A Time to Every Purpose
by Ian Andrew
science fiction
copyright 2014
read in December 2019
rated 7/10: well worth reading
I'm not overfond of parallel universe stories. Nor of fix-it-by-time-travel stories. (And that possible spoiler is pretty obvious very early in the book. Which is not a negative comment.) Yet I did enjoy this book. Perhaps because a Nazi alternative universe is so obvious to understand.
The story is well-crafted, the characters are likeable but too idealistic to be real. There is violence, there are threats, the heroes are never actually tortured (thank goodness).
The final twist is slowly revealed. Early hints build up in slow but complete detail. Much like the rest of the book: well-detailed, sometimes too well-detailed, not bad enough to be boring. I never wanted to give up reading; I was impressed by the final -- unexpected, possibly unique -- way in which the... book is concluded.
I had been wondering how the book would conclude. Prove whether or not the world is saved, that is. The ending turns out to be very satisfying, rather rose-tinted, well judged. Answers the question without adding to the complexity.
One serious criticism: the book needs a good edit by someone with a clear understanding of the rules of English:
The copy I read was from the library. A previous reader had used a pencil to correct the numerous errors: bad punctuation, mis-capitalisation, occasional wrong use of a homonym. After two or three corrections on each of the first 30 or so pages, the anonymous editor gave up... the errors, however, continue.
My rating began at six (read to pass the time), partly because it's "not my type of book". It was still enjoyable. I was tipping towards the final seven... and that rating was confirmed when I realised that the author now lives in Western Australia :-)
A complex, well-though-out book, quite enjoyable. And written by a local. For me, that's well worth reading.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"[The] truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it, but there it is." ... Winston Churchill
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