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katiescho741's review against another edition
4.0
This book is so unlike the Ben Elton I expected! It's got great twists and excitement, and you'll be scratching your head afterwards pondering unforeseen consequences and chaos theory.
Hugh Stanton gets roped into some time travel courtesy of Issac Newton and an old university professor. What if Franz Ferdinand hadn't been murdered? What if WWI had never happened?
Hugh seems to be just along for the ride, but the academics surrounding him are so certain that meddling in the past will change things for the better.
You do not have to have intimate knowledge of the early 20th century or WWI to understand this book as Elton includes many history lessons! And you can tell he's done his research because of the richness of the world of 1914 that he creates.
It's hard to write about this book without giving the plot away...so I'll just say, "read it!". It's a page turning thriller and a historical love letter, and it will mess with your head!
Hugh Stanton gets roped into some time travel courtesy of Issac Newton and an old university professor. What if Franz Ferdinand hadn't been murdered? What if WWI had never happened?
Hugh seems to be just along for the ride, but the academics surrounding him are so certain that meddling in the past will change things for the better.
You do not have to have intimate knowledge of the early 20th century or WWI to understand this book as Elton includes many history lessons! And you can tell he's done his research because of the richness of the world of 1914 that he creates.
It's hard to write about this book without giving the plot away...so I'll just say, "read it!". It's a page turning thriller and a historical love letter, and it will mess with your head!
wyvernfriend's review against another edition
3.0
The first chapter of this starts in 1914, where Hugh Stanton stops a woman from being killed by some reckless driving British Military types of the period, then the story moves to 2024 where we meet Hugh Stantonn again, only he's younger then, by a few months and we move into a rollercoaster ride of assassination and attempts to change the world. As the story unfolds you realise that each action causes a variety of cascades and the results can't be predicted.
Interesting and made me think
Interesting and made me think
olivera420's review against another edition
DNF on page 74
Nope. No thank you. I can't believe I'm typing this, but I would actually much rather read the sequel of Decapitation.
Nope. No thank you. I can't believe I'm typing this, but I would actually much rather read the sequel of Decapitation.
jasonpwrites's review against another edition
5.0
As a reader who loves time travel and has fascination with World War I, this was a perfect story for me. Lots of twists and turns to keep me guessing, and I did not see the end coming.
rubyrobin's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sandman_1961's review against another edition
3.0
I remember Ben Elton for his talented writing of the Blackadder series. The 'blurb' attracted me to purchase this. Its the e-book that I read.
Novels are something new to me, by him.
I enjoyed this it was an interesting idea and quite well executed.
I enjoy science fiction, especially when mixed with some version of reality. This book has a couple of interesting twists in it that would be considered spoilers if discussed in a review.
The story flicks between 2024/5 and 1914. The main protagonist is an ex special forces, and TV survivalist (too close for comfort I would have thought with a certain real life individual). He is bounced back in time to complete a mission to save the 20th century.
While reading it I couldn't help drawing parallels between other science fiction (books and film) of this genre - The Butterfly Effect, Terminator series - springs to mind. It also seemed to me that there was a bit of confusion about what the main style should be. There was the science fiction element of time travel and alternate reality, several 'set pieces' such as the Orient Express, romance and action sequences. The secondary characters aren't particularly well developed, making them more of scenery than people. Unfortunately the scenery (worlds of 2024/5 and 1914) also lack development. The world of 2024 relies on our perceptions of 2014 to flesh it out. The historical 1941, likewise, relies on the readers' to fill in the banks. One could be cynical and suggest that this work was written with the primary aim of making it attractive to a film producer...we shall wait and see.
As I said. Enjoyable. Also easy reading and interesting ideas. Three stars because there were a few plot lines that really didn't go anywhere - Bernadette being one of them - and some confusion over the novel's identity - sic-fi, historical, romance, action?
Novels are something new to me, by him.
I enjoyed this it was an interesting idea and quite well executed.
I enjoy science fiction, especially when mixed with some version of reality. This book has a couple of interesting twists in it that would be considered spoilers if discussed in a review.
The story flicks between 2024/5 and 1914. The main protagonist is an ex special forces, and TV survivalist (too close for comfort I would have thought with a certain real life individual). He is bounced back in time to complete a mission to save the 20th century.
While reading it I couldn't help drawing parallels between other science fiction (books and film) of this genre - The Butterfly Effect, Terminator series - springs to mind. It also seemed to me that there was a bit of confusion about what the main style should be. There was the science fiction element of time travel and alternate reality, several 'set pieces' such as the Orient Express, romance and action sequences. The secondary characters aren't particularly well developed, making them more of scenery than people. Unfortunately the scenery (worlds of 2024/5 and 1914) also lack development. The world of 2024 relies on our perceptions of 2014 to flesh it out. The historical 1941, likewise, relies on the readers' to fill in the banks. One could be cynical and suggest that this work was written with the primary aim of making it attractive to a film producer...we shall wait and see.
As I said. Enjoyable. Also easy reading and interesting ideas. Three stars because there were a few plot lines that really didn't go anywhere - Bernadette being one of them - and some confusion over the novel's identity - sic-fi, historical, romance, action?
faymus1985's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
mafm22's review against another edition
3.0
Not my sort of book.
I thought Black Adder and The Young Ones were brilliant TV shows, but not a fan of the books Ben Elton writes. Seemed like a 3.5 or 4 star book until near the end.
I thought Black Adder and The Young Ones were brilliant TV shows, but not a fan of the books Ben Elton writes. Seemed like a 3.5 or 4 star book until near the end.