Author: Ryan Graudin
Summary: Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far's birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he's ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past.
But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far's very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.
Review
I was blown away by this book. Straight off the bat, Graudin throws you right into the action immersing you in the fantastic world she has created. I adored the prologue because it provided the perfect set up for the story, explaining the extraordinary circumstances of Far's birth and setting up the backstory for our central protagonist. The constant shifting between time, places as well a character perspectives allowed the book to uphold an incredibly quick pace and made sure that I didn't get bored or lose interest. I am so impressed with this author she has managed to create a fully fledged world that is incredibly realised. I could envision every scene she painted and every description she narrated. I have to say I am actually really disappointed that this was a stand-alone novel and that there are no spin offs or sequels announced as of yet- I am secretly praying for more because one book just wasn't enough.
The cast of characters in this book were so diverse and engaging to read about. Admittedly I found myself, as usual when it comes to teams of people in books, liking the secondary characters more than the main protagonists (who I would argue in this book are Far and Eliot). Imogen was by far my favourite character in the book, she was the sweetest and most fun to read about. She had so many cute quirks like her changing her hair colour everyday and the ship's logs that she wrote. I also loved her and Gram's relationship arc throughout the course of the book. Overall the crew's dynamic was amazing to read about, I love sci-fi crews because it reminds me of Star Wars or Firefly and it's just a trope of sci-fi that I absolutely adore!
Like I said I found myself slightly less invested in the central protagonist's narratives towards the end of this book. I was really hooked by the mystery that Eliot posed within the story but I felt like we got the answer I wanted a little too early and that put me off, had Graudin held onto the intrigue for a tad longer I think that I would have remained completely invested in the whole story rather than lose interest for the central arc.