Science Fiction Book Review: Timebound (The Chronos Files) by Rysa Walker

I have been a time travel fan since watching "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" as a pre-teen. Granted, the first time I watched the movie was to find out why some Edward Furlong kid was stealing precious Tiger Beat and Bop magazine cover space away from JTT. The second time I watched was to ogle the groundbreaking special effects instead. And by the third time, I was hooked on the "no fate but what we make" concept.

Several years later, it's no wonder I'm fascinated by a book series that revolves around a future world where historians jump back in time to witness what really happened during famous events without changing the past. Well, that was their original intent when they created the Chronos technology. As we all know from other time-traveling stories, it doesn't take long for power-hungry people to decide they'd rather change the past to get what they want in the future. That's what starts Kate Pierce-Keller's story in "Timebound (The Chronos Files)" by Rysa Walker.

Kate is a sixteen-year-old with ordinary teenage problems but time travel ain't one until her dying grandmother shows up to convince Kate that she must stop her grandfather from taking over the world using a new religion he's making up in the past. Uh, come again? Kate thinks her grandmother's meds must have scrambled her sanity, but is quickly convinced time travel exists when she accidentally jumps moments in time, just by holding her grandmother's mysterious medallion. Kate takes the news extremely well, especially given that in addition to still being a high school student in advanced classes, she now has even more homework. To figure out when and where to jump to stop her grandfather's henchmen from breaking her timeline and erasing her existence, she has to study digital journals from other historians. She ends up at Chicago World’s Fair. Trying to prevent a murder while wearing uncomfortable female fashions from the late 19th century isn't easy!

Kate's first-person narrative of the sci-fi adventure made for an easy read. We enjoy the same movies and would probably be friends if we were in the same timeline. Like the butterfly effect, things her grandfather's cult do change unpredictable things. For example, now another actress besides Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts in "Iron Man." Kate only remembers Paltrow's role because she has a device that shields her mind when changes happen. How confusing would it be to remember a different timeline? At least she'd have a good excuse for not scoring the best on history tests.

Even when I got lost on certain details, as is apt to happen when contemplating time travel twists, Kate's entertaining banter kept my attention. I didn't want to put the book down. But I can't jump back in time to give myself more hours to accomplish tasks like Kate can, so it took me a few days to read the 387 pages.

I give all books I review five stars, because they were worth my time to finish. If you'd prefer a less sparkle-coated stance, Amazon currently rates it at 4.5 stars from 3,614 customer reviews. "Timebound" was also the Young Adult and Grand Prize winner in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards.

Aquariann reads books like dragons breathe fire. Inhale more of her whimsical ramblings on her Art and Tree Chatter blog.