Official Review: Gateway to the past by Charles Hankins

Post by **Shrabastee Chakraborty** » 29 Oct 2018, 04:39

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Gateway to the past" by Charles Hankins.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Bob Longmont is just not comfortable with the fast-paced life of the twentieth century. As the descendant of the fabled mountain-man Alan ‘Bearclaw’ Longmont, he constantly dreams of a life spent close to Mother Nature. While on a camping trip, he encounters a time warp that will allow him to go back a century, armed with nothing more than basic survival skills. You have to read Gateway to the Past by Charles W. Hankins to know what happens as a result of his leap in time.

Instead of detailing the mechanism of the time warp, the author puts emphasis mainly on the fictional part. The major theme of the book is the contrast and conflict between different ways of life. The novel shows the socio-economical and political differences between the nineteenth and the twentieth century, and sometimes the cultural differences between Red Indians and White people. Bob has the unique responsibility to adapt to all the different lifestyles and to maintain the balance.

Character development is a strong feature of the book. Hankins masterfully expresses Bob’s inner turmoil as he is unable to decide whether to fulfill his duty for his family or to live his life to the fullest. How can he willingly shun an opportunity to become a part of the history? The novel narrates the story of an ordinary man having extraordinary potentials, and shows how constant learning and honing of his skills can make him into a legend. Far exceeding the label of the main protagonist, Bob becomes the hero of his own story. Apart from Bob, the novel is dominated by several morally and physically strong characters of both genders.

In addition, Hankins repeatedly shows the power of family bonds, be it the Longmont family or the Indian tribes. Their strength comes not only from the superb tracking and hunting skills but also because the entire family is always there to get each other's back. The book teaches several moral values such as respect for women and tolerance for different ways of life, as well as emphasizes the importance of freedom in one’s life.

A sense of humor is maintained all throughout, suggested by the playful banter between the otherwise rugged legendary characters. The way these strong and frightening men cower in front of their women is downright funny. Also, the idea of Bob attending his great-great-great-grandparents’ wedding made me laugh.

All in all, this is a fast and engaging read that kept me guessing till the end. Whenever I tried to predict something, it presented me with a more exciting turn of events. The entire novel is laced with adventures and action scenes, adding to its thrill.

My complaints about this book are mostly technical. There were a handful of editing errors, mainly in the form of misspelled, missing or repeated words, and missing punctuations. Chapter breaks were uneven, with the seventh chapter spanning almost one-third of the entire book. Repeated use of certain phrases such as “you see”, “damn lawyers” and “Hee hee hee” was a bit of a put-downer. In some places, the author puts side notes within parentheses and mentions their references at the end of the book. I believe these notes could have been included in an index instead of interrupting the narration.

Considering the above-mentioned points, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I had to deduct one point because of the editing errors. The book might not be suitable for younger readers as it contains a considerable amount of blood, gore, and violent scenes. Nevertheless, readers who like historical fictions, time-travel stories, and adventurous tales about Red Indians will immensely enjoy Gateway to the Past.

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Gateway to the past
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 29 Oct 2018, 15:08

Sometimes I'd like to travel to the past to a simpler time myself. I enjoy the playful banter between characters. That always enhances my enjoyment of the novel. Thanks for your review.

evan1995muniz · Post by **evan1995muniz** » 29 Oct 2018, 16:02

I love stories that have fictional aspects and especially ones with great character development. Thank you for your review. This seems like a great book, I definitely want to read this book.

Debjani Ghosh · Post by **Debjani Ghosh** » 30 Oct 2018, 00:40

This sounds like an intriguing book. Time travel is a favorite subject of mine. Considering that the only errors you found were mainly grammatical in nature, I will like to go through the book to read Bob's story. Thanks for the review!

Post by **Shrabastee Chakraborty** » 30 Oct 2018, 04:29

evan1995muniz wrote: ↑29 Oct 2018, 16:02 I love stories that have fictional aspects and especially ones with great character development. Thank you for your review. This seems like a great book, I definitely want to read this book.

I believe you will enjoy this book. Thanks for commenting!

wendos · Post by **wendos** » 30 Oct 2018, 11:52

I like it that the book has strong character development who are also morally strong. I am not a fun of time travels though, so I have to skip this one.

Post by **Shrabastee Chakraborty** » 31 Oct 2018, 07:05

wendos wrote: ↑30 Oct 2018, 11:52 I like it that the book has strong character development who are also morally strong. I am not a fun of time travels though, so I have to skip this one.

Actually, this book put more emphasis on the history part. If you like historical fictions, you can still try this one without bothering yourself about the time travel part. Yes, the characters were morally strong. It was very easy for a few of them to just slip up, but they never did. Thanks so much for your comment!

Post by **Shrabastee Chakraborty** » 31 Oct 2018, 07:09

Debjani Ghosh wrote: ↑30 Oct 2018, 00:40 This sounds like an intriguing book. Time travel is a favorite subject of mine. Considering that the only errors you found were mainly grammatical in nature, I will like to go through the book to read Bob's story. Thanks for the review!

Thanks for stopping by! If you like time travel stories, then you must read this. However, it puts more emphasis on the historical fiction part, as I have mentioned. In fact, I was reminded of several books while reading this, all my favourites- "The Time Traveller's Wife" by Audrey Niffinger, "Timeline" by Michael Crichton to name a few. I am sure you will like it.

Post by **Shrabastee Chakraborty** » 31 Oct 2018, 07:13

kandscreeley wrote: ↑29 Oct 2018, 15:08 Sometimes I'd like to travel to the past to a simpler time myself. I enjoy the playful banter between characters. That always enhances my enjoyment of the novel. Thanks for your review.

Thank you Kandscreeley for stopping by and commenting! Yes, it was enjoying to read how the mighty warriors interacted with each other. But to be honest, I sometimes felt like the author overdid it. There was this phrase "hee hee hee, he giggled" repeated like thousand times! It began to irritate me after a while, though I must mention the author also used "haw haw haw" and "ho ho ho" as well. Except for that, it was very engaging!

Yoli García · Post by **Yoli García** » 31 Oct 2018, 09:23

I like the idea of the main character, Bob, needing to use survival skills to adapt in past time periods. Too bad the book has technical issues. Thanks for the excellent review!

fernsmom · Post by **fernsmom** » 31 Oct 2018, 21:30

Great review! You sold me! The plot in general, but then these sentences of yours: "A sense of humor is maintained all throughout, suggested by the playful banter between the otherwise rugged legendary characters. The way these strong and frightening men cower in front of their women is downright funny. Also, the idea of Bob attending his great-great-great-grandparents’ wedding made me laugh."

Post by **Shrabastee Chakraborty** » 01 Nov 2018, 00:43

Yolimari wrote: ↑31 Oct 2018, 09:23 I like the idea of the main character, Bob, needing to use survival skills to adapt in past time periods. Too bad the book has technical issues. Thanks for the excellent review!

Thanks Yolimari for stopping by! Yes, if not for the technical issues, I would have rated it a full 4 stars. The novel was very engaging!

fredrick otieno · Post by **fredrick otieno** » 01 Nov 2018, 07:44

Time travel and historical fiction has always been my thing. From this review, i know for sure i will enjoy this book. Thank for the good review.

Connie Otwani · Post by **Connie Otwani** » 01 Nov 2018, 15:09

An interesting premise, great character development and a sense of humor are ingredients of a good book. Ur review has sold me to it.

Post by **Shrabastee Chakraborty** » 02 Nov 2018, 01:04

fernsmom wrote: ↑31 Oct 2018, 21:30 Great review! You sold me! The plot in general, but then these sentences of yours: "A sense of humor is maintained all throughout, suggested by the playful banter between the otherwise rugged legendary characters. The way these strong and frightening men cower in front of their women is downright funny. Also, the idea of Bob attending his great-great-great-grandparents’ wedding made me laugh."

Ha ha... The wedding part wasn't supposed to be funny. But the way they all took it very seriously,as if people generally attend their ancestors' weddings was hilarious. The playful banter I mentioned was funny, but then the abundance of "hee hee hee", "haw haw haw" and "ho ho ho" were a bit of a put-downer!
Thanks for commenting, Linda!