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Time Out
Deep cynicism born of a lifetime of journalism did nothing to prepare Don for the reality he had to face or the choices he had to make.
Confronted with the unanswerable, he had to decide which reality could undo the harm done, and which would cost him all that he held dear.
“Time out” is a novel that follows on from “Bad Blood”. It is not a sequel but rather a companion volume, in that the principal characters and the story lines are new, but the location (Manchester) and the police team (D.I. Stringer et al) are the same.
The plot follows two overlapping investigations, one involving missing persons and the other drugs. As before, there is an integrated sub-plot that examines another popular belief and tries to make some ‘hypothetical’ sense of it.
Confronted with the unanswerable, he had to decide which reality could undo the harm done, and which would cost him all that he held dear.
“Time out” is a novel that follows on from “Bad Blood”. It is not a sequel but rather a companion volume, in that the principal characters and the story lines are new, but the location (Manchester) and the police team (D.I. Stringer et al) are the same.
The plot follows two overlapping investigations, one involving missing persons and the other drugs. As before, there is an integrated sub-plot that examines another popular belief and tries to make some ‘hypothetical’ sense of it.
294 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
3 people want to read
About the author
Pat Whitaker
15 books14 followersThree of my books, Returning, Mindset and Antithesis, have each been finalists in the Sir Julius Vogel Awards in the category of Best Adult Novel. These are the New Zealand Science Fiction awards.
The books I write are intended in the first instance to tell a good story and secondly "once the tale is told" to leave the reader with something to ponder. To this end, all my stories attempt to provide an original take on some commonly held belief, be it cultural, social or scientific.
Being a fan of both science fiction and classic murder mysteries, these tend to be common themes, with elements of both often combined in a single story.
As a person who likes to read a book in a single sitting, I limit each work to around forty-five or fifty thousand words. Unfashionable I know, but it's what I prefer.
Born in England in 1946, I moved to New Zealand with my parents and older brother at the age of four and, apart from five years in my late twenties spent traveling the globe, have lived here ever since. After a fairly rudimentary education, I found work as an Architectural Designer and this became a life-long occupation. I started writing late in 2006.
The books I write are intended in the first instance to tell a good story and secondly "once the tale is told" to leave the reader with something to ponder. To this end, all my stories attempt to provide an original take on some commonly held belief, be it cultural, social or scientific.
Being a fan of both science fiction and classic murder mysteries, these tend to be common themes, with elements of both often combined in a single story.
As a person who likes to read a book in a single sitting, I limit each work to around forty-five or fifty thousand words. Unfashionable I know, but it's what I prefer.
Born in England in 1946, I moved to New Zealand with my parents and older brother at the age of four and, apart from five years in my late twenties spent traveling the globe, have lived here ever since. After a fairly rudimentary education, I found work as an Architectural Designer and this became a life-long occupation. I started writing late in 2006.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 22, 2010
A Review of Time Out by Pat Whitaker
Pat Whitaker's writing form of choice is the novella, a story of length and scope somewhere between a short story and a full length novel. The length of Pat's stories make for a reading experience of two or three hours, perfect for a rainy afternoon or a lazy day at the beach. Among his diverse works is a little piece entitled Time Out, an exploration into the phenomena of alien abductions.
The story is artfully crafted, combining seemingly unrelated incidents into a cohesive whole while exploring possible explanations for a popular urban myth. Whether the reader is sympathetic to the idea of the existence of little green men, or in this case, little grey men, or not, Whitaker gives us something to think about. Indeed, that seems to be the author's goal and, once again, Whitaker hits his mark dead center.
The setting for Time Out is primarily in and around Manchester, England, a locale Whitaker has previously used to good effect in Bad Blood and obviously a place with which New Zealander Whitaker is familiar.
Time Out is not just another science fiction tale drawing conclusions from fantastic premises. It is essentially a mystery and a crime drama with believable characters drawn from Whitaker's fertile imagination. The dialogue is realistic and does much to either gain pathos for the good guys or antipathos for the bad guys. As a North American, I found Whitaker's use of colloquial language charming and easy to grasp. Additionally, the style reveals protagonists to be caring, moral persons, examples of how people should treat one another. With that said, the opposite goes for Whitaker's treatment of his antagonists -- they are depraved criminals who ultimately get what they deserve. Very satisfying for this humble reader.
Time Out can be found through Cooper's Press, or through Whitaker's author site (http://whitakerbooks.wordpress.com/bo...), or via Smashwords.com. Both hard copy and online versions are available.
Time Out
ISBN 978-1-877479-75-5
284 pages
Pat Whitaker's writing form of choice is the novella, a story of length and scope somewhere between a short story and a full length novel. The length of Pat's stories make for a reading experience of two or three hours, perfect for a rainy afternoon or a lazy day at the beach. Among his diverse works is a little piece entitled Time Out, an exploration into the phenomena of alien abductions.
The story is artfully crafted, combining seemingly unrelated incidents into a cohesive whole while exploring possible explanations for a popular urban myth. Whether the reader is sympathetic to the idea of the existence of little green men, or in this case, little grey men, or not, Whitaker gives us something to think about. Indeed, that seems to be the author's goal and, once again, Whitaker hits his mark dead center.
The setting for Time Out is primarily in and around Manchester, England, a locale Whitaker has previously used to good effect in Bad Blood and obviously a place with which New Zealander Whitaker is familiar.
Time Out is not just another science fiction tale drawing conclusions from fantastic premises. It is essentially a mystery and a crime drama with believable characters drawn from Whitaker's fertile imagination. The dialogue is realistic and does much to either gain pathos for the good guys or antipathos for the bad guys. As a North American, I found Whitaker's use of colloquial language charming and easy to grasp. Additionally, the style reveals protagonists to be caring, moral persons, examples of how people should treat one another. With that said, the opposite goes for Whitaker's treatment of his antagonists -- they are depraved criminals who ultimately get what they deserve. Very satisfying for this humble reader.
Time Out can be found through Cooper's Press, or through Whitaker's author site (http://whitakerbooks.wordpress.com/bo...), or via Smashwords.com. Both hard copy and online versions are available.
Time Out
ISBN 978-1-877479-75-5
284 pages
Displaying 1 of 1 review