Here and Now and Then (Read It)

Back to the Future was one of the most popular movies of the 1980s.  Here and Now and Then is a book that reminds me a little bit about that movie.  The book has time travel, having to avoid time paradoxes, and the driving need to save family members.  I recently had the opportunity to read this book, and I highly recommend that you read it too.

I was provided with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kin is a time traveler from the year 2142.  I wonder if all of these authors are trying to tell us something, because the epilogue to Champion ends in 2142 as well.  Hmmm…  Anyway, the time traveling program is classified, so he’s not supposed to tell his family members and loved ones about it.  None of this would be a problem, until he gets stuck in our time period.  For years.

He ends up being stuck in our time for long enough that he gets a job, finds a wife, and has a daughter.  And he lives happily ever after in our time, right?  Not quite.  Eventually, the people from 2142 figure out when he is, and they come back to rescue him, even though, at this point, he doesn’t want to be rescued.

So what happens to a time traveler’s family after they’re left behind?

The remainder of Here and Now and Then deals with the consequences of his life in our present.  Kin is heartbroken over losing his family.  When he looks into the past to find out what happened to them, he doesn’t like what he sees, and tries to change it.  Of course, the Temporal Corruption Bureau has something to say about that when they find out…

Not only does Kin have to deal with what happened to his family, he also has to reacquaint himself to the future he left behind.  To the fiancée he forgot about when he was living in our time.  The time he spent in our time changed him.  Will he be able to reconnect with the life he left behind?

You’ll just have read the book to find out how this all turns out.  I was very happy about the ending.  I think you will be too.  It tied the Kin of our time with the Kin of the future together in a nice way.

Here and Now and Then will probably interest adult readers, as the protagonist is a parent dealing with a fiancée and a teenage child; however, the content is appropriate for all ages.