Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: science fiction
Review: Writing a time travel novel is kind of like writing a vampire novel - there are certains rules that must be followed, but other than that, the only thing an author must do is create a world with internal cohesion. Mike Chen has definitely created a world that holds together. His time travel agents have strict rules they must follow in order to prevent the timeline from corruption, and even the more technical explanations (of things like the "grandfather paradox") are eminently understandable.
Unfortunately, his characters and their relationships don't get the same attention. At first, I thought the lack of depth in the future was deliberate, to reflect Kin's initial feelings of disconnect when he returns to his own time, but I didn't begin to feel more connected to those characters as he apparently did. We're told that his feelings return for his fiancee return, but never really shown it. On the other hand, the present-day characters felt much more fleshed out, but we don't actually have much interaction with them once Kin returns to the future.
So, it's a plus for world-building, a negative for characters, and there's another plus for the actual action of the story. Kin's various attempts to reconnect with and then save his daughter shine through with his intensity, and Chen's determination to stay within the rules that he's created add a sense of urgency and truth to his actions. If you do the math, world-building + action - character development = an eminently readable book, if not one of the best time travel books I've ever read.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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