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Turning Back the Clock
Greg Patterson just watched his beloved Boston Red Sox lose to the New York Yankees in the 2003 American League Championship Series when he gets a radical Build a time machine to make sure that one of baseball history's worst sales -- the sale of Babe Ruth -- never happens. But as he's researching out that fateful event, he runs along another piece of information that he had never known.It leads him to What if the Black Sox Scandal never happened? Could the scandal that rocked the baseball world in the early 1920s and the sale of the Sultan of Swat be connected? And if it’s possible, can these two incidents be reversed in order to correct the failings of the Red Sox and end the recent domination of the Yankees? Greg and his friend Brandon Roy build the time machine and immediately head back to 1919, where they meet Harry Frazee, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, Charlie Comiskey, and the catalyst of the whole thing, Babe Ruth. Greg also falls in love in the past, making for an exciting conclusion to their time in 1919 Boston. If you're a fan of baseball and baseball history, this is a book you'll want in your Kindle's memory bank. A great story that will stand the test of time. And you won't look at baseball history the same way, either.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 6, 2009
2 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
John Fitch V.
16 books14 followersBorn in the city of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in 1977, Sean's love of fantasy began 11 years later when he was handed J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Hobbit. His passion for writing began in 1993, as a sophomore in high school, when he began to write sports for his local newspaper, the Sentinel & Enterprise. Since then, he has written for several Massachusetts newspapers, including the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester and the Southbridge Evening News in Southbridge. He has since returned to where it all started, as he came back to the Sentinel in April 2008. He also strings for the Springfield Republican and Turley Publications.
Among his literary influences include the king of fantasy, Tolkien, as well as R.A. Salvatore. In addition, Sean enjoys Steven Savile, Vince Flynn, J.K. Rowling, Jim C. Hines, David Forbes, John Grisham, and Brad Meltzer novels, as well as classic storytellers C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Shakespeare. Star Wars novels fill an entire bookcase in his office.
It was Salvatore, the acclaimed fantasy author, who convinced him to pen the manuscript that became Obloeron: The Quest For The Chalice in December 2001. He began writing Quest over a year later, in January 2003, finishing the first draft in February 2005.
John Fitch V was a pseudonym chosen in honor of the late Robert Cormier, a native son of Leominster, Massachusetts. Cormier, when writing for the Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg, wrote under the pseudonym of John Fitch IV.
When he is not writing, Sean enjoys playing golf, reading, watching movies, and playing with his kitten, Caramel the Wonder Cat.
Among his literary influences include the king of fantasy, Tolkien, as well as R.A. Salvatore. In addition, Sean enjoys Steven Savile, Vince Flynn, J.K. Rowling, Jim C. Hines, David Forbes, John Grisham, and Brad Meltzer novels, as well as classic storytellers C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Shakespeare. Star Wars novels fill an entire bookcase in his office.
It was Salvatore, the acclaimed fantasy author, who convinced him to pen the manuscript that became Obloeron: The Quest For The Chalice in December 2001. He began writing Quest over a year later, in January 2003, finishing the first draft in February 2005.
John Fitch V was a pseudonym chosen in honor of the late Robert Cormier, a native son of Leominster, Massachusetts. Cormier, when writing for the Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg, wrote under the pseudonym of John Fitch IV.
When he is not writing, Sean enjoys playing golf, reading, watching movies, and playing with his kitten, Caramel the Wonder Cat.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 11, 2011
I'd like to give it 5 stars on concept. The idea of going back in time to rewrite baseball history was compelling enough for me to pick up the book. And I absolutely LOVED the descriptive detail of the parks and the baseball legends. Fitch is obviously a baseball fan (and, if I were to hazard a guess, an avid member of the Red Sox Nation) and it was fun to read his take on rewriting baseball history.
BUT...
The love story was superfluous and more than a bit contrived. It was an arc that I could have done without, especially since it didn't move the story forward at all. And I had to suspend quite a bit of disbelief; I don't really think some of the historical figures would have accepted the time travel notion so readily.
I really, REALLY wanted to love this story. It has time travel and baseball - what more do you need? And when Fitch was describing the players and the offices and the fields, I did love it. But the rest of it... not so much.
And I'd like to know what happened to the White Sox and the Yankees after Babe Ruth went to Chicago. Wish I could Google that. =)
BUT...
The love story was superfluous and more than a bit contrived. It was an arc that I could have done without, especially since it didn't move the story forward at all. And I had to suspend quite a bit of disbelief; I don't really think some of the historical figures would have accepted the time travel notion so readily.
I really, REALLY wanted to love this story. It has time travel and baseball - what more do you need? And when Fitch was describing the players and the offices and the fields, I did love it. But the rest of it... not so much.
And I'd like to know what happened to the White Sox and the Yankees after Babe Ruth went to Chicago. Wish I could Google that. =)
July 31, 2010
I will admit that I am a sucker for just about any book that has to do with baseball, as long as it doesn't include vampires. I was a little concerned to find out that this book deals with trying to stop the sale of Babe Ruth to my beloved Yankees, but I also understood the frustration of the main character Greg. The way some fans would do anything they could to help their team came shining through in this book. Throw in an unexpected love story and this book can appeal to just about anyone. The author has a special knack for imagery that allows you to easily picture the scene in your mind. When they go back in time to 1919 you can get the feel for how life was different then. So grab this book and sit back and enjoy the trip back in time, you won't regret it.
July 28, 2010
Which is worst, being a masochistic Cubs fan who knows your team will lose or a Boston Red Sox fan, who’s team continually knocks at the door, yet can’t seem to win the ultimate prize by coming out on top in the World Series? Genius scientist and diehard Red Sox fan Greg Patterson has an opinion and decides to do something about it. With a not-so-subtle nod to the “Back to the Future” movies Patterson sets out to fix this problem at what is generally acknowledged as the beginning, the events surrounding the trading of Babe Ruth to the hated Yankees in 1919.
I’m no sports guy, but found the story easy to follow despite that. Most with even a passing acquaintance to sport will have picked up enough baseball facts to follow that part. But at its heart “Turning Back the Clock” is more than a simple fantasy/sci-fi novel or a baseball story or a glimpse at history, although it is all of those. It’s also a lesson in doing the right thing. In seeing a need and filling it. And a bit of a love story as well.
I’m no sports guy, but found the story easy to follow despite that. Most with even a passing acquaintance to sport will have picked up enough baseball facts to follow that part. But at its heart “Turning Back the Clock” is more than a simple fantasy/sci-fi novel or a baseball story or a glimpse at history, although it is all of those. It’s also a lesson in doing the right thing. In seeing a need and filling it. And a bit of a love story as well.
December 5, 2011
Like most of the others who reviewed this book, I really WANTED to like it. It's an awesome concept. But the plot was just so simplistic - everything always works out exactly right for the protagonists, and they never really encounter a problem they can't solve. Sure, they hit some minor snags, but the easy fix is always just around the corner. I've rea other books like that, but I guess they weren't as obvious about it.
The baseball writing itself is solid, but it's unclear how it is that the Red Sox keeping Ruth throughout his prime had such specific impacts on their future. Maybe they don't sign Ted Williams. Maybe they aren't still playing in the Aaron Boone game, or the Carlton Fisk game, or the 2004 World Series.
The baseball writing itself is solid, but it's unclear how it is that the Red Sox keeping Ruth throughout his prime had such specific impacts on their future. Maybe they don't sign Ted Williams. Maybe they aren't still playing in the Aaron Boone game, or the Carlton Fisk game, or the 2004 World Series.
February 19, 2011
I love baseball. I love time travel. This is a very easy book to like, although it has it's problems. Everything goes off without a hitch. Not really like reality, but then I thought maybe this book is for middle schoolers. If that were the case then the simplistic style & plotline would be ok. Toward the end of the book the "f" word is used several times, which made me think that maybe middle schoolers weren't the target audience after all. In order to improve the book the author could make it a little more believable. Possibly experimenting with the time machine instead of just building it and it works first try. Go into a little more detail of how it works. Or decide it really is for the 12 year old age group and clean up the language.
July 15, 2013
interesting concept but not really a great book. There are no twists or turns and everything goes just as planned.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews