Fellow Traveler Because Its not an Easy Road
See a Problem?
Thanks for telling us about the problem.
Friend Reviews
Community Reviews
From the opening pages, Fellow Travellers draws you into its world of time travel, and it really is a world. It's been a long time since I was so impressed with a book's world-building; every chapter offers new morsels, from inventive games and customs to systems of government, communication, and (clearly) transport. The phrases the travellers use are also one of the highlights of the book—as a language nerd, I loved how different languages were incorporated, and how their This was so much fun!
From the opening pages, Fellow Travellers draws you into its world of time travel, and it really is a world. It's been a long time since I was so impressed with a book's world-building; every chapter offers new morsels, from inventive games and customs to systems of government, communication, and (clearly) transport. The phrases the travellers use are also one of the highlights of the book—as a language nerd, I loved how different languages were incorporated, and how their study was an essential part of a traveller's education!
But the real reason I adored this book is not its world but the characters that fill it. The cast of characters is larger than I usually like, but the book somehow made me care deeply about every single one (I'd especially like more of my fave centurion Sol Christie, please). This made for some incredibly tense action scenes, and I'm still recovering from one of the twists (maybe two of the twists, actually), but you love the characters so much that they're worth every moment of nail-biting, and possibly tears.
I would highly recommend this to any sci-fi/fantasy lover (also history lover, as you'll be travelling across centuries!), but only if you're prepared to spend the next few days in another world. Once you're there, and once you've met the people there, it's almost impossible to leave.
(For instance: I finished the book, and in some ways I still haven't left.)
If you're thinking about reading this, please pick it up. You won't regret it.
...more
Much of the novel sets out to explain the craft of time travel and the culture that emerges that is inhabited by a set
Have you ever wished you could transport between centuries? That is the landscape of Jesse Bethea's "Fellow Travellers." But that landscape might look a little different than what you would have imagined. It is not the place of great historic events but rather the locus of an event with personal consequences that obsesses a rebel time traveller who would undo the fabric of time.Much of the novel sets out to explain the craft of time travel and the culture that emerges that is inhabited by a set of characters who have made the leap from the moments in time that are their birthright to the centuries that lie before and behind. There are plenty of rules, a Time Travelers Guild that spells them out, and troopers who enforce them, all necessary to maintain harmony among the fellow travellers and the temporal timeline where the rest of us mortals must live. The reader follows the adventures of Bindra Dhar from her initiation to events that seem almost preordained by those who have leapt into her future.
No one ever said that time travel would be easy, but it certainly is interesting as it is mapped out in Jesse Bethea's first novel. I am looking forward to a sequel.
...more This was a true page-turner; I couldn't put it down, and a few days later I didn't want it to end. On one hand, I'm hopeful th
I greatly enjoyed going down the rabbit hole of time travel with Jesse Bethea. In Fellow Travellers, he takes a familiar concept and weaves it into something completely new and unique. Along with fresh ideas, his characters and their narratives were inventive and compelling. Jesse also throws a few clever twists along the way (I would say more, but ghamud dayim and such).This was a true page-turner; I couldn't put it down, and a few days later I didn't want it to end. On one hand, I'm hopeful there will be sequels - but I'm also curious as to what completely new worlds Jesse might cook up as well. Highly recommend!
PS - perhaps someday in the distant future, this book will be part of a morality course in training aspiring time travelers
...more I'd also like to add that as a woman of color, it is extremely gratifying to se
It was delightful to read Jesse's take on time travel in "Fellow Travelers." This is the first time I've seen time travel done without a machine, without magic or worm holes--instead it is explored as a means of navigation. My mind is lured into seeing the simplicity of time travel, and envisioning myself undergoing time travel training--if only I could find the right mentor! It gave me some fun adult Hogwarts vibes!I'd also like to add that as a woman of color, it is extremely gratifying to see a main character that is also a WOC, and to see such a diverse spectrum of characters. I'd love to see more books with this kind of representation.
...more
For anyone hesitant about reading a time travel book, I HIGHLY encourage you to give this a go. I have been adamant for many years that I don't like time travel. But maybe it's just that I don't like basic, repetitive time travel. Everyone wants to stop Hitler or the Hindenburg accident or fall in love with the brute men of the Scottish middle age
Jesse, if you're reading this, no I did not give your book a high rating because I know you. I gave your book a high rating because it is a GOOD. BOOK.
For anyone hesitant about reading a time travel book, I HIGHLY encourage you to give this a go. I have been adamant for many years that I don't like time travel. But maybe it's just that I don't like basic, repetitive time travel. Everyone wants to stop Hitler or the Hindenburg accident or fall in love with the brute men of the Scottish middle ages - no thanks.
This book is nothing like that!!!!
~spoilers incoming~
Fellow Travellers even takes a crack at some of the classics - The 20th century is mess! It is recommended not to travel back to 1912! It is explicitly stated in the rules of time travel that interference is NOT ALLOWED! The actual plot of the book is to (view spoiler)[stop the one guy that keeps trying to interfere! (hide spoiler)]
---
"Well it's an honor to meet you Bindra Dhar," he said. "My name is Walter Franklin Brooks and I am a time traveller. If you really want it and if you will work hard and study hard, you can be time traveller too."
Only maybe it's not as easy is that - "There were, Bindra realized, a great many ways to die in time travel." - but she gets there eventually!
And all the fantastic characters Bindra meets along the way - I don't think a single character was boring or uninteresting. From the good guys to the bad guys and every minor character in between. And they all have such great one-liners.
Zelda "Time always catches up with you." Clairing - great!
Commissioner Emily "Would you like to know what an unacceptable alternate looks like?" Sutton - great!
Trooper Sean "Well, ede faecam to you too." Logan- great!
Even the random woman that Sean meets while (view spoiler)[serving his sentence for trying to stop the car accident that killed the only man Henry ever loved thereby turning him to the dark side! (hide spoiler)] - "I like you, Sean, but I hope you fail." - great!
The world building, the mechanics of time travel, the rules and laws, all interesting. The action, fantastic. Don't take my word for it - go discover it for yourself!!
I enjoyed the whole book, but man, chapter 36 is so good.
And the end reveals, holy moly!! I'm a fairly predictive reader, in that I can't help my brain from putting together how something might end, but this book had so much that was unpredictable. The fact that (view spoiler)[Thurmond/Henry (hide spoiler)] literally, (view spoiler)[because of his own meddling, both guaranteed the train crash, the very thing he was trying to prevent, and also his own birth because of the death of his not-real-father (he was the traveller that made himself a ripple!)??? (hide spoiler)] Whaaaaat???
The only thing I found to be unreasonable was the fact that they were able to (view spoiler)[take accurate pictures of the night sky with a Motorolla Razor. (hide spoiler)] Ha!
Do yourself a favor and READ THIS BOOK.
There's a train crash.
Disaster physics.
Moral dilemmas.
Action-packed fight scenes (with time travel, who would have thought).
But most importantly, the book is a philosopher's dream come true.. When I finished reading the story, I realized, at its core, that Fellow Travellers was a giant trolley problem in disguise.
I'm sure you've hea
Fellow Travellers follows a young time traveller named Bindra on a crazy adventure between many, many centuries as a fellow time traveller attempts to mess with time.There's a train crash.
Disaster physics.
Moral dilemmas.
Action-packed fight scenes (with time travel, who would have thought).
But most importantly, the book is a philosopher's dream come true.. When I finished reading the story, I realized, at its core, that Fellow Travellers was a giant trolley problem in disguise.
I'm sure you've heard of trolley problems before. A trolley is heading toward a platform. If it crashes, it will kill five people. You can flip a switch that will shift the tracks onto a different path, but there is one person who will die if you flip the switch. What do you do?
That's the basic formulation. There are hundreds of variants.
And with that, I'll just end and say: if you like time travel and trolley problems, you should read Fellow Travellers.
...more 
I bought this book to please a friend who recommended it. I rarely read fantasy or scifi novels because they are predictable and therefore boring. That is what I expected from this book....until I started reading it. It is neither predictable nor boring. In fact, it was so compelling, so thought provoking and so packed with action and emotion that I couldn't stop thinking about it and was sorry when I finished it. As a result, I am living in a time paradox of m
Not your standard time travel novelI bought this book to please a friend who recommended it. I rarely read fantasy or scifi novels because they are predictable and therefore boring. That is what I expected from this book....until I started reading it. It is neither predictable nor boring. In fact, it was so compelling, so thought provoking and so packed with action and emotion that I couldn't stop thinking about it and was sorry when I finished it. As a result, I am living in a time paradox of my own making. I wish that a previous me could again begin reading this book for the first time, to savor it longer, to experience the end of the story once again without knowing what that finish would be. If you like sci-fi and its standard cliches. You won't like this book. But to anyone else, I highly recommend this book
...more
I came to this book with some trepidation, time travel being a well-worn trope, but I was glad I gave it a try. Good world building, and well fleshed out characters. The plot kept my interest, and the premise -- that anyone can LEARN to travel through time was interesting. Recommended.
News & Interviews
Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account.
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56871598
0 Response to "Fellow Traveler Because Its not an Easy Road"
Post a Comment