‘Traveller – Inceptio’ by Rob Shackelford
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Finished on March 24, 2018
GIVEN A FREE COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
$4.99 on Kindle

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A team of college students is assembled to work on a new sort of security system for airports and shipping companies. Their project goes haywire, though, when they accidentally create the Transporter, a time machine that goes back 1000 years.

It can only go back 1000 years wherever it is placed, but even this is a huge scientific development.

Australia, the UK, Canada, and America come together to send a group of Special Forces officers back to Saxon England hoping for the men to merge with the people and teach those in the present time more about them than they already know. Using twenty-first-century technology, they send daily reports back to the present.

But these officers quickly learn they need more than high tech gear to make it in the eleventh century.

MY REVIEW:
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Once you figure out what’s actually happening in this book, it becomes a really fun read. For the first 5% or so, I had a hard time following exactly what was happening, but I’m glad I stuck with it because this book has a lot of heart.

It flips back and forth between the perspectives of those in the present and the officer(s) they’ve sent back to the past. It is a little muddy at first what’s happening, and how these two perspectives are connected, but it eventually becomes sparkling clear.

I found this story to be extremely innovative and fun. Imagining a time machine that only goes back to a certain time period is different from most anything I’ve ever encountered before and adds a compelling perspective.

Also, the characters in this book are endearing and quite charming. I am not super knowledgeable about Saxon England, so it was fun to learn about those who lived then, and their social structure.

It was a tad confusing having a Michael and a Mike both with ‘H’ last names. I found myself having to stop and think about which character was which a few times. I think it would have read better if the names were a little more diverse.

All of that being said, this is a great read if you enjoy both historical fiction and sci-fi. It’s a lovely meld of the two genres.