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Stealing Time
They'll kill to get more time. She'll die to stop them.
In a world where each person's life span is limited by law, time is a lucrative commodity that some people will do anything to get more of.
Fourth-dimension physicist, Dr Varya Galanos, invented the technology that time thieves used to murder children by stealing their remaining years of life. Although it was destroyed 10 years ago, and the thieves brought to justice, she still suffers from the burden of guilt.
Masquerading as a lowly lab technician at the Minor Miracles Foundation, Varya finds a certain peace searching for cures for rare childhood diseases, like the one which took her 4-year-old son, Kir, away from her.
The Foundation is secretly funded by Varya and her employee and confidante, Marisa Volkov, by selling illicit time tabs to wealthy patrons. When dissolved on the tongue, a single time tab grants a person four extra hours in their day.
The time tab technology is highly valued - and highly illegal - in a society where Time Chips are inserted into each child's brain stem at birth. Lives are limited to just sixty-five years to conserve the planet's ever-dwindling resources.
Varya's tenuous peace is shattered when children start disappearing again. She fears the worst - that the time thieves have returned and have somehow resurrected the technology to steal precious years from children.
Varya is the only one who can find a way to reverse the time drains and save the returned children. But doing so could cost the lives of those she holds dearest.
When her best friend's son becomes a victim, returned with just hours to live, she is faced with an impossible choice.
In a world where each person's life span is limited by law, time is a lucrative commodity that some people will do anything to get more of.
Fourth-dimension physicist, Dr Varya Galanos, invented the technology that time thieves used to murder children by stealing their remaining years of life. Although it was destroyed 10 years ago, and the thieves brought to justice, she still suffers from the burden of guilt.
Masquerading as a lowly lab technician at the Minor Miracles Foundation, Varya finds a certain peace searching for cures for rare childhood diseases, like the one which took her 4-year-old son, Kir, away from her.
The Foundation is secretly funded by Varya and her employee and confidante, Marisa Volkov, by selling illicit time tabs to wealthy patrons. When dissolved on the tongue, a single time tab grants a person four extra hours in their day.
The time tab technology is highly valued - and highly illegal - in a society where Time Chips are inserted into each child's brain stem at birth. Lives are limited to just sixty-five years to conserve the planet's ever-dwindling resources.
Varya's tenuous peace is shattered when children start disappearing again. She fears the worst - that the time thieves have returned and have somehow resurrected the technology to steal precious years from children.
Varya is the only one who can find a way to reverse the time drains and save the returned children. But doing so could cost the lives of those she holds dearest.
When her best friend's son becomes a victim, returned with just hours to live, she is faced with an impossible choice.
300 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2021
7 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Bowyer
4 books207 followersRebecca Bowyer lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and two young sons. When not at her day jobs as a digital experience strategist and kid-wrangler, she can be found writing about books, reading and writing at Story Addict.
Rebecca's articles on writing, feminism, parenting and the history of parenting have been published widely, including on Women’s Agenda, Ripen the Page Literary Magazine, Kidspot, Essential Kids, Mamamia, Seeing the Lighter Side and more.
Rebecca's articles on writing, feminism, parenting and the history of parenting have been published widely, including on Women’s Agenda, Ripen the Page Literary Magazine, Kidspot, Essential Kids, Mamamia, Seeing the Lighter Side and more.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 15, 2021
In a dystopian Australia set well into the future, where time chips were inserted into your brain stem at birth, the maximum life span for anyone was 65 and once you’d reached that age, your life was terminated by Rest Time. To keep the population down, only one child per family was permitted.
Doctor Varya Galanos was a physicist in Melbourne who’d invented a special technology, which was in turn stolen by time thieves. Young children were abducted, and their life spans stolen, with the children dying within hours of returning to their families. Ten years prior the thieves were caught, and the technology destroyed, but during that time Varya’s four-year-old son, Kir, developed an aggressive and terminal form of cancer. Varya was determined to find a cure for childhood illnesses and formed the Minor Miracles Foundation to work on a cure so others wouldn’t lose their beloved offspring. But when children began disappearing once again, Varya’s guilt and desperation caused all sorts of problems…
Stealing Time by Aussie author Rebecca Bowyer has a huge focus on mothers and their children (or in this case, their child) and what they would do for them. The situation of a damaged Australia – and across the world - where climate change has caused lack of food and resources, where the aged are not of any value (I’d have been terminated already!), where death is peaceful (if you’ve reached 65 and been a model citizen) or brutal if you’re a criminal – I’m very glad this book is fiction! Entertaining and different, Stealing Time is well worth a read. Recommended.
With thanks to Rebecca Bowyer and NetGalley for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Doctor Varya Galanos was a physicist in Melbourne who’d invented a special technology, which was in turn stolen by time thieves. Young children were abducted, and their life spans stolen, with the children dying within hours of returning to their families. Ten years prior the thieves were caught, and the technology destroyed, but during that time Varya’s four-year-old son, Kir, developed an aggressive and terminal form of cancer. Varya was determined to find a cure for childhood illnesses and formed the Minor Miracles Foundation to work on a cure so others wouldn’t lose their beloved offspring. But when children began disappearing once again, Varya’s guilt and desperation caused all sorts of problems…
Stealing Time by Aussie author Rebecca Bowyer has a huge focus on mothers and their children (or in this case, their child) and what they would do for them. The situation of a damaged Australia – and across the world - where climate change has caused lack of food and resources, where the aged are not of any value (I’d have been terminated already!), where death is peaceful (if you’ve reached 65 and been a model citizen) or brutal if you’re a criminal – I’m very glad this book is fiction! Entertaining and different, Stealing Time is well worth a read. Recommended.
With thanks to Rebecca Bowyer and NetGalley for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
February 27, 2021
Rebecca Bowyer’s new book is set in a dystopian future world where climate change has rendered food and resources scarce. In response, some countries, including Australia have decided to restrict their population by allowing women to only have one child and by terminating life at a maximum age of 65. This is achieved by inserting a time chip, called the Rest Time, into people’s brain stems. Bonus time is given for extra hours spent working and for having a child but no is allowed more than to live beyond 65 years, when death is automatically delivered by the chip, saving resources that would otherwise be used on aged care.
Varya Galanos was one of the physicists who worked to develop the Rest Time chip but after her son Kir developed a rare and incurable disease, she started the Minor Miracles Foundation raising funds for research into cures for rare conditions. She now works as a lab technician at the foundation’s labs, where no one knows she is actually the CEO. Although removing a chip would kill the owner, some years ago thieves used some stolen technology to steal time from childrens’ time chips. The children were returned with just a few hours left on their chips before they died in the arms of their distraught parents. The thieves were eventually caught and the technology destroyed, but when Varya hears new reports of children disappearing, she’s concerned something similar could be happening again.
Bowyer’s brave new world is a disturbing one where any one over 65 is seen as a drain on society rather than an important resource. This seems shocking when in our current society so many people are fit and healthy into their 70s and beyond, continuing to work, supporting their families with unpaid childcare or volunteering in the community. Time is a precious commodity in Bowyer’s world and begs the question of whether we all use our time here in this world as profitably as we could and whether we would lead our lives any differently if we knew there was a definite endpoint at 65.
Children are also very precious in Bowyer’s world and the bond between mothers and their children is a major theme of this novel. It should be no surprise that in a dystopian and damaged world, where a woman can have only one child, the love of mothers for their children is so strong and the main focus of their lives. Varya, her mother and her friends are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to prevent children from dying. For me the climax of this book seemed a bit rushed and could have unfolded more slowly to better explain what was happening. Aside from that, I very enjoyed this work of speculative fiction and the issues it raised.
With many thanks to Rebecca Bowyer and Netgalley for a copy to read.
Varya Galanos was one of the physicists who worked to develop the Rest Time chip but after her son Kir developed a rare and incurable disease, she started the Minor Miracles Foundation raising funds for research into cures for rare conditions. She now works as a lab technician at the foundation’s labs, where no one knows she is actually the CEO. Although removing a chip would kill the owner, some years ago thieves used some stolen technology to steal time from childrens’ time chips. The children were returned with just a few hours left on their chips before they died in the arms of their distraught parents. The thieves were eventually caught and the technology destroyed, but when Varya hears new reports of children disappearing, she’s concerned something similar could be happening again.
Bowyer’s brave new world is a disturbing one where any one over 65 is seen as a drain on society rather than an important resource. This seems shocking when in our current society so many people are fit and healthy into their 70s and beyond, continuing to work, supporting their families with unpaid childcare or volunteering in the community. Time is a precious commodity in Bowyer’s world and begs the question of whether we all use our time here in this world as profitably as we could and whether we would lead our lives any differently if we knew there was a definite endpoint at 65.
Children are also very precious in Bowyer’s world and the bond between mothers and their children is a major theme of this novel. It should be no surprise that in a dystopian and damaged world, where a woman can have only one child, the love of mothers for their children is so strong and the main focus of their lives. Varya, her mother and her friends are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to prevent children from dying. For me the climax of this book seemed a bit rushed and could have unfolded more slowly to better explain what was happening. Aside from that, I very enjoyed this work of speculative fiction and the issues it raised.
With many thanks to Rebecca Bowyer and Netgalley for a copy to read.
February 26, 2021
Stealing Time is the second novel by Australian author, Rebecca Bowyer. Although she is a highly qualified temporal physicist, Varya Galanos now works as a lab technician in a private laboratory. The Minor Miracles Foundation tries to find cures for rare childhood diseases that mainstream research deems uneconomic to work on, diseases like the one that had afflicted her four-year-old son some five years earlier.
The researchers don’t know that Varya once worked for Rest Time Corp, or that she funds the lab with the sale of a sought-after illegal product, a time tab that Varya’s expertise allows her to produce. The lab has had numerous successes, and Varya works desperately to find a certain cure.
It’s a very different world to that her grandparents knew: Rest Time Chips, inserted at birth, ensure that the maximum allocated lifespan of sixty-five years can only be achieved by not engaging in criminal activity, having the required single child and working a sixty-hour week.
When a child is abducted, most of his lifespan stolen, and he is returned to die in his parents’ arms, alarm bells ring for Varya. This should not have been possible: the Rest Time chips are meant to be tamperproof, and the technology to allow time transfer had been destroyed ten years earlier, after the first spate of abductions. Although Varya knows differently…
This boy went to school with Daniel, the son of Varya’s best friend, Zoe, so now parents are on high alert. When Daniel is taken, their carefully controlled existence is turned upside-down.
The premise of this speculative fiction tale is quite fascinating, and Bowyer’s world-building is fairly subtle. When Varya explains the government’s rationale for implementing Rest Time chips, it demonstrates a society that no longer values the elderly, sees them only as a burden and not as a resource, and one that values productivity over family.
The plot is gripping and keeps the pages turning towards the dramatic climax. The complete situation with Varya’s family is only gradually revealed, and every time the reader believes they know the entire scenario, another wrinkle is added to complicate it further. But the postulated reason that the abducted children are returned to their families is unconvincing.
Bowyer paints her setting as a rather bleak place to live. Perhaps because of the pressure Varya operates under she’s not a character who is easy to connect with, even though her family’s situation tugs at the heart strings. As her mother states: ”She refuses to let the universe run its course, thinking she can always intervene to change the path of fate.” This is an interesting and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours.
The researchers don’t know that Varya once worked for Rest Time Corp, or that she funds the lab with the sale of a sought-after illegal product, a time tab that Varya’s expertise allows her to produce. The lab has had numerous successes, and Varya works desperately to find a certain cure.
It’s a very different world to that her grandparents knew: Rest Time Chips, inserted at birth, ensure that the maximum allocated lifespan of sixty-five years can only be achieved by not engaging in criminal activity, having the required single child and working a sixty-hour week.
When a child is abducted, most of his lifespan stolen, and he is returned to die in his parents’ arms, alarm bells ring for Varya. This should not have been possible: the Rest Time chips are meant to be tamperproof, and the technology to allow time transfer had been destroyed ten years earlier, after the first spate of abductions. Although Varya knows differently…
This boy went to school with Daniel, the son of Varya’s best friend, Zoe, so now parents are on high alert. When Daniel is taken, their carefully controlled existence is turned upside-down.
The premise of this speculative fiction tale is quite fascinating, and Bowyer’s world-building is fairly subtle. When Varya explains the government’s rationale for implementing Rest Time chips, it demonstrates a society that no longer values the elderly, sees them only as a burden and not as a resource, and one that values productivity over family.
The plot is gripping and keeps the pages turning towards the dramatic climax. The complete situation with Varya’s family is only gradually revealed, and every time the reader believes they know the entire scenario, another wrinkle is added to complicate it further. But the postulated reason that the abducted children are returned to their families is unconvincing.
Bowyer paints her setting as a rather bleak place to live. Perhaps because of the pressure Varya operates under she’s not a character who is easy to connect with, even though her family’s situation tugs at the heart strings. As her mother states: ”She refuses to let the universe run its course, thinking she can always intervene to change the path of fate.” This is an interesting and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours.
February 16, 2021
The cover drew my eye to this book first, then I saw the authors name Rebecca Bowyer and as I had read and loved her previous book /Maternal Instinct I immediately gave it a closer look. I do really like the cover, the mysterious hooded figure at the centre of the cover and the smoky effect maybe representing time. Once you read the book, the cover makes even more sense.
This book is set in a future where women are allowed to have just one child, in an effort to control the growing population and preserve natural resources. Everyone has a chip inserted into their neck which allows them a maximum of 65 years of life. Once your 65 years expires you literally die. However, you have to earn your years by staying out of trouble, conforming to the one child policy. No chip has ever successfully been removed without that person dying.
The technology in the world within this book is so advanced, cars that drive themselves, cryogenics so those wealthy enough could be frozen in time and perhaps brought back to life sometime in the future. Naturally this makes “Time” a precious, highly desirable commodity. When things are in such demand those that can afford it will pay a great deal for “time chips” which in turn creates a black market.
The desirability of “extra time” created people referred to as “Time Thieves” who kidnapped children and removed their “Time” and sell it to others. One of the main characters Dr Varya Galanos was part of the company that created the technology that allowed the “Time Thieves” to remove time for the children they kidnapped. The technology was of course, destroyed to prevent such a thing ever happening again.
Varya’s own son was terminally ill with a rare disease that didn’t have enough research funding to help him in any way. Varya creates her own research centre called Minor Miracles, where she researches rare diseases. To fund her research Varya supplies short time tabs to Marissa, a woman she has befriended. Marissa goes to the wealthier peoples’ homes, the money they pay as a “donation” to the Minor Miracles foundation. It’s not only the rich that have a need for extra time tabs, as the poorer, single mums, would love them to either get extra sleep or to spend extra time with their children.
When it appears that someone has re-invented the necessary technology to steal time directly from children again, and are kidnapping them, removing their time, and then returning them to their parents with hours left to live, it really bothers Dr Varya, especially when her friend Zoe’s son, Daniel is one of the kidnapped children she knows she has to do something and very quickly. However, doing this will involve revealing a very large secret about her own son and mother as well as asking her ex-husband for help, which she really doesn’t want to do. I can’t go much further in describing the plot as I feel it would reveal too much and impede the slow unfurling of the book when you read it yourself.
My favourite character in this book would have to be Marissa, she wasn’t overly wealthy despite selling the Time Tabs to Dr Varya’s wealthy clients. Marissa selling the tabs enables Varya to continue investing into rare disease research and treatment. As part of her “payment” Marissa takes a certain amount of time tabs every month to a domestic violence shelter, which gives the women extra time to spend helping their children with school work, or just “spare time” to spend with them. Which I think redeems her character as someone was always going to be selling time tabs to the rich but she does still try to help others who are not so well off.
This book is certainly thought provoking, among the questions I felt this book raised were, such as, how far would/could/should a mother be prepared to go for their child? What would you do to help your child? Anything? At the expense of others?
Can giving to the less fortunate for free whilst making the rich pay for the same thing, balance out the scales of right and wrong? What amount of 'doing right' does it take to cancel out the 'wrong doing'?
Though I had read another book by this author, I honestly didn’t think that Stealing Time could be as good as Maternal Instinct but by the end of it I felt it was even better! I will certainly be keeping an eye out for Rebecca’s next book!
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that it was an amazingly thought- provoking book.
To sum up this book is brilliantly written, has lots of twists, turns, surprises, and a perfect ending!
This book is set in a future where women are allowed to have just one child, in an effort to control the growing population and preserve natural resources. Everyone has a chip inserted into their neck which allows them a maximum of 65 years of life. Once your 65 years expires you literally die. However, you have to earn your years by staying out of trouble, conforming to the one child policy. No chip has ever successfully been removed without that person dying.
The technology in the world within this book is so advanced, cars that drive themselves, cryogenics so those wealthy enough could be frozen in time and perhaps brought back to life sometime in the future. Naturally this makes “Time” a precious, highly desirable commodity. When things are in such demand those that can afford it will pay a great deal for “time chips” which in turn creates a black market.
The desirability of “extra time” created people referred to as “Time Thieves” who kidnapped children and removed their “Time” and sell it to others. One of the main characters Dr Varya Galanos was part of the company that created the technology that allowed the “Time Thieves” to remove time for the children they kidnapped. The technology was of course, destroyed to prevent such a thing ever happening again.
Varya’s own son was terminally ill with a rare disease that didn’t have enough research funding to help him in any way. Varya creates her own research centre called Minor Miracles, where she researches rare diseases. To fund her research Varya supplies short time tabs to Marissa, a woman she has befriended. Marissa goes to the wealthier peoples’ homes, the money they pay as a “donation” to the Minor Miracles foundation. It’s not only the rich that have a need for extra time tabs, as the poorer, single mums, would love them to either get extra sleep or to spend extra time with their children.
When it appears that someone has re-invented the necessary technology to steal time directly from children again, and are kidnapping them, removing their time, and then returning them to their parents with hours left to live, it really bothers Dr Varya, especially when her friend Zoe’s son, Daniel is one of the kidnapped children she knows she has to do something and very quickly. However, doing this will involve revealing a very large secret about her own son and mother as well as asking her ex-husband for help, which she really doesn’t want to do. I can’t go much further in describing the plot as I feel it would reveal too much and impede the slow unfurling of the book when you read it yourself.
My favourite character in this book would have to be Marissa, she wasn’t overly wealthy despite selling the Time Tabs to Dr Varya’s wealthy clients. Marissa selling the tabs enables Varya to continue investing into rare disease research and treatment. As part of her “payment” Marissa takes a certain amount of time tabs every month to a domestic violence shelter, which gives the women extra time to spend helping their children with school work, or just “spare time” to spend with them. Which I think redeems her character as someone was always going to be selling time tabs to the rich but she does still try to help others who are not so well off.
This book is certainly thought provoking, among the questions I felt this book raised were, such as, how far would/could/should a mother be prepared to go for their child? What would you do to help your child? Anything? At the expense of others?
Can giving to the less fortunate for free whilst making the rich pay for the same thing, balance out the scales of right and wrong? What amount of 'doing right' does it take to cancel out the 'wrong doing'?
Though I had read another book by this author, I honestly didn’t think that Stealing Time could be as good as Maternal Instinct but by the end of it I felt it was even better! I will certainly be keeping an eye out for Rebecca’s next book!
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that it was an amazingly thought- provoking book.
To sum up this book is brilliantly written, has lots of twists, turns, surprises, and a perfect ending!
June 7, 2021
This is the first novel I have read by Rebecca Bowyer, though I have her first novel Maternal Instinct sitting on my kindle and I will have to get to it soon.
Stealing time is a dystopian science fiction novel set in a future that doesn't seem like it could be too far away, which is a pretty scary concept. In a time where the planet's resources are dwindling, people's lifespans have been set, using an implanted chip which they receive at birth, to only allow them to live until they are 65. To even get to live to 65, they have to work a certain amount of hours and be productive to society.
Someone has found a way of 'stealing time' from these chips and giving it to another person, and children are the best resource to steal this from as they have the most amount of life to steal. This first happened 10 years before, but the people were caught and the technology was supposedly destroyed.
One of the main characters, Dr Varya Galanos who invented the chip, carries this as a burden, along with a secret she has been hiding from all but a few people. Her son who should have died of cancer is being kept alive in a time chamber of sorts. I can't begin to imagine what this would be like for the child who lives each day at the same age in the same place while his mother is supposed to be researching to find a cure for the rare cancer that is trying to kill him. Her mother, her friend Zoe and her friend/employee Marisa are the only ones who know.
When Zoe's child is stolen and returned near death by the time stealers, Varya has to help her friend save her child. Secrets start to unravel and Varya becomes even more secretive and desperate than previously as everything, including the time for her son, starts to come to a head.
This was an interesting novel, and as I said, disturbing in a way that I could see something like this coming about, hopefully not in my lifetime, but not too far off. Already, the elderly aren't often held in high regard, we are overpopulated in many areas and resources are running out or being destroyed by greed and governments and corporations. It doesn't seem too far fetched that time chips and rations on things we take for granted could become a real thing.
It is also the exploration of just how far a mother would go to save her child, and this alone is quite scary, a bit like another novel I read recently, once again set in an Australia not too far away where a mother is pushed to her limits to save her children. It would seem, parents, but mothers especially, have no limits when it comes to saving their children.
Thank you to Rebecca Bowyer for a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.
Stealing time is a dystopian science fiction novel set in a future that doesn't seem like it could be too far away, which is a pretty scary concept. In a time where the planet's resources are dwindling, people's lifespans have been set, using an implanted chip which they receive at birth, to only allow them to live until they are 65. To even get to live to 65, they have to work a certain amount of hours and be productive to society.
Someone has found a way of 'stealing time' from these chips and giving it to another person, and children are the best resource to steal this from as they have the most amount of life to steal. This first happened 10 years before, but the people were caught and the technology was supposedly destroyed.
One of the main characters, Dr Varya Galanos who invented the chip, carries this as a burden, along with a secret she has been hiding from all but a few people. Her son who should have died of cancer is being kept alive in a time chamber of sorts. I can't begin to imagine what this would be like for the child who lives each day at the same age in the same place while his mother is supposed to be researching to find a cure for the rare cancer that is trying to kill him. Her mother, her friend Zoe and her friend/employee Marisa are the only ones who know.
When Zoe's child is stolen and returned near death by the time stealers, Varya has to help her friend save her child. Secrets start to unravel and Varya becomes even more secretive and desperate than previously as everything, including the time for her son, starts to come to a head.
This was an interesting novel, and as I said, disturbing in a way that I could see something like this coming about, hopefully not in my lifetime, but not too far off. Already, the elderly aren't often held in high regard, we are overpopulated in many areas and resources are running out or being destroyed by greed and governments and corporations. It doesn't seem too far fetched that time chips and rations on things we take for granted could become a real thing.
It is also the exploration of just how far a mother would go to save her child, and this alone is quite scary, a bit like another novel I read recently, once again set in an Australia not too far away where a mother is pushed to her limits to save her children. It would seem, parents, but mothers especially, have no limits when it comes to saving their children.
Thank you to Rebecca Bowyer for a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.
February 23, 2021
Another brilliant story from the writer who gave us Maternal Instinct. In Stealing Time, Bowyer presents us with a dystopian tale of generational love and angst. The familial woes are woven into a world that chooses to ignore the contribution of its older people, and mandates their involuntary death at 65. Chilling and challenging (especially to this reader who is 60!). The author shades our familiar world with subtle snippets of speculative fiction, beautifully complete in their execution, but - and this is what reads so well for me - the story is all about mother love, Varya's love for her son, Kir, and Elena's love for Varya. Even in the secondary characters there are hints of Marisa and Zoe's love for their children. Time and time thieves are no barrier to what these women will do for their children. The exploration of these flawed and flawless characters is fabulous. And though I held my breath towards the end, Bowyer didn't disappoint, it was a fitting, and hopeful finish.
A great read.
A great read.
March 18, 2021
"Sixty-five years is long enough to walk this earth, to use her resources. It's time to cede the space to somebody else." With an ageing population, Stealing Time delves directly into our anxiety about what we'll do as the earth's finite resources begin to run out. Using a Time Chip system, the novel's proposed solution is capping a life to—at most—sixty-five years before the chip itself wrapped around the nervous system, delivers a lethal dose of poison and ends the host's life: "Time Chips are manmade devices, loaded with poison. That's all they are."
Perhaps drawing inspiration from Australia's current Liberal Government, the system is sold to the people using a solely economic rationale: "Their health fell apart, with multiple and complex issues, they stopped working and became a drain on the economy. The healthy, younger people had to pay higher taxes to find the infirm for decades after they'd stopped contributing to society." The Time Chip system was implemented after the human rights of older people were gradually eroded: "The government reduced medical support to over sixty-fives. Then they reduced the pension at the same time the price of food sky-rocketed." The population had also been thinned: "Mysterious outbreaks of influenza in government-funded aged care facilities took care of large numbers of the elderly." It's all very plausible and horrific (though here it was the private sector aged care facilities that brought about the premature deaths of the most elderly Australians during the pandemic).
After setting up the idea that it was almost a plausible solution to a big social problem, Bowyer proceeds to show us how even this seemingly fair system will fall apart, from renegade scientists who invent (and refuse to destroy) its undoing; to greedy folk who want more than their fair share; to a black market selling time loop holes that allow you to pack more into your day without time coming off the Time Chip; to a nether space "a living museum" that pauses your age and Time Chip while the world continues on without you.
These intriguing temporal ideas are closely attached to current social anxieties about time running out for the planet. This combination of science and social conscience is packaged up in an engaging story about Dr. Varya Galanos—one of the scientists who initially developed the technology—as she discovers the difference between the things she'll do for science and the things she'll do for love. Stealing Time was an enjoyable read.
With thanks to Rebecca Bowyer for sending me a copy to read.
Perhaps drawing inspiration from Australia's current Liberal Government, the system is sold to the people using a solely economic rationale: "Their health fell apart, with multiple and complex issues, they stopped working and became a drain on the economy. The healthy, younger people had to pay higher taxes to find the infirm for decades after they'd stopped contributing to society." The Time Chip system was implemented after the human rights of older people were gradually eroded: "The government reduced medical support to over sixty-fives. Then they reduced the pension at the same time the price of food sky-rocketed." The population had also been thinned: "Mysterious outbreaks of influenza in government-funded aged care facilities took care of large numbers of the elderly." It's all very plausible and horrific (though here it was the private sector aged care facilities that brought about the premature deaths of the most elderly Australians during the pandemic).
After setting up the idea that it was almost a plausible solution to a big social problem, Bowyer proceeds to show us how even this seemingly fair system will fall apart, from renegade scientists who invent (and refuse to destroy) its undoing; to greedy folk who want more than their fair share; to a black market selling time loop holes that allow you to pack more into your day without time coming off the Time Chip; to a nether space "a living museum" that pauses your age and Time Chip while the world continues on without you.
These intriguing temporal ideas are closely attached to current social anxieties about time running out for the planet. This combination of science and social conscience is packaged up in an engaging story about Dr. Varya Galanos—one of the scientists who initially developed the technology—as she discovers the difference between the things she'll do for science and the things she'll do for love. Stealing Time was an enjoyable read.
With thanks to Rebecca Bowyer for sending me a copy to read.
February 9, 2021
An intriguing look into how far a mother will go to protect her own child. Even to defying time. I loved the unpacking of the grandmother-mother-son nexus, plus the exploration of how humans relate to their experience of time. Varya is a character to engage with - you have to read on to discover what happens - even while she is so obsessive that she's tricky to love.
very well put together time mystery
very well put together time mystery
February 21, 2021
"In a world where each person’s life span is limited by law to sixty-five years, time is a lucrative commodity that some people will do anything to get more of."
Just like Bowyer's first novel, Maternal Instinct, I LOVED the underlying concept of Stealing Time. A dystopian future set in Australia where extra time can be purchased by the wealthy? Sign me up!
With echoes of the sci-fi film 'In Time' and the dystopian novel 'Vox', the characters in Stealing Time are complex and interesting, with the story told expertly from multiple narrative perspectives. Bowyer has successfully grappled with the ethical dilemmas surrounding time manipulation and a forced termination age. After all, if you could buy a few extra hours for a dying loved one, wouldn't you?
My only gripe was the pretty quick climax - I think I just wanted to spend more time with the characters and the reveal seemed to happen so quickly! But overall it was a fantastic story that anyone who enjoys a good 'what if?' soft sci-fi narrative is sure to enjoy.
Just like Bowyer's first novel, Maternal Instinct, I LOVED the underlying concept of Stealing Time. A dystopian future set in Australia where extra time can be purchased by the wealthy? Sign me up!
With echoes of the sci-fi film 'In Time' and the dystopian novel 'Vox', the characters in Stealing Time are complex and interesting, with the story told expertly from multiple narrative perspectives. Bowyer has successfully grappled with the ethical dilemmas surrounding time manipulation and a forced termination age. After all, if you could buy a few extra hours for a dying loved one, wouldn't you?
My only gripe was the pretty quick climax - I think I just wanted to spend more time with the characters and the reveal seemed to happen so quickly! But overall it was a fantastic story that anyone who enjoys a good 'what if?' soft sci-fi narrative is sure to enjoy.
June 19, 2021
3.5 rounded up to 4. It's a cool near-future speculative fiction, but the execution was a little bit lacking.
The premise is that dwindling global resources have led to mandatory lifespan limits, and your remaining years can be stolen by time thieves. There are a few ways the characters play around with the concept of time--freezing it, expanding it--which I loved to imagine while reading.
There were several times that I felt the plot wasn't fully fleshed out, and it was an odd choice that several major events happened offstage. Meanwhile, the emphasis on the main character's relationship felt too heavy-handed compared to other concerns. I came across several proofreading errors which lowered my overall impression as well. All that being said, I mostly liked this book, and I want to give the author credit. I didn't devour it as quickly as others, but it was an enjoyable escape. I received a complimentary copy from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
The premise is that dwindling global resources have led to mandatory lifespan limits, and your remaining years can be stolen by time thieves. There are a few ways the characters play around with the concept of time--freezing it, expanding it--which I loved to imagine while reading.
There were several times that I felt the plot wasn't fully fleshed out, and it was an odd choice that several major events happened offstage. Meanwhile, the emphasis on the main character's relationship felt too heavy-handed compared to other concerns. I came across several proofreading errors which lowered my overall impression as well. All that being said, I mostly liked this book, and I want to give the author credit. I didn't devour it as quickly as others, but it was an enjoyable escape. I received a complimentary copy from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
July 26, 2021
Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of a post apocalyptic world where everyone has a death time stamp is a compelling one. The author does a good job creating a world where people do not waste time and some even embrace the finality. But of course there will always be a few who feel they deserve to live longer and they begin to steal time from the young. The rest of the book becomes a race for a solution. Although the story is engaging, i found the characters rather dull and the story slow to pick up. Overall, a good story but needs more suspenseful action.
The premise of a post apocalyptic world where everyone has a death time stamp is a compelling one. The author does a good job creating a world where people do not waste time and some even embrace the finality. But of course there will always be a few who feel they deserve to live longer and they begin to steal time from the young. The rest of the book becomes a race for a solution. Although the story is engaging, i found the characters rather dull and the story slow to pick up. Overall, a good story but needs more suspenseful action.
May 10, 2021
DNF 70%
I gave this story a chance, but it simply did not grip me. I did not finish. Perhaps I will pick it up again someday as some books are better when revisited. However, at this point in time it was not for me.
I gave this story a chance, but it simply did not grip me. I did not finish. Perhaps I will pick it up again someday as some books are better when revisited. However, at this point in time it was not for me.
August 31, 2021
DNF'd at about 45%.
I really wanted to like this book, but it did not live up to its promise. Any excitement that should have been sharpened by the frankly inventive plot was dulled by the plodding prose and uninteresting characters.
Here's an excerpt from what was meant to be a climactic moment in the story (I think) but was dragged into snoozeville by the heavy mundanity of Bowyer's style:
Varya moved with lightning speed and snatched the black square out of Connor's hands. She placed it carefully on the table and bent her knees as she lowered herself slowly back into the chair. She cupped her hands protectively over the device.
Don't get me wrong - I love a good adverb. But there's a line between just enough and whoa, way too much and Bowyer scuffed through that line with Doc Martens.
The scene continues with some bland conversation between protagonist Varya, her shady business partner Marisa and the mysterious Connor, during which the mysterious device is revealed to be . Yet Varya doesn't keep it somewhere logical, like... I don't know ... an impenetrable safe?
Varya held the device flat in the palm of her hand and carried it over to the shelf above the coffee machine. She placed it carefully next to a small cactus, then stood back to gaze at the montage.
I guess there's something to be said for hiding in plain sight, but really?
Incidentally, the coffee machine is the real hero of this story. Marisa drinks approximately eight cups of its brew in one sitting, which I can understand considering coffee beans are among the many things so rare as to be almost extinct in this dystopian future. And frankly, that's not a future I want to inhabit, even for another 120-odd pages.
I really wanted to like this book, but it did not live up to its promise. Any excitement that should have been sharpened by the frankly inventive plot was dulled by the plodding prose and uninteresting characters.
Here's an excerpt from what was meant to be a climactic moment in the story (I think) but was dragged into snoozeville by the heavy mundanity of Bowyer's style:
Varya moved with lightning speed and snatched the black square out of Connor's hands. She placed it carefully on the table and bent her knees as she lowered herself slowly back into the chair. She cupped her hands protectively over the device.
Don't get me wrong - I love a good adverb. But there's a line between just enough and whoa, way too much and Bowyer scuffed through that line with Doc Martens.
The scene continues with some bland conversation between protagonist Varya, her shady business partner Marisa and the mysterious Connor, during which the mysterious device is revealed to be . Yet Varya doesn't keep it somewhere logical, like... I don't know ... an impenetrable safe?
Varya held the device flat in the palm of her hand and carried it over to the shelf above the coffee machine. She placed it carefully next to a small cactus, then stood back to gaze at the montage.
I guess there's something to be said for hiding in plain sight, but really?
Incidentally, the coffee machine is the real hero of this story. Marisa drinks approximately eight cups of its brew in one sitting, which I can understand considering coffee beans are among the many things so rare as to be almost extinct in this dystopian future. And frankly, that's not a future I want to inhabit, even for another 120-odd pages.
February 5, 2021
4.75 stars
In a world with ever-dwindling natural resources (sound familiar?), every person’s lifespan is limited to a maximum of 65 years by law. This is made possible by Time Chips which are inserted into each child’s brain stem at birth. Physicist Varya Galanos invented the technology that can actually steal years of life from the Time Chips (transferring years from one chip to another). After thieves got ahold of this technology 10 years ago & used it to kill children it was destroyed for the greater good. To assuage her guilt Varya founded the Minor Miracles Foundation, which searches for cures for rare childhood diseases, like the one which took her four-year-old son Kir away from her. But now children have started disappearing again, being returned to their parents with just hours to live. Varya is the only one who can find a way to reverse the time drains and save the returned children.
This book had me hooked from page one! Every time you think you understand what’s going on there’s another little twist introduced into the story that just makes you say “what??” And I actually really liked that the twists weren’t explained immediately. The author threw you the new scenario, and then a little later actually explained it. It’s a good way to keep you guessing. The plot definitely brings up some really deep ethical conundrums. Is it OK to limit a lifespan for the greater good of conserving resources? How far can a mother go to protect her child? How far is too far with any of this? I plowed through this book in two days and was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Great job!
In a world with ever-dwindling natural resources (sound familiar?), every person’s lifespan is limited to a maximum of 65 years by law. This is made possible by Time Chips which are inserted into each child’s brain stem at birth. Physicist Varya Galanos invented the technology that can actually steal years of life from the Time Chips (transferring years from one chip to another). After thieves got ahold of this technology 10 years ago & used it to kill children it was destroyed for the greater good. To assuage her guilt Varya founded the Minor Miracles Foundation, which searches for cures for rare childhood diseases, like the one which took her four-year-old son Kir away from her. But now children have started disappearing again, being returned to their parents with just hours to live. Varya is the only one who can find a way to reverse the time drains and save the returned children.
This book had me hooked from page one! Every time you think you understand what’s going on there’s another little twist introduced into the story that just makes you say “what??” And I actually really liked that the twists weren’t explained immediately. The author threw you the new scenario, and then a little later actually explained it. It’s a good way to keep you guessing. The plot definitely brings up some really deep ethical conundrums. Is it OK to limit a lifespan for the greater good of conserving resources? How far can a mother go to protect her child? How far is too far with any of this? I plowed through this book in two days and was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Great job!
July 10, 2021
I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers. This is a dystopian novel that takes place in Australia. In this story the world has been ravaged by climate change and dwindling resources. In order to combat these problems most of the world’s countries have developed and implemented a program whereby chips are inserted into people that gives them an expiration date at age 65. Children are being abducted in order to steal their time away from them.
I like the premise but did not find that the story really grabbed me. Most ratings for this novel are higher than mine. It just was not a book that I loved.
I like the premise but did not find that the story really grabbed me. Most ratings for this novel are higher than mine. It just was not a book that I loved.
June 16, 2021
A free book from Voracious Readers thank you
All fiction is based on fact and this novel brings that to mind.
Resources for sustaining life are running out and there needs to be balance in the world. The decision is that time chips give everyone the same life span however not everyone is happy with that. Children are taken and their time drained. The work must be done to recreate the machine, once deemed illegal and destroyed, to give the children their lives back. Can it be done in time?
Shades of the future?
A great science fiction thriller
All fiction is based on fact and this novel brings that to mind.
Resources for sustaining life are running out and there needs to be balance in the world. The decision is that time chips give everyone the same life span however not everyone is happy with that. Children are taken and their time drained. The work must be done to recreate the machine, once deemed illegal and destroyed, to give the children their lives back. Can it be done in time?
Shades of the future?
A great science fiction thriller
December 5, 2021
I really really enjoyed this book - the concept of population control via a controlled life span is really interesting. You can work to extend it but no further than 65 years. You can live a shorter life but no longer.
A black market forms for time and hours, but for those willing to break all moral and legal boundaries, why not take a child’s remaining years as your own?
This book follows the investigation of a gang who have done exactly that, along with the potential with freezing time.
I’ve summarised this so badly - but it’s definitely a good read
A black market forms for time and hours, but for those willing to break all moral and legal boundaries, why not take a child’s remaining years as your own?
This book follows the investigation of a gang who have done exactly that, along with the potential with freezing time.
I’ve summarised this so badly - but it’s definitely a good read
February 21, 2021
This was officially good.
The sci-fi/dystopian premise was compelling, as were the Time Thieves. But what was REALLY compelling were the themes of motherhood and family. What would you do for your kids?
The only weak spot, I think, was the ending. We didn't get to be involved in the real plot resolution at all and the explanation of what had happened, both with the Time Thieves and with Kir, seemed pretty anticlimactic.
The sci-fi/dystopian premise was compelling, as were the Time Thieves. But what was REALLY compelling were the themes of motherhood and family. What would you do for your kids?
The only weak spot, I think, was the ending. We didn't get to be involved in the real plot resolution at all and the explanation of what had happened, both with the Time Thieves and with Kir, seemed pretty anticlimactic.
May 4, 2021
I received a free copy of this book from VRO and this is my voluntary honest review.
Oh, wow! Speculative fiction dystopian future world. I don't read them often, But I found this one fascinating! So very well written!
This one had a gripping, scary plot and a dramatic climax! I couldn't miss it! So, it grabbed my attention right away! You wanted to know what happened next. I couldn't put it down. Yes, a real page turner!
Wow! Brilliant! A definite must read. Enjoy!
Oh, wow! Speculative fiction dystopian future world. I don't read them often, But I found this one fascinating! So very well written!
This one had a gripping, scary plot and a dramatic climax! I couldn't miss it! So, it grabbed my attention right away! You wanted to know what happened next. I couldn't put it down. Yes, a real page turner!
Wow! Brilliant! A definite must read. Enjoy!
July 27, 2021
Stealing Time by Australian author Rebecca Bowyer is set in a dystopian future world with dwindling resources. I enjoyed the authors writing style and felt she developed the characters so I felt invested in what would be the outcome to their decisions. Overall a very interesting plot with plenty of twists. I received a free copy from Voracious Readers Only.
August 11, 2021
Really enjoyed this book, and have already recommended it to a bunch of friends. Such an interesting concept, my only complaint is that I would love to know of the backgrounds of the Time Chips- what things were like as they were being introduced to the general public, and insight from "everyday" people who aren't on the inside.
I recieved a copy from Voracious Readers
I recieved a copy from Voracious Readers
April 15, 2022
interesting concept
Time chips that cut out at aged 65, dystopian tech that allows people to steal extra time from others - sounds great!
Good pace, structure. Rounded down for flat prose and the way the story turned into a parenting drama. I was hoping for more of a corporate espionage intrigue.
Time chips that cut out at aged 65, dystopian tech that allows people to steal extra time from others - sounds great!
Good pace, structure. Rounded down for flat prose and the way the story turned into a parenting drama. I was hoping for more of a corporate espionage intrigue.
September 3, 2024
3.5 stars really. Couldn't bring myself to round it up to 4. The concept was good but the writing let it down. The characters were mostly two dimensional. The POV of the 9 year old had him sounding more like a 16 year old and the characterisation of the 4 year old was all over the place.
February 12, 2021
An intriguing and well written time-bending mystery that explores motherhood and medical disparity in an ageist dystopia.
October 12, 2021
Really great book had me gripped all the way through. I love the ending and it makes me smile.
February 13, 2021
Wow... this book had me hooked from the start.
There were so many twists and it really made you think how far would you go to protect your child and how far is too far.
Brilliant book
There were so many twists and it really made you think how far would you go to protect your child and how far is too far.
Brilliant book
September 16, 2023
Read on Kobo plus. The one with Time Tabs.
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