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The Forest on the Edge of Time
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50 copies available
U.S. only
The Future of Another Timeline
meets
The Bone Clocks
in this dazzling piece of time-travel climate fiction.
Recruited by the mysterious Project Kairos to change history and save the future from ecological disaster, Echo and Hazel are transported through time to opposite worlds. Echo works as a healer’s assistant in Ancient Athens, embroiled in dangerous politics and wild philosophy. Hazel is the last human alive, in a laboratory on a polluted island with nothing but tiny robots and an untrustworthy AI for company.
Both women suffer from amnesia but when they fall asleep, their consciousnesses transcend time and they meet in their dreams. Together, they start to uncover their past – but soon discover the past threatens humanity’s survival.
If Echo and Hazel have a chance of changing the future, they must remember to forget…
THE FOREST ON THE EDGE OF TIME is a novel about family and duty and the worlds we try to save along the way.
Recruited by the mysterious Project Kairos to change history and save the future from ecological disaster, Echo and Hazel are transported through time to opposite worlds. Echo works as a healer’s assistant in Ancient Athens, embroiled in dangerous politics and wild philosophy. Hazel is the last human alive, in a laboratory on a polluted island with nothing but tiny robots and an untrustworthy AI for company.
Both women suffer from amnesia but when they fall asleep, their consciousnesses transcend time and they meet in their dreams. Together, they start to uncover their past – but soon discover the past threatens humanity’s survival.
If Echo and Hazel have a chance of changing the future, they must remember to forget…
THE FOREST ON THE EDGE OF TIME is a novel about family and duty and the worlds we try to save along the way.
368 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication February 3, 2026
6623 people want to read
About the author
Jasmin Kirkbride
8 books27 followersJasmin Kirkbride is an author and academic.
Her debut science fiction novel, THE FOREST AT THE EDGE OF TIME, is due out with Tor in February 2026. Her short speculative fiction has appeared in places including Reactor, and her story ‘Sand’ was featured in Some of the Best from Tor.com 2021.
Her eco-poetry has appeared in places including Frogpond and Presence, and she was the 2022 Researcher-in-Residence for the British Haiku Society, investigating haiku in the climate crisis.
An ex-editor and book trade journalist, Jasmin holds an MA in Ancient History from King’s College London, and an MA and PhD in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia (UEA). Her research explores hope in dystopian climate fiction and intergeneration healing in feminist mushroompunk.
By day, she is a Lecturer, and lives in Norfolk (UK).
Her debut science fiction novel, THE FOREST AT THE EDGE OF TIME, is due out with Tor in February 2026. Her short speculative fiction has appeared in places including Reactor, and her story ‘Sand’ was featured in Some of the Best from Tor.com 2021.
Her eco-poetry has appeared in places including Frogpond and Presence, and she was the 2022 Researcher-in-Residence for the British Haiku Society, investigating haiku in the climate crisis.
An ex-editor and book trade journalist, Jasmin holds an MA in Ancient History from King’s College London, and an MA and PhD in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia (UEA). Her research explores hope in dystopian climate fiction and intergeneration healing in feminist mushroompunk.
By day, she is a Lecturer, and lives in Norfolk (UK).
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 24, 2025
This was such a wild take on a time-travel/cli-fi story, featuring adorable little robots, sassy AIs, and also Xenophanes who has got to be one of my top three pre-socratic philosophers!
Picture a seesaw, except that seesaw is the timeline. As a part of a mysterious project to secure to safe future of humanity, Hazel and Echo travel through time. Hazel moves forward to an isolated research station in the far future inhabited by CHARL1E, a cheeky AI, and the Tinys, a group of little helper robots. On the other end of the time seesaw, Echo ends up in 514 BCE Athens to establish a school of philosophy that will hopefully improve the eco-consciousness of the future. In the middle, at the hinge of the seesaw, teenager Anna is struggling with the usual teenager issues during COVID-19.
Is the seesaw analogy too much? Well, the time travel system in this book is a little complicated, so it helped me to think of it that way. Big fan of the Tinys, I was picturing them all as little Wall-Es, and I appreciate the idea that a very sophisticated AI like CHARL1E would end up being kind of bitchy so I'm a fan of him too. I followed the 514 BCE pov a lot less but love that like everyone there was gay, this was biblically accurate Ancient Greece, and the discussions around citizenship and class-based slavery were engaging. This isn't a very character-driven story so I wasn't blown away by the characters, but that's not a big deal. Some of the scene transitions, especially at the beginning, were hard to follow for me. I also definitely favored Hazel's pov at the beginning, but I warmed up to the other two as the story went on. I will say that Anna's texts with her friends made me cringe so hard. I was about the same age as Anna during COVID and I promise I never typed "im rlly curious bt im not sur i shd read it, yknow" or "even wen she isnt rite shes at least tryin. Idk mbbe its coz its just u 2 or sumthin."
Fun book, super wild and I love new takes on time travel because it's inherently cool, but I was left a little wanting. Now, where can I get myself a Tiny to me me shitty tea and make me go outside?
Thank you to Jasmin Kirkbride and Tor Books for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
Picture a seesaw, except that seesaw is the timeline. As a part of a mysterious project to secure to safe future of humanity, Hazel and Echo travel through time. Hazel moves forward to an isolated research station in the far future inhabited by CHARL1E, a cheeky AI, and the Tinys, a group of little helper robots. On the other end of the time seesaw, Echo ends up in 514 BCE Athens to establish a school of philosophy that will hopefully improve the eco-consciousness of the future. In the middle, at the hinge of the seesaw, teenager Anna is struggling with the usual teenager issues during COVID-19.
Is the seesaw analogy too much? Well, the time travel system in this book is a little complicated, so it helped me to think of it that way. Big fan of the Tinys, I was picturing them all as little Wall-Es, and I appreciate the idea that a very sophisticated AI like CHARL1E would end up being kind of bitchy so I'm a fan of him too. I followed the 514 BCE pov a lot less but love that like everyone there was gay, this was biblically accurate Ancient Greece, and the discussions around citizenship and class-based slavery were engaging. This isn't a very character-driven story so I wasn't blown away by the characters, but that's not a big deal. Some of the scene transitions, especially at the beginning, were hard to follow for me. I also definitely favored Hazel's pov at the beginning, but I warmed up to the other two as the story went on. I will say that Anna's texts with her friends made me cringe so hard. I was about the same age as Anna during COVID and I promise I never typed "im rlly curious bt im not sur i shd read it, yknow" or "even wen she isnt rite shes at least tryin. Idk mbbe its coz its just u 2 or sumthin."
Fun book, super wild and I love new takes on time travel because it's inherently cool, but I was left a little wanting. Now, where can I get myself a Tiny to me me shitty tea and make me go outside?
Thank you to Jasmin Kirkbride and Tor Books for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
October 12, 2025
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a sucker for a time travel book. In The Forest on the Edge of Time, a pair of time travelers are recruited to join Project Kairos, a secretive organization created to prevent the future from cascading into disaster by changing ancient events. They must travel to the dystopian future and the ancient Grecian past, but in doing so will forget their memories, their purpose, and their connection. Our travelers-Hazel and Echo-learn that they can communicate within the “dreamscape,” a place that their consciousness travels when they’re asleep. They must collaborate despite their restrictions in order to save humanity’s collective future.
I found this book both interesting and challenging at various times (but in a good way)! You meet an advanced AI and peculiar helper robots in the future that help the forward traveler survive and learn her mission objectives. In Ancient Greece, you meet the ruler’s son, a healer, ancient philosophers, and their companions, who help the backwards traveler complete her mission. Both travelers have difficulty adjusting to their role and experience the frustration of profound confusion and loss of identity. But there is so much hope baked into the story!
For me, the language was occasionally a bit dense, but appropriately so given the subject matters and settings (I did look up a word once or twice only to discover it was made up for the novel which lol). I loved the interaction and personalities of the Tinys and would watch a full cartoon series of just their lives. Some of the existential dread felt a bit over-the-top, but it’s near-future earth where humanity has essentially been wiped out—so the dread makes sense!
Overall, I’d recommend picking this one up when it comes out if you have a thing for ancient history, time travel, sci-fi, or a confusing mystery of a ride. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for the advanced egalley copy!
I found this book both interesting and challenging at various times (but in a good way)! You meet an advanced AI and peculiar helper robots in the future that help the forward traveler survive and learn her mission objectives. In Ancient Greece, you meet the ruler’s son, a healer, ancient philosophers, and their companions, who help the backwards traveler complete her mission. Both travelers have difficulty adjusting to their role and experience the frustration of profound confusion and loss of identity. But there is so much hope baked into the story!
For me, the language was occasionally a bit dense, but appropriately so given the subject matters and settings (I did look up a word once or twice only to discover it was made up for the novel which lol). I loved the interaction and personalities of the Tinys and would watch a full cartoon series of just their lives. Some of the existential dread felt a bit over-the-top, but it’s near-future earth where humanity has essentially been wiped out—so the dread makes sense!
Overall, I’d recommend picking this one up when it comes out if you have a thing for ancient history, time travel, sci-fi, or a confusing mystery of a ride. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for the advanced egalley copy!
Want to read
July 17, 2025anything with time travel is right up my alley - reference to bodies definitely intended
November 5, 2025
Wow, there is a whole lot going on in this read. We have two very different timelines via time-travel, an ecological catastrophe, a mysterious organization called Project Kairos and high stakes that hold the future in it’s hands. We have two protagonists, Echo, living in ancient Athens and Hazel, the last human alive. Eventually, through the unique version of time travel their timelines merge. The time travel system seems very complicated and I do wish there was more intricate detail but I realize that would turn some readers off. I am just all about the details in my sci-fi but I know others are not and this story is already pretty dense at times so might have been a good call overall for the success of the novel.
This read was both challenging and intriguing at the same time, leaning heavily n the latter. There are many references to historical, philosophical, religious and political systems throughout history but lets be honest that is to be expected since they are all ubiquitous to humanity and it’s culture. This novel takes on some heavy themes. For example, the idea that even when civilizations vanish, humanity persists, offering hope that empathy can transcend distance and time. Another example is ecological collapse and the eventual renewal, reflecting current anxieties about climate change and humanities survival.
Overall this was a challenging yet fascinating read that I truly enjoyed.
This read was both challenging and intriguing at the same time, leaning heavily n the latter. There are many references to historical, philosophical, religious and political systems throughout history but lets be honest that is to be expected since they are all ubiquitous to humanity and it’s culture. This novel takes on some heavy themes. For example, the idea that even when civilizations vanish, humanity persists, offering hope that empathy can transcend distance and time. Another example is ecological collapse and the eventual renewal, reflecting current anxieties about climate change and humanities survival.
Overall this was a challenging yet fascinating read that I truly enjoyed.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of this science fiction novel that deals with the mess we have made of the Earth, a daring plan to both change the past and the future, the reasons why people do good things, with a lot of weird things happening along the way.
I have loved science fiction for most of my life. I loved the aliens, the UFO's the going to new worlds and new civilizations, and all that stuff. I was still in my apprenticeship of reading science fiction when I found that beyond the cool monsters and ray guns there was something that science fiction was hiding, a spirit that we as humans could do better. Stories about fireman destroying books, television shows featuring bright futures, pointing out things that we wrong with society and offering solutions. These were the stories I was drawn to, though I still love my big space operas. Which is probably why I enjoyed this book so much. A familiar trope, offering big problems, big ideas, and best of all a really creative way of presenting the story, one that I couldn't put down once I started. Best of all I have a new author that I will be following. The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride is a novel of the now, the past and the future, a time travel story that is fresh and new, about a world we are destroying.
The book begins in chaos. Two people are desperately trying to keep technology from coming apart. Bulbs are bursting, current is going everywhere but where it is supposed to. The two jump forward together, but find themselves in different places, and times. Hazel, at least that might be her name, awakens in a lab, with dead bodies, and a group of robots maybe awaiting Hazel's arrival. Hazel has little memory of what is happening, but knows there is a reason for being here. Hazel is brought before an AI, who puts the unreliable in unreliable narrator, who tells Hazel her memory has been disrupted by time travel. Hazel is in the future, the last human on a dead, polluted Earth, but this is part of the plan. Echo, who also jumped, if that is her name, awakens somewhere, making contact with a local speaking an ancient language, but an understanding of who she is, and why she is there. And that Echo must hide who she is. Echo is in the past, also part of a plan, to create a new philosophical school, one based on keeping the environment safe, from what is coming. Only by dreaming can Echo and Hazel meet and share what is going on, as they try to solve the mystery of what is going on, and how they can save the future.
A really good book that starts right from the first page and never really lets up. Even the quiet moments, the periods where the characters are getting over time travel, or the revelations they are facing, are filled with information, and reasons to keep flipping pages. Kirkbride is very good at doling out information, revealing things carefully, never infodumping. Kirkbride's use of temporal travel and the side and after effects is interesting, and handled well, much more than just a simple plot point. The characters including Anna who is younger character existing in the time of COVID are all unique and well-developed. There is a lot going on, from ancient history, philosophy, weird science, language, brain conditions. And of course about environmental failure. All of which Kirkbride does a very good job of explaining, and even better makes entertaining.
This is the first of Jasmin Kirkbride's works I have read and I really enjoyed it. The story, the tech the ideas, were fun, thoughtful and have stayed with me. A book for those who love deep science fiction with great ideas, and a message. I look forward to more by Kirkbride.
I have loved science fiction for most of my life. I loved the aliens, the UFO's the going to new worlds and new civilizations, and all that stuff. I was still in my apprenticeship of reading science fiction when I found that beyond the cool monsters and ray guns there was something that science fiction was hiding, a spirit that we as humans could do better. Stories about fireman destroying books, television shows featuring bright futures, pointing out things that we wrong with society and offering solutions. These were the stories I was drawn to, though I still love my big space operas. Which is probably why I enjoyed this book so much. A familiar trope, offering big problems, big ideas, and best of all a really creative way of presenting the story, one that I couldn't put down once I started. Best of all I have a new author that I will be following. The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride is a novel of the now, the past and the future, a time travel story that is fresh and new, about a world we are destroying.
The book begins in chaos. Two people are desperately trying to keep technology from coming apart. Bulbs are bursting, current is going everywhere but where it is supposed to. The two jump forward together, but find themselves in different places, and times. Hazel, at least that might be her name, awakens in a lab, with dead bodies, and a group of robots maybe awaiting Hazel's arrival. Hazel has little memory of what is happening, but knows there is a reason for being here. Hazel is brought before an AI, who puts the unreliable in unreliable narrator, who tells Hazel her memory has been disrupted by time travel. Hazel is in the future, the last human on a dead, polluted Earth, but this is part of the plan. Echo, who also jumped, if that is her name, awakens somewhere, making contact with a local speaking an ancient language, but an understanding of who she is, and why she is there. And that Echo must hide who she is. Echo is in the past, also part of a plan, to create a new philosophical school, one based on keeping the environment safe, from what is coming. Only by dreaming can Echo and Hazel meet and share what is going on, as they try to solve the mystery of what is going on, and how they can save the future.
A really good book that starts right from the first page and never really lets up. Even the quiet moments, the periods where the characters are getting over time travel, or the revelations they are facing, are filled with information, and reasons to keep flipping pages. Kirkbride is very good at doling out information, revealing things carefully, never infodumping. Kirkbride's use of temporal travel and the side and after effects is interesting, and handled well, much more than just a simple plot point. The characters including Anna who is younger character existing in the time of COVID are all unique and well-developed. There is a lot going on, from ancient history, philosophy, weird science, language, brain conditions. And of course about environmental failure. All of which Kirkbride does a very good job of explaining, and even better makes entertaining.
This is the first of Jasmin Kirkbride's works I have read and I really enjoyed it. The story, the tech the ideas, were fun, thoughtful and have stayed with me. A book for those who love deep science fiction with great ideas, and a message. I look forward to more by Kirkbride.
Read
November 29, 2025The Forest at the Edge of Time is a climate fiction time-travel story alternating between two women, Hazel and Echo, sent to opposite points in time via an improvised time machine. Hazel finds herself in a climate-ravaged distant future, alone save for a suspect AI and a hive of adorable robots called "Tinys". Echo, meanwhile, is sent to Ancient Greece, where she must ostensibly complete a pre-determined deed set out by the mysterious Project Kairos. Interspersed are chapters from the point of view of Anna, a teenage girl in 2020 London.
I enjoyed the story overall, and I thought everything tied together nicely. There's a nice hopeful theme at the end, with the idea that taking a small action to save the planet can have a big impact later on. Generally I preferred Hazel's story to Echo's, as the Athens portions read as almost straight historical fiction compared to the more fantastical future. As a small spoiler, Echo's "Deed" is the establishment of a philosophical institution, which doesn't really create much of a sense of urgency.
This is definitely "soft" science fiction, as the characters even point out; the two women communicate with each other entirely through the dreamscape, as an example. As a result, the future technology comes across as very fantastic rather than grounded, but I thought it generally worked.
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
I enjoyed the story overall, and I thought everything tied together nicely. There's a nice hopeful theme at the end, with the idea that taking a small action to save the planet can have a big impact later on. Generally I preferred Hazel's story to Echo's, as the Athens portions read as almost straight historical fiction compared to the more fantastical future. As a small spoiler, Echo's "Deed" is the establishment of a philosophical institution, which doesn't really create much of a sense of urgency.
This is definitely "soft" science fiction, as the characters even point out; the two women communicate with each other entirely through the dreamscape, as an example. As a result, the future technology comes across as very fantastic rather than grounded, but I thought it generally worked.
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
November 30, 2025
I received an ARC from Netgalley of this title.
I love sci fi that poses interesting questions and boy does this one give you a lot to chew on. Our two heroes throw themselves backwards and forwards into time to try and stop the eventual environmental collapse that will end humanity's existence. There is also a contemporary timeline in 2020 with teenage Anna who is fighting for causes but also worried about her crush and best friend getting too close. As with most multiple POV stories I definitely preferred Anna's, then the future timeline and then the ancient Roman one last of all. I thought the idea though of going back to start an entirely new school of thought to prevent people from giving up on the planet was interesting and we eventually find out that Anna is not the daughter of one of the time travelers, but actually the sister who through time craziness was sent back to present day as an infant. This had a lot of big ideas, but at the same time was accessible and fascinating.
I love sci fi that poses interesting questions and boy does this one give you a lot to chew on. Our two heroes throw themselves backwards and forwards into time to try and stop the eventual environmental collapse that will end humanity's existence. There is also a contemporary timeline in 2020 with teenage Anna who is fighting for causes but also worried about her crush and best friend getting too close. As with most multiple POV stories I definitely preferred Anna's, then the future timeline and then the ancient Roman one last of all. I thought the idea though of going back to start an entirely new school of thought to prevent people from giving up on the planet was interesting and we eventually find out that Anna is not the daughter of one of the time travelers, but actually the sister who through time craziness was sent back to present day as an infant. This had a lot of big ideas, but at the same time was accessible and fascinating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
The Forest on the Edge of Time contained a lot of things which I love in fiction: time travel, sisterly relationships, hope, sentient AIs maintaining habitats, tiny loveable robots, etc. However, there have been books containing all of these things which nonetheless didn't aquite hit the mark. The Forest on the Edge of Time was not one of those books - I was utterly gripped, and it gains the bonus half star for making me cry (out of nowhere, simply because of a rush of hope - not even anything particularly plot based!).
It took me longer than expected to piece together the shards of narrative - I definitely had preferred eras to read to start with, but as the plot began to come together, I could see the purpose behind everything.
I found myself immediately hunting down Jasmin Kirkbride's thesis, which this formed a part of. This is such an interesting work, packed full of ideas to explore, whilst also being immensely readable - I raced through it, and it grabbed me in a way a novel hasn't for a while.
I can't wait to see where Jasmin Kirkbride's work goes from here.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Thank you to Tor Books and Edelweiss for the ARC.
It took me longer than expected to piece together the shards of narrative - I definitely had preferred eras to read to start with, but as the plot began to come together, I could see the purpose behind everything.
I found myself immediately hunting down Jasmin Kirkbride's thesis, which this formed a part of. This is such an interesting work, packed full of ideas to explore, whilst also being immensely readable - I raced through it, and it grabbed me in a way a novel hasn't for a while.
I can't wait to see where Jasmin Kirkbride's work goes from here.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Thank you to Tor Books and Edelweiss for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I was so engrossed I just wanted to keep reading this book forever. I think folks who enjoyed The Last Murder at the End of the World will LOVE this. It similarly has layers of mystery that you gradually uncover, making it very hard to put down. Plus it has some similar themes and setting. The Forest at the Edge of Time has a futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting, but it alternates with Ancient Greece and a modern day setting because: Time travel.
I also loved the way the characters gradually uncover things about themselves (part of the time travel is that they arrive with no memories). The mechanics of time travel were really thoughtful and intriguing.
Wow wow wow, five stars, and I wish I could time travel and read this one for the first time again!
I also loved the way the characters gradually uncover things about themselves (part of the time travel is that they arrive with no memories). The mechanics of time travel were really thoughtful and intriguing.
Wow wow wow, five stars, and I wish I could time travel and read this one for the first time again!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book wants to tell you a great story, but maybe also save the world. A nimble, surprising, and potent cocktail of post-apocalyptic future, ancient Greece, dreams, amnesia, time travel, AI, and political philosophy--all swirling around the deep connection between two women. Perfect for fans of Anthony Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land, David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, or Nick Harkaway's Gnomon. 8/10
November 16, 2025
I wanted to like this book so much more as I'm a big sci-fi fan but it felt too clunky to really settle in or enjoy the story. DNF at 100 pages.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews