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Gauntlet: Book One of The Phoenix Cycle
Time travel, the power sought after and craved by everyone and held by none. Until now. Not only is time travel very real to Jericho, he’s used it in the usual ways one would expect—getting rich, predicting world-changing events and, more importantly, traveling to whenever he chooses just for kicks. But just when he thinks his secret is safe, he discovers two other time travelers. One politely wants him to stop while he’s ahead. The other wants to end time as we know it and bring the planet to the brink of destruction. So, no pressure.
266 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
February 25, 2023
I follow this author’s 2 Tik Tok accounts. I find his sense of humour very engaging and it shows in this book. He writes the same way he talks!!! The story is well written and imaginative. Loved the characters and especially Jericho Johnson, the hero!!!
Well done Mr. Doyle!! Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Well done Mr. Doyle!! Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
April 9, 2023
I found the concept for the book to be quite interesting. Time traveling billionaire forced into a situation where he must save the world? Awesome. The characters are fairly well written, and the combat fits well with the futuristic dystopian setting. Unfortunately, for me, that’s where the quality content ends.
Major/problematic issues:
The book, as a whole, reads as if the author is a 16-year-old boy who spends entirely too much time in the basement. The book is riddled with misogyny and sexism with a dash of overt racism.
One of the first red flags happen fairly early on when Jericho refers to the black woman he employs as “my ebony princess.” The misogyny and sexism run rampant throughout the book. In most instances where the author could use the word "woman" to refer to the female characters, he instead chooses to use the terms girl/girls, chick/chicks, female, and even dudette.
After Jericho learns what the real name of one of the women is, he refuses to call her that and continues to use the wrong name. When Doyle could use the women’s names, he often chooses to use descriptors and infantilization instead, for example “Viking
warrior chick,” “beautiful warrior Viking girl,” and “helpless Russian girl.”
Jericho is inappropriate with both main women characters in this book saying things such as “you smell good,” “you’re with me sweetheart,” and “That’s my girl” to one of the women characters although Jericho is not in a relationship with her. Jericho requires the assistance of the women that are with him to walk and refers to the as “my female crutches.”
At the end of Chapter 11, there is an entire paragraph that reads directly from the “incel playbook” It talks about how being a nice guy only gets you abused and used
Minor/personal issues:
At one point, the group travels to the year 1096 during the time of the 1st Crusades. They are sitting watching a man convince people to go fight in the war. Jericho tells us that the man was “…speaking plain English…” In 1096, they were still speaking Old English, possibly Middle English.
The author overly romanticizes the “Viking” culture. He uses Viking to describe the Norse people instead of using it as the job title. Jericho is supposed to be a history buff who spent time with the Norse people in his travels. Jericho doesn’t use the correct terms when talking about Norse items. He uses the term dagger instead of seax, “…changing out my shoes for Viking ones,” “Viking” boats (technically not
wrong, but there are Snekke, Drekkar, Skeid, Knarr, and Byrding), “Viking” clothes.
At one point, the characters are discussing the “permanent ice age.” We are told that due to the firing of the nuclear arsenals of the superpowers, the Earth is pushed away from the sun. The distance the Earth would have to be pushed is hundreds of millions of miles to experience that level of cooling. The power of the nuclear detonations required to move the Earth that distance is magnitudes greater than the power produced by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
The main character uses excessive 4th
wall breaks to describe things or have unnecessary exposition on things that are irrelevant to the story. There is a 3-page flashback about a fishing trip Jericho took with his Norse companion. He even goes so far as to tell us that the things we see in video games, movies, and read in science fiction are nothing close to real life.
The author also frequently uses the phrase “whoever- you- are” to refer to the reader making feel as if we don’t know we are the person reading it
Major/problematic issues:
The book, as a whole, reads as if the author is a 16-year-old boy who spends entirely too much time in the basement. The book is riddled with misogyny and sexism with a dash of overt racism.
One of the first red flags happen fairly early on when Jericho refers to the black woman he employs as “my ebony princess.” The misogyny and sexism run rampant throughout the book. In most instances where the author could use the word "woman" to refer to the female characters, he instead chooses to use the terms girl/girls, chick/chicks, female, and even dudette.
After Jericho learns what the real name of one of the women is, he refuses to call her that and continues to use the wrong name. When Doyle could use the women’s names, he often chooses to use descriptors and infantilization instead, for example “Viking
warrior chick,” “beautiful warrior Viking girl,” and “helpless Russian girl.”
Jericho is inappropriate with both main women characters in this book saying things such as “you smell good,” “you’re with me sweetheart,” and “That’s my girl” to one of the women characters although Jericho is not in a relationship with her. Jericho requires the assistance of the women that are with him to walk and refers to the as “my female crutches.”
At the end of Chapter 11, there is an entire paragraph that reads directly from the “incel playbook” It talks about how being a nice guy only gets you abused and used
Minor/personal issues:
At one point, the group travels to the year 1096 during the time of the 1st Crusades. They are sitting watching a man convince people to go fight in the war. Jericho tells us that the man was “…speaking plain English…” In 1096, they were still speaking Old English, possibly Middle English.
The author overly romanticizes the “Viking” culture. He uses Viking to describe the Norse people instead of using it as the job title. Jericho is supposed to be a history buff who spent time with the Norse people in his travels. Jericho doesn’t use the correct terms when talking about Norse items. He uses the term dagger instead of seax, “…changing out my shoes for Viking ones,” “Viking” boats (technically not
wrong, but there are Snekke, Drekkar, Skeid, Knarr, and Byrding), “Viking” clothes.
At one point, the characters are discussing the “permanent ice age.” We are told that due to the firing of the nuclear arsenals of the superpowers, the Earth is pushed away from the sun. The distance the Earth would have to be pushed is hundreds of millions of miles to experience that level of cooling. The power of the nuclear detonations required to move the Earth that distance is magnitudes greater than the power produced by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
The main character uses excessive 4th
wall breaks to describe things or have unnecessary exposition on things that are irrelevant to the story. There is a 3-page flashback about a fishing trip Jericho took with his Norse companion. He even goes so far as to tell us that the things we see in video games, movies, and read in science fiction are nothing close to real life.
The author also frequently uses the phrase “whoever- you- are” to refer to the reader making feel as if we don’t know we are the person reading it
March 9, 2023
I’m a harsh critic…
For years I’ve been an avid reader. A lifetime of friends have been found and left for another day between the covers of books. I love helping young authors to grow via WattPad. I’ve read terrible books and books so wonderful they’ll stay with me for a lifetime. Every book I start I go into with the thought that they have a VERY FEW chapters to impress me. I’m not going to waste my time on a bad story full of awful grammar. So… I went into this book (that’s far from my normal genre) with trepidation. An author I found on TikTok no less. I expected to be out of my element. I expected a learning curve since Sci-Fi isn’t my thing and terminology would be unknown. I DIDN’T expect to sit down and read the book in just a few hours. To laugh my ass off over Jericho’s antics. I hear your voice in Jericho’s, because you’re wrong John. You are Jericho’s voice, he’s a large piece of you. Hands down one of my favorite reads in a long time. I know who I’m giving copies of this book to as gifts. Onto the next installment. Thank you.
For years I’ve been an avid reader. A lifetime of friends have been found and left for another day between the covers of books. I love helping young authors to grow via WattPad. I’ve read terrible books and books so wonderful they’ll stay with me for a lifetime. Every book I start I go into with the thought that they have a VERY FEW chapters to impress me. I’m not going to waste my time on a bad story full of awful grammar. So… I went into this book (that’s far from my normal genre) with trepidation. An author I found on TikTok no less. I expected to be out of my element. I expected a learning curve since Sci-Fi isn’t my thing and terminology would be unknown. I DIDN’T expect to sit down and read the book in just a few hours. To laugh my ass off over Jericho’s antics. I hear your voice in Jericho’s, because you’re wrong John. You are Jericho’s voice, he’s a large piece of you. Hands down one of my favorite reads in a long time. I know who I’m giving copies of this book to as gifts. Onto the next installment. Thank you.
February 28, 2021
Disclaimer: I received an Audible code for the book from the author.
The best way to describe this book is a nerd's fever dream, from historical time travel, to a dystopian future, to giant mechs, it's a smorgasbord of All Things Nerdy. It uses multiple tropes and a somewhat smarmy narrator in an almost meta, self-aware way. The book is fast-paced with plenty of action, including giant mech action. And who doesn't love giant mechs? I admit I had trouble liking the protagonist; I've never been one for the smarmy ones. But despite that he becomes a more sympathetic character over the course of the book. It also set up an interesting time-travel paradox that I hope will wind up being explored in future books.
Also I do like the "take-that" to my least favorite trope, the love triangle, at the end.
The best way to describe this book is a nerd's fever dream, from historical time travel, to a dystopian future, to giant mechs, it's a smorgasbord of All Things Nerdy. It uses multiple tropes and a somewhat smarmy narrator in an almost meta, self-aware way. The book is fast-paced with plenty of action, including giant mech action. And who doesn't love giant mechs? I admit I had trouble liking the protagonist; I've never been one for the smarmy ones. But despite that he becomes a more sympathetic character over the course of the book. It also set up an interesting time-travel paradox that I hope will wind up being explored in future books.
Also I do like the "take-that" to my least favorite trope, the love triangle, at the end.
April 24, 2023
I liked the story but the constant never ending drivel chatter the character has with the reader totally ruined it. It got in the way of the story. I just wanted to ductape the character narrators mouth. It was way too much background chatter. Do i want to read the 2nd book.... yes but if its like the first then heck no. So not worth my time if half the book is narrator crap.
March 30, 2023
Juvenile & Boring
There is no character development, no interesting plot, no details as to why things happen...it just lacks any real depth. Is this the author's first attempt at writing? It was totally boring.
There is no character development, no interesting plot, no details as to why things happen...it just lacks any real depth. Is this the author's first attempt at writing? It was totally boring.
March 5, 2023
fun read
I enjoyed the perspective of how this story was told and the fun in it. Very enjoyable and I’m off to read book 2.
I enjoyed the perspective of how this story was told and the fun in it. Very enjoyable and I’m off to read book 2.
February 25, 2023
Fantastic
I loved this book. It was exciting and funny. Well written and fresh. Not your typical sci Fi. Well worth the time.
I loved this book. It was exciting and funny. Well written and fresh. Not your typical sci Fi. Well worth the time.
April 5, 2023
Decent story. The book is in desperate need of an editor.
January 23, 2024
Ok so I put this on my TBR when I discovered the author on Tiktok. He started the Turnaroundalan account and his videos were so funny. It sat around for a little while and I finally decided it was time. I'm so happy I gave it a go. Book #2 will be here on Wednesday lol.
This is very "conversational inner monologue". It takes some getting used to. You find out why it is written as such, but knowing every single thought of the main character (including what they were going to say versus what they said instead) is a lot. The epilogue was mind-melting. I need to know more! Thanks for a good book John!
This is very "conversational inner monologue". It takes some getting used to. You find out why it is written as such, but knowing every single thought of the main character (including what they were going to say versus what they said instead) is a lot. The epilogue was mind-melting. I need to know more! Thanks for a good book John!
July 18, 2023
Grabbed this book because I follow the author on TT with TAA (IYKYK). Got through the book rather quickly for me. Found the protagonist to be cocky, sexist & misogynistic. If you’re a very PC type of person, stay away from these books.
As it’s a SciFi/Time Travel/Fantasy series, I thought “keep an open mind”. This book (the whole series actually) needs an editor. Several misspelled words or grammar issues. In one book (cannot remember which) at least half a sentence, if not more than that, is missing! Was unsure what happened, but pretty sure I didn’t miss too much.
I believe this is the author’s first stab at a (self) published work and commend him on his attempt.
As it’s a SciFi/Time Travel/Fantasy series, I thought “keep an open mind”. This book (the whole series actually) needs an editor. Several misspelled words or grammar issues. In one book (cannot remember which) at least half a sentence, if not more than that, is missing! Was unsure what happened, but pretty sure I didn’t miss too much.
I believe this is the author’s first stab at a (self) published work and commend him on his attempt.
March 17, 2023
Really appreciated the combination of humor, sincerity, and action. I’ll be honest I didn’t expect to like this, I was pleasantly surprised! Looking forward to digging into book 2.
March 8, 2023
Overall, I liked the premise of this book. Cocky guy who travels through time, I dig it. I felt the story was lacking depth. Some parts I was yearning for more details or a bit more to what was happening. Overall, it is decent for a first book. 👌
May 9, 2023
Fun Twists & Turns
I loved the main character’s voice in this story. He was witty and a little egotistical but very loveable. While some of the story was hard to follow because he kept jumping around, by the end of the story you’re hoping he pulls off saving the world and living to tell the tale!
I loved the main character’s voice in this story. He was witty and a little egotistical but very loveable. While some of the story was hard to follow because he kept jumping around, by the end of the story you’re hoping he pulls off saving the world and living to tell the tale!
February 20, 2023
Found author on Tiktok and didn't disappoint.
Well written and just could not put it down. Just when you think you've got an idea where the story is going theres another little twist. Perfect for a fantasy or sci-fi enthusiast.
Well written and just could not put it down. Just when you think you've got an idea where the story is going theres another little twist. Perfect for a fantasy or sci-fi enthusiast.
February 22, 2023
TikTok author tells an amazing tale
Quick read full of snark. Looking forward to the next book! Glad to know this series is growing… I love a good series!
Quick read full of snark. Looking forward to the next book! Glad to know this series is growing… I love a good series!
February 21, 2023
I mean…. tik tok makes you buy it…. the writing and the author….. makes you want more… love this storyline
February 14, 2023
This book was so much fun (in an end of the world adventure way) with a super snarky first person narrator/MMC who breaks the fourth wall. The pace is fast for a reason and then dear reader, my favorite, a cliffhanger. I would love to say more but I don't want to spoil it.
April 11, 2023
That was fun! I fully admit that I only bought this because I have become so fond of the author's TikTok - turnaroundalan. If I didn't like it, I would have supported him by buying it and not felt guilty about DNFing it. Thankfully, it didn't come to that!
There were a few things that bugged me. The biggest being the use of the raised nominators causing a larger space between any two line where they are used. It was weird and distracting, but as I got further in and became more fond of MC Jericho, it bothered me less and less. Besides, this was independently published and allowances need to be made.
The entire book, with very few exceptions, is told in first person, almost stream of consciousness by Jericho. We find out late in the book that he verbally fed this story into a recorder, which makes his "voice" feel even more authentic, and let's face it, funny! Imagine Bill and Ted telling you their story. Not as many dudes and mans, but the gist is the same. Jericho is wicked smart, witty, humble to a point, and wildly entertaining.
The premise is a glove, or gauntlet, that he finds and allows him to time travel. Being a history buff and professor, he mostly sticks to historical events and locales to get the real story. Of course hell breaks loose, he needs to save the world, and maybe pick up some chicks along the way.
Like I said, super fun read!
There were a few things that bugged me. The biggest being the use of the raised nominators causing a larger space between any two line where they are used. It was weird and distracting, but as I got further in and became more fond of MC Jericho, it bothered me less and less. Besides, this was independently published and allowances need to be made.
The entire book, with very few exceptions, is told in first person, almost stream of consciousness by Jericho. We find out late in the book that he verbally fed this story into a recorder, which makes his "voice" feel even more authentic, and let's face it, funny! Imagine Bill and Ted telling you their story. Not as many dudes and mans, but the gist is the same. Jericho is wicked smart, witty, humble to a point, and wildly entertaining.
The premise is a glove, or gauntlet, that he finds and allows him to time travel. Being a history buff and professor, he mostly sticks to historical events and locales to get the real story. Of course hell breaks loose, he needs to save the world, and maybe pick up some chicks along the way.
Like I said, super fun read!
August 7, 2022
*Sushi Tacos*
Confused by my headline? Well if you follow my suggestion and purchase this book, you won't be for long.
Take the billionaire experience from Iron Man, mix it up with the jovial time traveling of Doctor Who, and add in the delicious personality and humor of Deadpool, and you've got yourself Jericho. A man with a gauntlet capable of traveling him through time while simultaneously defending him against anyone dumb enough to be angered by his exuberant personality.
There is so much voice and personality in this book. And interwoven with the fun, daring atmosphere, you have a darker story being told. I'm don't normally gravitate to Sci-Fi, I'm more of a fantasy, paranormal, romance, regency era, highlander type of reader (not all those in one book, mind you). So the Gauntlet was a bit out of my normal spectrum. But the writing style was so honest and funny, and the plot very intriguing, it kept me coming back for more.
If you're looking for an Indie author to support, I highly recommend purchasing the Gauntlet.
Confused by my headline? Well if you follow my suggestion and purchase this book, you won't be for long.
Take the billionaire experience from Iron Man, mix it up with the jovial time traveling of Doctor Who, and add in the delicious personality and humor of Deadpool, and you've got yourself Jericho. A man with a gauntlet capable of traveling him through time while simultaneously defending him against anyone dumb enough to be angered by his exuberant personality.
There is so much voice and personality in this book. And interwoven with the fun, daring atmosphere, you have a darker story being told. I'm don't normally gravitate to Sci-Fi, I'm more of a fantasy, paranormal, romance, regency era, highlander type of reader (not all those in one book, mind you). So the Gauntlet was a bit out of my normal spectrum. But the writing style was so honest and funny, and the plot very intriguing, it kept me coming back for more.
If you're looking for an Indie author to support, I highly recommend purchasing the Gauntlet.
February 12, 2025
I WANTED to like this so much more than I did. The storyline is fun, although it comes across as more for very young teens than a YA/SciFi crossover. The bravado of the protagonist is very over the top. More annoying is how every single woman has to be falling head over heals for him. It’s absurd. I really wish the story had spent more time on the science fiction of it all rather than “kiss me” “no, kiss me” “NO, kiss ME!”
Reread 2/2025. Yep, still feel the same.
Reread 2/2025. Yep, still feel the same.
June 5, 2020
Fast paced, deep characters, masterfully written! Can not wait for the next book!!
January 2, 2024
Did not finish. Couldn’t get into it.
March 10, 2023
Oh my holy time travel! John G. Doyle knocked this book out of the park! He knocked it out of this time to be more specific! I found John's account on social media and as soon as I discovered that he was an author I had to snag books one and two! This review is for Gauntlet only.
Jericho Johnson is a 22 year old college professor who thanks to finding a glove that has the power to travel through time which he calls Gauntlet. The cool part about time travel is that it can make you a very rich person in the current time, which of course Jericho took advantage of. He uses the gauntlet to travel through the past more than the future because he feels like traveling too far into the future could cause problems...and boy was he right.
He runs into a student of his, Mona, and discovers that her name is actually Chloe, a Russian girl from the year 2340. She claims that her father is the creator of the gauntlet and that it is imperative to return it back to Dr. Sparks as soon as possible because an evil man named Klaus was after it.
Jericho travels with Chloe to Russia in 2340 to meet with her father and see for himself. While there the plan takes a nasty turn when Klaus comes to kill Jericho and claim the gauntlet for himself. This led to Jericho and Chloe jumping through various times past and future to try and escape danger. Knowing that death is in his future, Jericho tries as hard as possible to change that part about his future.
Eventually, Klaus catches us to Jericho, Chloe, and Piper (the Viking girl from 794 AD, that Jericho has a major thing for) and all Helheim breaks loose.
This book was beautifully written and full of emotion. I honestly can't wait to read book #2 in the series, Wasteland
Jericho Johnson is a 22 year old college professor who thanks to finding a glove that has the power to travel through time which he calls Gauntlet. The cool part about time travel is that it can make you a very rich person in the current time, which of course Jericho took advantage of. He uses the gauntlet to travel through the past more than the future because he feels like traveling too far into the future could cause problems...and boy was he right.
He runs into a student of his, Mona, and discovers that her name is actually Chloe, a Russian girl from the year 2340. She claims that her father is the creator of the gauntlet and that it is imperative to return it back to Dr. Sparks as soon as possible because an evil man named Klaus was after it.
Jericho travels with Chloe to Russia in 2340 to meet with her father and see for himself. While there the plan takes a nasty turn when Klaus comes to kill Jericho and claim the gauntlet for himself. This led to Jericho and Chloe jumping through various times past and future to try and escape danger. Knowing that death is in his future, Jericho tries as hard as possible to change that part about his future.
Eventually, Klaus catches us to Jericho, Chloe, and Piper (the Viking girl from 794 AD, that Jericho has a major thing for) and all Helheim breaks loose.
This book was beautifully written and full of emotion. I honestly can't wait to read book #2 in the series, Wasteland
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2023
If this wasn't the last book I was reading this year, I'd have DNF'd this. The main character, Jericho, is a jerk. He treats the people around him poorly. He takes nothing seriously. The author mentions a lot, about twice each chapter, that Jericho is a nerd. A big nerd, the biggest there ever was nerd. I get it. He's nerdy. I think once or twice would've been enough, not 10 or 15 in the first 90 pages. The way he treats his servants is off-putting and how he treats Chloe, the other main character, is annoying.
The author also puts a big old plot hole in it. There's a full conversation between him and Chloe, the Russian woman from the future whose name is Chloe which also doesn't make a lot of sense especially since she speaks Russian, has a Russian accent and is a "Red," about the butterfly effect and how you shouldn't change the past. Jericho has already proven it false by trying to change the past a few times and it failing. About 20-30 pages later, he's asking her why her father didn't go back in time to prevent WW III. Well, Jericho, you just told us that you can't change the past, so how could the father go back and change it?
The final straw of hatred for me is the wearing of Nazi uniforms and then calling them "snappy."
I really wanted to enjoy this, but this is written like a teenage boy is trying to get all his sci-fi fantasies out. I'm just glad I managed to pick the book up for a deal on Amazon because I would be pretty upset if I paid full price for it.
The author also puts a big old plot hole in it. There's a full conversation between him and Chloe, the Russian woman from the future whose name is Chloe which also doesn't make a lot of sense especially since she speaks Russian, has a Russian accent and is a "Red," about the butterfly effect and how you shouldn't change the past. Jericho has already proven it false by trying to change the past a few times and it failing. About 20-30 pages later, he's asking her why her father didn't go back in time to prevent WW III. Well, Jericho, you just told us that you can't change the past, so how could the father go back and change it?
The final straw of hatred for me is the wearing of Nazi uniforms and then calling them "snappy."
I really wanted to enjoy this, but this is written like a teenage boy is trying to get all his sci-fi fantasies out. I'm just glad I managed to pick the book up for a deal on Amazon because I would be pretty upset if I paid full price for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2023
Time Travel Too Difficult
The authors writing style is easy and clean and I enjoyed reading the dialogue. However, I usually lean away from Time Machine books because they are scientifically implausible and fundamentally catastrophic. If you are going to write a book about a device that travels through time you have to have a very strict set of rules, either science based or fictionally based, that keeps the abilities of the machine in check. Otherwise, it’s way too easy to screw up a timeline or you create too many plot-holes in the story. For instance, in this series, why not just go back a few years in time with your time machine and reverse engineer the device…or save the person in trouble…or become the richest person in the world…and on and on. Without a strict set of rules it’s really much too chaotic to create a good story without being able to punch scientific or theoretical holes in the plot. I quit about 1/3 into this book because it was too easy to solve every single problem the characters had with a time machine with basically unlimited time travel powers.
The authors writing style is easy and clean and I enjoyed reading the dialogue. However, I usually lean away from Time Machine books because they are scientifically implausible and fundamentally catastrophic. If you are going to write a book about a device that travels through time you have to have a very strict set of rules, either science based or fictionally based, that keeps the abilities of the machine in check. Otherwise, it’s way too easy to screw up a timeline or you create too many plot-holes in the story. For instance, in this series, why not just go back a few years in time with your time machine and reverse engineer the device…or save the person in trouble…or become the richest person in the world…and on and on. Without a strict set of rules it’s really much too chaotic to create a good story without being able to punch scientific or theoretical holes in the plot. I quit about 1/3 into this book because it was too easy to solve every single problem the characters had with a time machine with basically unlimited time travel powers.
February 27, 2024
I don't know if this was meant to be ironically sexist or just sexist, I just know it was a drag to read. I think it was on page 180 when the narrator first uses the word "woman" or "women", before that he constantly refers to grown women as "chicks". He is constantly explaining to you how funny and intelligent he is, while he does nothing to show that he actually *is* intelligent and keeps explaining his jokes. This feels like a Heinlein parody. Every woman throws herself at him, for reasons that remain a mystery.
A good editor in general would have been a good idea. Twice the author confuses the names of characters. In the second instance he forgot that he changed that character's name in the scenes before, in the first he forgot which woman the narrator is having a love scene with.
All of that is a shame, because the plot would have been quite engaging, if only the book would have concentrated more on the actual plot than the narrator's endless introspection about women and how funny he is. I slugged through this for half a year, because I love time-travel novels and I like the author on TikTok, but I really should just not have bothered.
A good editor in general would have been a good idea. Twice the author confuses the names of characters. In the second instance he forgot that he changed that character's name in the scenes before, in the first he forgot which woman the narrator is having a love scene with.
All of that is a shame, because the plot would have been quite engaging, if only the book would have concentrated more on the actual plot than the narrator's endless introspection about women and how funny he is. I slugged through this for half a year, because I love time-travel novels and I like the author on TikTok, but I really should just not have bothered.
September 3, 2022
This is not my usual genre, but I can officially say this book changed my mind.
From the very first page, Doyle hooks you with the narrator's witty voice. He makes you hate and love; he makes you afraid and excited...it's an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish. Storytelling at its absolute finest, this is the easiest 5-star rating I've ever given. I don't get this excited about books very often, but I can honestly say that Mr. Doyle has rocketed into my top-two favourite authors, without question.
Just do yourself a favour and make sure you've got Book 2 on hand before you finish Book 1. Otherwise, you might... nope, that's all I'm going to say. You're going to have to find out for yourself! ;)
From the very first page, Doyle hooks you with the narrator's witty voice. He makes you hate and love; he makes you afraid and excited...it's an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish. Storytelling at its absolute finest, this is the easiest 5-star rating I've ever given. I don't get this excited about books very often, but I can honestly say that Mr. Doyle has rocketed into my top-two favourite authors, without question.
Just do yourself a favour and make sure you've got Book 2 on hand before you finish Book 1. Otherwise, you might... nope, that's all I'm going to say. You're going to have to find out for yourself! ;)
July 14, 2023
This is a self (Amazon) published book by an author I "met" on TikTok. Its a time-travel thriller, a little cliched, but fun. Jericho finds mysterious gauntlet that lets him travel thru time. He uses it to his advantage, becomes super rich. But then a beautiful girl from the future appears to take the gauntlet back. She's the daughter of the inventory and she needs Jericho's version to help save her Dad from an Evil villain in a dystopian future. A lot of 4th wall breaking, and an obligatory potential love triangle between Jericho, the future Russian girl and a Viking girl from ancient times. It gave me shades of what Artemis Fowl would be when he grew up. There's a couple more in the series that I might read, but I'm not running right out for them.
May 24, 2023
This was a solid book! The only spoiler I’m giving is, it ends on a cliffhanger. Being the first book in a quartet, it’s not super surprising. The story is fun and adventurous. It really breaks the 4th wall in writing over and over. The book is written more like a story being told in person, as it seems is the intention. The audiobook helped a lot with this! The plot was well paced, however there are a handful of questions a reader will ask that are not answered in this book. Will they be answered in the future? One would hope so! Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the second one.
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