Centenary Separation

Watchbearers #2

by James Litherland

—Lost in Time
BELIEVING they’ve fixed the master time-travel device, in 2002 Matt and Page take a test trip ten years into the future with their colleague Turner and his new bride along for the ride—but instead of arriving together, the four are separated and scattered in time.

Matt and Page both materialize in 1912 San Francisco—only a couple of weeks apart, but unable to reunite. Turner lands in 1962, in the middle of the desert and with little hope of survival, while his wife Verity is the only one to arrive in 2012—alone, and with no idea what’s happened.

Anya’s assistant Nye, left on her own in New York City to continue her research without supervision, gets mistaken for a terrorist, while sensible Anya travels back to the summer of 2000 to break all the rules and try to do the impossible—change her own past.

Genres: Science Fiction, Time Travel

324 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2014

About the author

I’m a graduate of the University of South Florida, and I now reside as a Virtual Hermit in the wilds of West Tennessee. I've lived various places and done a number of jobs – been an office worker and done hard manual labor, worked (briefly) in the retail and service sectors, and been an instructor. But through all that, I've always been a writer.

I’ve been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember. I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew and devoured all the pulpy adventure stories I could get my hands on before moving to genre greats like Agatha Christie and Isaac Asimov. Then in junior high I became a writer. I started studying the craft of writing – reading books and magazine articles, joining a writers’ group, and taking creative writing classes – and I wrote short stories, eventually a novel, and even some poetry. After thirty years of practice I thought I’d learned a little something, and that’s when I wrote and published my debut novel, Certain Hypothetical. And I learn a bit more with every book I write.

I’m a Christian who tries to walk the walk (and not talk much.)

Reviews

[Jonel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the flow and pace of this novel. Litherland tweaks it minutely to enhance certain aspects of the story, drawing emotions and feelings forward. The twists and turns that he took me on kept me on my toes, keeping me guessing throughout. The plot here is even more intricate than it was in the first novel of the series and created a SciFi story that definitely stands out on its own.

I really enjoyed the diverging story lines for the various characters. It really allowed me to get to know them better as individuals. I liked how Litherland took the characters that we met in the first novel of the series and continued to grow and develop them based on their current events and situations they find themselves in. It also sparked my interest into what would happen in future novels.

Once again Litherland has created an adventure unlike anything you could imagine. This well written, well presented novel kept my attention and kept me hooked throughout. I definitely enjoyed reading it.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

[Steph Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Centenary Separation is the second novel in the Watchbearer’s series and, while I always recommend reading a series in order to get the full backstory and development, James Litherland has provided a nifty summary at the beginning to catch readers up on events so far, so you can hit the ground running with this one if you wish.

Speaking of hitting the ground running, the time travelling research team are having to do exactly that! Having pretty much assembled most of the team by the end of the previous book, they all split into smaller groups again to go their separate ways. Anya, Nye and Tate plan to return to their research goals from base camp, whilst Turner and Page (and Verity and Matt, who are ‘civilians’ involved with the group) plan to test the restored time travelling devices with a quick trip back and forth in time.

Unfortunately, as is becoming a regular occurrence, the devices malfunction and scatter the four travellers across time and America. With hitmen, the FBI, suffragettes, lawyers, pregnancies and the Spanish Flu to deal with, the travellers have to somehow solve their own individual problems in isolation and work out how they can reconnect with each other to continue their mission goals.

This instalment of the series is more developed than the first – which provided a lot of the set up for the scenario and characters. I particularly enjoyed Matt, Verity and Nye’s threads in the story, as they brought in some elements of mystery, suspense and some high personal stakes. (Yes, Matt is a more empathetic character than when we last met him… clearly some space from Page has done his moral integrity some good!)

There were a couple of brief moments where I struggled to fully suspend my disbelief in events, as when Page performs an unusual ‘medical’ procedure which caused me to snigger rather childishly, but ultimately I accepted it as ‘future tech/knowledge’ at work. Other than such minor quibbles, I got pretty involved and invested in this story and the characters and how their various adventures might pan out.

This is a well-crafted and skilfully plotted sci-fi series with some action-packed mystery and thriller threads woven through it, and a touch of romance. Time travel fans will want to set their watches for the next instalment. Sorry… couldn’t resist the time travel joke! Books 3-5 are actually already available for this series, so that should keep you ticking over until the next one lands. 😉



Once they’d arrived in two thousand three, Anya would still have weeks to plan before she passed the three-year limit, to be able to make the journey in one trip. After that she could still try, but multiple trips would only add unnecessary complications and create more room for error—not the best notion when she had no idea what the consequences would be if she were to succeed in changing the past. She didn’t like to think about what might happen if she failed to save the professor.

– James Litherland, Centenary Separation


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...

[Mandy Walkden-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much more polished book than the first of the series, Millennium Crash, which really should be read first because the backstory and character interconnection is needed. The pacing is better, characters are revealing more depth and their behaviour makes much more sense in this time around.

The time travellers are a little more organised in this outing, but their time travelling watches are misbehaving quite badly and its resultant dysfunction scatters the travellers in both time and place and generally creates havoc.

Pretty compelling story watching them scramble, trying to put themselves back on solid ground and time as they deal with their misadventures.

Enjoyed these characters and the pickle they keep getting themselves into. Some surprises and a nifty twist or two. Good progression of the series

I received this as an e-ARC and chose to post s review.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank the author, James Litherland, for giving me a copy of Centenary Separation to read and review. As a continuation of the first book, I expected that the characters would settle into their new surroundings and commit themselves to their research. Instead, the author takes the opportunity to allow some of his characters to explore historically significant time periods and others to make their way alone. The different plot lines for each of the characters make sense, as their roles as time traveling historians was already established in the first book. I did have a couple of issues with points in the story - Anya, as versed in time travel as she is, attempts to change her past. She would be well educated in idea of paradoxes and should have known what the result would be. The other issue revolves around the disastrous test drive of the Professor's watch. I understand that the author wanted to introduce new story lines for the characters, but it does not seem realistic that Anya would allow four people to try out the newly fixed watch. However, I enjoyed the fact that the separation of the characters over a hundred year period gave the opportunity for the reader to find out more about the individual Travelers and the times in which they traveled. I look forward to reading the next book in this series, as Centenary Separation raised more questions and we have yet to learn the reasons why the Travelers have come to the past.

[Kimberlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this series! To start with this book has a quick rundown of the first book and the characters within. It quickly gets you up to speed so even if you haven't read the previous book you won't be lost. This is great because it works fine as a stand alone though part of a series, and it doesn't bog the story down with repeated information of stuff that already happened.

This is a fantastic addition to the Watchbearers series, and with everyone scattered throughout time you get to know the characters better in a lot of different settings and situations. There is plenty of drama with some unexpected twists and turns that keep you glued to the pages. Luckily I've had more reading time recently because it was pretty hard to put down.

My favorite line is "you couldn't change your own past, but apparently you can cause it". We get to see an attempt with enlightening results. We also get a tidbit of information about some medical advances in the future that sound amazing.

There were a lot of surprises, charming characters, action and suspense, and a bit of romance. I'm very much looking forward to book three in the series and will be diving into it soon, you should also!

I received this book free from the author but I'm not obligated to write a positive review, just an honest one.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to the Author, James Litherland, for this copy of Centenary Separation for a read and review.

The second volume's storyline was not what I expected upon the conclusion of the first book in the Watchbearers series, Millennium Crash. This went in a direction I did not even remotely consider and proved to be such an exceptional continuation with the various sub-storylines and in branching the whole story even further.

The idea of Time Travel is not new in Science Fiction, yet the idea of a history study group from some unknown future time (there is still an Earth which is heartening) being stranded in ‘their’ past because of the team leader’s unfortunate and immediate demise upon arrival. As a result the characters are left in this situation and their individual development in dealing with the disposition of existing under these unforeseen circumstances is being greatly tested on many levels.

Safe and very impelling read for any age group with an interesting Science Fiction plot that is quite original. Really looking forward to reading the next installment. Bring it on.

4.5 Stars

[John Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book directly from the author.

Stepping back in a James Litherland book already seems to me to be stepping back into a familiar pair of shoes. The writing style always flows and the words jump off the page and leave pictures behind in my brain.

This picks up after the events of book one and separates the team into different time frames each with their own problems. The settings they find themselves in are diverse and interesting. Some of the characters are expanded upon and potentially could stay in their timeframes and do well but I for one am hoping a future book reunites them all.

The two characters from book one that do not appear here are apparently going to be in book 3 which I feel I need to read as soon as I can. I then need James to write more sequels (and possibly more Slowpocalypse books too) at regular intervals as he is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

The only reason I have not given this book 5 stars is because I was slightly saddened when I got to the last page. Roll on book 3!

[Roxana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book of the Watchbearers series. Most of the characters we met in "Millennium Crash" come back in this book to continue their time-travel adventure. Matt, Page and Nye are the most important characters in this book, and there's some really interesting time travel to the 1910s. Another character that becomes more important is Verity, the former assistant, and her relationship in the distance with Turner. The characters evolve, especially Nye, and important decissions are made in this volume, which finishes in a highly emotional moment.

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Elaine Plourde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read about time travelers and it really was kind of good. I loved the characters, especially Nye. Their personalities were fun considering their situation. I wish I had read the first book to see how they all got together' I did enjoy it though.

[Michelle Olms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book