Future Tense

Barbara Gaskell
Denvil
Genre: 
Other

TIME TRAVEL:  Mercy is bored out of her mind. Working for a professor obsessed with dinosaurs, she expects that one day she could disappear and no one would notice— until the day a strange pair of eyes appears in her apartment. When Mercy comes face to face with a time traveler, she is not sure what to think. Is she delusional, or could this be the adventure she always wanted? Tancred Nine is on a mission, and Mercy and her boss, Titus play a big part. Unfortunately, the time tunnels are dangerous, and his plan to save humanity from entity fear will take courage and sacrifice Mercy is not sure she has. Will Tancred’s plan save them all or will Mercy lose heart in the end?

A sci-fi adventure through time and space, “Future Tense” reads like a "Doctor Who" adventure gone sideways. On one hand, the story has an interesting premise. On the other hand, however, Tancred constantly disrespects and manipulates Mercy like a child, using their future relationship to excuse his introduction to her in the past before she knows him. Further, Tancred dumps long theoretical lectures about time and space on Mercy and the reader. The slow pace does not help, as action is scattered and sometimes confusing, punctured with scenes of rape, torture, and war in the end. Despite this, Mercy does grow as a person throughout the book, and lovers of theoretical sci-fi might still find this a good adventure to peruse.

Sarah E Bradley