FACES IN TIME: A TIME TRAVEL THRILLER
Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by admin in Earn money travel
Product Description
A 20-Year Race Through Time…
In the nearby future, digit Negro holds the key to our past. metropolis Fuze lived a inaccessible chronicle until he flung himself note eld backwards in time. For years, he had idolized flick grapheme Rhonda Romero finished broadcasting screens, flick theaters, and entrepot covers. It wasn’t until she had fallen so farther as to delude her grappling for a aesthetical infix that he knew he had to movement backwards and spend her before her chronicle headlike downbound much a sad a… More >>
Faces in Time: A Time Travel Thriller
Canterbury Sales
11. Mar, 2010
I have to say that lately I have been very suspicious of the $0.99 Kindle books. So many of them where thinly disguised attempts at Cristian propaganda masquerading as a thriller that now I read the first few pages and only continue reading if the main character does not profess his/her religious beliefs.
In this case, thankfully that didn’t happen.
So I kept on reading and at the beginning it was not easy for me to get in the swing of things. I am not sure if the reader is told what year the book starts in, but it seems to me it is a not too far future. Maybe even present time. An actress sold her face for money and her long suffering admirer builds a machine to go back in time and spare her that terrible fate.
This is the only point in the story where I have to stop and consider if something like that would conceivably really happen. Naturally, we are talking about time travel so some suspension of disbelief is necessary no matter what. But strangely I find this “selling one’s face for money” scheme the hardest to believe. I don’t care how down on her luck someone is. Or how much some ugly woman would like to have someone else’s face. I have actually been through an organ transplant myself a few years back and there isn’t enough money that would make me want to repeat the experience. A face transplant would carry very similar pain and suffering and it would always make someone look like a freak. Both donor and recipient.
While a face transplant sounds futuristic and disgusting enough, as the trigger for the protagonist traveling to the past to set things right something like dieing in a accident or being killed by a spouse would probably have worked just as well.
Once we get away from the premise though, the book takes off. The writing style is both direct and at time lyrical. The author can write about surroundings and emotions in a very descriptive manner that is often very pleasant. Sometimes doesn’t quite work, but this is a your author that no doubt will fine tune his mastery of the craft.
The concept of time travel and the explanations of the paradoxes is very clever. Character development is almost always excellent. Some of the characters are a times a bit shallow but some are also very well fleshed out.
About the middle of the book there is a key event in the story that also I found less than convincing, but I cannot go too much in detail about it at the risk o spoiling the plot. Lets just say that the rage and obsession of one of the main characters, whom eventually blows up in a fireball, is not 100% believable. I wish I could go into more detail. Let’s just say that the reaction of that character was a bit excessive in my opinion. Likewise, one of the female heroines falls in love, and manages from then on to trust blindly, with one of the male counterparts a bit too fast. A few more pages there would have made it a bit more believable.
But I am really nitpicking here. All in all it was a very enjoyable read, a nice throwback to the old fashion time travel stories with some modern twists that nicely update the plot for our times.
The science is very light, but that’s completely understandable. Better to keep that vague since no one at the moment could really explain what it takes to travel in time. I would guess that some sort of smart phone would not be the most likely device to accomplish it, but neither is a “Go Cart with an umbrella” as another reviewer characterized H.G.Wells movie treatment of the “Time Machine”.
Toward the end there is a well crafted plot point that I didn’t see coming (while I certainly wondered what the disconnected parallel narration was all about and I knew something was in store). I think here too a few more pages would have improved the story
I enjoyed this book and I would read a (full price) sequel if it was ever written. Mr. Aleman is a talented writer that I suspect will only get better at his craft. I would recommend this book
Rating: 4 / 5
LaFemmeReaders
11. Mar, 2010
Faces in Time was an adventurous, fast paced, time traveling novel. At first I was a little confused with where the plot was going but then after a couple of chapters I was hooked. I enjoyed going through this journey with Chester. He was truly one of my favorite characters. I mean what guy would find a way to go back twenty years just to save a celebrity? Well, evidently Chester would. He was in love with Rhonda and didn’t want to see her make a mistake. I also loved the twists and turns because I wasn’t expecting them, so it was a nice shock. Lewis writes beautifully, his work is filled with great detailed descriptions and thought out characters who you easily fall in love with. I recommend this book if you’re looking for a great adventure. It was very creative and I haven’t seen anything out like it.
Rating: 4 / 5
McG
11. Mar, 2010
This second book from Lewis Aleman — following up on his very original revenge and redemption tale “Cold Streak” — shares little in common with Mr. Aleman’s first book, except for the quality of the writing, the author’s ability to write fully imagined characters that you will care deeply about, and Aleman’s deft ability to move the plot in directions you could never anticipate. Rather than summarize the plot for you, this review simply notes that this story moves briskly; features numerous well-crafted characters; has equal helpings of humor, suspense and romance; and ties its story lines together brilliantly. If you enjoy a well-told story in which you cannot effortlessly predict the contents of the upcoming chapter, “Faces in Time” will be a treat for you.
Rating: 5 / 5
Laura Mayer
11. Mar, 2010
I was barely able to put this book down for a second. It was very unpredictable. Aleman is a master at weaving different threads into one story line. You get to know all the characters and settings so closely that you feel like you’re really there. It was a thrilling book with action and some interesting science. I couldnt put it down, and when I read the last page I wished it wasn’t over. I was deeply satisfied with the ending of this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
Antonia C. Tunis
11. Mar, 2010
I must admit that time travel stories usually make my brain hurt: I get caught up in the whole paradox issue and can’t focus on the story. Faces in Time doesn’t do that at all – Aleman’s concept of time travel is logical, clearly explained, and unique. No paradoxes here: if you go back in time, there are now two of you, and your future self may just run into your past self. That’s what happens to Chester Fuze, and his past self is not at all happy about the appearance of another version of him.
A character-driven action book is such a rare thing; most of the action stories I’ve read lately barely delve into any sort of characterization. Not so with Faces in Time. These guys are complex and interesting – yet they never bog the story down.
The romance between Chester and Rhonda seems unlikely on the surface (a beautiful movie star interested in a somewhat dorky TV writer?), but Aleman’s characters are so believable that you won’t doubt for more than a split second. I was pleased at how realistic Rhonda was; Aleman gave her just the right amount of vulnerability without making her passive or boring.
The secondary plot line kept me guessing until the very end. Usually I can see how things will tie together (probably a result of reading too many detective stories), but this time I was taken completely by surprise. I love it when a book can do that!
Faces in Time shows off Aleman’s talent with metaphors and descriptions, but the pace is faster and the tone is lighter than Cold Streak. The ending hints at the possibility of a sequel, while still tying together all of the loose pieces. It’s satisfying but leaves you wanting a bit more – exactly how an ending should be.
Fans of Aleman’s will be thrilled with his latest release, and those new to his writing will definitely want to check out Cold Streak for a darker, more metaphysical journey.
Rating: 5 / 5