Heather’s Bookshelf: The Time Traveler’s Tale: Aztecs, Maya, and Conquistadors
Author: Donald McEwing
Released: 04/13/22
Genre: Adult Historical Fiction/Scifi/Time Travel
“This tale comes from memory. I am old now, but to the best of my recollection, this is what happened a long time ago. By the way, I am dictating this account to a woman who has agreed to write it down, for which I am immensely grateful.”
“The Time Traveler’s Tale” is told through the perspective of an anthropologist who is relaying his life story to a ghost writer. He travels back in time to observe first contact between the Spanish, Aztecs, and Mayans.
While he’s there to observe, it seems someone else has also traveled back in time and may be interfering with history. A turn of expected events results in the time traveler’s death and a reset back to present time. Tasked with finding the other time traveler’s “Wheel of time” in order to stop her, things become much more complicated with each and every return trip.
Will the time traveler be able to do what he was tasked and save his timeline or will the Smoking Mirror get the upper hand?
Trigger Warning: violence, murder, animal death, slavery
Overall, I enjoyed this story. Clearly the author did quite a bit of research into this tale. From the descriptions of the cities, to the people and their outfits, to the brilliant colors of the birds, it is easy to “see” the setting of the story as you read it. The time period is a brutal one, which the author does not shy from but does not focus on the gory side of things, either. It also encompasses many of the historical explorers and famous people of the time including Cortez and De Soto. The rules of time travel are set from the beginning, making it clear for the reader and also alleviating much of the confusion often found in time travel tales. The story is written without chapters or page breaks and sometimes the pacing slowed It made it a little more challenging for me as there was no built-in stopping points or natural pauses when reading. There were also a couple of repetitive sections (more toward the middle third of the story) where it felt like lines had been copy and pasted. I also found the love story line to be abrupt and a little out of left field. As such, I did not find much of a connection to their relationship. While, I felt more like I was watching the title character move through history, I did understand his motivations and his felt his emotions. The Smoking Mirror was a much more interesting character with clear emotions, motivations, and goals. I also enjoyed her character intertwined with the religious aspects of the culture at the time. The ending felt a little incomplete to me, but the epilogue helped clear some things up and brought the story back to the beginning.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A time travel tale back to a clash of cultures and a time filled with gold, violence, and disease. The two main characters shine and book is well researched, but pacing and writing choices are challenging.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Donald McEwing
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Find it for purchase here or Kindle Unlimited
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