| Title | : | In Times Like These (In Times Like These, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 358 |
| Publication | : | First published September 22, 2013 |
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"We broke something. How do you break time? Can something so bad happen that you fracture the world?" Benjamin Travers has been electrocuted. What's worse, he and his friends have woken up in the past. As the friends search for a way home, they realize they're not alone. There are other time travelers, and some of them are turning up dead. When Ben meets an enigmatic scientist and his charming, time-traveling daughter, salvation seems at hand, but escaping the dangers of the past may lead to a deadly future. If he hopes to save his friends, Ben must learn to master space and time, and survive a journey where past and future violently collide.
In Times Like These (In Times Like These, #1) Reviews
-
Totally Awesome! Perhaps the best time travel book I've ever read. And it is Van Coops' first!
Realistically developed plot and characters. The tale draws us in by both its mundane nature and the true-to-life way the characters react to their impossible situation. Van Coop builds his plot in stages, often teetering on the brink of techno-babble or boredom only to shove his characters--and the reader--off in some unforeseen direction. A flawed and very human protagonist. Tension builds as every attempt at resolving the characters' dilemma seems to make matters worse.
Very well done.
A great read. -
What a fun audiobook! Truth be told, I have a serious love-hate relationship with time travel books. They tend to irritate me, because they become so outlandish and contradictory that they make the show Supernatural seem plausible.
But this one didn't completely butcher current science. It explained away a lot of the complexities in a satisfying (though vague) way. And the characters, while not as developed as I would have liked, were worth cheering on toward their goals. It was engaging, enjoyable, not at all flashy or hyped, and easy to read -- exactly the kind of brain candy for when work gets crazy and my mind needs an effortless and fanciful distraction.
I'll definitely pick up the next book in the series, The Chronothon. I want to find out what time has in store next for Ben/Benjamin/Benji and his friends. -
Imagine that you and a few friends get electrocuted in a lightning storm and suddenly find yourselves in 1985. Where would you sleep for the night? What would you do to try to get back to your home time? “It’s an odd feeling to be thinking of a specific time as being home, but [Benjamin realizes] more and more how much it matters to [him] to be in the same flow of time as [all his] friends.” Just when it seems that Benjamin and his friends are hopelessly stuck in a year of big hair and leg warmers, they meet Dr. Quickly who is full of sage time travel advice and who sets out to train the friends in the art and sport of time travel. Wax on, wax off, and mind getting your light sabre caught in your flip flops … or mind getting caught with your flip flops in a snow storm.
I read quite a lot of time travel novels, but it’s a rare for one to invade my mind even when the book is closed. This one does because, as the characters are being trained in the skills necessary for avoiding time travel disaster, I found myself considering how to apply these skills if I were faced with an imminent time travel need. Time travel isn’t something to be jumped into lightly. You should train and practice to hone your skills lest you find yourself merging with something that occupies the same space in another time. Today’s open field is tomorrow’s housing development. The empty chair of today was occupied with your cat yesterday, and now its tail is firmly and uncomfortably lodged in your behind because you didn’t take this into consideration when jumping to yesterday. Time travel is a little more complicated than pressing a button lest you land in outer space with Earth not quite where you expected in orbit. And how do you get back to your own timeline rather than one that’s fractured off from the changes that you made when you traveled back to the past? I was impressed that the author took so many of the what-ifs of time travel and actually created plausible answers and learnable skills for them.
The adventures in this book are interesting and the characters are fun. There are a few characters that are a bit cardboard (until they want to kill their time travel doppelgangers and such), but the plethora of well-fleshed interesting ones largely made up for that. I loved the journal entries from Dr. Quickly that open each chapter. Here’s a favorite: “Cheating on a woman is always a bad idea. If your girl happens to be a time traveler, that’s worse. And if her father is a time traveler, too . . . well, now you’ve really messed up.” And, yes, there’s a love interest in the book, but its low-key such that the romantic subplot doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the book. Friendships, desert jedi time travel training sessions, a time traveling serial killer, time travel balloon rides, the fractal theory of time travel… there’s a lot here that lends itself to an interesting world I look forward to traveling through as the series progresses. -
5 wonderful mind bogging time travel stars once again! one of the best time travel adventures! Cannot wait to start book 2!!
This has been such an amazing ride. As a big time travel fan, i have to say, this has become one of my favorite time travel novels. It kept me on the edge of my seat most of the story; fast paced action pack mind boggling time travel adventure! If a time travel story does not give you a bit of a headache then you know it's not a "time travel" one. The character development was done perfectly and the main theme of the story "friendship" is what made the novel stand out. There was only a little bit of romance in it which was refreshing. Overall i loved it! Felt like i was watching my favorite time travel movie. It all came together perfectly. So keen to continue on with book 2. Time travelers go pick up this book now! -
If I'm dead tired, but I want to read another chapter to find out what happens, I know I'm reading a good book. If I find myself thinking about the storyline while I'm at work, it's a good book (or a slow day at work). If I finish the book and yearn for more, it's a good book.
The structure, character development and plot were all well thought out, but it must have been a nightmare to make all the elements gel, but, such is the nature of time travel. What I liked most was that this is a complete story; beginning, middle and end, all in one book! None of this "publishing in three (four or five) installments" business.
I think this is a fine effort for the author's first novel. Well done Nathan. -
I very much enjoyed this novel. The opening premise is a winner: accidental time travel. The author does a good job of introducing five distinct characters, and isn't at all afraid to torture them or let them off the hook. He's also done a considerable amount of very hard thinking to explain a plausible means of time travel - one which doesn't make it easy for the protagonists. This is a good page-turner and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author, as he's clearly someone who works very hard at his craft, for the enjoyment of the reader. Here's an example of what I mean:
"The basic chairs in the hospital waiting area are torture. I can feel the circulation being cut off in my legs after a few minutes in any one of them."
That's great writing. Without a lengthy description, the reader has a mental image of the narrator going from chair to chair, massaging the feeling back into his thighs. We also feel the pain and discomfort, and get the impression of a long and agonising wait. -
This is a fun Time travel romp, that I could relate to easily. Being a 30 something myself and a child of the 80's it was fun to go back to 1985, however this book does not reference enough pop culture like unto Ready Player One. This book focuses on the action and also the science of the time travel. Some hard core techies may eat up the science behind it all, and I agree some explanation as to how is time travel possible is warranted, but as a reader there were times when the science and explanation bogged down the story. Anchors being left because he forgets to degravitize them or gravatize them...Personally I don't care....Further the protagonist seems to fumble his way through everything and that in a way makes it relate-able and forces me to be empathetic to the peril going on.
I liked the story its fun. As long as you don't think on it to much. A serial killer from the present goes back along with are protagonists and finds himself completely at odds and the villain of the story....just not sure why? I am a convicted serial killer going to prison or on death row and magically you find yourself free and unknown...Guess I will go kill me some time travelers!! It just doesn't track. Like an episode of scooby-doo the bad guy is bad and everything would be fine except for these meddling Kids!
I love the looping time streams and paradoxes. Some very heart wrenching moments as they struggle so fiercely to get home. -
I finally finished this book last night! The author did a great job wrapping everything up. But I admit, that even as a Time Travel (TT) enthusiast, I found myself quite befuddled while trying to keep the story straight amongst all the TT "rules". Don't get me wrong, some of the most important factors in a TT novel are the means of travel (eg. time machine, magic gem, meditation) and the rules!
Can one travel to a time where he or she already exists? Do you need an object from the time you are traveling to? Can you control the time you travel to? Can you warn yourself of upcoming dangers? Can you change anything? Kill Hitler? Save JFK? Is there a force preventing important moments in history from being tampered with? Lots more.
You get it.
Anyway, I absolutely, positively love TT novels because these variables are completely up for imaginative discretion by the author.
This brings me to back to talking about this novel and maybe the reason it didn't warrant the full 5 stars from me. I felt that there was far too much explanation of small technical details of the method of TT.
I put this book down several times and was reluctant to pick it up again because there is a chunk in the middle where our protagonist and his friends are learning lessons of how to TT. Classroom style and hands on. It was all very technical and detailed regarding a completely made up science! It just got somewhat boring, here and there. I didn't care about all those details, I wanted to move on with the story.
Another thing about the book that distracted-then eventually began to irk me a was how each characters actions are explained in painstaking detail. Not sure how to explain, so here is a fictional example:
We all filed into the room and I made myself comfortable in the blue rocker. Bill fell into the red chair next to Sandy who sat on the floor beside him with her knees folded underneath her. Chris stood at the far end of the fireplace to my left with his elbow propped up on the mantel, his left hand on his hips and his knee slightly bent. On the other side of the mantel stood Joe who turned his head a bit to the left and squared his shoulders to the north while his legs were slightly apart....
Now, that we know where everyone is, we can get on with the story! So, my example is totally an exaggeration. It's just the author's writing style.
Another thing I noticed about the author's style, that I thought was completely unique, was the way he played out the 1st person narrative. I generally prefer 3rd person for various reasons, but I think I liked this. Ben, our protagonist, has very little to say about his feelings. There are occasional asides that the reader knows are Ben's thoughts because they are separate and italicized. We don't spend a lot of time in Ben's head, we are simply made privy to the action.
So, to the action! The action was great! There is a scene in the end where there is a fight on the top of a semi tractor trailer as it flies down the highway at top speed! It was described well and I always knew what was going on. Seems like I shouldn't have to point this out. However, if you have ever read any of my reviews, you know how often I am flabbergasted by an author's poor description of action happening in a scene. (See
Splintered and
Something Wicked This Way Comes et al.)
Anyway, the TT was fantastic! The methods, the dangers and the potential Matrix-like way a guy can use it to fight achieving absolute coolness! There is a sequel and I will read it with high hopes that Ben uses his TT abilities and knowledge for more super hero type situations! -
At first glance, "In Times Like These" is just another time-travel caper.
Look a little deeper, and you might concede that it's a time-travel caper with a slightly new slant: think "Back To The Future" meets "The Famous Five".
However, once the story gets going, it's clear that Nathan Van Coops has come up with an entirely new and engaging take on time travel. In even the very best stories on time travel, the act itself usually involves merely pushing a button or pulling a lever. Pick your date, flip the switch, and you're done. But what if time travel were complicated? What if, like flying a plane, running a marathon or performing surgery, time travel needed years of training, a practised technique and a deep underlying understanding of associated technical issues? That's what Nathan Van Coops offers here. I had a lot of fun following the story and thinking through the consequences - this is something genuinely new and fresh and different. -
Mini-Review:
3.5 Stars for Narration by Neil Hellegers (He has an odd cadence to his narration that speeds up & down.)
4 Stars for Concepts
3.5 Stars for Characters
3 Stars for Plot & Uneven Pacing
Rambling Thoughts:
- If you ever watched Sliders, you would probably enjoy this book. It's kind of like Sliders but the main character/s are normal people who get sucked into a crazy event.
- Is the story realistic? Naaaaaaaaaah! But the author did a good job of portraying what may happen if a group of friends were caught up in a strange phenomenon. Lots of fun "what if" scenarios are tossed into the pot and tried out.
- A lot of blatant foreshadowing happens in the story and that makes it easy to guess where the story will go. I was right for about 95% and thought it was fun when I was wrong. =D
- Overall, an interesting time travel story. -
I've not read a Time Travel adventure quite like this one before. It covers a timespan of no more than 25 recent years, and occurs for the most part (with notable exceptions) in the state of Florida, the home of the five accidental travelers. Their mentor, Dr. Harold Quickly, has apparently taken Time Travel far beyond the theoretical to develop the science and mechanics for practical application. The author did well in combining this imaginative science within a story of reachable scope. We get to know these likeable characters and might picture ourselves in the same circumstances. Hopefully, we'd do as well. The dialogue is smart, fun, and realistic, and their reactions -- ranging from bewildered to analytical to damned determined -- develop credibly in taxing circumstances. The writing is smooth and enjoyable, and the first person narrator's occasional asides and quiet thoughts can be humorous and insightful.
But who would have imagined that Time Travel could be so complicated and dangerous? Dr. Quickly advises in one of his many choice bits of wisdom, that spacing is almost as important as timing. "It's no use showing up right on time if you fuse your leg through the coffee table." Good point, and if that's not enough to capture a neophyte's attention, this surely will be: "There are thousands of ways to get yourself killed time traveling. Being in a hurry is the fastest way to find a new one."
I will warn that readers need to pay close attention. Sometimes I found myself having to go back to sort out the science and fast action. Why do they need what? How did they wind up here? But not to worry. With a little effort you'll find that the details are there and add up nicely.
I understand this novel is the first in a series, though I found it to be complete and satisfying in itself with a great ending. I look forward to the next volume from Nathan Van Coops. -
Ugh. This is first person, present POV. Not my fav.
-
A'We wouldn’t really have much to tell them. ‘Hello officer, we left our cars parked in 2009. Can you help us?’
Benjamin and his friends get accidentally shot back to 1986 along with a Serial killer.
As they try to find their way home they meet the eccentric Dr Quickly and his daughter Mym. Who train them in using Cronothons, which are time traveling devices.
As they learn to jump their way to the future they realise they may have changed to much. Can they find a way to fix everything and restore their tineline.
'We broke something. How do you break time? Can something so bad happen that you fracture the world?'
I thoroughly enjoyed this! A great mix of time travelling, bonkers science and serial killer.
I will say that there were a few things that didn't add up with the rules of time travel here, but who cares. Its sci fi it can do anything right?
Full of a Brilliant cast of characters and an absolute joy to read, I would highly recommend.
'What happened, happened. You can never change the past. Not really. You can just choose to live in a time where things are different.' -
Ever since I saw Back To The Future, as a kid, I have loved pretty much anything to do with time travel, so when I read the synopsis for this book and also heard all of the positive feedback it was getting, I just had to buy it.
IN TIMES LIKE THESE is the first book in a planned trilogy (the second book was recently released) and it tells the story of 5 friends in the year 2009 who are caught in the perfect storm of chance circumstances as they are struck by lightning simultaneously and are sent back to 1985.
A book that often references Back To The Future is sure to be one that wins me over and IN TIMES LIKE THESE does just that. This story has a heart to it, much like that classic trilogy, but the particulars are thankfully not a copycat at all, but rather quite original. There is a lot of talk in this book about the science behind the time traveling, some of which admittedly went over my head and as the story moves along, it can get a little confusing as to all the time threads that are going on at once. I wouldn't call it a convoluted story necessarily, but it is definitely borderline.
At its core, this is an awesome and fun novel! To consider also that this is author Nathan Van Coops first novel, is quite an achievement! As of right now, this book is FREE in the Kindle store and I HIGHLY recommend it for those of you who enjoy a good time travel story. I really look forward to checking out the second book very soon. I give this one a 4/5! -
As a real Time Travel fan I must say that this was quite different and satisfying to read.
Benjamin Travers and his young friends get eloctrocuted and thrown back into the 1980's, where they meet a Time travel scientist and his daughter, all of whom are trying to escape a murderer who similarly got beamed back.
The interaction between the characters is good and you care about what happens to them.
The time travel is fairly hectic and whizzes back and forth, with incidents occurring left,right and center.
It's not the best Time travel story ever but it's certainly a must for supporters of the genre. -
WoW!
I loved this time-travel story so much and it is so unexpected! Honestly if I had known this book was so good I would have read it much earlier.
I loved the plot, the characters and the scientific aspect and dynamics of time travel are very coherent and actually make perfect sense.
Now that I am done reading this book I am left with a desire for more of it.
Congratulations to the author for this great book! -
I'm so used to free books being clunkers that this totally surprised me. Cleverest of time travel tales, no typos to irk me, and if there were continuity issues, who could tell with such a mess of parallel time streams going on? Really a fun adventure and obviously, a ton of thought went into it. Big thumbs up.
-
THIS is how your write authentic time travel mystery/adventure. The tiniest science detail checks out and yet nowhere did I get the feeling that I was drowning under an info dump. I was rooting for every single character (that I was supposed to care about, *points at villains* you know who you are!) and everything was super awesome! The back and forth and the pulling out of the rug from under me and the tears and the laughs and UGH! You sir, have done well! I think this is easily one of the best time travel stories I’ve read. Now go! Read it and be swarmed by the awesome fictional science that actually makes sense!
-
I really liked this time travel story!!! Kudos to the author on his first!
I loved the characters, a bunch of 20 somethings who were are a baseball field when a lightning storm hit and tranported them from 2009 to 1985.
It was cute, not complex with science crap that is too hard to understand. It does get confusing a bit when they talk about being in the future and past, and I am thinking how they got there if they weren't there already? (because you need a 'thing' that is grounded in that time that will still be there). Anyway....
The characters are cute. Benjamin meets his older self, Francesca is a tough cookie that was willing to do whatever it took to get back, Conrad (always an annoying self centered person in a story), Blake who just wants to get back to his girlfriend and propose, and Robert who, when he goes back to the 80s, actually gets to meet his grandfather who had died when he was young. (this was such a great part of the story).
Of course, they are not the only ones who time travel back. A serial killer gets stuck in the lightning strike and, yes causes havoc even back then.
I am really for Book #2. I hope it was as much fun as #1. BTW I listened via Audible and the narrator was GREAT. -
Time travel and a bunch of young people being sent back to the 80s? Yes, please!
-
Back To The Future meets Scooby-Doo Gang. Meh
-
Actual rating: 3.75 but I'll round it up to 4.
“If you post your used concert tickets on Craigslist and someone actually buys them, you know you’ve found yourself a time traveler.” -Excerpt from the journal of Dr. Harold Quickly, 2013
In Times Like These is free on Amazon. It’s self-published. It’s really good. Almost great, actually.
Ben, Carson, Blake and Robbie are four young men in their mid-twenties in St. Petersburg, Florida who belong to a softball league and enjoy their games after work. Francesca is one of their friends who comes to the games to watch. On June 10, 2009, they start their game as a thunderstorm rolls in. The lightning strikes nearby, a power line whips free with sparks flying off the end. The friends get electrocuted and everything goes dark.
When they wake up, they notice that the baseball field is no longer there. Their cars are gone. Their cell phones don’t work. Everything seems retro and somewhat off. They discover that they’re in 1985.
Crap.
As they try to find their way out of eighties they meet Dr. Quickly who has taken Time Travel far beyond the theoretical to develop the science and mechanics for practical application. Dr. Quickly trains our heroes as Time Travel mechanics are much more complicated than in many other books feauturing time travel.
There are all kinds of twists and turns: one of the friends keeps his own grandfather from dying, a serial killer is also accidentally whipped from their time back to 1985, other time travelers appear. If you look for alternate time lines, you’ll get them. And much more.
The story is mind stimulating as it touches the subject ot time travel, its limitations, its possibilities and dangers. When you travel in time, you disappear from the current location and materialize elsewhere. What if there’s something in the space you’ll materialize into? Well, you risk fusing with it. Dr. Quickly sums it up this way:
“Of all the messy ends available to time travelers, fusing oneself into another object is perhaps the most gruesome. We are a fragile species when it comes down to it. Our bodies don’t appreciate being combined with the furniture.”–Journal of Dr. Harold Quickly
The novel is a lengthy ride, mostly fun but some passages are slow and boring. I’m pretty sure that cutting out 30 % of the book would improve pacing and make it much better overall. In the beginning there’s just too many pointless chit-chat and descriptions that doesn’t advance the plot in any way. The pacing improves at around 60 % of Kindle version.
All in all I think it’s great, well written and inteligent book about time travel. The characters are likable and real, and there are some nice twists and turns in the plot. Will they figure out a way to return home to 2009? Will they even want to? After starting the book you’ll want to get these answers. My only issue is the pacing and too much of unnecesary dialogue / descriptions that serve nothing but to fill first half of the book. -
5 Stars Gimmick free story telling that makes for a fun and easy read.
I love a time travel story that's done well. The premise of this one is solid. The method of traveling is non-gimmicky with enough science pulled in to let you buy into the logistics, and the ensemble cast of characters are believable.
When the story starts off with Ben, Carson, Robbie, and Blake playing in a softball game, I mentally groaned and thought, "No... I don't really feel like following a bunch of jocks through time." When Francesca shows up to the game, I added, "Well, at least he's putting a female in the mix."
I soon learned the sports setting wasn't a recurring theme in the book but, rather, just the set up for the first unexpected jump through time.
What I liked best about this book is how it followed a logical story line theme of "Get Back Home to 2009" with all the requisite obstacles, twists, and turns to make it interesting. I also liked how the more advanced precepts of time travel - parallel realities, fractal time, looping back on your own life, what happens to your memories when you do, even the possibility of time travel in its own right - were explained and handled in a way that a novice time travel reader could grasp. Accepting that the 2009 - which the gang first returned to - wasn't THEIR 2009 time stream was totally palatable. Plus, the small details introduced during the story were all wrapped up nicely with a set up to book two that didn't leave me hanging. Rather, it left me wanting to read more about Ben's story. Seriously Mr Nathan Van Coops, well done!
WARNING!!!: There are no graphic sex scenes, no gratuitous violence with blood and guts spilling off the page, nor philosophical aggrandizing. If that's what you seek from a book, keep looking in another direction. Oh, and one reviewer on Amazon wrote about an over-use of swear words. That was either changed with this edition or the reviewer was extra sensitive to it from my perspective. Yes, Ben might have let out a few expletives now and again, but they were justified. I daresay even my mother might have let a few escape in the same situation, and she's known for never swearing. Seriously, if you were a modern guy in your mid twenties and faced with extreme surprise fraught with unexpected danger and adrenaline, would your natural response be, "Oh, spit!" and "What the fudge!"? I think not. -
What a fun, well thought out time travel book!
There was just enough of the “science” explained that I felt the technology was credible and the plot was full of twists and turns… in fact, a couple of times, when I felt I had found a “hole” in the story, it turned out to have just been a paradox or otherwise explained later.
In this story, five friends accidentally get yanked from 2009 back to 1985. (In fact, this was one of the fun parts of the book… I was a teen/young adult in the early 1980s, so a lot of the references brought me to “I remember that!” or “Yeah, that’s how it was!” So many time travel books take the reader to times that I haven’t lived through, so this change was interesting.) One of these friends, Blake, has the engagement ring he was going to propose with in his pocket, so he is particularly interested in getting back “home.” Needless to say, the others want to get back, too, but how?
There are all kinds of twists and turns: One of the friends keeps his own grandfather from dying, a serial killer is also accidentally whipped from their time back to 1985 as well, there are other time travelers – some helpful and some not so nice, and oh lots of stuff. Guns, genius scientists, alternate time lines…
Quite an enjoyable, light (even though there are some desperate situations) and entertaining read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys time travel stories. -
Goodreads winner.
I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to review this book. I think it has a lot of potential to be good but it feels like a first book where the author is still trying to sort out his own voice and when he wavers, I (as the reader) waver, too. I like the idea of this book very much. I like the world-building where time travel is not stuck in sci-fi techno-words, the characters feel like separate and real entities rather than cardboard cutouts there to move the plot along and yet... and yet... I just think there are too many characters to try and focus on. It's ultimately leading me to my interests splintering and waning into indifference the further along I go.
My bookmark sits at the halfway mark and I'm having a hard time wanting to pick it back up. I see many high ratings for this book and another review even mentions how slow the first part of this book is - and it's true! - so I suspect all the good, juicy action adventure scenes are later on but I jut can't seem to find myself trying to get over this hurdle of disinterest. I feel incredibly guilty saying that for now I think I need to put this book down for a bit and potentially pick it up in the future. I'm sorry. -
I love a good adventure story and sci-fi elements along with romantic potential even better. In Times Like These I found the characters to be very relatable and also inspiring. I don't know for sure if I would be as courageous in the situations they encountered. I enjoyed the first person narration immensely and felt connected with the main character. After a few chapters of setting up the premise I felt sucked into the story and had to keep reading to find out what happens much later into my bed time and on my lunch breaks at work. I am so excited to hear that there will be a continuation of the adventures in upcoming sequels to read as well. I could easily envision a television series, mini-series or movie as a result of the creative mind of Nathan Van Coops. I am confident all of the readers and viewers will be on the edge of their seats as will I.
