At Some Point in Time

by M. Ray Holloway Jr.

Ed Delaney knew he had made some mistakes in his life. He was trapped in a really bad marriage. On the other side of the coin, he had just invented the first time machine ever, and his lab assistant was encouraging him to use it to go back and fix the things that were wrong in his life. Morally, he felt it was wrong to use his amazing invention for his own personal purposes.
Then, through a freak accident in the lab, he found himself transported back thirty years to a time that he took the wrong path. He now had the opportunity to choose a different direction, if he dared to risk changing the timeline. He wondered if he could create the kind of life that he always wished he had lived.

237 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 11, 2015

About the author

M Ray Holloway Jr was born in Monroe, Louisiana while his dad was in the Navy. When his dad got out, they settled down in Houston, Texas where he lived for the next forty-three years. On New Year’s Day 1998, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he met his wife Pam, and he has lived there to this day. He loves spending time with his six grandchildren, playing the guitar, singing for the church, photography, reading, and writing fiction and non-fiction. He has published two short stories (“Gretchen’s Shoot” and “The Empath”) and two novelettes (“The Picture of the Ghost” and "The Deathburger Saga"), a book of poetry ("Encouragements: A Collection of Poems"), and released a novel about time travel and young love called "At Some Point in Time". He has released Book One and Two of his Word Series called "Let No Word be Spoken", and "A Harsh Word...". He is currently working on the third and final book in the series called "The Final Word."

Reviews

[Christina McMullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on something of a time travel kick as of late and this one is a little different. It reads less like sci-fi, and more like magical realism, except that the 'magic' in this instance is in fact science. The plot follows Ed, a brilliant scientist who has discovered the secrets to temporal travel. Unfortunately, Ed manages to send himself back in time with no return plotted. What happens next is something that I'm sure many people would give their left kidney for: a chance to relive the past with knowledge from the future.

Instead of a madcap adventure, Ed guides his younger self, Eddie, into making some different decisions this time around, but at the same time, he is mindful of what could happen. The majority if the book centers around this re-living and the relationship that evolves with the one who had previously got away. The story is sweet and touching. The best part, however, is the end. But I can't tell you why. Just know that it is certainly closed, yet open enough that if the author wanted to add to it, he could.

[Dwayne Fry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will start by saying that I am a Ray Holloway fan. I have read most of what he has published and generally enjoy his work. This tale did not cut it for me, however.

The premise is good.

Ed, a scientist, has found the secret to time travel. He intends to use it to correct a problem in his life: His unhappy marriage to Gretchen. Ed decides to go back to his teenage years and reconnect with a childhood sweetheart, Susan. He wants to rekindle their lost love and marry her this time around.

I'm sure we have all wondered - what if I could go back and do it all again? So, the idea behind the story is great.

My big issue with it is this - I just gave you the entire book in one paragraph. I expected Ed to encounter problems along the way. What if life with Susan is worse than life with Gretchen? What if Susan has no interest in him this time around? What if his meddling in the past starts some horrible unforeseen events? What if Susan has another boyfriend she prefers or what if an ex-boyfriend becomes jealous and tries to harm Ed? There are dozens of ways Ed could have run into problems, possibly hundreds of missed opportunities for hurdles and conflict. Instead, everything goes right this time and I mean everything. Since scientist Ed is somehow trapped in the brain of young Eddie, he not only guides his younger self to finding love, he leads Eddie into making a fortune creating a video game and playing the stock market. Ed changes the lives of various people around him, manipulating them into a better life than they had his first time around. Holloway plays it very soft on Ed and won't allow any room for error in his plans. A book with no conflict is dull. Characters are far more interesting when confronted with tough problems. The only time there seemed to be any real conflict was when young Gretchen tried to make young Susan think she and Eddie had a thing going, but that was a short-lived subplot that was quickly swept under the rug. Pity. It was the only part of the book I really enjoyed. There was another good moment where Ed/Eddie were in a church wondering if what they were doing was ethical or if they were "playing God". Again, the moment comes and goes quickly and does not develop into any serious self-conflict. Again, pity.

The characters were not nearly as developed as I would have liked, and I know Holloway can develop interesting characters. These characters were flawless and seemed to all fall into one of two categories - nice parent or polite teenager. The dialogue was stiff and bland. I have never heard anyone speak the way these characters talked, especially the teenagers.

A minor complaint was an occasional mention that Ed noticed technology was further developed in the 90s than he remembered it being. I thought this would lead to something interesting, but it did not. Ed doesn't even seem concerned about it and eventually it becomes a non-issue with no explanation. I believe the author only accelerated technology so Gretchen could have pictures taken with a cell phones of her kissing Ed, which she then sent to Susan. Such an act could have been done in the nineties with technology that existed then. There was no need to mysteriously have cell phones further advanced. If nothing else, Gretchen could have had someone take the photo with a regular camera and then mailed it to Susan.

All in all, the book was a disappointment. There were so many ways it could have been made interesting, but Holloway played it way too soft on Ed.

[G.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved to read as a middle graders but don't take me wrong it may not please all MGs.

It's a fun and quick read and who wouldn't dream of having the chance to go back in time and fix things that didn't go too well the first time around, knowing everything they do now?

In this story, we follow Ed, a scientist who built a time machine, as he goes back in time by accident and finds himself sharing the body of his younger, twelve year old self. From then and on, it's the story of his life as he goes from a pre-teen back to his 43 year old self.

I loved how the older Ed goes around and makes his younger self do things differently in hopes to avoid previous mistakes he has done, while also trying to help others in the process. How you can sense the changes that it brings. It does make for some strange passages though since Eddie, the twelve year old, has a grown-up Ed in his head all the time telling him what to do, what to say. Sometimes I felt Eddie didn't act like a twelve year old or a teenager anymore. I guess that's what happens when you have a 43-year-old guy in your head.

Overall, I would recommend this book to people of all ages who want a light-hearted romantic story with likeable characters.