Faces in Time: A Time Travel Thriller

by Lewis Aleman

A 20-Year Race Through Time...
In the near future, one man holds the key to our past. Chester Fuze lived a solitary life until he flung himself twenty years back in time. For years, he had loved movie star Rhonda Romero through television screens, movie theaters, and magazine covers. It wasn't until she had fallen so far as to sell her face for a cosmetic transplant that he knew he had to travel back and save her before her life headed down such a tragic and destructive path. Lunging backward through two decades in a flash, Chester races across country and enters the world of seedy gambling and the bizarre jungle of behind-the-scenes Hollywood, while being hunted down by a deranged bookie, an escaped convict, and even his past self, all of whom are determined to kill him. He had put aside the secret to time travel, daring not risk the world to test his theory. It had placed him in a straight jacket for several years of his life. It had estranged his own mother from him. He had let it go for his own sanity. Now, he'll pick it back up to save Rhonda. God help us all.

Genres: Time Travel, Science Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Ebooks, Fantasy

328 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2009

About the author

Lewis Aleman is the author of the vampire series, The Anti-Vampire Tale; the dark literary thriller, Cold Streak; and the time travel thriller, Faces in Time. Aleman's books have been Amazon Bestsellers, Kindle Bestsellers, and #1 in Myspace Books. Lewis Aleman has been voted Best Local Author by Jefferson Life Magazine, and he has been a special guest author at The Anne Rice VLFC Ball, The Undead Con, The Stan Lee Comikaze Expo, and The Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con. He has also been a judge for Scholastic writing contests on several occasions, and he frequently gives talks at schools about writing and how to succeed in a creative field.

Aleman graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in Creative Writing, and he resides just outside of New Orleans. Before becoming a full-time writer, he taught high school english for 5 years. Currently, he is fast at work completing The Anti-Vampire Tale series, which will be followed by the first book in a realistic fantasy series, entitled A Brother, A Drunkard, and Something Odd.

He can be reached at:
LewisAleman.com
Facebook.com/LewisAlemanAuthor
Youtube.com/LewisAleman

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a time travel novel for men - Chaz travels back in time to save the movie star that he's been in love with his whole life from the bad decisions that will ultimately ruin her life. What do you know - his time travel machine works and she falls in love with him. (yeah right)

What makes this a time travel "thriller" is the fact that Chaz of the present is trying to kill Chaz of the future (to save the world from the paradoxes of time travel). If I ran into a copy of me from the future - I wouldn't try to kill myself - I'd implement a work sharing program (future me can do all the laundry).

There's also a seemingly unrelated plot that doesn't get tied in until the very end.

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit that time travel stories usually make my brain hurt: I get caught up in the whole paradox issue and can't focus on the story. Faces in Time doesn't do that at all - Aleman's concept of time travel is logical, clearly explained, and unique. No paradoxes here: if you go back in time, there are now two of you, and your future self may just run into your past self. That's what happens to Chester Fuze, and his past self is not at all happy about the appearance of another version of him.

A character-driven action book is such a rare thing; most of the action stories I've read lately barely delve into any sort of characterization. Not so with Faces in Time. These guys are complex and interesting - yet they never bog the story down.

The romance between Chester and Rhonda seems unlikely on the surface (a beautiful movie star interested in a somewhat dorky TV writer?), but Aleman's characters are so believable that you won't doubt for more than a split second. I was pleased at how realistic Rhonda was; Aleman gave her just the right amount of vulnerability without making her passive or boring.

The secondary plot line kept me guessing until the very end. Usually I can see how things will tie together (probably a result of reading too many detective stories), but this time I was taken completely by surprise. I love it when a book can do that!

Faces in Time shows off Aleman's talent with metaphors and descriptions, but the pace is faster and the tone is lighter than Cold Streak. The ending hints at the possibility of a sequel, while still tying together all of the loose pieces. It's satisfying but leaves you wanting a bit more - exactly how an ending should be.

Fans of Aleman's will be thrilled with his latest release, and those new to his writing will definitely want to check out Cold Streak for a darker, more metaphysical journey.

[Rod · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is probably the most terribly-written book that I have ever come across. I actually stopped reading it three times because of frustration at the style and competence of the author. The sole redeeming factor was that the story was fairly interesting. Funnily, the book seems to have been written in a schizophrenic fashion. You could read several paragraphs, and even a chapter, of reasonable prose, which would suddenly deteriorate into an over-flowery, inept style, almost as if a friend of the writer, (possibly a chimp), had taken the book and tried to inject some colour. Here is a very small example:
' The hatless woman's appearance begins to tear at his chest as it no longer looks on with anger, but it quakes with violation.'

'For once he felt like he could behave as the person he'd always wanted to be and not have it be a venture into self-humiliation, but years of stifling himself and self-doubt have carved a deep trench of shy habits and familiar inhibitions for him to climb out. Since routine digs a steep ravine from constantly retracing its route, he should have known that any liquid would make the assent (sic) slipperier and more difficult. Yet he drank anyway.'

Wow - I think its a case of metaphoritis!

Saying all that - I did finish the story....

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aleman takes an excitingly fresh approach to the mechanics of time travel. Instead of using the standard "Back to the Future" or "Terminator" styles of time travel, he appropriates a style where there are seemingly divergent points from the same line, but (as far as the reader knows) when a new divergence is created, the old future ceases to be. This is a remarkably fresh approach as most writers choose to use one of the aforementioned industry standards.

My only complaint (which caused the 1 star loss) is some minor editing issues. Most of the book is very clear and well written, but occasional pages/passages are bogged down by being overly verbose or confusing. However, those sections were easy enough to gloss over due to my excitement to find out how everything would wrap up.

I would absolutely like to see a sequel that explores the (new) future that these characters have created for themselves, along with some other possible issues occurring in the universe (if there's 1 time traveler, there must eventually be more...).

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Con: The writing is over the top, overblown, bombastic, etc. to the point that it becomes distracting (laughable). Some examples: “When he has eaten, it hasn’t been much, not even for him, so hunger should be a relentless inner predator, but it hasn’t been on his trail as if it couldn’t follow him to the past.” “Scrambling around, his past self grabs the notebook that is now speckled with wet parking lot debris and run over with watermarks that resemble rivers on an old world map.” “And then there are his eyes. Irises are seas full of angry despair with small islands of calm pupils. She wonders if the pupils are little paradises straining to survive amid the corrosive salt water waves…” “A tall, skinny man walks with his shoulders and legs moving in an exaggerated fashion, slowed down by dragging pretension hanging at his knees and ostentation wrapped around his shoulders.” You can find similar gems on almost every page. The plot simply is not strong enough to allow you to overlook the writing.
Overall, I would give it 3 out of 10.

[La Femme Readers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faces in Time was an adventurous, fast paced, time traveling novel. At first I was a little confused with where the plot was going but then after a couple of chapters I was hooked. I enjoyed going through this journey with Chester. He was truly one of my favorite characters. I mean what guy would find a way to go back twenty years just to save a celebrity? Well, evidently Chester would. He was in love with Rhonda and didn't want to see her make a mistake. I also loved the twists and turns because I wasn't expecting them, so it was a nice shock. Lewis writes beautifully, his work is filled with great detailed descriptions and thought out characters who you easily fall in love with. I recommend this book if you're looking for a great adventure. It was very creative and I haven't seen anything out like it.

[Mary Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faces in Time is an original time travel novel. The concept of time travel is unique and makes a lot of sense. Chester Fuze is an interesting and fully developed character. He's a timid former television writer who becomes pretty brave over the course of the journey. It's fun to follow him on his trip through time going after the love of his life Rhonda trying to save her from terrible mistakes that ruin her life. The action scenes are exciting, the love interest is tasteful and very real, and the time travel makes sense without making my head hurt.

[Laura Mayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was barely able to put this book down for a second. It was very unpredictable. Aleman is a master at weaving different threads into one story line. You get to know all the characters and settings so closely that you feel like you're really there. It was a thrilling book with action and some interesting science. I couldnt put it down, and when I read the last page I wished it wasn't over. I was deeply satisfied with the ending of this book.

[Shane Curren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I normally enjoy written works about time travel. I did not at all enjoy this novel. The plot was odd. Worst yet was the author's language and way of presenting situations and occurrences to the reader. I would recommend you save your money, I literally had to force myself to finish the novel.

[Matt Lehman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time travel concepts are mind bending and enjoyable thought provokers. This book took a quirky approach with its plot line. It took a while to get into it, but once there, it was all good.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this intriguing time travel ebook by this young author and look forward to see how he develops in future books.

[Keith Gerlach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather different time traveling. I won't spoil it for those who want to read it.

[Graham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Deadly dull
I usually love time travel stories but this was almost painful. A couple of chapters were more than enough.

[David Schick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only thing detracting from this books plot was how the author used time travel, because it doesn't mesh with how I think it all works. This is purely a personal issue of mine, and nothing to do with the actual book itself. I think it bears mentioning however. Generally speaking, time travel falls into two catagories: one where nothing you do or say makes any difference because it's already happened (see also "12 Monkeys" and "The Terminator"), and one where everything you change will alter the entire timeline (as in "Back to the Future"). The author of this story actually creates a third version of time travel in which going back in time actually resets the timeline, allowing a person to unmake his or her own existence. For me, this was hard to swallow and detracted from an otherwise awesome story.

The idea is simple: a man goes back in time to save the love of his life, and in doing so creates a better life for not only himself, but others around him. Woven in are the twists and turns one might expect to keep everything interesting. Overall, a great piece of work, knocked down a notch by the amount of explanation needed to create an alternate version of time travel, and there was a lot of explanation needed and included.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to get this book. I am a time travel junkie. It is my favorite sub genre in science fiction. I had high hopes for this novel yet I slogged my way through this. The author seemed to implore an omniscient narrator and third person. He doesn't pull off either. they blend together to cause a distancing for the reader. We are never allowed to get to close to any of the main characters, which consequently keeps us a said distance from the story itself. I never felt pulled in, in fact, quite the opposite, I felt at times a hand hold me back from getting to close. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this novel although I acknowledge that some people will not have this problem and enjoy immensely.

[Lodion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow going to start with, the plot all ties in nicely in the final quarter.

While I enjoyed the story, I can't whole heartedly recommend it because of some extended sections of soapboxing from the author. Not in the form of a speech from a charactor, simply stating "facts" related to the plot at the time.

If you're after an interesting take on time travel, its worth the $2.99 as an ebook from Amazon.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very good book, and nothing really wrong with it... Seemed well written. The subject should have been something that grabbed me. BUT, for a reason I can't articulate, it didn't grab me. I DID appreciate the lack of profanity and 'adult' situations. For that reason alone, I would try another book by this author.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book on someone's list of top 10 books for 2010, but I wouldn't put it on mine. Its about a fellow who goes back in time to rescue the woman he has secretly been in love with all his life. I really couldn't get into the plot and I found the author's vision of time travel hard to follow at times.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do you do when the woman you are obsessed with is not available to you? You go back in time and change things. The plot was simple with a couple of interesting twists. The author introduced me to a new solution to the time travel paradox and that was interesting. The book was interesting but not riveting.

[Bebe O. Liver · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a slog but I finally finished it. There were parts that were interesting and I'm always interested in the particulars of time travel but this book was a chore to finish and I nearly gave up trying. I kept hoping the ending would save it but it didn't really. Interesting plot but could have been so much better.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

weird

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it was me, but I just couldn't get into this. I lost interest both times I tried.

[Drea]

Started to read this but didn't finish it. May try again at another time. Not my thing at the moment.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hurts my head. I read once about an infinite number of parallel universes. That was easier to understand.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First 85-90 pages were kind of slow. Then it got better.

[Ty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Insipid prose, coupled with predictable plotting, added to trite dialogue, and seasoned with cartoonish characters. Need I say more?