Here and Now and Then in Around the Year in 52 Books

Aug 13, 2019 Maryam rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi-2019

The actual rating is 3.5, I actually enjoyed it very much but some parts were a little bit slow.

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Jun 24, 2019 John Warner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, time-travel

Kin Stewart is an agent for the Temporal Corruption Police (TCP), a clandestine law enforcement agency authorized to ensure temporal integrity and to prevent paradoxes, such as the grandfather paradox. (If you went back in past and killed your grandfather when he was young, you would have a paradox since the cause of the murder should not exist.) When Kin is marooned in the 1990s unable to return to 2142, he violates TCP protocol and marries and the two have a daughter, Miranda. Although sixteen Kin Stewart is an agent for the Temporal Corruption Police (TCP), a clandestine law enforcement agency authorized to ensure temporal integrity and to prevent paradoxes, such as the grandfather paradox. (If you went back in past and killed your grandfather when he was young, you would have a paradox since the cause of the murder should not exist.) When Kin is marooned in the 1990s unable to return to 2142, he violates TCP protocol and marries and the two have a daughter, Miranda. Although sixteen years have elapsed in the past, he is rescued one week later by his TCP partner, Marcus. Time travel in to the past limited to only 150 years and requires stabilizing injections to prevent brain damage. Because Kin has spent so long in the past with this medication, he begins suffering from headaches, blackouts and memory loss. Before he forgets his past, he produces a diary detailing his various assignments. His family, not aware of Kin's true identity, believe that his mental issues are PTSD related. When his adolescent daughter discovers Kin's diary, she believes he is writing a science fiction novel.

When he is rescued, he discovers his past and leaves his family behind and returns to 2142. Curious, he begins researching what happened to his family. He discovers that his wife died from an aggressive brain cancer one month after he left. His daughter, feeling abandoned by both parents, turns to alcohol and drugs as a means to dull the hurt, which results in the death of two in an automobile accident, while intoxicated. Kin discovers a mean to communicate with his daughter using old-fashioned email. Although he believes that his fatherly advice will not disrupt time, he soon discovers how wrong he is, a fact which could threaten his daughter's life.

Although this novel is science fiction, it actually, at its heart, one of family and how far one will go to protect family. The anticipated future technology wasn't too far out there. I'm such much of what the author listed are currently on the drafting table, e.g., levitating cars, cure for cancer, 200 year life spans and appliances which can replicate desired food and other objects. The novel did have some loose strings. I was surprised that the protagonist did not mourn more the death of his wife when it was discovered. However, the ending was so satisfying that I can overlook the few flaws that I found. I read that the author will be releasing his second novel in early 2020. I plan to reserve my copy! ...more

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Apr 23, 2019 Ryan Mac rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Clever time travel story with a very sweet premise: time traveling agent gets stuck in the 1990s after a botched missing, agent meets a woman, falls in love, gets married and has a daughter. 18 years later, the rescue team arrives to take him back to 2142...to a family that he cannot remember. The agent Kin tries to keep connected to his old family causes problems with the time traveling agency and he has to go to great lengths to make things right. As a parent, I completely understand his motiv ...more

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