Review of Wasting Time

[Danelle Cale]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Wasting Time" by Mike Murphey.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The year is 2045 and we find ourselves in a top-secret government facility under the Arizona desert. This is where scientists have created a time-travel platform. That's right, quantum physicists have discovered a way to travel into the past of parallel universes. Paradox prevents anyone from traveling to their own past. Individuals who are fortunate enough to be selected for the program have to agree to remain sequestered in the facility for five years. Only a select number of participants get to be travelers into the past. Though the facility is top secret, it isn't immune to outside greed and envy. Some will go to any length to get access to time travel. 

Marta Hamilton and Marshall Grissom are two of the lucky few selected to be travelers. Marta puts forward a tough exterior to protect herself and keep others at arm's length. Marshall is a likeable fellow who is often the subject of wagers for a personal issue when time traveling. Though they each have their own baggage from the past, they continually get closer to one another. When one of their own is sent back to a time prior to her birth, which scientists believe to be a death sentence, the travelers' band together to save her, even if it means breaking the rules.

Will the travelers save their friend? Will outside threats change the fate of the time travel project? What happens when Congress members visit the facility? Finally, what is cat waxing? Find the answers to all these questions in  Wasting Time by Mike Murphey. 

Wasting Time is the second book in the Physics, Lust and Greed series. It's not your typical time travel novel where the girl falls through time, meets a handsome man, falls in love, and lives happily ever after.  Wasting Time is about the physics of time travel, espionage, lust and greed, as promised in the title. 

Murphey does a great job of creating characters that are well-rounded people. One of my favorite characters in the novel is Cecil. I won't give any spoilers, but he has a unique and interesting story. 

Murphey's writing style is fluid and easy to follow. The scientific aspect of time travel is written in a way that even a layperson can understand. I especially liked the story behind the periscope. 

I enjoyed the book and liked many of the characters, but I would have liked the storyline to focus more on time travel. There was much time travel, of course, but there was just as much focus on espionage. I think the book is well written and interesting for the genre it represents, but I prefer the time travel romance novels. That being said, I do plan to read the next book in the series just to get the answers to the cliffhangers. The author has a way of pulling you into the story. 

There wasn't much I didn't like about the book other than the focus on time travel that I mentioned above. The book contained some profanity. It wasn't in excess but wasn't really necessary either. The story would have worked fine without it. 

I would recommend this book to those who like a good mystery, with some science fiction in the mix. The book contains profanity and some explicit sex scenes, so it's not appropriate for young people.  

I found a few errors, but they didn't detract from the flow of the book. I liked how well the author wrote his characters, their interactions, and the plot of the story. I am giving Wasting Time by Mike Murphey a rating of 4 out of 4 stars because of these things. 

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Wasting Time
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[Creating a library]

Most time travel books I've read are about going back in time, reading one about going into the future could be interesting. It isn't strange that the author would choose the Arizona desert, as I've read about our Government doing secret experiments in the desert. Since this is the second book in the series I would definitely read the first one before opening this book. The way the review is written would help me to decide to read the book or not, so with that being said I probably will read the first book and if I like it then I would read this one.

[Kaushiki Parihar]

espionage, lust and greed is something that doesn't appeal me, however I am interested in time traveling. Thank you for the recommendation. I will check out the book for sure.