August 22 Book Review: Untimed by Andy Gavin Fantasy Time Travel
Book Review: Untimed by Andy Gavin
Untimed by Andy Gavin is a fantasy time travel novel about a teen boy named Charlie who has a problem, no one seems to be able to remember who he is, sometimes not even his own mother. The day he finds out the reason why is the day his life changes forever, he is able to time travel at will, and because of this power, strange clockwork soldiers try to hunt him down and kill him. There is a catch, he can only travel into the past. He finds out this bit of information from a girl he meets in the past named, Yvaine, another time traveler. Because she is a girl, she can only travel to the future. Unfortunately, the two accidentally end up changing history attracting every clockwork man in time to chase them down. The two must set time right again or the strange future they discover will become permanent, but the clockwork men don’t want it changed and stop them at every chance.
I enjoyed this book. It is well written and free of typos and grammar problems. It is also well formatted and has wonderful artwork throughout the book, a truly professional job. I liked how time travel works in the book and the clockwork soldiers give the novel a bit of a steam punk feel.
The main character Charlie comes across as realistic as we hear his inner thoughts conflicting with what he actually says and does. Yvaine’s sexual issues were a bit much at times especially if this book is meant for younger readers. She is very promiscuous. Unfortunately, I have known girls just like her so her behavior is realistic, but I’d suggest this book to a more mature crowd. The sexual acts are not detailed out like you would find in a romance or erotica novel. They were at a level that I didn’t mind reading the scenes.
A lot of action scenes are sprinkled throughout, but at times it does get slow when you read to the middle parts. Keep going when you hit these areas, it will pick up.
This novel has a conclusion of sorts, but obviously will have more books coming as none of the larger picture issues are resolved, such as where did the clockwork men come from, why are they trying to change time, why are there time travelers in the first place etc. If you like time travel stories with a bit of steam punk thrown in then you should give Untimed a try. A few may think it’s too slow at times, but I think most readers will enjoy this tale and appreciate its interesting time travel system.