2009; 320 pages. Book 1 (out
of 5) of the Pastmaster
series. New Author? : Yes. Genre : Time-Travel; Historical Fiction. Overall Rating : 8½*/10.
Alex
Balfour is having a nightmare. He’s in the World War 1 trenches, with the Russian army, and getting pummeled by the advancing Germans.
One of his comrades is dying from a bullet wound in the stomach, his
blood dripping out onto the ever-present mud.
Alex is trying to escape the bombardment, crawling away through the muck
and mire, but it appears hopeless. He tries to help the mortally wounded soldier, but both know it will be to no avail.
Thankfully, the dream ends there, and Alex wakes up, back in his own
apartment, albeit sore and stiff from sleeping too long in a chair. He’s had these oh-so-real types of dreams before,
and they seem to be getting more frequent.
Thank goodness this one’s done.
But a question lingers. If he's been dozing in a chair all evening, how is it that his jeans and shoes are
caked with mud?
What’s To Like...
If
you’re a history buff, particularly if the Russian revolution interests you,
then Time After Time is going to thrill you. Allen Appel seems to have thoroughly
researched the tumultuous events going on in 1917 Russia, and presents a great
“feel” for the lives of the people suffering through the upheaval. It was nice to see the Zimmerman Telegram
get some ink, and I found the reference to (the siege of) Akhulgo particularly
enlightening.
This is also a Time-Travel book, so Apple drops one
modern-day, young, plucky, nerdy History Professor into the mix who will have
to use his wits to survive the harsh conditions. Well, his foreknowledge of what’s going to
happen might come in handy as well.
The mechanics of the Time-Travel reminded me of those used in The Time Traveler’s Wife, and the additional
details given at about 92% in the e-book were quite intriguing. The “instant foreign language mastery” may seem a
bit far-fetched, but it has the advantage of making the story flow at a crisp pace. This isn’t an Alt-History
story. This book is more about experiencing the Russian revolution, not
changing it. Nevertheless, Alex manages to alter a few of
the historical details through his meddling, but in the end History will have
its way.
I liked the characters. It was especially neat to watch Alex evolve from a somewhat "soft" academic to a hardened realist with leadership qualities. There's a bit of a romance, or maybe two, but no one would call this a Romance novel.
There
is some cussing, primarily the use of the F-word; and some sex, although
nothing lurid. There’s also some
violence, but you’d expect this in a book about the Russian revolution. Despite being the start of a 5-book series (with rumors of
a sixth book in the works), this is a standalone novel, with a good ending.
Kewlest New Word...
Knout (n.)
: in Imperial Russia, a whip used to inflict punishment, often causing death
Excerpts...
“What happened to
you last night? Was that a normal
occurrence, or did it have something to do with my company?”
“Rest assured
that it had nothing to do with you. I
was very unhappy when I felt it coming on.
It’s sort of a migraine; I’ve had them since I was a kid. When they start, the only thing I can do is
lie down until it passes.”
“I don’t remember
you having migraines.”
“It’s a fairly
recent reoccurrence.”
“Don’t you take anything
for it?”
“Whiskey,
generally.” (loc. 886)
What was she
supposed to do, date? She could have
some wonderful conversations: “Well, my real boyfriend isn’t around at the
moment; he’s a time-traveler and he’s in Russia right now, probably fighting in
the Revolution or something; but when he gets back, we’ll be getting back
together again, so don’t get your hopes up or anything.” (loc. 3105)
Kindle Details...
Time
After Time sells for $0.99 at Amazon. The other four e-books in the series all sell
for $2.99,
which is frankly a great price. Allen
Appel has several other e-books available, ranging from $2.99 to $7.99,
and several novellas for $0.99.
“I see you’ve been out playing with the other little boys. Shot any autocrats this evening?” (loc. 4703)
Issues
exist, the biggest of which are the huge numbers of typos present. These are not the usual “spell-checker” typos
(fro/for,
affect/effect, you're/your, lose/loose, etc.); instead they felt like scanner
errors: comer/corner,
pig/big, I/1, tum/turn, if/it, etc.
The frequency of these seriously disrupted the flow of the story. I’ll forgive the scanner; who knows what font
it was trying to ‘read’. But hiring a
proofreader would’ve been a prudent investment.
We won’t even mention the time slip regarding the date of Rasputin’s
death.
Everything else is minor. The
author gets overly descriptive at times, especially about food and
clothes. And the supposed “Ich bin ein
Berliner” gaffe has pretty much been relegated to being a wing-nut
urban legend.
But I quibble. I love to read
both Historical Fiction and Time-Travel stories, and Time After Time was a
thoroughly delightful treat in both genres.
8½ Stars. Subtract 1 star
if you were hoping for an Alternate History story.
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