Review and Giveaway: Untimed by Andy Gavin

Article first published as Book Review: Untimed by Andy Gavin on Blogcritics.

Have you ever felt alone? Possibly even invisible to others, while the world goes on around you? Does your name elude those who you have just been introduced to, followed by blank stares of puzzlement?

In Untimed by Andy Gavin, we find such occurrences that seem out of place and time. When a young boy sees a curious figure, mechanical in nature, he decides to follow.  Charlie has been one of those that seemed to be invisible all of his young life. Even his mother had difficulty remembering his name. His father was never home, his work kept him occupied, so Charlie felt like an odd outcast.  When he sees this strange anomaly, he is fascinated but also very scared. Looking much like a living clock, he begins to refer to it as the Tick-Tock man.

As Charlie follows him, he finds himself in another dimension, a different time. What he has just accomplished is impossible, or is it? Immediately upon arriving in this new past, he is robbed by a pickpocket, a young girl who appears more vivid than anything else in the entire landscape. He must follow her for his belongings, but the vibrancy also calls to him. When he finally finds her, he realizes she is very much like him. Only she knows more about time travel, and the entire traveler’s history than he could even dream about. The Tick-Tock men are dangerous to those like them, and as they escape through time, they set off a chain of events that threaten the ruin of the world as they know it. His father has found a way to leave him a message, he has been captured, and it is up to Charlie and his new friend to make things right.  Can they pull off a feat that not even the most seasoned and knowledgeable time travelers have been able to accomplish?

Gavin has given us a fun and energetic romp through time, littered with history, unforgettable characters and charm. He draws different scenarios as history is changed in blundering fashion by this young duo, as they attempt to undo the damage they began.  The characters are engaging and the clock men become a strange enemy. The interesting retakes on re-made history are fun, and the emergence of the shadow selves adds interest.

Be prepared to leap into adventure with Charlie and his friends, working against the clock and the Tick-tock men to save the world though the ability they are born with, of traveling through time. Meet the most interesting of people throughout the past, as history is changed in an effort to divert disaster.

If you enjoy mystery, adventure, time travel and science fiction you will enjoy this work. A young adult novel, it will also cater to those that are young at heart and history buffs.

This is a fun and unique take on time travel and you will enjoy the trip.

Untimed Book Summary:

Charlie’s the kind of boy that no one notices. Hell, even his own mother can’t remember his name. And girls? The invisible man gets more dates.

As if that weren’t enough, when a mysterious clockwork man tries to kill him in modern day Philadelphia, and they tumble through a hole into 1725 London, Charlie realizes even the laws of time don’t take him seriously.

Still, this isn’t all bad. In fact, there’s this girl, another time traveler, who not only remembers his name, but might even like him! Unfortunately, Yvaine carries more than her share of baggage: like a baby boy and at least two ex-boyfriends! One’s famous, the other’s murderous, and Charlie doesn’t know who is the bigger problem.

When one kills the other — and the other is nineteen year-old Ben Franklin — things get really crazy. Can their relationship survive? Can the future? Charlie and Yvaine are time travelers, they can fix this — theoretically — but the rules are complicated and the stakes are history as we know it. And there's one more wrinkle: he can only travel into the past, and she can only travel into the future!

Link to excerpts from Untimed:
http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/untimed/sample/

Andy Gavin's Bio:

Andy Gavin is a serial creative, polymath, novelist, entrepreneur, computer programmer, author, foodie, and video game creator. He co-founded video game developer Naughty Dog and co-created Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. He started numerous companies, has been lead programmer on video games that have sold more than forty million copies, and has written two novels.

His first book, The Darkening Dream, has been well-received by fans and critics alike. Publisher’s Weekly called it “gorgeously creepy, strangely humorous, and sincerely terrifying.” Untimed is an even more ambitious follow-up. It is a lavish production with a cover by acclaimed fantasy artist Cliff Nielsen and twenty-one full page interior illustrations by Dave Phillips.

Prices/Formats: $5.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $24.00 hardcover
Publisher: Mascherato Publishing
ISBN: 9781937945053 ebook, 9781937945046 paperback, 9781937945039 hardcover
Pages: 325
Release: December 19, 2012

Amazon paperback buy link ($14.99):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937945049?tag=tributebooks-20Kindle buy link ($5.99):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQN4OZS?tag=tributebooks-20

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