Bob Atkinson

received as part of the Librarything Early Reviewer's August 2012 batch, and sent me as an ebook by the publisher Grayhartpress

It is one of the stronger ER books that I've read recently. 4 groups of people, from 4 different time lines are brought together through some extreme event (a nuclear detonation above Scotland in 2026). They come together during one of the more devastating points in the highlands and Bonny Prince Charlie.

There is a culture shock between all the different groups - e.g. the guys from WWI thinking that the war had gone on until 1945, and all of them being shocked with the ecological and nuclear devastation of the planet in 2026.

Andy is a battle hardened Corporal from the mid 1970s British Army, and who finds a certain peace and acceptance within the community, and wishes to protect them.

There is plenty of action, with the time-travellers attempting to prevent the massacre of their ancestors. The ending was (to me, when I finished the book at midnight on night) a little cut short, and it would be interesting to see if Mr Atkinson takes this story any further in a future story



… (mehr)

Set in the Scottish Highlands, this book explores what might happen if 3 disparate groups of people come together during a pivotal time in Scottish history to 'change the past,' and presumably thereby alter the course of the future, filled with a sense of multiple genres, (romance, history, action, to name but three), the book suffers only in its predictability.

Depending on how they're handled, books involving time travel can be incredibly difficult to balance correctly. At the beginning of the novel I think it did struggle under that curse, with short sections introducing the sets of travelers that didn't really give much of a chance to get to know or care about any of them. In that regard the story strengthened as it went along, giving the reader better chance to identify with the characters and wish well for them, however I fear there was still much left that could have been expanded upon to give an even better reading experience.

The action was fast pace, sometimes at the expense of detail or explanation, so though it was a quick read, I found myself often re-reading sections just to be sure I hadn't missed anything, which I found somewhat frustrating. In other places, however the descriptive passages give the reader a real sense of 'presence' in the Highlands of Scotland, and at those points it excels. Aside from the sense of internal inconsistency in writing, the only other point of contention I have with the novel was that the ending failed to provide closure on many issues, and the denouement of the story seemed to have been left with too many loose ends. Perhaps Atkinson was planning a sequel?… (mehr)