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Reckoning of Days
The discovery of the strange planet Triste was a miracle, a second chance for life. The Earth was slowly dying. Triste was warm, habitable, a new home. This future noir begins with Colonel Edward Endling's obsessive investigation into the disappearance of Triste's first astronaut explorer. That disappearance is just the first of the mysteries driving this sweeping and heartbreaking tale of adventure, longing, and struggle for power.
- GenresScience Fiction
466 pages, ebook
Published September 27, 2019
21 people are currently reading
1129 people want to read
About the author
Jay Sandover
1 book182 followersJay lives in Massachusetts with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 12, 2019
I read this on Kindle. It's more literary than I was expecting. I liked the characters of the kids and the settings. The invented world of Triste is pretty cool. I was surprised to find see on the last page there is a sequel coming. I got sick of most of the science fiction on Kindle Unlimited, so this was a cool change. Not more of the same.
June 14, 2021
When this novel first came out it was called A Reckoning of Days, with Book 1 called Unfinished Time. It has since been changed to Unfinished Time with Book 1 being titled A Reckoning of Days. This is important. Days of Reckoning and Reckoning of Days are highly significant to the understanding of this novel. When I first started reading, my aim was to read UT over the Memorial Day weekend. This was the wrong strategy to use. To read Jay Sandover is to know that you're reading the work of a well read, highly intelligent author. To read Jay Sandover, I would recommend reading him slowly. Read Unfinished Time as you might poetry. Don't just read his words, savor them. At first, I found myself distracted by the names, even found them annoying until I didn't. By then, I thought the names were perfect. I found Unfinished Time to be somewhere between Lord Of the Flies meets some post-apocalyptic novel. I don't read much sci-fi, but this novel didn't feel so much like I was reading that. It just flowed, and I read slowly. I read word by word, and I found myself entering that zone that we readers recognize, and it means that we've found ourselves in a place of contentment. Sandover's final paragraph captures the essence of his entire debut novel and has us waiting for him to finish writing Book 2, so that we can find out what comes next!!!
November 18, 2019
This book is very well written- the author includes witty humor, colorful details, depth of character and an intriguing storyline in a science fiction novel that leaves you wanting more! Jay Sandover has a new fan!
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January 20, 2023i have actually tasted poop
this book tastes nothing like it
this book tastes nothing like it
December 23, 2019
DNF'ed at 19%
May 29, 2020
Sadly, I left a little too-long to write this review, so I now don't recall enough to write a good one.
I do recall enough that I know what I wanted to rate it. It's a clever book with a good way to let you slowly realize what's actually happening - which isn't what you think is happening.
One thing to note is that there are a smidgen more parallel stories running than the average book, and so there's lots to keep in mind as you're jumping between them - particularly since they aren't obviously related until late in the game, and because they are happening at different times than each other, so you need to keep the surrounding context of each story in your brain (in addition to what's happening in that story line) as you switch among them. It can be a bit complex, but not impossible.
It's also one of those books that doesn't tell the full story in itself; instead it's one of those books that definitively stops mid-storyline, saying "To be continued in (the next book)". I really, really dislike when authors do this. I'm ok with the characters, and even the context carrying from one book to the next. The Murderbot series from Martha Wells is a great example of how to do this. Her most recent book Network Effect picks up characters and info from prior books. BUT, you can read that book stand-alone and still enjoy it. And if you have read the prior books, you can bring forward to the current book your feelings about the various characters, and recall the old situations when the new book refers to them. But you're not dependent on reading the prior books.
So, Reckoning of Days gets knocked down a star because the author didn't finish the story here, and is crassly setting us up to read the next.
As a result, I'm making a note to self here suggesting that I might NOT want to read the next book (out of spite for the author that did this, not because I didn't enjoy the book).
I do recall enough that I know what I wanted to rate it. It's a clever book with a good way to let you slowly realize what's actually happening - which isn't what you think is happening.
One thing to note is that there are a smidgen more parallel stories running than the average book, and so there's lots to keep in mind as you're jumping between them - particularly since they aren't obviously related until late in the game, and because they are happening at different times than each other, so you need to keep the surrounding context of each story in your brain (in addition to what's happening in that story line) as you switch among them. It can be a bit complex, but not impossible.
It's also one of those books that doesn't tell the full story in itself; instead it's one of those books that definitively stops mid-storyline, saying "To be continued in (the next book)". I really, really dislike when authors do this. I'm ok with the characters, and even the context carrying from one book to the next. The Murderbot series from Martha Wells is a great example of how to do this. Her most recent book Network Effect picks up characters and info from prior books. BUT, you can read that book stand-alone and still enjoy it. And if you have read the prior books, you can bring forward to the current book your feelings about the various characters, and recall the old situations when the new book refers to them. But you're not dependent on reading the prior books.
So, Reckoning of Days gets knocked down a star because the author didn't finish the story here, and is crassly setting us up to read the next.
As a result, I'm making a note to self here suggesting that I might NOT want to read the next book (out of spite for the author that did this, not because I didn't enjoy the book).
February 3, 2026
So a little backstory; I wrote a review for Gravity's Rainbow some years ago and the author of this novel liked it. Okay that's cool I thought, and so I checked out his profile to see that he had just published. Hell yeah man, I thought, and bought it. Sat on my shelf for a couple years. Just now finished.
I was familiar enough with Pynchon and Wolfe and Ballard so I knew to expect a literary approach, and Sandover did this very capably. I appreciated the dialogue and how certain characters were described -- one that stuck out to me was the military officer nicknamed "The Lord of the Rings", and I've often cited this when telling people about what I'm reading. Great turns of phrase otherwise, such as the reference to Dante's imagination toward the latter chapters.
I'm looking forward to the next one.
I was familiar enough with Pynchon and Wolfe and Ballard so I knew to expect a literary approach, and Sandover did this very capably. I appreciated the dialogue and how certain characters were described -- one that stuck out to me was the military officer nicknamed "The Lord of the Rings", and I've often cited this when telling people about what I'm reading. Great turns of phrase otherwise, such as the reference to Dante's imagination toward the latter chapters.
I'm looking forward to the next one.
October 8, 2020
An unusual tone, and things more alluded to than spelled out. Almost Pynchonesque. Great writing and an interesting world.
Title says it. An interesting and engaging story, with unique characters. Even a few time bandits! The scenes in prison Texas are evocative.
Title says it. An interesting and engaging story, with unique characters. Even a few time bandits! The scenes in prison Texas are evocative.
July 13, 2020
I'm 29% into this story and honestly, I can't seem to find a plot. It is about random characters in random situations. I gave up.
December 14, 2020
3.5 cliff hangar!?!?!?!
May 22, 2021
An entertaining, wild ride through some interesting landscapes with unforgettable characters. I cannot wait for the sequel!
June 27, 2022
Yoshi is the guy from super mario pros for nintendo 64
June 29, 2022
Its not Dune
I'm not sure if this is a retelling of Wizard of Oz or maybe Swiss Family Robinson, maybe a Lost storyline. I thought I read in a review that it was like Dune. Dune is the last thing this book reminds me of.
I'm not sure if this is a retelling of Wizard of Oz or maybe Swiss Family Robinson, maybe a Lost storyline. I thought I read in a review that it was like Dune. Dune is the last thing this book reminds me of.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews