Book Review: Time's Twisted Arrow by Rysa Walker

Hello Everyone,

I have just finished Time's Twisted Arrow by Rysa Walker. This is an interesting young adult novel which could fall into both the sci-fi and historical fiction categories -- two of my favorite genres. It is the first in a series titled "The CHRONOS Files".

The novel revolves around Kate, who discovers that her grandmother is a CHRONOS historian. These historians (from the future) travel to various eras and observe significant events in history. Kate has also inherited her grandmother's skills. The main challenge that Kate faces as she hones her new skills, is tracking down her grandfather Saul, who sabotaged the CHRONOS expeditions, and left historians stranded in various time periods. Her grandfather then used time-travel to gain power. Kate must use her new skills to travel back in time, locate Saul, and stop him.

The author does an excellent job of explaining the concepts in this story and setting clear rules in place for the world she has created. As a history buff, the idea of the CHRONOS historians is fascinating to me, and I hope that when I get the chance to sit down and write a book (which of course will be several years from now), I can come up with something as unique.

The character of Kate was well-developed, as was her relationship with Trey and her family members. I feel, however, that the supporting characters could have been developed a little more. For instance, I would be interested in learning more about Kate's grandmother and her past time-traveling experiences. I also felt that at the end of the book, I knew very little about Conner and Charlayne. I did think that Trey was well-developed, and I liked him very much, though at times I thought he was a little too perfect! Still, I'd like to see more of him in book 2.

In technical terms, the book was very well-written and evenly paced. When I picked up the book, I read two pages, got really interested in it, and then had to put it down for a whole week due to work and other commitments. It was so frustrating, because I was dying to read it. It hooked me right from the beginning, and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

In sum, this is a well-written novel, and a great introduction to the CHRONOS Files series. The mythology was very complex, but clearly explained. I really liked that it made me think, and I can't wait to see what happens in book 2 (which I hope is released soon!).

My Rating: 5 stars

Enjoy,
chaitime212