Are you a fan of Time Travel? Do you love the idea of being whisked away on adventures to other places and times? If so, then “Here and Now and Then” by Mike Chen is definitely a book you need to pick up soon!
Kin Stewart is an everyday family man: working in I.T., trying to keep the spark in his marriage, struggling to connect with his teenage daughter, Miranda. But his current life is a far cry from his previous career…as a time-traveling secret agent from 2142.
Stranded in suburban San Francisco since the 1990s after a botched mission, Kin has kept his past hidden from everyone around him, despite the increasing blackouts and memory loss affecting his time-traveler’s brain. Until one afternoon, his “rescue” team arrives—eighteen years too late.
Their mission: return Kin to 2142 where he’s only been gone weeks, not years, and where another family is waiting for him. A family he can’t remember.
Torn between two lives, Kin is desperate for a way to stay connected to both. But when his best efforts threaten to destroy the agency and even history itself, his daughter’s very existence is at risk. It’ll take one final trip across time to save Miranda—even if it means breaking all the rules of time travel in the process.
What is incredibly exceptional about this book is how relateable the characters in Chen’s book are. The way he approaches their struggles as individuals, as parents and as a family is so sincere and honest. It makes the fantasy world of time travel feel real and relevant. It takes a very personal and human look at the ideas of paradoxes and the consequences of time travel. Chen makes it easy to put ourselves in his character’s shoes and ask “What would I do?”
What is also notable is the way Chen approaches the idea of being caught between worlds. You don’t see obvious or overused story tropes where the audience knows something that the main character doesn’t, thus guiding the audience towards favoring one outcome over the other. In this book we only know what the main character knows and we are seeing it completely through his eyes, as it is happening. You feel what his character feels and you easily understand and are empathetic towards the struggles he is faced with.
The book keeps a thrilling pace with plenty of exciting plot twists! It is a sweet and emotional story filled with excitement and intrigue. As an extra bonus for us geeks, there are a ton of really cool nods to both Star Trek and the British Television Series Doctor Who. As a major sci-fi geek myself, I absolutely felt like this book was written for people like me! We are ready for this to be turned into a movie! If you build it, the geeks will come!
Fan Reactions
https://twitter.com/GregAndree71/status/1092547103119814656
https://twitter.com/Metgrrl/status/1092177566235086848
welp… I'm only about 1/4 of the way through HERE AND NOW AND THEN & I already cried. I'm ready to be crushed. IT'S SO GOOD pic.twitter.com/G3nvzftJuS
— Ren Hutchings (@voidcricket) January 30, 2019
Pick up your copy: https://www.amazon.com/Here-Now-Then-Mike-Chen/dp/0778369048
For more from Mike Chen: https://www.mikechenbooks.com/
You can follow Mike Chen On Social Media:
https://twitter.com/mikechenwriter/status/1092224680239366144
