Heather’s Bookshelf: The Lane Betrayal
Author: John A. Heldt
Released: 02/29/20
Genre: Historical Fiction/SciFi
“I don’t know how you do it. I don’t know how you get up each day, much less enjoy life. If I had experienced even half of your hardships, I wouldn’t want to do anything except crawl in a hole and die.”
“That’s human nature,” Rebecca said. “We all believe we are weak until we learn we are strong.”
“The Lane Betrayal” introduces Mark Lane, a physicist who has invented not one, but two time machines. He discovers that the company that he is working for wants to use the technology for sinister purposes. So, he packs up his family of six and travels back through time- to Virginia 1865 and the end of the American Civil War.
Mark and his family first find some trouble settling in, but soon they find their way. The story is told from multiple points of view and describe Mary’s (Mark’s wife) process in starting a business, Laura’s (their daughter) experience of becoming a nurse, and Jordan’s (their son) dangerous journey and subsequent romance.
While the Lane family tries to settle into their new home and surroundings, Mark’s old partner turned nemesis, Robert, has other plans. He sends back an assassin to take out the Lane family and destroy their way out of 1865.
Trigger Warning: murder, stories of death (including by disease, war, and child death), adult language
Overall, I enjoyed this trip though time. I found the story both interesting from a historical standpoint and intriguing from a time travel/adventure storyline. The majority of the story is set at the end of the civil war and the interactions that the Lane Family have with famous figures of that time are fascinating. The tale moved along quickly and set a pace that made you want to continue reading. I found the main characters of Laura and Jordan to be the best developed in both their individual characteristics and in the interactions with those around them. The ending wrapped up the main story while clearly leaving an opening for additional tales. I didn’t mind the open ended quality of the story, but I wish that more would have been explained regarding the time travel aspect of the story. Is the time travel rules of this world more like Back to the Future or End Game? I guess I’ll have to wait for the sequel to find out.
(I ended up checking out this book on mixed platforms: written and audiobook via Audible: I don’t usually do Audio books, but found the narrator to be easy to listen to and enjoyed his depiction of changing voices)
I received a copy of this story in audiobook and e-versions in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A story about time travel, family, love, and loss.
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