Sean Randall reviewed A Pivot in Time by Douglas E. Richards
Review of 'A Pivot in Time' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I’ve been waiting for this book for over 2 months now, having pre-ordered it on Amazon back in June. I won’t spoil the historical significance – suffice it to say that even knowing the time period from the book’s synopsis didn’t make me go “aha!” – but it was a deft and bold move, one which Richards has, utterly unsurprisingly, pulled off in his usual and spectacular fashion.
I loved the déjà vu of our heroes being seemingly entrapped by the Chinese, which we also saw in the first book. I found the Star trek thing hilarious, and I even learned a gaggle of things about ancient Rome into the bargain, all whilst enjoying another utterly captivating yarn from the master.
I can only imagine how knotty his thinking had to become to find a way of reuniting Otto with Kelly whilst obeying the precepts put down in book one, …
I’ve been waiting for this book for over 2 months now, having pre-ordered it on Amazon back in June. I won’t spoil the historical significance – suffice it to say that even knowing the time period from the book’s synopsis didn’t make me go “aha!” – but it was a deft and bold move, one which Richards has, utterly unsurprisingly, pulled off in his usual and spectacular fashion.
I loved the déjà vu of our heroes being seemingly entrapped by the Chinese, which we also saw in the first book. I found the Star trek thing hilarious, and I even learned a gaggle of things about ancient Rome into the bargain, all whilst enjoying another utterly captivating yarn from the master.
I can only imagine how knotty his thinking had to become to find a way of reuniting Otto with Kelly whilst obeying the precepts put down in book one, and to do all that whilst tying this story up with such an overwhelming sense of satisfaction is an incredible feat. Oh and I learned a new word – the last new word I learned from a novel was crepitate a few years back, and I learned Fiat today. How brilliant!
Finally, the use of the word pivot is interesting to me. As loyal readers of my reviews will know I enjoy author’s who have distinct tropes, and it seems to me that pivoting is one of Doug’s specialties. Characters regularly seem to be something but are something else, are presumed to be in one situation but are actually in another, or indeed seem to be completely boxed in without hope … and yet … So I think to finally come out there and acknowledge the import of the pivot to his plotting in a book title is a clever nod to the ambulatory mind that produces such explosively enjoyable stories, time after time after time.
My daughter is currently “going through” Harry Potter for the first time. I am envious of that, of having that innocence, the newness, that one-time gift of being able to enter a new world for the very first time. For anyone looking for some exciting, pulse-pounding thrillers with clever time travel, you’ve now got almost 900 pages to get through. Not to mention the other 19 or 20 books of his to chew on. Did I mention I was envious?