Synopsis:

What if saving the future meant rewriting the past?

In a dying world overrun by microdrones, humanity’s last survivors cling to life inside the Eden-17 biodome. Isabelle Sanborn knows her time is running out, but one desperate plan might give humanity a second chance. With the help of Madders, an enigmatic AI built from the memories of a brilliant physicist, Isabelle sends Diego Nadales—the love of her life—35 years into the past. His mission? To change the course of history and prevent their world’s collapse.

When Diego arrives in the vibrant yet fragile Main Timeline, he’s forced to confront ghosts of the past, including a younger, ambitious version of Isabelle. As he battles to shape a better future, Diego must navigate a delicate web of relationships and events without destroying the very fabric of time.

Brimming with suspense, heart-pounding action, and a poignant love story that transcends time, Madders of Time – Book One is a breathtaking science fiction adventure. Award-winning author DL Orton weaves a tale that explores sacrifice, resilience, and the timeless power of love.

Fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Dark Matter will find themselves captivated by this unforgettable journey through parallel worlds and intertwining destinies.

The clock is ticking. Can love survive the collapse of time itself?Prepare to lose yourself in the first installment of the Madders of Time series—a story that will keep you turning pages and leave you hungry for more.

Review:

Back in the mid-80’s Marty McFly traveled to 30 years into the past thanks to Doc Brown’s souped-up Delorian and science fiction was never the same. Frankly, I’ve always been fascinated by time travel and when I saw the opportunity to read Hive by D.L. Orton, I was thrilled to dive in. 

Time travel, of course, is purely theoretical at this time. But, in recent years the arguments have been ongoing about how time travel would work IF it actually was a possibility. Would it work like in Back to the Future where Marty could potentially erase his own future by bumbling around in the past? Or would it create branches and new timelines like what we saw in Avengers: Endgame? 

In Hive, Orton seems to indicate that for her, time travel involves different timelines. At the beginning of Hive, we see a world that is about to end. Humanity is on the verge of extinction and only a few people are left. Isabelle decides there is one hope to change the past — to use the A.I. named Madders to send Diego to before the world was too far gone. 

I enjoyed Hive, partly because it didn’t go perfectly. In every time travel story, the shenanigans are some of my favorite parts. So when Diego goes back into his past, the well-laid plans they had don’t quite go off without a hitch. Not to say it happens with comedic effect, but seeing how the past changes or doesn’t with certain decisions is a key part of Hive. 

I will say that Orton uses characters from previous books of hers. I would say that reading her previous books would probably really help understand what is happening, especially as the book starts basically in media res, seemingly with the understanding that the audience knows the characters already. However, I was able to enjoy the book without all the background context. Perhaps I would have rated it slightly higher, but as a time travel novel and the first in a new trilogy, Hive works all on its own. 

I’m glad I read Hive and am looking forward to the second book in the trilogy, Jump, which is slated to release on November 4 later this year. 

Synopsis:

A planet steeped in mystery…

Jess Amiko is long past her days as a space marine, with all the glory of that time tarnished beyond repair by what came after. Trying to rebuild from the ashes, she’s taken a job as a security guard on Kenai, a lonely world far from the Council systems. It’s supposed to be easy duty – quiet and peaceful, on a docile world with no real threats, watching over an archeological dig at a site built by a race long vanished.

Betrayed and attacked by forces unknown, and finding that nothing on Kenai makes sense, Jess is plunged into a desperate fight for survival that leads her deep into the mysteries of Kenai’s past, and deep into the hardship and paradox the planet imposes on all who call it home.

Review:

Space marines, distant worlds, ancient civilizations, and an element of time travel (with potentially dire consequences) make for an intriguing story in Kenai.

I’ll be the first to admit this book wasn’t quite what I expected it would be going in, but I enjoyed it. I assumed there would be more action than there was based on the book description; the main focus of this story wasn’t about Jess the former marine fighting the attackers, but more about Jess’ role on the world of Kenai and how she ended up shaping its future. There was some fighting and her past as a marine was certainly helpful, but the bulk of this storyline was focused on other things.

Kenai itself is a weird planet. There are ancient ruins on the surface, but no intelligent life remains by the time humans discover and begin to document the world. The native creatures are mostly herbivores and pose no threat to humans, but they also have a strange habit of disappearing overnight without explanation. And I don’t mean they wander away. They literally disappear. Or so the researchers think.

What’s actually going on is a lot more complicated and involves some unique time-traveling elements that I’ve never encountered in anything else. And while the concept was explained in the book, there are still pieces of it that weren’t fully explored (like the “reset” that occurs for some aspects of the world, and why things from off-world aren’t affected. The scientist part of my brain doesn’t like unexplained anomalies…and while there might have been a plausible explanation for them, it was really just speculation on my part and was never confirmed.) But I really liked the paradox dilemma that was presented, and the fact that the consequences of messing around with time were, in most cases, pretty dire.

But the story was really about Jess’ role on Kenai. Her character changes and grows in the best sort of way. At the beginning, she’s relatively angry and hasn’t found a purpose for her life since it all fell apart. By the end, she’s found her calling, and she’s in a much better place, emotionally. She’s learned to make friends again, and she’s willing to work for a greater cause, one that’s so much more than just hers alone. I loved her character’s growth in this story.

And I loved the unpredictability of the plot. It took a number of turns I could have never guessed at, and in the end, it made for a really interesting story. Kenai is a standalone, and there is so much more to it than what I’m willing to write about here (I’m trying to avoid spoilers, and all.) Just know that it’s one of the more unique sci-fi books I’ve read in a long time, and it’s definitely worth reading.

TL;DR Review: Slow beginning ratcheting up to a high-suspense ending. An easy-reading time travel novel light on science and high on emotions.

Synopsis:

Rule One: Travel can only occur to a point within your lifetime.
Rule Two: You can only travel for ninety seconds.
Rule Three: You can only observe.
The rules cannot be broken.

In this riveting science fiction novel from acclaimed author Philip Fracassi, a scientist has unlocked the mysteries of time travel. This is not the story you think you know. And the rules are only the beginning.

Scientist Beth Darlow has discovered the unimaginable. She’s built a machine that allows human consciousness to travel through time—to any point in the traveler’s lifetime—and relive moments of their life. An impossible breakthrough, but it’s not perfect: the traveler has no way to interact with the past. They can only observe.

After Beth’s husband, Colson, the co-creator of the machine, dies in a tragic car accident, Beth is left to raise Isabella—their only daughter—and continue the work they started. Mired in grief and threatened by her ruthless CEO, Beth pushes herself to the limit to prove the value of her technology.

Then the impossible happens. Simply viewing personal history should not alter the present, but with each new observation she makes, her own timeline begins to warp.

As her reality constantly shifts, Beth must solve the puzzles of her past, even if it means forsaking her future.

Full Review:

I’ve always enjoyed a well-crafted time travel novel with high stakes and complex science. While this one delivers neither, that doesn’t stop it from being an otherwise enjoyable read!

The story follows Beth Darlow, the woman who, along with her deceased husband, unlocked the secret of time travel. Her Great Machine has the ability to cast the traveler back to any single point in their past and keep them there for 90 seconds.

On the opening page, we see where she winds up: the day where her parents and sister died in a helicopter crash. No happy memories here, clearly.

As the story opens, we learn of Beth’s work at the requisite all-power tech conglomerate funding the research. Thanks to a clever writing device—Beth is interviewed by a reporter for a magazine piece—we’re given a “dumbed down” explanation of the science (which felt a bit too hand-wavey for my taste, but I’m no quantum physicist, so what do I know?) driving the technology. That’s enough for us to have a solid foundation of how this form of time travel works and what the stakes are.

With that established, we begin to be drawn deeper into the mystery and suspense of it all. The mysterious appearance of her dead husband, only for him to vanish again. Strange dreams that feel all too real. Her daughter’s cryptic statements. Every new addition ratchets up the thrills until we know that something strange is going on, and now we just have to keep reading to find out what.

Between the ever-rising stakes, the increasing tension, and the short, snappy chapters, this book ended up being incredibly easy to read. I had no trouble reading “just one more” because I wanted to see where everything was going and to get more and more answers.

The real emotional stakes kick into high gear at around the 75% mark, and from that point, I was dying to see how Beth was going to fix everything.

I did see the ending coming from pretty far off, but that didn’t make it any less emotionally satisfying when everything was wrapped up neatly.

While it’s not the most epic or complex sci-fi time travel book I’ve ever read, I enjoyed it enough that I would gladly recommend it to anyone looking for a worthwhile time travel read. A solid story that you will have no trouble getting through, guaranteed!

Synopsis:

The hateful Path, that of the 9th Born.

The survival of the Ark—humanity’s last bastion after God’s wrath destroyed the world—is balanced by birth order: the oddborn are assigned a Path, the evenborn are given over to the will of God. And it is upon those of the 9th Born Path to sanitize the evens.

John 59129’s first walk as a Niner is the same day the scientists of the Ark plan to defy God by seeking to turn back time. An electrical surge sends John past the safety of the Ark, into an unblemished world. A glimpse of perfection. Of all the evenborn saved.

But when John wakes, he’s back in the Ark, twenty years after the failure to harness time. Was his encounter real or just a dream caused by his accident? Are those in charge of the Ark keeping the oddborn caged? Is God the monster, or is it mankind?

For John 59129 to find out before his own child is born, he must be willing to play the odds.

Review:

First of all, this is a tour de force novella. Mind-bending, thoughtful, lyrical. Desperate characters in an absolutely horrific dystopian world run by unfeeling zealots. However, there’s a hopeful touch that I absolutely needed. It’s bleak, it’s grim, but it’s also the opposite of those things. 

John 59129’s life is all planned out for him. He walked the 9th path, meaning he must “sanitize” even born children.  I’ll let you figure out exactly what that is.  After a freak accident of timey-wimeyness, John finds himself sent 20 years into the future. He still walks the 9th path–now with a wife and a child on the way–but in the aforementioned timey-wimeyness, he sees a different path: one where oddborn and evenborns coexist together, where the Toppers don’t rule over the Ark with an iron fist.   Complications ensue and John is a sent on a winding path toward either freedom or death. 

Adams is a brilliant writer; that must be said first. He has an amazing command of the English language. Sometimes, like in his novel, The Godsblood Tragedy, he went a bit overboard with his expansive vocabulary. However, in Unlucky Evens, Cursed Odds, Adams keeps things poetic while also writing in a style that leans more to the succinct. 

The world is also lovingly created, full of clever nods to numbers–they are all odds and evens, after all–and an amazing scene where we see the justice system on the Ark: playing the odds. In general, I’m a bit burnt out on dystopian settings, as I feel like most of them have been done before, but this one feels new, not just a rehashing of previous dystopian stories. I liked the worldbuilding quite a bit, but this is a novel about characters. John, who struggles between duty and choices that would be morally right but against everything he’s been raised to believe.  There are some heartfelt moments between John and his wife, and it can’t be understated how much Adam smakes you feel in this short little book–less than 100 pages. By the end, you’ve been put through the emotional ringer, but you’ll be happy about it. 

However, for all its darkness, there’s hope in these pages.  Adams has talked about how this novella was a passion project as he and his wife navigated an IVF pregnancy and all the stresses involved with that. As someone going through IVF currently with my wife, that part of the novella really connected with me. There’s such an impermanence to life, so many unknowns that can happen, and Adams recreates the feel masterfully here. 

If you’re on the lookout for a novella that will hit you in the feels while also giving you characters to root for a touch of hope, this is the book for you!

Synopsis:

The hateful Path, that of the 9th Born.

The survival of the Ark—humanity’s last bastion after God’s wrath destroyed the world—is balanced by birth order: the oddborn are assigned a Path, the evenborn are given over to the will of God. And it is upon those of the 9th Born Path to sanitize the evens.

John 59129’s first walk as a Niner is the same day the scientists of the Ark plan to defy God by seeking to turn back time. An electrical surge sends John past the safety of the Ark, into an unblemished world. A glimpse of perfection. Of all the evenborn saved.

But when John wakes, he’s back in the Ark, twenty years after the failure to harness time. Was his encounter real or just a dream caused by his accident? Are those in charge of the Ark keeping the oddborn caged? Is God the monster, or is it mankind?

For John 59129 to find out before his own child is born, he must be willing to play the odds.

Review:

This was one of the most unique dystopian sci-fi stories I’ve read in a long time. It was a quick read (7 chapters, I believe, so novella length), but I was impressed with how much worldbuilding there was and with the overall complexity of the tale, given the format. It was really well done.

The main character is John 59129. In his world, most people are given a number at birth, and those with an odd number are assigned to specific duties based on that number. Those with an even number are sent to “sanitation.” As a “niner,” John’s role is sanitation work, dealing with those unfortunate evenborn infants. His job is awful on a moral and emotional level, and the author did an amazing job conveying John’s heartbreak and reluctance to carry out his assigned duty.

And the world he inhabits is pretty bleak, even beyond his job and the numerical hierarchy he was born into. Lightning is a constant. The air outside the Ark is so caustic, people can’t survive without specialized environmental suits. Very few crops can be grown, and the sun hasn’t been seen in centuries. Then there’s the fog surrounding the Ark; no one who has entered the fog has ever returned, and they’re assumed dead. It’s a difficult place to live at the best of times.

Speaking of time, there’s also an element of time travel involved, though John wasn’t sure if what he experienced was real or just a dream.

What I liked most about this story was when John began to question the established order and everything he’d been taught. This might be the scientist in me coming out, but I love when a character challenges the system by expressing their doubts and asking those tough questions, even if they’re only seeking to better understand the truth for themselves.

Unlucky Evens, Cursed Odds was a great read. So if you have a couple hours to spare and you’re into dystopian sci-fi, check this one out.

In late 1944, the American Flying Fortress, “Dangerous Dolly”, plunges into an electrical storm to escape destruction by a Nazi jet fighter. Captain Jack Ronan and her aircrew emerge over wartime England in the year 1915. There, they make a forced landing on the estate of an outcast politician named Winston Churchill. Desperate to restore his political career, the erstwhile First Lord of the Admiralty launches Dolly on a one-plane air war against Kaiser Wilhelm. Neither the American aircrew nor the British government know that Churchill is playing a deeper and more dangerous game than he admits.

Churchill and the Americans are unaware of an adversary that could easily destroy Dolly—the jet that pursued her was also drawn into the space-time rift. Ambitious Luftwaffe pilot Fritz Wernher wants to become Imperial Germany’s greatest ace, but instead, is ordered to assist designer Anton Fokker to reverse-engineer the jet. If Fokker succeeds, with overwhelming aerial supremacy, the Central Powers will win the war.

After the American bomber attacks his war industry and humiliates his fleet, the irate Kaiser orders Wernher to destroy the elusive nemesis. When Churchill attacks the infamous Paris Gun, Wernher’s hunt climaxes in a savage air battle. The outcome will change the future of a continent and history as we know it.

Review

Goodbye Dolly is a story of sacrifice, endurance, and determination. It illustrates the complexity of egos in two world wars that cost European lives in both theatres. However, instead of going into a unique perspective on an alternate history of WWII, we have instead travelled to WW1. Captain Jack and his merry crew of the Dangerous Dolly become mired in the events of a tumultuous conflict. What transpires is technological upheaval, a reversal of history, and an excellent display of writing when depicting the naval battles between the Imperial German Navy and the Royal Navy.

The naval aspect of WWI is often not covered in popular media as it deserves. EJ Lake did a ton of research, and it shows from depicting historical figures such as Prime Minister Asquith Churchill with his brand of whiskey he so often likes to consume and the enigmatic Kaiser Wilhelm I. The wide variety of historical characters and their personalities spill onto their page as if Ken Follet had written this novel entirely. That’s how good the writing is! I loved characters like Churchill, Jack, his crew, and many others. The dialogue is rich in historical detail, and no characters feel one-dimensional; instead, they feel like three-dimensional characters. The description makes you feel as if you are in this world. And Dolly the Bomber Airplane? She’s a fantastic plane carrying a brave crew daring to fight against the might of WW1, Germany.

Each character is a testament to the brave men who sacrificed themselves in both world wars. To fight against fierce enemies while defending the right to freedom and democracy against expansionist and imperialist beliefs is not a simple thing to do. That said, the novel does not shy away from depicting the carnage of warfare and the devastating destruction that bombing cities can bring. At some points, I’ve noticed that alternate history novels focus more on the technical details of what has changed than on the story.

At some points, the book often tries to balance between contrasting what changes and what the story should be. I would like to see more alternate history novels focus on the story rather than being hung up on explaining everything that changes. I love books like this, with people from different periods travelling into other areas of history. I once read a story in Quora about Napoleon and his army time travelling back to the Ancient Roman Era. What a story that would be! I want more stuff like this. Where different civilisations meet each other that would never have met. I urge more authors to do this. This is a fantastic novel that I thoroughly recommend you to read!

Synopsis

Following humanity’s discovery of pocket worlds (hidden offshoots of our own reality, sped up or slowed down by time), teams of academics embarked on groundbreaking exploratory missions, eager to study this new technology and harness the potential of a seemingly limitless horizon.

Archaeologist Raquel once dreamed the pocket worlds held the key to solving the universe’s mysteries. But forty years later, pocket worlds are now controlled by corporations squeezing every penny out of all colonizable space and time. Raquel is in disgrace, and her wife, Marlena, lives in her own pocket universe (that Raquel wears around her neck) and refuses to speak to her. 

Standing in the ruins of her dream and her failed ideals, Raquel seizes one last chance to redeem herself and confront what it means to save something — or someone — from time. 

Review

Time’s Agent is a beautiful, emotional, soulful book. It’s a fantastic genre-blend that dives deep into the impact of loss and the devastating reality of what happens when your world falls apart. It’s deeply personal, and will especially resonate with any parent who’s ever felt like a failure.

When it comes to time travel, the premise and hook of a story can be so strong that it eclipses the whole book. There was definitely the potential for that to happen here, as the concept of pocket worlds — tiny alternative realities belonging to a multiverse that can be accessed by anything as small as a locket — is truly awesome. Especially when those pocket worlds interact with time differently to our own — in some of them, a few seconds in our world can become a few days or years there, and vice versa. But what impressed me most was how the book delivered on that premise. I was blown away by how it lived up to the promise of its potential, which makes this a truly rare jewel of time travel fiction.

In terms of characters, the story follows Raquel — a scientist who is overjoyed by the discovery of pocket worlds, and is sent by an agency to explore them. She’s such a delight to spend time with. Raquel breathes sunshine, sees good in everything, and has so much enthusiasm that she virtually bubbles off the page. She’s written with such honesty, that I forgot at times she wasn’t real. And then, disaster strikes, which changes everything, including Raquel.

The writing is poetic and intriguing and it opens up the world and the characters so seamlessly, it’s hard not to be pulled into the story. I found myself turning the page so fast, but wanting to slow down so I could indulge myself in the way it was all unfolding. I loved the style, and by the time the main heartbreaking twist arrived, I was so deep into it, that the reality of what was happening truly devastated me.

I loved the way that the world develops. It begins with so much hope, and undergoes monumental change. Capitalism and profit overwhelm the benefits of learning. Science is defeated by greed. And it provides a stark warning for the way humanity tends to exploit discovery for the sake of personal gain. But then, there’s also something truly magical about the way this ties in to the personal trials that Raquel goes through — how her own naivety mirrors the idealism of the world around her, and when it’s shattered, so too is the reality she’s faced with.

Of course, the book isn’t just a depressing harbinger of negativity and sadness. There’s a whole range of emotions that it drags you through, and there’s something sweet about the reconciliatory nature of the journey it takes you on. The ending is every bit as satisfying and poignant as you would hope for, and it leaves both your head and your heart buzzing for different reasons. Overall, this is as smart as it is sensitive, and I absolutely adored the fusion that has been achieved between mind-blowing concepts and heart-wrenching moments. 

If you read Sea Of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel and wished for more books like that in the world, then this is an answer to your wish. It’s a time travel book that is designed to make you feel. It’s an experience. It’s every bit as clever as you hope it to be. And it’s a breathtaking, immersive, ingenious, original, and artful slice of speculative fiction. Don’t miss it.

Synopsis

When the legendary Cosmic Widow vanishes from the galaxy’s premiere art museum, Agent Lilline Renault delves into a shadowy underworld to hunt down the missing masterpiece.

Her only clue: the thief’s enigmatic calling card. Following a scant trail of evidence, Lilline crosses paths with shady art dealers, eccentric university professors, and elusive forgers in a tangled search for the stolen work of art. But the robber’s end game is more sinister than mere theft. Sleeping secrets stir inside the Cosmic Widow… If they wake, an arcane mystery locked away for ages could spell disaster across the stars.

Review

Although the books can be read as standalones, I would highly recommend that readers check out all the books in the Agent Renault Adventures. GAM-OPs agent, Lilline Renault, is a fantastic character who practices her poetry in between missions to save the galaxy. Cosmic Widow is the latest addition to the series and takes readers for a thrilling ride.

This book sees Agent Renault investigating the theft of the famous portrait, the Cosmic Widow. Nevair has truly found his stride writing mysteries. I so appreciated the world building that was done to provide depth to the history/mythology of the art in this galaxy and the care that was given to allow the mystery to play out. While reading, I was eager to discover clues and see how each point would connect and was left pleasantly surprised by the way that the author incorporated the history of art into the galaxy/story on a wider scale.

As usual, I loved Lilline and her grandmother, Kissy, as characters. Nevair allows his characters to be multifaceted and flawed, which is so refreshing. I found it incredibly heartwarming and relatable to read about Lilline and Kissy’s interests, failures, and conflicts with each other, whether professional or personal. The detail and care given to Lilline and Kissy is really stellar.

While the book is fast-paced thriller, the author doesn’t shy away from bringing humor to his story and characters. Beloved characters like Pin and Grandma Kissy bring a lot of classic humor and funny, awkward moments to the table, but I think that Lilline’s trademark sarcasm is not to be overlooked and adds a lot to the novel. Nevair has a talent for writing humor into his characters’ dialogue as well as pointing out the humor in their daily lives.

From travel, to technology, to the mannerisms of characters, the author has done a fantastic job giving detail to the world he created and made the story much fuller in doing so. Callbacks to previous books in the series were funny and well-timed, and the imagery throughout the novel was excellent. This attention to detail also helped with the pacing of the story and I felt that the chapters themselves were rich but had me anxious to keep reading. So anxious in fact, that I would love to dive deeper and learn more about the different species present in the galaxy.

Cosmic Widow is an art mystery/thriller, but at its core the novel is about time. I was blown away by the way that Nevair so deftly tackled the construct of time and how we allow it to shape our lives. Past, present, and future are things that Nevair connects, and he addresses the fear and resistance that exists when we are asked to access our own memories or reflect on experiences throughout time. This reflection on time was so poetic and truly the highlight of the book for me.

Nevair continues to impress me with the Agent Renault Adventures. Cosmic Widow is a spectacular book that I feel would appeal to a variety of readers and I am thrilled to see where the series goes next!

Thank you to Jonathan Nevair for allowing me to beta read Cosmic Widow! All thoughts in this review are my own.

Synopsis:

“The differences between worlds — they’re like two tapestries, one made of silk and the other of wool. But this door is a needle that sends me between them, and I’m what stitches them together.”

A future where memory is currency; a land of dinosaurs seeking the refuge of outer space; a city where events in the present can change the past; a family of colonists escaping grief on a distant planet; a dragon breathing fire on the bourgeoisie; an astronaut craving the power of flight. 

Across the many Earths, change is the only constant. Every new tomorrow is a new beginning, whether you’re a superhero trying to hide your power from your boss, or an alien invasion has made you the richest person in the universe. Collected in this short story omnibus from Frasier Armitage are a catalogue of beginnings that stretch beyond the seams of our world. Step through a door to this unique multiverse of science fiction and fantasy in the first volume of short stories from the acclaimed author of New Yesterday and Time’s Ellipse, and travel to places that are only bound together by A Stitch Between Worlds.

Review:

Thank you Frasier for sending me an early copy to review.

I’ve made no secret of my love for Frasier’s writing. He writes these incredible sci-fi books that always have me reeling by the end when he reveals something that just blows my mind. A Stitch Between Worlds is no different. I won’t spoil why because I think you should experience it yourself, but it’s truly masterful.

There’s no shortage of imaginative works in this collection as there’s 11 short stories to enjoy. Good As Gold took me back into the world of New Yesterday, you don’t need to have read the book to understand the story but if you have read New Yesterday it’s fun to dip back in. I genuinely think every single story in this collection is strong, they’re all so incredibly varied yet they all work well together within the collection.

The Hunter Remains has us following a group of dinosaurs as they fight to survive, facing threats from each other and from space. Postcards From Another World plays with using transcripts of voice messages to tell the story. Dragonpiercer dips more into fantasy and it turns out that Frasier is also an incredible fantasy writer (in all honestly I’m not shocked, I’d read his grocery lists if he published them).

I could keep going for every story in the collection. I loved being able to dip back into worlds that Frasier has already published stories in, and I loved exploring all of the new worlds contained within these pages.

A Stitch Between Worlds is filled with unique worlds and masterful storytelling. I highly recommend that you add it to the very top of your tbr.

Synopsis:

Cadet Charlotte Amsel will trade her life to win a war- but not all at once. As part of an elite group of experimental soldiers, she can move through time, with each jump taking months from her own fated lifespan as she struggles to prevent the cold war from boiling over into an apocalypse. With her own side just as untrustworthy as the enemy, the only thing she cares about is keeping her best friend and fellow soldier (and in some timelines, lover) safe. But each time loop adds violent complications, and saving anyone before she runs out of life to give may prove impossible.

Review:

*I read this novella as part the judging group The Secret Scribes for the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS). The following review is strictly my personal thoughts as each novella will be reviewed by two judges to be as objective as possible.*

As Born to Rule the Storm is a phenomenal science fiction, time travel romance set in a unique, but familiar world where the decisions made by one person might never be enough to stop the coming tide of war.

I’m going to start this review and just say I was blown away by this story. I’ve read and seen enough stories about time travel that I’m rarely finding something unique, and I was pleasantly surprised while reading this novella. The ‘hero/heroine traveling through time to stop a war’ trope has been done time and time again (a time pun, I know…), but I felt like this story was wholly different because we spend way more moments witnessing the human sacrifice and personal destruction it has on Lottie, giving it a more intimate feeling. It’s by seeing how this time travel affects Lottie and her subsequent decisions by what is revealed, that kept me reading page after page.

The premise of this story is simple: there is a coming war between two nations and one nation did some genetic experiments that altered some family lines, essentially giving them superpowers. There are three main characters in this story: Lottie (our main character and POV) can trade her lifespan to travel forward and backward in time, Stephen (Lottie’s best friend and sometimes lover) can use his lifeforce to camouflage things like planes or people, and Min can burn things at the detriment of her body. These three are used by their nation, sending them to their eventual deaths for advantage and propaganda. And while we get to see these powers in use many times within the story, the focus is always on the outcomes it has on these three characters, the slower moments like Lottie and Stephen dancing or their first kiss that both had wanted but never acted on. And I think that was the absolute correct choice as I felt very connected to all three, even as Stephen and Min changed over the course of the story due to Lottie’s travels. It was both haunting and disturbing to see all three be used into nothingness over and over. It’s not a spoiler to say we see these characters die many times, leaving Lottie to go back and make a different decision.

Lottie is an excellent main character. Not only is her narrative voice great (she actively knows she and the others are being used but cannot fight against it because the overlords will just use up someone else) but her decision making gets more and more gut wrenching. And while the eventual outcome I saw coming from very early on, the journey to said outcome had me guessing. But not only that, I truly felt sorry for Lottie. Unlike the others who will never know what was to come on an eventual timeline, Lottie knew and experienced them all. She becomes an amalgamation of poor decisions while her life whittles away, leaving her to make the only decision she can. It’s a testament to Ms. Baumer’s craft that I cared so much about Lottie. Such great storytelling!

The prose and pace of this story is great to epic. There is a sense of immersion in the prose where we are breathlessly moved across timelines and feel what Lottie is experiencing or witnessing. Once Lottie makes her first travel around the 20% mark or so, the story never flags, never lulls. Even the ‘slower’ scenes have an elegant dance to them (yes another story pun…) that never wanes. I loved the prose in this story. Now, seeing as I am judging this for a competition and I am an editor at heart, there were a number of times some grammar was off or a name was messed up (Irina v Irene, Favian v Fabian) but none of this detracted from the prose and the story. In fact, had I not been worried about that from a judging perspective, I’m certain I would have barely even noticed.

All in all, As Born to Rule the Storm was a powerful story, one that I could not put down. Highly enjoyed this novella and will gladly recommend it to anyone looking for a shorter, character-driven science fiction story!