Review of Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen

Kin Stewart will have to break all the rules of time travel to preserve the existence of his daughter without destroying the world.

Kin Stewart was a time-traveling secret agent in 2142, but he became stranded in the 1990s when a mission went wrong. Now he lives life as a regular guy; he works in IT, he’s happily married, and he has a beloved daughter. They have no idea about his past, which is just how he likes it.

When he begins to have memory loss and other odd symptoms, he realizes it’s linked to his past time travel. Then a rescue mission arrives--decades late--to bring him to 2142 and back to another life with another family.

Stewart would have to break all the rules of time travel to attempt the impossible: preserve the existence of his daughter in his current reality without destroying everything else.

Within the world of Here and Now and Then, Mike Chen masterfully explores: Is the past set in stone or is it malleable? Which half of Kin’s dual life is most true or immediate or valued? How much physical turmoil can one body take before giving in? What does a hero do when honesty requires putting his life at risk, yet risking his life is essential to saving it?

I loooved this. Chen writes a deeply felt warring of emotions and conflicting responsibility and duty. I adore a character-driven science fiction tale. Also, time travel! This totally hit the spot.

This was also listed in my Greedy Reading List of Six Riveting Time-Travel Escapes.

What did you think?

I especially love how Chen explores Kin's emotions in both of his realities, his warring loyalties, and how the future and past can work together.

I can't wait to read his book A Beginning at the End, published in early 2020.

#timetravel, #fantasyscifi, #alternatereality, #fourstarbookreview