It ain’t always easy being an “objective” book reviewer. I so often find that expectations and mood can have a big impact on my particular take on a book. So afterwords I try to think about why I reacted a certain way so I can offer useful evaluation for potential readers.
I recently experienced this with the final book in Linda Buckley-Arher’s Gideon Trilogy Time Quake. I loved the first two books (see here and here) in this series and was eagerly awaiting the conclusion. But reading Time Quake didn’t seem to have the excitement and “buzz” of the first two. In the end, I decided that most of this was my fault, not Buckley-Archer’s.
For those unfamilar with the series here is the publisher’s introduction:
Abducted to 1763, Peter Schock and Kate Dyer begin to understand that history has reached a tipping point. The antigravity machine is in the hands of the cruel and ambitious Lord Luxon — who has set his sights on the most valuable prize of all: America. He is determined to manipulate time to his advantage, no matter what the cost.
And the cost is great indeed. As Lord Luxon changes more and more of the past for his own gain, terrible time quakes begin to sweep through all of history. Kate Dyer, adrift in time and suffering from an overexposure to time travel, knows that if Lord Luxon is not stopped, the time quakes will tear the universe apart.
Meanwhile Gideon and Peter hunt for their enemy, the Tar Man, in the dark streets of eighteenth-century London, and Peter begins to realize that he may hold the fate of the world in his hands.
My take below.
