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geekwayne's review
4.0
'Department of Temporal Investigations: Time Lock' by Christopher L. Bennett is a book set in the Star Trek universe. It concerns a couple characters that are charged with protecting history from inadvertent time travelers.
This is the 4th book in the series, and I haven't read the preceding ones, but I don't thing that's necessary. It's probably a bit more helpful to know the characters who show up in a few episodes of the later Trek series.
This time around, Lucsly and Andros aren't working together. Lucsly is guarding a time vault, when it is taken over by a group that wants to raid the vault for tools to time travel. Lucsly threatens the group with, then enables, a device that slows time incrementally, but only within the facility. As time goes by in the facility, it goes faster and faster outside. Lucsly's partner tries to help, but the standoff goes on. What are the raiders looking for and can this stalemate end before years go by?
There is a clever timeline that shows up in the book showing federation time and time within the lock. In an afterword, the author shows the math he used to calculate the times. It's a nice touch.
It seems a bit tenuous to base a series on a couple characters that show up in three or so episodes, but they are memorable enough to hold a story like this together. I had fun reading it.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Gallery, Threshold, PocketBooks, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
This is the 4th book in the series, and I haven't read the preceding ones, but I don't thing that's necessary. It's probably a bit more helpful to know the characters who show up in a few episodes of the later Trek series.
This time around, Lucsly and Andros aren't working together. Lucsly is guarding a time vault, when it is taken over by a group that wants to raid the vault for tools to time travel. Lucsly threatens the group with, then enables, a device that slows time incrementally, but only within the facility. As time goes by in the facility, it goes faster and faster outside. Lucsly's partner tries to help, but the standoff goes on. What are the raiders looking for and can this stalemate end before years go by?
There is a clever timeline that shows up in the book showing federation time and time within the lock. In an afterword, the author shows the math he used to calculate the times. It's a nice touch.
It seems a bit tenuous to base a series on a couple characters that show up in three or so episodes, but they are memorable enough to hold a story like this together. I had fun reading it.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Gallery, Threshold, PocketBooks, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
vingilot's review against another edition
5.0
The department of Temporal Investigations is at it again!
These books are just hilariously funny, intellectually engaging, and great explorations of the larger Trek Universe. So many assume Starfleet is all there is.
This book could be incredibly confusing, with the different timeframes involved and amount of stuff going on. However Bennet is fantastic at keeping it all understandable. If you think keeping the chronology of a short ebook accurate should be easy, guess again! And have a look at his notes page.
The plot is engaging, the setting compelling. While the resolution might feel like a Deus Ex Machina to some, it is actually completely grounded in the logic of the universe, and is an interesting twist on what was previously considered a problem.
I hope we get more DTI at some point, but with the novel continuity coming to a close I suspect these latest two books will be it. If it is I want to thank Bennet for creating a fantastic set of characters and ideas.
These books are just hilariously funny, intellectually engaging, and great explorations of the larger Trek Universe. So many assume Starfleet is all there is.
This book could be incredibly confusing, with the different timeframes involved and amount of stuff going on. However Bennet is fantastic at keeping it all understandable. If you think keeping the chronology of a short ebook accurate should be easy, guess again! And have a look at his notes page.
The plot is engaging, the setting compelling. While the resolution might feel like a Deus Ex Machina to some, it is actually completely grounded in the logic of the universe, and is an interesting twist on what was previously considered a problem.
I hope we get more DTI at some point, but with the novel continuity coming to a close I suspect these latest two books will be it. If it is I want to thank Bennet for creating a fantastic set of characters and ideas.
mxsallybend's review against another edition
3.0
As Star Trek novels (or, in this case, novellas) go, Time Lock was a very different sort of read. It's set in the original timeline, within the extended universe that has continued beyond TNG, DS9, and Voyager, but aside from a few instances of name-dropping, it has nothing to do with the characters with which readers are most familiar. Instead, this is a sort of side series, dealing with the Department of Temporal Investigations.
Christopher L. Bennett had his work cut out for him here, not only telling a story without the most famous characters or starships, but one that's entirely dependent on the intricacies of time travel. In lesser hands, this could have been a confusing, convoluted mess. Not only do we have time travel, but there's the paradox of viewing the present/future at the same time, and the added complication of time moving slower/faster for different characters.
Even as a seasoned fan, I found it a bit challenging to maintain a sense of time inside and outside the facility, but that was part of the fun.
The characters here really don't get enough time to really develop or stand out as truly memorable, but they do a serviceable job of keeping us engaged and entertained. The action moves along at a decent pace, and the warring time travel artifacts make for some truly original threats and opportunities. All told, a fun diversion that looks beyond the excitement of Starfleet to explore the little guys who protect the future and keep the timeline safe.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Christopher L. Bennett had his work cut out for him here, not only telling a story without the most famous characters or starships, but one that's entirely dependent on the intricacies of time travel. In lesser hands, this could have been a confusing, convoluted mess. Not only do we have time travel, but there's the paradox of viewing the present/future at the same time, and the added complication of time moving slower/faster for different characters.
Even as a seasoned fan, I found it a bit challenging to maintain a sense of time inside and outside the facility, but that was part of the fun.
The characters here really don't get enough time to really develop or stand out as truly memorable, but they do a serviceable job of keeping us engaged and entertained. The action moves along at a decent pace, and the warring time travel artifacts make for some truly original threats and opportunities. All told, a fun diversion that looks beyond the excitement of Starfleet to explore the little guys who protect the future and keep the timeline safe.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. This does not in any way affect the honesty or sincerity of my review.
frakalot's review against another edition
5.0
This one is a fun heist-gone-wrong in the temporal vaults of the DTI. The time lock defense reminded me of a Stargate story with the evolved replicants stuck in a similar time shifted reality.
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