Touchstone: The Sins of the Fathers

by Andy Conway

One touch... and you're who knows when? A brilliant paranormal mystery that launches this bestselling saga with an Edwardian thriller that blends science fiction with historical adventure. 2018 UPDATED AND EXPANDED EDITION. In a small corner of Birmingham, England, a pair of mismatched History students from opposite sides of the tracks find their lives thrown together when an old gravestone catapults them back into their neighbourhood’s dark Edwardian past, where they have just three days to prevent the murder of a teenage girl. In 1912, they find that every action has an unforeseen consequence that can ripple through generations... and that some characters from the past have seen them before. Touchstone builds into a moving coming-of-age series that has won plaudits from young and old readers alike with its intelligent blend of time travel adventure, science fiction, historical romance and urban fantasy.

Genres: Time Travel

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 2011

About the author

Andy Conway is the novelist, screenwriter and time traveller behind the Touchstone series. He runs a publishing empire from a loft in Birmingham. A keen advocate for authors' rights, he is the founder of the West Midlands Screenwriters Forum, New Street Authors and Punk Publishers.

Read more and join his Touchstone mailing list at www.andyconway.net

Reviews

[Daelene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m eager to read book 2 of this series. I love the way the author takes me from present to past with the touch of a stone 😊

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

When a book on goodreads has a caveat attached to the title denoting the genre and usually sub-genre you know it's probably not going to be that great...

Nothing about this story was even remotely believable. The way university students behaved was believable to an extent, but they were all far too teenage and young to be fully believed in. Add to that the absurd plot of a boy trying to save a girl he is somehow magically in love with... Ah, it just never flowed easy or made me feel like it was even remotely possible. I don't need relatability to enjoy a book, but I do need to think that it could happen, even magic when it is set in a world that is supposed to have magic in it. This simply didn't confer any of that at all.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why someone's family wouldn't know her suddenly due to a change in the history as given is beyond me. The person who lived had nothing to do with her family. The person couldn't have- having died in the first history. I suppose they might have met and married someone in the modern person's family rather than the person who married that ancestor the first time, but since it is not clear what happened to that person in their life beyond 1912, it leaves a big question there. You are left thinking, wait, how did that happen? Also, several characters keep acting like Danny at least was back in their own histories, what sounds like some 20 or so years before this supposed first visit and discovery of the 'touchstone' and that is not explained Perhaps both issues are addressed in a later book. However, that story starts off with yet another apparent inconsistency- the 'touchstone' kept sending Danny and Rachel back exactly 100 years- then suddenly it doesn't- what changed that pattern of its function? Of course the whole time travel thing is imaginary, but still, it does seem like there ought to be some logic even in a world where time travel exists if triggered by some mechanism we simply just do not yet understand- it ought to follow some logical rules since generally the world of science and nature do, I think, with cause and effect that is generally consistent, not random. So, while I liked this book, other than those holes left in the story, and it was well-written and proofread, I am not sure I want to go any farther into the series.

[Tony Duxbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Urban fantasy, time travel and mystery, all rolled up into one. Danny and Rachel have an unusual experience in a graveyard, they go back in time. They go back to the Edwardian era. Danny takes it into his head to save a young girl from murder. Rachel uncovers some family lies. For both of them it was a thrilling and rewarding experience. Unfortunately, time travel has it's consequences. A nicely written and easy to read story.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but it is rushed

I like to read about time travel. But this one is a bit rushed, no deep to it. No detailed information about the characters, no age, how they look like. I can't connect to them. It's pity, it could have been a great storyline if the details would have been better or more of it.

[Charl]

YA Time Travel.

Pass.

[Mandy Walkden-Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have been putting off reading this book because of the title 'Sins of the Fathers', mistakenly believing it to be a family saga soapie that just happened to incorporate time travel. Silly me, actually I'm a right idiot. It even, sensibly, has the blurb at the beginning. I'm feeling more stupid as the seconds tick by. Yes, my usual state.

This was a very well written time travel book. This one to a small village in Edwardian England.
I was pretty much hooked after the first page and now am compelled to obtain the remainder of the series. It's good. Really good.

[Alicia Huxtable · Rating 3 out of 5]

Left me feeling just a little disappointed. It felt too rushed and needed a little more information. I wanted to like it much more than I did, don't get me wrong it was a great quick read, but it just felt rushed.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it so much I read the second one straight away.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I abandoned it because this type of fantasy story was not interesting to me. Other readers might enjoy this, though.