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Time Bomb
Time Bomb is a Bhagavad Gita-inspired/time travel/save-the-world-from-global-warming novel with a queer romantic edge.
Christian Sparrow is a time traveler from the end of the twenty first century. His earth is dying, and his mission is to go back in time to change the course of history by disrupting the Los Alamos atomic bomb project. But he didn’t plan on falling in love with Archer Meyer—a nuclear physicist whiz-kid whose work and life Christian will likely have to ruin if he is to succeed.
The men will need to navigate through a perplexing world of spies, scorpions, sex tapes, and safe words before they can hope to discern their true duties, and perhaps save the world, and even themselves.
John Patrick is a Lambda Literary Award finalist who spends most of his time in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, where he is supported in his writing by his husband and their terriers, who are convinced they could do battle with the bears that come through the woods on occasion (the terriers, that is, not the husband). An introvert, John can often be found doing introverted things like reading or writing, cooking, and thinking deep, contemplative thoughts (his husband might call this napping). He loves to spend time in nature—“forest bathing” is the Japanese term for it—feeling connected with the universe. But he also loathes heat and humidity, bugs of any sort, and unsteady footing in the form of rocks, mud, tree roots, snow, or ice. So his love of nature is tempered—he’s complicated that way.
John and his husband enjoy traveling and have visited over a dozen countries, meeting new people, exploring new cultures, and—most importantly—discovering new foods.
Christian Sparrow is a time traveler from the end of the twenty first century. His earth is dying, and his mission is to go back in time to change the course of history by disrupting the Los Alamos atomic bomb project. But he didn’t plan on falling in love with Archer Meyer—a nuclear physicist whiz-kid whose work and life Christian will likely have to ruin if he is to succeed.
The men will need to navigate through a perplexing world of spies, scorpions, sex tapes, and safe words before they can hope to discern their true duties, and perhaps save the world, and even themselves.
John Patrick is a Lambda Literary Award finalist who spends most of his time in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, where he is supported in his writing by his husband and their terriers, who are convinced they could do battle with the bears that come through the woods on occasion (the terriers, that is, not the husband). An introvert, John can often be found doing introverted things like reading or writing, cooking, and thinking deep, contemplative thoughts (his husband might call this napping). He loves to spend time in nature—“forest bathing” is the Japanese term for it—feeling connected with the universe. But he also loathes heat and humidity, bugs of any sort, and unsteady footing in the form of rocks, mud, tree roots, snow, or ice. So his love of nature is tempered—he’s complicated that way.
John and his husband enjoy traveling and have visited over a dozen countries, meeting new people, exploring new cultures, and—most importantly—discovering new foods.
- GenresHistorical
199 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 23, 2023
10 people want to read
About the author
John Patrick
7 books38 followersJohn Patrick spends much of his time in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, where he is supported in his writing by his husband and their terriers, who are convinced they could do battle with the bears that come through the woods on occasion (the terriers, that is, not the husband).
John is an introvert and can often be found doing introverted things like reading or writing, cooking, and thinking deep, contemplative thoughts (his husband might call this napping). He loves to spend time in nature—“forest bathing” is the Japanese term for it—feeling connected with the universe. But he also loathes heat and humidity, bugs of any sort, and unsteady footing in the form of rocks, mud, tree roots, snow, or ice. So, his love of nature is tempered; he’s complicated that way.
John and his husband enjoy traveling and have visited over a dozen countries, meeting new people, exploring new cultures, and—most importantly—discovering new foods.
John is an introvert and can often be found doing introverted things like reading or writing, cooking, and thinking deep, contemplative thoughts (his husband might call this napping). He loves to spend time in nature—“forest bathing” is the Japanese term for it—feeling connected with the universe. But he also loathes heat and humidity, bugs of any sort, and unsteady footing in the form of rocks, mud, tree roots, snow, or ice. So, his love of nature is tempered; he’s complicated that way.
John and his husband enjoy traveling and have visited over a dozen countries, meeting new people, exploring new cultures, and—most importantly—discovering new foods.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 25, 2023
Christian Sparrow claims he’s thirty, he is neo-Hindu and a time travel agent. In 1943 he finds himself in the New Mexico desert of Los Alamos. He only has two assignments to complete: make the planning for the atomic bomb a failure, an embarrassment and seduce Archer Meyer.
Archer Meyer is twenty-one, a young and brilliant physicist recruited from MIT by Oppenheimer himself. Christian is assisting Archer to find the most out of the way area to set off the atomic bomb and hopefully meet his goal. Christian also has to prevent Archer from meeting the Soviet spy, Viktor Chekov.
As Christian and Archer work close together, Christian is caught not only by the words he uses, but the talking harmonica does him in. He uses the harmonica to keep in touch with Gene Hanover, another agent. Archer starts to grow curious about what he’s seen and heard and starts to ask questions.
Christian also has an odd experience with an elder Navaho. The elder refers to Archer as “Destroyer God.” Christian wonders how much the elder knows of the future and the destruction that is to come or has occurred. Before Christian leaves he is given an owl and a scorpion figurine and in return gave the Navaho a small piece of glass.
Eventually, Christian starts to reveal some information about the future to Archer. The feeling Christian has for Archer get’s stronger and Christian starts to have thoughts of going rogue. He also devises a plan to use his Neo-Hinduism to discuss ethics and values with those of the scientific world and even eastern spirituality. When Viktor Chekov comes into the picture it brings turmoil to Christian and Archer and jealousy raises it’s ugly head. Christian is surprised to find that Chekov knows even more about the future of earth. Is the atomic bomb just the start or is there more to come?
John Patrick creates an interesting tale around the history of the atomic bomb and history repeating itself. Those of the future earth will come and possibly make changes before time runs out. It also sends a clear message that if todays society doesn’t make changes with its actions and attitude towards the earth all will be lost.
I am a great follower of stories that are formed by times of past history and come with just a touch of mystery. In “Time Bomb” there’s a variety of things to think about: the significance of the Elder Navaho, the glass, owl and scorpion; getting others to open their mind with the neo-Hinduism; and what effects the earth from the past, present and future. There’s also interesting aspects from the world of science: harmonica, comm devices, and being recalled.
I highly recommend “Time Bomb” by John Patrick. It’s a very intriguing story with so much to think about and how society can improve and help the earth survive.
Archer Meyer is twenty-one, a young and brilliant physicist recruited from MIT by Oppenheimer himself. Christian is assisting Archer to find the most out of the way area to set off the atomic bomb and hopefully meet his goal. Christian also has to prevent Archer from meeting the Soviet spy, Viktor Chekov.
As Christian and Archer work close together, Christian is caught not only by the words he uses, but the talking harmonica does him in. He uses the harmonica to keep in touch with Gene Hanover, another agent. Archer starts to grow curious about what he’s seen and heard and starts to ask questions.
Christian also has an odd experience with an elder Navaho. The elder refers to Archer as “Destroyer God.” Christian wonders how much the elder knows of the future and the destruction that is to come or has occurred. Before Christian leaves he is given an owl and a scorpion figurine and in return gave the Navaho a small piece of glass.
Eventually, Christian starts to reveal some information about the future to Archer. The feeling Christian has for Archer get’s stronger and Christian starts to have thoughts of going rogue. He also devises a plan to use his Neo-Hinduism to discuss ethics and values with those of the scientific world and even eastern spirituality. When Viktor Chekov comes into the picture it brings turmoil to Christian and Archer and jealousy raises it’s ugly head. Christian is surprised to find that Chekov knows even more about the future of earth. Is the atomic bomb just the start or is there more to come?
John Patrick creates an interesting tale around the history of the atomic bomb and history repeating itself. Those of the future earth will come and possibly make changes before time runs out. It also sends a clear message that if todays society doesn’t make changes with its actions and attitude towards the earth all will be lost.
I am a great follower of stories that are formed by times of past history and come with just a touch of mystery. In “Time Bomb” there’s a variety of things to think about: the significance of the Elder Navaho, the glass, owl and scorpion; getting others to open their mind with the neo-Hinduism; and what effects the earth from the past, present and future. There’s also interesting aspects from the world of science: harmonica, comm devices, and being recalled.
I highly recommend “Time Bomb” by John Patrick. It’s a very intriguing story with so much to think about and how society can improve and help the earth survive.
April 20, 2023
John Patrick is the only person on this planet who can instill an interest in history in me! Before reading his books, primarily his Tides of Change series, I had no interest in the past, nor would I pause to speculate on the future. The here and now has always been fine by me, but Time Bomb made me think and realize that the here and now is most definitely a result of the past and a precursor for the future.
Time Bomb combines a compelling version of the future with known facts and events from the past. But here’s the key: time is fluid and one change in the past—in this case during the building and testing of the first atomic bomb—can have a far-reaching and unexpected impact on the future of our planet and that future may be within the next century or two.
By all means, pay attention to the details in this novel because the author leaves little clues, seeds of thought which help us understand how our society’s actions and attitudes today can affect more than the present and even the immediate future. Plus, he provides tiny bites of information, clues to how the events in this story, set in the 1940s desert of New Mexico, may impact not only the future of the world but also the outcome of what turns out to be a very clever mystery.
All these tidbits, of course, appear in among the slow building sweet romance between a scientist working in Los Alamos on the project to build the first atomic bomb and a time traveling secret agent from 2095, whose mission is to disrupt history in order to change the course of the future. How can their relationship possibly survive against enormous odds and with their future seeming so impossible to comprehend? Readers who take the time will enjoy every minute of this book (pun intended!). Very highly recommended! And, yes, a very satisfying HEA is included.
Note: I received an ARC of this story. This is my honest review.
Time Bomb combines a compelling version of the future with known facts and events from the past. But here’s the key: time is fluid and one change in the past—in this case during the building and testing of the first atomic bomb—can have a far-reaching and unexpected impact on the future of our planet and that future may be within the next century or two.
By all means, pay attention to the details in this novel because the author leaves little clues, seeds of thought which help us understand how our society’s actions and attitudes today can affect more than the present and even the immediate future. Plus, he provides tiny bites of information, clues to how the events in this story, set in the 1940s desert of New Mexico, may impact not only the future of the world but also the outcome of what turns out to be a very clever mystery.
All these tidbits, of course, appear in among the slow building sweet romance between a scientist working in Los Alamos on the project to build the first atomic bomb and a time traveling secret agent from 2095, whose mission is to disrupt history in order to change the course of the future. How can their relationship possibly survive against enormous odds and with their future seeming so impossible to comprehend? Readers who take the time will enjoy every minute of this book (pun intended!). Very highly recommended! And, yes, a very satisfying HEA is included.
Note: I received an ARC of this story. This is my honest review.
April 27, 2023
This outstanding book will keep you entertained from the first page to the last. Christian Sparrow is a time traveler who has come to Los Alamos in the months leading up to the detonation of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos. In his future time period, the world is collapsing from decades of global warming and other catastrophes. His mission is twofold - to persuade people of the horrors of their current path toward destruction, so they can do things differently before it is too late and also to seduce Archer Meyer, a nuclear physicist, who history records as a source of atomic secrets passed to the Soviet Union.
When Christian meets Archer, it becomes clear that history hasn't fully captured Archer's nature. In a time when it was necessary to hide homosexual attractions, the two slowly make their way to the realization that they are incredibly drawn to each other physically and emotionally. However, a future seems impossible since they come from different times.
This book takes on the difficulties of explaining time travel quite well, including its paradoxes. It also brings in Eastern philosophy regarding reincarnation and the essence of time, using Christian's neo-Hinduism beliefs. Interwoven are some scientific thoughts about how time may exist, making the story quite thought-provoking. There are various historical facts interspersed in the story to make it feel immediate to the reader, but some are also told from the time traveler's more uncertain perspective. The love story itself becomes quite profound. This is a tightly woven tale of intrigue, mystery, possible future technologies, and a beautiful love with a wonderful HEA.
When Christian meets Archer, it becomes clear that history hasn't fully captured Archer's nature. In a time when it was necessary to hide homosexual attractions, the two slowly make their way to the realization that they are incredibly drawn to each other physically and emotionally. However, a future seems impossible since they come from different times.
This book takes on the difficulties of explaining time travel quite well, including its paradoxes. It also brings in Eastern philosophy regarding reincarnation and the essence of time, using Christian's neo-Hinduism beliefs. Interwoven are some scientific thoughts about how time may exist, making the story quite thought-provoking. There are various historical facts interspersed in the story to make it feel immediate to the reader, but some are also told from the time traveler's more uncertain perspective. The love story itself becomes quite profound. This is a tightly woven tale of intrigue, mystery, possible future technologies, and a beautiful love with a wonderful HEA.
July 11, 2023
Right now our planet is seeing an indisputable climate change that's giving us fires burning out of control, record high temperatures, and sea level rise. John Patrick brings our current reality to its natural conclusion by envisioning a world that struggles to support life and what desperate actions we might take if the technology were available to us.
Christian Sparrow is a time traveler from a future, not far from ours. He travels to 1940s Los Alamos in order to change how the events of the atomic bomb testing unfold and finds himself falling in love with one of the involved scientists, Archer Meyer. His feelings for Archer complicate his task, one that he is sworn to as a follower of the Bhagavad Gita's principles, and soon the complication multiplies as he realizes our planet's fate is more dire than he knew.
This is one of the most intense reads I've had in a long time. It's also sobering because the message is so real and even after finishing the book, I spent days going back over it in my head. But I think what's also important to take from this book is that while it's a story about duty, climate change, the consequences of our actions, it's also a book about love and hope. Because Christian has found Archer, he now has a new motivation, one that will steer the story to an unpredictable ending.
Christian Sparrow is a time traveler from a future, not far from ours. He travels to 1940s Los Alamos in order to change how the events of the atomic bomb testing unfold and finds himself falling in love with one of the involved scientists, Archer Meyer. His feelings for Archer complicate his task, one that he is sworn to as a follower of the Bhagavad Gita's principles, and soon the complication multiplies as he realizes our planet's fate is more dire than he knew.
This is one of the most intense reads I've had in a long time. It's also sobering because the message is so real and even after finishing the book, I spent days going back over it in my head. But I think what's also important to take from this book is that while it's a story about duty, climate change, the consequences of our actions, it's also a book about love and hope. Because Christian has found Archer, he now has a new motivation, one that will steer the story to an unpredictable ending.
June 3, 2024
Even though I’m a slow reader, I finished this short book in three days—I couldn’t put it down. A sexy thriller with twists and turns that will keep you turning pages.
John Patrick is a very good writer. His characters behave in believable ways, and the love story will have you rooting for a happy resolution — but you’ll have to read the book to find out. The time travel aspect of the story will stimulate you to mentally piece together different scenarios of our past, present, and future — I kept having to dizzily return to my present moment between readings. More importantly, this speculative fiction deals with the big issues of climate change and the survival of our planet, overlaid with a dose of philosophical meditation on the nature of time, duty, and agency, loosely referencing the Bhagavad Gita.
This book is built on a fascinating premise, well thought out and well executed.
John Patrick is a very good writer. His characters behave in believable ways, and the love story will have you rooting for a happy resolution — but you’ll have to read the book to find out. The time travel aspect of the story will stimulate you to mentally piece together different scenarios of our past, present, and future — I kept having to dizzily return to my present moment between readings. More importantly, this speculative fiction deals with the big issues of climate change and the survival of our planet, overlaid with a dose of philosophical meditation on the nature of time, duty, and agency, loosely referencing the Bhagavad Gita.
This book is built on a fascinating premise, well thought out and well executed.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews