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The Siege of Masada

(Turning Points #1)

Jodie Lane (Goodreads Author)

4.13 · Rating details · 15 ratings · 7 reviews

An ancient fortress ... A desperate last stand ... Trapped in a time she doesn’t belong ... Will Gwyn change the course of history just to survive? On holiday from university with her family in Israel, Gwyn stumbles across a strange device while exploring the ruins of Masada. She is unwittingly thrown back two thousand years in time to the bloody siege between the Roman in ...more

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Paperback, 234 pages

Published November 22nd 2015 by Jodie Lane

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Mar 07, 2016 Delia Strange rated it really liked it

The story is a really interesting one that jumps around in time and shows different perspectives from different characters, though the main protagonist is Gwyn.

The story isn't fast-paced at the beginning, but picks up steam after the first few chapters. As a result, some readers might not get to the better part of the story. I personally found the turning point to be reading Adi's journey to Masada. It was punchy, emotional and absorbing.

The author breaks a few 'rules' in point-of-view in this b ...more

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Oct 12, 2016 M.G. Ryan rated it really liked it

The Siege of Masada is an intriguing tale of time travel where the author has woven the past, the present and the future successfully into the one story. I enjoyed the historical fiction component of the book, where the main protagonist, Gwyn, is thrown back in time to the era when the Romans attacked Masada. A fictional story set amongst true historical events, (much like James Cameron did with Jack & Rose in 'Titanic'), was an interesting setting which lead to an enjoyable read. The future wor ...more

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Jun 27, 2016 Adrien Le rated it really liked it

I met the most intelligent and delightful authoress herself at a local book-signing. I didn't hesitate to obtain my personally autographed copy on the spot as from an all too brief conversation I quickly discerned that anything this well educated, softly spoken woman had written would be well worth the meagre cost in dollars to obtain. As I waited patiently for my opportunity to get her sure to be in the near future valuable signature on my newly purchased copy of her debut work, as she kindly s ...more

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Oct 20, 2017 Natasha Ramm rated it liked it

I enjoyed this debut novel by Jodie Lane and would recommend it to readers with an interest in history and time-travel stories.

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Apr 22, 2016 Matthew Sue Yek rated it really liked it

Topic: Historical, Time-travelling, Sci-fi, 3rd person

Narrative: Gywn an Australian University student gets a hold of a time-travelling piece, while in Israel, that sends her back to 76AD with the siege of Masada just starting. While Michelle, a time-traveling agent, whom has lost the time traveling device, is trying to recover it.

Review: I really enjoyed the story as a whole, although i felt that parts of the book dragged on a bit (specifically with Gywn being in Israel, and the conclusion was Topic: Historical, Time-travelling, Sci-fi, 3rd person

Narrative: Gywn an Australian University student gets a hold of a time-travelling piece, while in Israel, that sends her back to 76AD with the siege of Masada just starting. While Michelle, a time-traveling agent, whom has lost the time traveling device, is trying to recover it.

Review: I really enjoyed the story as a whole, although i felt that parts of the book dragged on a bit (specifically with Gywn being in Israel, and the conclusion was quite short. I would of loved an epilogue, either of Gywn, Michelle or people from Masada (I don't want to give too much away). It has a mix of history and fiction, which i enjoyed, since i learned a bit about Israel and the Romans. I thought Gywn is a great character, she is composed, understanding, but also on the edge of sanity. I liked that although she is a History major, she isn't a history nerd, she remembers some things about Masada but not everything in minute details. Gywn is living history. In regards to Michelle, I thought she was a little underdeveloped, she is this badass time travelling agent, but we don't delve to far into her reasons, back history or who she is etc. There are certain questions about 'linkage' between the main characters, but they are unanswered.

In the final arc of the narrative, it becomes clear that their is a conspiracy developing. I would of loved to have stayed in this arc a lot longer. Primarily because there are many questions that both Gywn and I have that are unanswered. Hence why an epilogue would of been better. However, i can't help but feel a sequel in the making. Gywn and Michelle do become somewhat of a team, and it feels like their adventures together are just starting. I reckon they can learn a lot from one another.

Gywn goes through quite an enormous transition, and by the end of the book, i felt that she had accomplished quite a lot. Hence why I also think there has to be a sequel, she has learnt so much and has developed quite a lot.

As another reviewer has stated there is an explicit sex scene and almost a rape scene. Personally, i understood the later, since we are talking a different time, place and situation, but i felt the former really wasn't needed. I understood the motivation around the sex scene and am not against having sex in this book as it was realistic, but i didn't feel that it needed to go into so much detail. I have an imagination :) I honestly didn't notice the swearing.

As far as time-travelling goes, i'm happy to advise, this one doesn't overdo concepts of time and space and relativity. I never felt confused about how time travel worked in this novel. Jodie Lane has crafted a simple enough premise, and Gywn is our eyes into understanding what is going on.

I look forward to more of Jodie Lane's stories and even reading more of Gywn and her adventures!

**I rate books on enjoyment, not so much as a critical review.
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May 09, 2016 Alicia rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-books, time-travel, historical

The Siege of Masada was a fun piece of young/new adult historical fiction that painted a portrayal of several sides of an ancient battle. Nothing overly graphic in battle scenes, though occasional swearing and 'mature' themes (which were kind of great and hilarious and why I'd suggest new adult works too, though the first few chapters may mislead you).

This book took me a little bit to get into. The start was somewhat slow and jumpy, and as I don't generally read a lot of historical fiction it wa ...more

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Jan 08, 2016 Zane rated it really liked it

(My author friends are cooler than YOUR author friends :P )
Well done, Jodie, an intriguing read! Very wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey. ;)

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About Jodie Lane

Jodie Lane

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Jodie Lane is an avid amateur historian, combining her love of travel and adventure with fascinating stories from the past. Brisbane based, she studied a variety of modern history at the University of Queensland, and loves to read a wide range of historical and science fiction.

Her travels have taken her all over the world: she has lived and taught English in China and Romania, backpacked through E ...more