Judgment

Time Is Eternity

by Mary Calmes

Jeritt Troy is a Scourge, a guardian tasked with patrolling cracks in time and righting the unspoken wrongs in history. His next task is a killer—not just for him, but for his husband and partner, Frost Ramsey, because Jeritt’s not just tracking a bad guy; he’s tracking his previous partner—his best friend.

Brekin Creed is as deadly as he’s ever been, and when Jeritt finds himself both abandoned and stranded in time, he has only a handful of years to figure out what went wrong with Brekin and, in doing so, save Frost’s life. Is there time enough for Jeritt to save Frost, or will he be locked in the judgment of his mistakes for eternity?

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2012 Daily Dose package "Time Is Eternity".

Genres: M M Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Romance, LGBT, Short Stories

58 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2012

About the author

Mary Calmes believes in romance, happily ever afters, and the faith it takes for her characters to get there. She bleeds coffee, thinks chocolate should be its own food group, and currently lives in Kentucky with a six-pound furry ninja that protects her from baby birds, spiders and the neighbor’s dogs. To stay up to date on her ponderings and pandemonium (as well as the adventures of the ninja) follow her on Twitter @MaryCalmes, connect with her on Facebook, and subscribe to her Mary’s Mob newsletter.

Reviews

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Very Torchwood-esque in a way, with a bit of Time-Cop for good measure. I actually liked it...honestly, I would love a longer version of this if Mary ever decided to pursue SciFi again. Time-stream shifts are a particular favorite (12 Monkeys, Terra Firma, Continuum) and there are never enough of them IMHO!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam & Jory learn to time travel...I mean Jeritt & Frost...

go back in time to rescue Jory's brother/boss Jeritt's partner/friend and things don't go as planned. Jory...uuummm, I mean Jeritt gets trapped in the past and Sam...dammit, I mean Frost (Shades of Merry Gentry anyone?) gets sent back to an uncertain future.

Meanwhile Jory Jeritt gets himself and his brother, best friend, Dane I mean Brekin...ok, I'm sure if you've read any amount of Mary Calmes by now you get my point the names and setting may change but the basic character foundations bear strong resemblances to one another and while I may joke about this, I have honestly come to the conclusion that it's one of the things I like about this author. It's why I think of her stories as comfort food and devour them unapologetically. Yes, some work out better than others but still all in all I enjoy them and am constantly on the lookout for the next one.

I liked the change in setting for this story we started in the future and went back in time and truthfully if Ms Calmes decides to 'go back to the future' (Oh yeah, pun intended) again I'm hopping on that DeLorean for the journey especially if these guys are on board, I liked them and I'd definitely be down with more of their story.

[Arthur · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story reminds me of the reason I never liked reading a time-leap story that allows alteration of the past. It becomes a pseudo-philosophical mumbling that the solution for inconsistent issues is merely by looking at what feels good to the author/readers.

Assuming that there are more than one path in time, which means a little change of event (no matter small) creates a chain of unlimited possible subsequent events, any story would privilege the one that the author wanted to tell and if the characters die or suffer in the parallel dimension (following the event from the "original story") it doesn't matter.

Since I like Ms. Calmes style, it gets 2 stars.

[Wicked Witch of the Words · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm still confused!
What the hell just happened?!
The whole story didn't feel right.
It was just weird & nothing made sense! Nothing!
So, Creed sends Troy back to 2006 & Ramsy dies or sth after that. How is it possible that Ramsy & Troy come back again for a second time?!
& then when they come back, for a few seconds we have two Troys & then the Troy from future somehow vanishes.
& this old Troy who has lost his compass & his arm suddenly has a compass & an arm? & then again just has one arm?!

No. It was just wrong.

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

Mary Calmes grabbed me by my mind and wound holding me by me heart with this touching short sci-fi story. The date is 4510 and the military has set up a
surveillance section to patrol cracks in time with agents called Scourges. Jeritt Troy is one such scourge who goes by the book never questioning authority. Jeritt and his husband, Frost Ramsey have been tasked with the job or retrieving the deadly ex-scourge Brekin Creed. Creed is living in the year 2012 and has no intention of returning even though Jeritt is his best friend and former partner. The story may have been short but Ms Calmes managed to pack an emotional punch into it with her usual style. The love and absolute devotion between Frost and Jeritt surpassed time itself literally and I couldn't help but to like the two characters. Brekin Creed was the reak hero of this story for me even though the story revolved around Jeritt. It was Breckin who changed Jeritt from the man he was into the man that he became by the HEA end of the story. It is difficult to keep a story and timeline cohesive when writing about time shifting as many of the detractors of this story have pointed out but Ms Calmes was well up to the task. Keep stretching yourself Mary. This is a book that any sci-fi reader with an open mind needs to pick up and read.

[Kinny · Rating 1 out of 5]

SPOILER****************

Gawd, the hero loses his right arm!!! PERMANENTLY! Of course he is still forgiving as his 'friend' did it to protect his family. CRAP!! Well at least they show consequences by impulsive thoughtless Mary Calmes lead character.

[Serena Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Judgment' is a great story and an amazing book: hot, action-packed, and thoughtfully written. And while it’s a great love story, it’s also much more. Mary Calmes has developed a world in 4510 where time travel technology is available, then looks at the consequences of that ability when left in human hands.

Jeritt is a loyal agent, a time scourge, who serves the organization patrolling cracks in time without thinking. He’s a good little soldier who follows orders first, asks questions later (if at all). I didn’t really connect to him in the beginning, but when his transformation into a thinking human being starts, I really got to like him. It was interesting to see ‘the new him’ act and react to the people around him and, ultimately, try to save his husband, Frost. The character growth was huge, and well done for such a relatively short book.

Frost and Brekin are both vital supporting characters. While Frost is Jeritt’s love and husband, and the object of all of Jeritt’s efforts, Bekin is his previous working partner and best friend. The conflict between them, and the process of figuring out how to fix what went wrong, is fascinating and totally enthralled me. Brekin may start as the villain, but, like Jeritt, he too has a transformation to go through.

I have always wondered what we would do if we ever discovered the ‘how’. I can’t help but think that we have already messed up our physical environment, what would happen if we started to play around with our temporal surroundings? Even if time travel were regulated by some ‘all-knowing’ organization the potential for irreparable damage and hidden agendas is huge. This story takes that idea and shows one possible scenario. Needless to say, the picture is sobering!

If you like time travel stories and don’t mind a slight headache from trying to figure out all the paradoxes that come with the territory, if redemption is a theme that fascinates you, and if two very sexy and loving men fighting for their relationship across millennia are your thing, you will probably like this story as much as I did. It‘s one of the best time travel stories I have read in a while and, as far as I am concerned, the sequel cannot come soon enough!



NOTE: This book was provided by Dramspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[UltraMeital · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I'm not a big fan of Science Fiction, it's not the genre's fault - it's mine. I somehow lack the necessary imagination to understand what THE HELL is going on. Funny enough it works WONDERFULLY for me in any Fantasy world (NOT set in the future). Yet I've read one adorable story from "Time in Eternity" Anthology (Do Over by Amy Lane) and so when I saw the same cover on this one, I had to give it a go.

First off, I'll say that I DID understand what the hell was going on, I thought that in this aspect the setting was well explained, surely for a 50 page novella. We got a little glimpse into Jeritt and Frost's relationship, how it started and how involved they are now, years later, also as working partners. The beginning of their relationship was a bit rushed, I didn't get why it has to be this way.. It was a little too OTT for me.

The story itself (told solely from Jeritt's POV) is of him and Frost going back in time trying to bring back Jeritt's old partner who disappeared into time. Since basically he deserted his chances of living out his sentence is slim but Jeritt wants to understand what happened, what made Brekin stop in a certain place in time (where he can also be found easily) not returning to his "job". Yet once Jeritt finally meets Brekin his behaviour puts everyone's lives in danger, so now he has to do everything he can to fix it. I liked the way he acted after that big "collision" and how he made everything work though I thought there was something a bit tacky about his realizations and how he changed his mind and what he was planning to do now. Also it left us hanging in there because we can't know if his future actions will actually be successful. That left a little bit of bitter taste in my mouth.

All in all a nice short futuristic novella. I wish it was longer and more detailed so I could see more development in relationships - Jeritt and Frost and especially Brekin and Jeritt, both past and present.

More Reviews HERE

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting sci-fi space time travel adventure. I was worried, at first, that I wouldn't be able to follow the complexities of the time travel and the resulting incidents which occur, however, Mary Calmes came through as usual. She always ties up all the loose ends and provides us with a very satisfying romance. In this case, we not only get the romance between Jerrit and Frost, but we also get to see the everlasting love of a good friend which survives the test of time.

[Imane · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a real shame the story is very short. This is the first M/M science fiction I read of Mary Calmes' books and I loved it so much. Way to go Mary! The story is as always heartwarming and sweat with just a little bit of drama (or a lot, if you consider that the main character's best friend cut his arm and killed his husband :p). As always, I'm very satisfied by the book. Waiting for Mary's future works.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally got around to reading this after I bought it a year ago. I enjoyed this a lot, though everything could have been fleshed out a lot more. The ending was very abrupt, and the pacing seemed a little off. Overall, it really needs to be expanded into a novel rather than a novel; form did not suit the work. Still worth a read, and interesting to see Calmes do sci fi.

[Amy Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, action packed, and romantic. I love that the Troy had to figure out his own sins and that the bad guy was complex and redeemable. It even had two of my favorite side-bennies of good sci-fi-- self-realization and a language quirk-- I've been using the word "wretch" as an adjective all day!

[Meggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hm, a strange short story. Sure two main lovers are joined at the end, but even so, I simply couldn't connect with the storyline.

[Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paranormal novella

This was an older Mary Calmes story I had never read before. Our hero’s are married time traveler to put it simply and I would love to see more of them and the world they live in. For such a short read it was well developed but left me wanting more!

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sci-fi is not my preferred genre, and I can't really say it think it suits Mary Calmes style, so this was a miss for me.

[KI · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy these characters as much as I usually do with other Mary Calmes books.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Queer sci fi with a side of romance. A bit bland. No huge fireworks or angst despite lots of potential.

[CB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Mary Calmes!

[Missy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Cole Riann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review is originally posted at Brief Encounters Reviews

3.5 stars

This is a story of many different relationships and factions coming together. Jeritt is in love with Frost, his husband and they're a team of time travelers. Jeritt is a Scourge and equipped with an embedded compass, keeps and watches over the shifts in time, correcting wrongs and setting paths to rights. He has one regret, however happy his current life is with Frost in the very distant future -- that he lost his relationship with his best friend and former partner Brekin. But Brekin is rogue somewhere in the past, and Jeritt feels a duty to try to find him and convince him to come back before the plan that is already set in motion and out of Jeritt's hands will find his friend killed. But when he and Frost go looking for him, nothing turns out like he thought it would.

There's quite a bit going on in this story, and while I felt like it did come together and I was only lost a few times, it was still a little too rushed for my liking. There are large shifts in time (relative time) where the story relies on thin narration to progress and save space in such a short story. While I understood why this happens, it really lessoned some of the emotional impact later in the story.

You know how when something gets pretty complicated and has to rely on some exposition to explain it? I found that happening quite a few times, and even though I ultimately liked this story, I could only conclude that this plot was just too much for a short story. Beside the fact that the time travel and all the implications of such a thing take a bit to puzzle out, especially when they're so central to the story in the way it is here, I found myself wanting some of that time to get more of the relationships, both between Jeritt and Frost and between Jeritt and Brekin. Some of this could have been set up beforehand, but again, that would have made this a much longer story. Still, it is one that I would have really enjoyed reading.

I liked these characters. The nature of the plot is really about misunderstanding, especially between friends in a really natural and understanding way, and because of the premise of the story, we get to see different sides of both Jeritt and Brekin. I appreciated that, even in the limited capacity that we see them, especially Brekin. Frost's purpose is really to serve as the support system for Jeritt. He's total Alpha material, growly and arrogant at the same time, and while their relationship is the focal point of the first part of the story, it still felt a bit outside of the story for me (told in memory).

This is good story, even though I was picky with some of the details and the delivery of the story. I sometimes get frustrated with short stories that are really undersized novels or novellas. What really frustrates me is when that is needless, like a contemporary story. That isn't the case here and I understood why the story is written as it is, but it still made it a difficult read and too rushed for me.

[Dallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but really nice

[Morgan Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a little space drama/time travel story involving a space police officer – in charge of fixing things in the future by travelling back in time and his partners (both life and on the force).

Jeritt and Brekin were partners until suddenly Brekin up and disappears. Now, with a new partner (who happens to also be his lover) Jeritt must find Brekin and bring him to justice.

What we don’t know is why Brekin disappeared. When Jeritt finds out, he has some tough decisions to make – including one that might end up with him having his arm permanently amputated.

**

In this short story we get two tales. One – in the future – between Jeritt and his lover Frost. It’s hot and full of Alpha moves and growly possession.

Second- Jeritt is on his own – making huge life changing decisions and waiting for the repurcussions.

It’s not a typical Mary Calmes story – I’m not sure I’ve seen anything else by her set in outer space – and it’s not my favorite of hers – but it makes you think. It also still provides that warm glowy feeling she’s so good at providing because Frost and Jeritt are so damn cute together. Like best friends who become lovers but still tease one another.

I loved their relationship, thought the twist/morality of the story was fascinating and though I’m not a big space opera fan, thought her take on futuristic time travel was interesting too.

4.5 of 5 stars

[blub · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was a good read and I think it's the first sci-fi story Mary Calmes has tried to write and it wasn't really too bad but neither was it that great. The more books I read from Mary the more I want to see her writing evolve instead of seeing the same thing with a little variation because of the different characters. Anyway onto the what I have to say about the story.


Jeritt (Cher) has the usual characteristic bottom traits in most of Mary's story. He was quite likable and extremely too understanding in my opinion. He had quite a passive personality, the lost of his arm by his friend didn't really anger him in fact it just made him kind of guilty because he felt he let his friend down which resulted in a series of events leading to the loss of his arm. In fact the thought of his husband's death didn't even seem like it made him angry at his friend. He was just so understanding about it all. It could have been sickening to read had I not expected this from Mary Calmes writing style.

Frost too was a likable character and was the typical Mary Calmes top, lol. He was confident/arrogant, pushy and caring. I loved that the MC's are always so in love with each other to the point that they would do anything for their significant other.

[E.M. Lynley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
I loved the world-building and that in this time-travel story the characters live far in the future and come back to our time period. It's a nice twist on the usual direction of travel. I didn't click as much with Troy, the main character, as I would have liked, and felt some of his understanding about his old partner, Creed, was rushed and not well-supported. We could have used more backstory of those two men as partners for that to feel more complete and believable. I wanted to know more about how Frost affected that partnership, at the time.

That said, I'd love to see more stories set in this world, with Troy and Frost. But I think it would take a longer piece to do justice to the type of story that explores their world, their relationships and adventures.

[Naoms · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is not really a lot I can say about this book. It's a lot like many of Calmes' books, simple and quick. The actual world of this story is pretty complicated. With the time traveling and I am not completely clear on how everything worked, but still it made sense.

It would be great if this author had a story where she built up the love story. She kind of does this in A Matter of Time, but that happens over several installments. I mean experiencing the characters meet, where they don't jump all over each other and decide they are the one without conversation of any kind.

If you know what to expect from Mary Calmes you'll enjoy this story.

[Amy C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why isn't this longer?!?! I usually stay away from time travel/sci fi stories like these but I love Mary Calmes and I loved this story. I so wish this was a lot longer because I loved the characters and I love the possibilities of adventures these guys could go on. How awesome would this be as a series?!

[Phoenix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Mary Calmes best book but worth reading. *spoiler* I especially liked the change in perspective between the man who first arrived and the man who lived to the point where he first arrived. It's really showing how belief and perspective color our experience of reality.

[Neko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah~ Time travel... ever the Paradox.

Heh, I really loved this story! I wish there was a bit more.... but then, I always wish that don't I? lol...
A great action packed short read. ;)