“I was here to keep history from changing and not to change it myself…”
Once a year, Nicole and her brothers are summoned to the Black Cave where they are given their aims. They cannot refuse the command, nor are they supposed to waiver from the directive. The aims are always clear. They must make sure that that all events come to pass as they should.
However, Nicole could not watch or orchestrate the death of the man she had grown to love. But if she interfered with history, what would that mean for the present?
The Keepers of the Black Cave: A Time Travel Adventure by Hanit Pahima is a science fiction, time-travel, alternative history adventure.
I have to admit it took some effort to get used to the maligning of historical facts. From the blurb, I thought this book would be an alternative history time-travel where one would meet some historical characters, and their documented history would be changed because of the actions of the protagonists, but that isn’t what this book is at all. If it were, then I would be very concerned because as far as I am aware, King Richard I spent most of his adult life, when not fighting in the Third Crusade, in the Duchy of Aquitaine, southwest of France. He spoke both French and Occitan, and at no time did he go into battle against the Vikings! At least Richard I is who I am assuming the character in this book was supposed to represent, he did have an infamous brother called John after all.
The science-fiction part of this novel was wonderfully executed and I thought Nicole’s depiction was fabulous. Nicole is a very confident woman who takes her job very seriously. But, she is also one to bend the rules of the aims if it serves her purpose to do so. Twice she allowed compassion to overthrow her directive, and she is often ruled by her emotions, which I think made her a very likeable character and one that appeals to the reader. Her situation is unique, and she finds herself on a journey that she thought would never happen, and she deals with the unexpected with the quiet confidence that the reader sees in her all along.
At times this book had a feel of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, minus the vampires, and I initially thought that this book was aimed at a young adult audience. However, the passionate love scene means that the young adult category is inappropriate. I think this book, minus the love scene, would work exceptionally well in the young adult category, and this is something that perhaps Pahima should take into consideration.
I did enjoy the science fiction part of the book, but I am afraid that the historical inaccuracies ruined this novel for me.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.