Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - The Future of Another Timeline

This book was insanely good. Collective action makes me want to cry, in the best way. How wonderfully Newitz captures the beauty and pain of life as a woman or nonbinary person. I finished this in two days and simply had to keep reading until I got to the end. I’ll be buying Newitz’s other book, Autonomous, immediately. I can’t recall the last time an author so enraptured me with such complex and deep topics.

Read this if you’re interested in intersectional history—anarchism, suffrage, reproductive rights, slavery, music and dance. There is SO MUCH going on in this book, and it is all painfully excellent.

LOTS of trigger warnings. I tagged as many as I could think of.

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glitterdyke's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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rafaelsampaio's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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thesawyerbean's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This was a very enjoyable read. The research done for this novel was insane: the character, setting and plot writing were incredible. I loved the alternating points of view and the interweaving timelines, and the stakes were real, tangible and exhilarating. The effortless inclusion of diverse ethnicities and queer identities was fantastic to read too.

However, where this book falls short is I’m not sure the vision of the fundamental aspect, the time travel and its mechanics, were as defined and clear as they should have been. I did have to suspend belief and go along with it at certain points because it did seem like they flouted their own predefined rules in order for the plot to continue. By the end, although it was satisfying and a satisfactory end, there were still so many questions left unanswered - the characters and I were both left asking ‘who knows?’. In certain ways it made it more convoluted than it already was trying to justify some of the plot points.

Overall this book was good and definitely worth a read. A powerful feminist sci-fi novel, full of historical context and loveable characters, with an overarching plot-line we can all feel impassioned about.

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my_forest_library's review

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adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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thepermageek's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

*Phew* I feel like I need to catch my breath after reading this wild ride of a book!

If yr looking for a fast-paced, feminist/riot grrrl-themed novel about needing to fight the time-travelling patriarchy than look no further!

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hannahbailey's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Fans of This is how you lose the time war would enjoy this one!

It was an interesting concept but sometimes the pace was slow. I felt like it was building up to a big moment that never happened. It had a good plot twist, however I felt more connected to Beth than Tess -- there should've been more from her emotionally.

An opportunity was missed to flesh out the characters/plot/world-building which was a shame. I feel like we could've learned more from the future, although the fact that we didn't could be the author's very warning against time travel and meddling with time.

TW: murder, sexual violence, child abuse (incest), abortion, transphobia, suicide

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kerriw's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Not a strong start to this book but I am glad I stuck with it. I loved the exploration of collective vs individual action and I always love the wonkiness of time traveling in a story. The whole punk scene is not my vibe so I wouldn’t say I enjoyed those parts, but it made sense in the context. I felt like the ending was clean and clear, nothing vague and confusing.

Overall, I enjoyed it! Though I did the audiobook and the narrator’s voice was not my favorite.

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