ARC Review: Invictus by Ryan Graudin
10:00
Series: None
Author: Ryan Graudin
Published September 21st 2017 by Orion Children's Books
Goodreads Synopsis
Time flies when you're plundering history.
Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far's birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he's ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past.
But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far's very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
Invictus follows Far, who is an anomaly due to the fact his birth was not in any specific time. His father was a Roman gladiator from 95 AD, and his mother a Recorder of History from 2354 AD. Because of this, he has struggled his whole life with training, etc., and it falls on him to commandeer a ship, and with his group of mates, travel across time to steal important valuables and document from some of the most important time periods in history. None of this will be easy, though, and Far will be able to find out, once and for all, the truth of his birth, and just why he is so important.
It seemed like 2017 was the year for time travelling books, with 4 I can think of off the top of my head. I do enjoy time travelling books, especially when they visit time periods that I love, so a book that actively mentions the Roman Empire is one that I'll need to get my hands on. I did enjoy this book, but now that I think about it, after reading, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. My main issue with the book was how disjointed it felt. It seemed like every chapter, they were travelling to a different time period - each seeming well researched, though - so it wasn't simple to keep your head around where or when you were. Far and his rag-tag bunch were enjoyable, but I didn't find myself that invested in their stories. The last few chapters were really what redeemed this book, with the action finally being on the forefront, and it seeming as if the plot was actually there, and not just vaguely passing by. I haven't read any of Ryan's other books, and I don't know whether to bother with them now. If you think I should, let me know.
Dates Read:
January 17-28, 2018Rating
3 Stars
0 comments