the action was turned up a few dials but still this was an enjoyable read. I am looking forward to seeing what Mr. Pennington comes out with next.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews