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John A. Heldt

Autor von The Mine

29 Werke 562 Mitglieder 114 Rezensionen Lieblingsautor von 1 Lesern

Reihen

Werke von John A. Heldt

The Mine (2012) 124 Exemplare
The Journey (2012) 71 Exemplare
The Fire (2013) 62 Exemplare
The Show (2013) 50 Exemplare
September Sky (2015) 25 Exemplare
Indiana Belle (2016) 24 Exemplare
The Mirror (2014) 20 Exemplare
Class of '59 (2019) 17 Exemplare
River Rising (2017) 16 Exemplare
Mercer Street (2015) 14 Exemplare
Hannah's Moon (2017) 12 Exemplare

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A tale of time travel, history, danger, romance, and family relationships.

While this is a time travel book, as with all John A. Heldt’s books, it is so much more.

John skilfully combines a good story with well researched history. I have all of his books and he has never failed to entertain with his family based time travel stories.

The Fountain is the first book of his new Second Chance series and after being introduced to the Carpenters, I look forward to the next in the series.

The three main characters are ageing siblings Bill, Paul and Annie. Bill (81) has just been widowed, Paul (75) is dying from lung cancer and Annie (72) is confined to a wheelchair.

All are childless and wonder what there is left in life. When Bill, a retired folklore and mythology professor, hears about a fountain of youth in La Paz, Mexico that could not only give them a second chance it would also mean travelling back in time to a simpler lifestyle. They don’t hesitate in making their decision. They sell their house and possessions and convert the proceeds into gold.

To reach the fountain they must travel to Mexico and enter an almost unknown cave. They enter the fountain and emerge in 1905. But things are different – Bill is now a young man of 23, Paul a cancer free teenager of 17 and Annie a 14 year old with a healthy body.

They must then find a way to get from Mexico to Oakland, California. Once in California they settle in and make friends. Bill finds a job and the two younger ones enrol in school but there is still one thing worrying them – the 1906 San Francisco earthquake especially when none of them can remember exactly when it will occur.

The Carpenters fitted in well to their new age. They had a few slip ups, particularly with jargon or slang terms, but it was fun to see them wriggle out of it.

The Fountain is much more than a time travel book. Heldt combines time travel with family relationships, history, romance, and heartbreak.

As always, he manages to combine all these genres without graphic sex or foul language. His history is well researched giving the reader a definite sense of time and place.

Aged 74 myself, I was able to relate to Bill, Paul and Annie and their wish to go back in time to a younger version of themselves. The difference is I have a son and grandchildren, they have no one but each other.

They are marvellous characters, quiet achievers, and caring souls.

We have a clear impression of Heldt’s main characters from the start and it was interesting to see that influenced who they were in 1905. Nothing was lost in the relationship between them or their attitudes to others and their distinct personalities remained unchanged.

Widower Bill has just buried his beloved wife after 54 years of marriage and is somewhat lost. While she is not strictly a character in the book she was much loved by his siblings and a strong influence on their lives.

Paul’s background is a bit clearer. He is a disgraced soldier, has been married three times and now coming to terms with living with terminal cancer. I felt he had the most to gain from a second chance and was a delightful, caring young man in 1905.

Annie is used to her life confined to a wheelchair but is still frustrated with the limitations especially not having children. The opportunity to be free of it and relive a young life appeals greatly and she embraces life in 1905 with enthusiasm.

My favourite character though was Cassie, a teacher at the school where Bill has a job to assess the teaching staff and where Annie and Paul attend school. She’s smart, feisty and beautiful but she and Bill don’t hit it off in the beginning.

The other characters include Cassie’s family and another student, Pauline Wagner.

But in a John A. Heldt book you never know who you will meet and in this case, we meet Jack London, author of Call of the Wild and White Fang as well as US General Frederick Funston.

Every character has been well cast. They are believable and likeable. In fact, they are the key to the story.

The story is told from several points of view – the three siblings and Cassie. This does not confuse the reader as each chapter is titled with the name of the character.

As with all his books, Heldt’s blending of history and an imaginative story is creative with a gradual build up in tension. It all comes together in a relaxing and absorbing read.

As part of a series The Fountain is a complete story but Heldt leaves you wanting more. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series Annie’s Apple.

My thanks to the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My rating 5*
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Hostie13 | Aug 30, 2023 |
Annie's Apple (Second Chance, #2) by John A. Heldt

Book two in the Second chances series is set in 1911 New York & Arizona. We continue with the siblings, their new friends and relationships. Love, danger and adventure awaits for Annie, Paul & Bill.

A fantastic time travel set during the time of the sinking of the Titanic. With real events from the past mixed with fictional (likable) characters and events, I was hooked from the start. I enjoyed Annie's Apple and recommend to those who like time travel.… (mehr)
 
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SheriAWilkinson | Apr 6, 2023 |
After finishing The Carson Chronicles, and loving the series, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to start another journey with another family. I should have known better. John a Heldt had me hooked from the first chapter. Who needs to do housework anyway?

Each of Heldt’s series uses a different method for time travel. In this series it is a time box developed by Physicist Mark Lane.

Mark discovers his business partner, Robert Devereaux, plans to use the timebox for his own greedy and evil purposes. With the help of a friend, he steals the time box, destroys the program, and whisks his to family back to 1865. They arrive just as the American Civil War is coming to an end.

His family includes his wife, Mary who has brought cosmetics from the present time to sell. His children are sons Jordon (ex-military) and Jeremy and daughters Laura and 12 year old Ashley. They blend in with the time, making friends and fitting in as best they can. Laura volunteers at an army hospital.

But best laid plans can always go wrong. A key to one box is left in a farm building and the other is damaged. The second one is seized by the Union Army, suspecting it to be a device to aid the Rebel Army and Mark is arrested as a traitor.

That’s not the end of their troubles.

Devereaux wants revenge. His team builds another time box. He then sends a hit man, Silas Bain, back to 1865 to retrieve the original boxes and assassinate all members of the Lane family.

The cold hearted assassin has no qualms about who he kills including anyone who may get in his way or reveal his presence.

Meanwhile the Lanes, aware Bain is after them, desperately try to retrieve both their boxes.

The badies, Devereaux and Bain were easy to dislike. No, make that despise.

As always Heldt’s research is impeccable and his characterisation of historical figures including Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth are believable.

Two characters I particularly liked were Jane and Lewis. Both former slaves they are now free, but the Lane family know it still will not be easy for them in post-civil war times.

I have loved John A Heldt’s writing since the first book I read. I didn’t think his story telling could get any better, but it does with every new book.

He manages to combine dramatic action, adventure, and plenty of twists with love, endearing family relationships and friendship. It’s like a tapestry woven on a background of history featuring believable historic figures. The result is an engrossing page turner.

In The Lane Betrayal he includes the issues of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery.

Each Chapter is told from a different character’s point of view, including Devereaux and Bain. It builds suspense, switches the emotions of the reader, and makes it a fast paced story.

When I first started reading John A Heldt’s books I thought they couldn’t get any better. How wrong I was. I believe he must set himself a bar higher and higher with each series, and he achieves his goal every time.

Do yourself a favour, read The Lane Betrayal. You won’t be disappointed but be warned as with all Heldt’s series you’ll want to jump straight into the next book.

I received a complimentary copy from John A. Heldt for an honest review.
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Hostie13 | 4 weitere Rezensionen | Sep 29, 2021 |
This review is longer than most I write, and I make no apologies for that.

Although it is a review for Camp Lake, the final in the Carson Chronicles series by John A Heldt, for a large part I’d like to focus on the series.

In the first book of the series, River Rising, Adam Carson, the eldest of five siblings discovers his parents are time travellers lost in the past. He also discovers information that will help him and his family to travel back to the 1880s to rescue their parents. His brothers and sisters have no hesitation in agreeing to join him.

The following four books The Memory Tree, Indian Paintbrush, Caitlin’s Song and Camp Lake chronicle their attempts, over two years and five time periods, to meet up with their parents.

Each book is consistently entertaining and demonstrate Heldt’s ability for detailed research and realistic characters.

The main characters in the series are the Carson family (Adam, Greg, Natalie, Caitlin and Cody as well as their parents Tim and Caroline.

All characters are well developed. Although the experiences throughout their journey have changed them, they remain likeable and are portrayed consistently throughout the series. They have become like an extension of the reader’s own family.

Since starting their journey, Adam, Greg, Natalie and Caitlin have partners from other times. Adam and Greg have also both become fathers.

The family members experience love and heartbreak; accidents, disasters and battles yet never lose hope. They are a family united and supportive.

Heldt’s skilful and consistent style makes you part of every emotion – sadness, humorous moments, love, and heartbreak. You celebrate their victories fighting alongside in their battles.

While the author includes ‘catch up paragraphs’ in each book, I believe the reader will enjoy the series more if read in order. In each book the chapters are written from a different character’s point of view.

Now for Camp Lake. John A Heldt’s stories just keep getting better. In this, the fifth and final book in the series, the siblings have arrived in 1983. It’s also the year their parents, Tim and Caroline, first met and their last chance to make contact and so all can return to the present time.

Adam and Greg, and their wives, remain in the Arizona home base, Natalie and her husband explore leads in other locations.

Cody and Caitlin, and her boyfriend from 1962, Dennis get jobs as counsellors at the “Camp Lake” summer camp in Maine. They are surprised when they get put with their teenage parents to share a cabin. Will the situation change the timeline? What happens if this time they don’t fall in love? There are some worrying and some amusing times in camp.

Following all their efforts to reunite will they finally succeed? It’s been and emotional ride with a family I came to know and love.

Although I am glad their journey has come to an end I will miss sharing their adventures, romantic moments and urging them on when in danger. I was happy with the way the book ended but it came all too soon. That’s my fault because I couldn’t read slower or put the book down.
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Hostie13 | 3 weitere Rezensionen | Aug 8, 2021 |

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29
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562
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