Ampersand Book Club discussion

There wasn't much interest in the last two books so some of us decided to select another book for Sept. Enjoy!

Actual rating would be 3.5 stars.

Lindsey asked me why the so-so rating, and I said that while I enjoyed Time Salvager, I felt something was lacking. I couldn't say what that "something" was though.

I don't usually have a problem suspending disbelief, but the idea of mining the past for resources seemed a little far-fetched even to me. It's an interesting concept though, and I like that Chu doesn't go into pointless exposition about the different time periods that have passed. Just learning the names of the different time periods (view spoiler)[like the age of Big Brother, the AI wars, etc. (hide spoiler)] piqued my interest without making me feel as if I were missing crucial parts of the story.

Chu keeps to the present of the story—the lost technologies, the misery, in contrast to the peace and prosperity that had been achieved in the past. Time Salvager gets right to the point and moves the plot along, and yet I just didn't connect with it as I wish I had. Maybe it's my lack of empathy for the protagonist and other characters. The writing is competent otherwise, and I'll most likely continue with this series.

Yeah, I'm about 200 pages in and I haven't really connected with anyone yet either. Elisa is annoying with her bleeding heart and cluelessness. I suppose it's partly James's fault for not informing her of all the dangers of time travel and its debilitating effects on him, but I think she's willfully ignorant.

And all the modern day people are so dull and full of angst.

Re: suspending disbelief, I'm with you there. I don't understand how technology like space and time travel can be developed in a world where people have spent generations killing each other off. When did they have the time for such innovation and science?? I'm a bit baffled by the timeline of events.

I was wondering if you'd bring up the similarity to Earth Girl in that regard, the loss of this really advanced technology.

Anyway, Elisa almost reminded me of an annoying YA fantasy-romance protagonist, the willful disregard of dangers bordering on recklessness. Although I thought Chu did a good job of forming a backstory for her, like the details about how she'd explore as a kid, etc. So I guess she's supposed to be this ardent science type.

I'm not sure if being a scientist excuses her lack of common sense and stupidity...

Oh, James abandoned me again. I know the last time I went off on my own, I almost got brutally murdered by the time police. Let me go exploring again! And in fact, let me terrorize a little kid and chase him into a hole where he can break his leg. What an idiot.

I also could not really connect with any of these characters and found the whole premise to be a bit unbelievable. Also how does the series continue on after this?

I assume it would culminate in Elisa finding a cure for the planet. But yeah, if James only has two or so jumps left in him before it kills him physically, I'm not sure if most of the action would take place in their present or if the sequels would delve into the past.

Finally finished last night. I say 'finally' because it felt like it took me a while to finish. For some reason, I just couldn't get into it. It was exciting in the first part, with the whole salvaging thing and time traveling. And then the moment he brought her back to the present and took up with the tribe, it got much more boring.

I was not expecting to read about super villain future corps vs. quaint and admirable primitives. Given the fact that he keeps jumping POVs, I don't think there's really much of an excuse in making the story so one-sided. Kuo is just a laughable villain, the kind of heartless corporate goon that is just a caricature of that whole trope. Meanwhile we're supposed to sympathize with these downtrodden but still proud and hard-working simple folk who manage to eke out a miserable existence in toxic wastelands. The storytelling is so deliberate and manipulative it makes me roll my eyes into the back of my head.

James is an interesting character with a lot of different facets. I appreciated how he wasn't supposed to be very likeable, which made him the most realistic of the cast. His friend Smitt was cool but almost too good to be true. Same with Elise, the bleeding heart and eternal optimist.

I kind of wish the time travel aspect was done better. I liked the idea of salvaging from the past, but as the story went on, it was used more as a plot device to grab things he needed, rather than an interesting and integral part of the story as a whole.

Also, the future made no sense. Maybe because he kept jumping around and never quite explained it in a continuous manner, but I had a hard time understanding what exactly led to the future being such a bleak and terrible place. If wars were happening all the time, when did humanity get the chance to innovate? Can you really expend resources needed to discover space and time travel (WTF!) while you're trying to annihilate each other? Unless those innovations also had a militaristic bend, but I still think traveling into space and through time -- very mind bendy and difficult things to achieve I'm sure -- are things you can't really do when you're in the middle of a war.

In all, somewhat disappointing. But still a better use of time travel than the previous book I read (The Drafter).

Well said. I liked that you pointed out how time travel became more of a plot device because it does become a little too convenient, how he's able to jump all over the place, avoiding detection by the authorities while being able to grab what he needs. I did like the primitive tribe because they seemed the most relatable of all the people in the book. Like if everyone in the future were a scumbag and daily life so bleak, I wouldn't have wanted to read about that. But you're right that it is cliche especially in contrast to the sociopathic super-villain. It's funny because the more I think about it, the less inclined I am towards reading the rest of the series.