Author: Melissa E. Hurst
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Published on: June 2, 2015 by Sky Pony
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Published on: June 2, 2015 by Sky Pony
In 2013, sixteen-year-old Alora is having blackouts. Each time she wakes up in a different place with no idea how she got there. The one thing she is certain of? Someone is following her.
In 2146, seventeen-year-old Bridger is one of a small number of people born with the ability to travel to the past. While on a routine school time trip, he sees the last person he expected—his dead father. The strangest part is that, according to the Department of Temporal Affairs, his father was never assigned to be in that time. Bridger’s even more stunned when he learns that his by-the-book father was there to break the most important rule of time travel—to prevent someone’s murder.
And that someone is named Alora.
Determined to discover why his father wanted to help a “ghost,” Bridger illegally shifts to 2013 and, along with Alora, races to solve the mystery surrounding her past and her connection to his father before the DTA finds him. If he can stop Alora’s death without altering the timeline, maybe he can save his father too.
I started reading The Edge of Forever with moderate expectations. The cover’s good looking, but it was the synopsis that drew me in. It made this book sound similar to the Rewinder trilogy by Brett Battles, which I’ve read. The protagonist of this story is Bridger Creed, a seventeen-year-old cadet from 2146 United States. In his world, there are people born with the ability to travel back in time. Bridger’s one of them, which is why the Department of Temporal Affairs is training him. At the start, Bridger is on a training trip to a significant event. What’s supposed to be a straightforward mission soon takes an unexpected turn.
Bridger witnesses something that he has a hard time believing. His father Leithan, a DTA agent, is present—even though he’s supposed to be dead. The man quickly vanishes before Bridger can do much of anything. But his distraction has disastrous consequences. Vika, Bridger’s girlfriend and fellow trainee, is severely injured. Their superiors quickly shift back to their time. There, Bridger not only has to deal with the consequences of leaving his post. He also has to ponder why Leithan wanted to save someone from the past. People in Bridger’s time call these people “ghosts”, because their fates are fixed and it’s against the law to mess with them.
The second protagonist is introduced next. She’s Alora Walker, a normal teen girl from 2013. Her name caught my eye right away–I’ve never heard it before, and it sounds futuristic. Also, Alora is the very person Leithan wants to save. While Bridger is still puzzled over this, he gets awfully bad news. This turn of events surprised me. I’ll just say I didn’t expect something like that to happen so early in the book. The author also does a little worldbuilding at this point that introduces a seemingly insignificant story element. It made me see one of the twists at the end coming, but I didn’t guess exactly how it would happen.
Unsurprisingly, Bridger soon afterward decides to travel to the past without permission. Alora intrigues him, and he wants to check things out. A big issue is that the DTA placed Bridger under probation. If they find out what he’s up to, he could be executed or turned into a mindless servant. Yes, they do that. Anyway, Bridger ends up at a much earlier date than he intended. It’s one of the risks of free shifting. Official DTA agents use a device called a Chronoband to travel to a specific time point. Shifting without the band can drop you months ahead of or behind your intended date. Bridger has sheer luck, though. He literally shifts right next to the people he’s supposed to investigate.
Alora, having protagonist status, gets several chapters written in her POV. As you progress through the book, you get a good feel of what Alora is like. Steadily, Bridger also learns what makes Alora special and why his father would risk everything to save her life. As he has a lot of time to kill, Bridger inserts himself into Alora’s life. Her aunt runs a B&B, so that’s where Bridger stays. His cover is that he is following leads that might lead him to Leithan. It works well enough despite how sharp Alora’s aunt is. Bridger has no trouble befriending Alora. It’s a little bit tough for him sometimes, because she looks a lot like Vika.
I’ve read a bunch of time-travel novels over the years. The Edge of Forever isn’t very original, but it’s still a great book. The characters are engaging and well-written, and the story is compelling. The DTA did remind me a little bit of the time travel agency from Rewinder by Brett Battles. Their purposes are even very similar: to record or witness history. The time travelers from Rewinder are humans who use tech, though, while those from this book can time travel thanks to genetic ability. That’s where the similarities end, though. The Edge of Forever and Rewinder are very different novels. If you enjoyed one, you still likely will enjoy the other. I certainly found this book entertaining, so I’m going to continue to the next–and last–entry.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
No comments:
Post a Comment