Review of Chasing Time
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Review of Chasing Time
[Following is a volunteer review of "Chasing Time" by Thomas Reilly.]
Chasing Time by Thomas Reilly is a book combining history, magic, medical research, and the power of love. The book opens with a scene from ancient Rome. The stage is set by introducing a magical key, a man with a certain flair for time, and an interaction with prophetic writing. Centuries later, Tony Lucas finds a strange key on the way home from middle school. He also has a certain affinity for time and an interaction with prophetic writing, but the final conclusion to his brief interaction takes a few more decades to unfold.
Tony loses the key almost as soon as he finds it. This loss is not important to him at first, and he continues with his life, still occasionally reminded of his brief encounter with a magic key and the prediction he read about. His inner sense of the passage of time amazes others, helps him wake up without an alarm clock, and sometimes gives him a sense of things to come. He briefly meets one other man who also has a passion for time and prediction, but it is so brief that he does not give it much weight. Years later, his world is coming to an end, and the person he loves most needs him to make sense of it all as fast as he can. As things progress, he wonders if that chance meeting was really chance. Will his encounter with the key lead him to the aid he seeks, or is all of his life just a series of coincidences with no relevance after all?
At first, this reads like a mystery with a magical key and prophetic words the characters read. But the next few chapters detail Tony’s rather normal life: going to school, creating a career path, meeting his true love, starting a family, and other seemingly mundane events. There was one drawback in having so many chapters describing his life. I wasn’t sure, at one point, if there would be a climax, because there was so much background needed to show the relationships and build to the climax. Once the main conflict began, however, the story moved quickly. These chapters form a necessary backdrop for the final chapters where he truly begins his journey with the magical key. This man is a superhero, of sorts, who works with no profanity, no sexual encounters, but with love and integrity. He loves with all his being, and that is the power he has.
Thomas Reilly has a gift for describing and relating historical information without being boring. The main character travels and we get to share his experiences, his research, and his emotions, while the plot moves forward and the climax builds. He introduces just the right character at just the right time to give some relief to the building tension but not enough to end the climb to the apex. He is a master at linking events to history and geography and making the explanation a part of the narrative.
The book is well-written and edited with only a few errors toward the end. I found the Kindle version to have a few mistakes that other versions did not have. Because it was only in that version, I give this a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. It has a great plot, well-rounded characters, and a heart-warming relationship developing throughout. I would recommend this to all ages. It is a mystery of sorts, a romance of sorts, and it also has a smattering of history and biochemical research. There are several references to the main character being Catholic, but the author does not push religion, so many people would enjoy this regardless of their religious beliefs.
******
Chasing Time
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Chasing Time by Thomas Reilly is a book combining history, magic, medical research, and the power of love. The book opens with a scene from ancient Rome. The stage is set by introducing a magical key, a man with a certain flair for time, and an interaction with prophetic writing. Centuries later, Tony Lucas finds a strange key on the way home from middle school. He also has a certain affinity for time and an interaction with prophetic writing, but the final conclusion to his brief interaction takes a few more decades to unfold.
Tony loses the key almost as soon as he finds it. This loss is not important to him at first, and he continues with his life, still occasionally reminded of his brief encounter with a magic key and the prediction he read about. His inner sense of the passage of time amazes others, helps him wake up without an alarm clock, and sometimes gives him a sense of things to come. He briefly meets one other man who also has a passion for time and prediction, but it is so brief that he does not give it much weight. Years later, his world is coming to an end, and the person he loves most needs him to make sense of it all as fast as he can. As things progress, he wonders if that chance meeting was really chance. Will his encounter with the key lead him to the aid he seeks, or is all of his life just a series of coincidences with no relevance after all?
At first, this reads like a mystery with a magical key and prophetic words the characters read. But the next few chapters detail Tony’s rather normal life: going to school, creating a career path, meeting his true love, starting a family, and other seemingly mundane events. There was one drawback in having so many chapters describing his life. I wasn’t sure, at one point, if there would be a climax, because there was so much background needed to show the relationships and build to the climax. Once the main conflict began, however, the story moved quickly. These chapters form a necessary backdrop for the final chapters where he truly begins his journey with the magical key. This man is a superhero, of sorts, who works with no profanity, no sexual encounters, but with love and integrity. He loves with all his being, and that is the power he has.
Thomas Reilly has a gift for describing and relating historical information without being boring. The main character travels and we get to share his experiences, his research, and his emotions, while the plot moves forward and the climax builds. He introduces just the right character at just the right time to give some relief to the building tension but not enough to end the climb to the apex. He is a master at linking events to history and geography and making the explanation a part of the narrative.
The book is well-written and edited with only a few errors toward the end. I found the Kindle version to have a few mistakes that other versions did not have. Because it was only in that version, I give this a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. It has a great plot, well-rounded characters, and a heart-warming relationship developing throughout. I would recommend this to all ages. It is a mystery of sorts, a romance of sorts, and it also has a smattering of history and biochemical research. There are several references to the main character being Catholic, but the author does not push religion, so many people would enjoy this regardless of their religious beliefs.
******
Chasing Time
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: High Clowder Cats by Ruby Knight
